My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

Frankirish

Alfie1 wrote: »

Anyone manage to insure their robot mower ? House insurance here won't cover it unless it's locked in a garage which kind of defeats the purpose of a robot mower !

Someone mentioned insuring them using gadget insurance, has anyone done that & if so with what company & what was the price & was there an excess.

Any feedback appreciated.

We have our 430X insured with Zurich on our home insurance, and its under specified items. It cost and extra €60

I also noted at the time that 123.ie also provided cover.

Shaunoc

Frankirish wrote: »

We have our 430X insured with Zurich on our home insurance, and its under specified items. It cost and extra €60

I also noted at the time that 123.ie also provided cover.

would that cover if it was picked up off the lawn?
or taken from garage / house

KCross

Frankirish wrote: »

We have our 430X insured with Zurich on our home insurance, and its under specified items. It cost and extra €60

I also noted at the time that 123.ie also provided cover.

Did you tell them it was outside and unsecured?

You can add specified items to any policy but they need to be secured (jewelry etc) so I'm interested to know if you informed them of that.

Frankirish

KCross wrote: »

Did you tell them it was outside and unsecured?

You can add specified items to any policy but they need to be secured (jewelry etc) so I'm interested to know if you informed them of that.

Yes, I explained that it lives outside and I even sent on an email detailing exactly what a 430X automower was. They came back with the €60 charge.

fanzhiyidan

Does anyone know if there are installers in Munster that will install a Husqvarna Automower that was bought online?
I would be interested in this option if it saved a decent bit of money as I don't have the time to install one myself.

?Cee?view

Does anyone know if something similar to this can be hired in Ireland? It would make a self install so much easier.

https://www.mowers-online.co.uk/stiga-professional-cable-laying-machine

I presume that when you pay for installation something similar is used? I can't imagine that they're down on hands and knees with all their installs.

Water John

The other make I have seen advertised is Autocable.
Would be interested in anyone doing it also.

Zzippy

?Cee?view wrote: »

Does anyone know if something similar to this can be hired in Ireland? It would make a self install so much easier.

https://www.mowers-online.co.uk/stiga-professional-cable-laying-machine

I presume that when you pay for installation something similar is used? I can't imagine that they're down on hands and knees with all their installs.

No idea if they can be hired but that is exactly the type of machine used in dealer installation. On this video here from 1:18.

Ginger83

?Cee?view wrote: »

Does anyone know if something similar to this can be hired in Ireland? It would make a self install so much easier.

https://www.mowers-online.co.uk/stiga-professional-cable-laying-machine

I presume that when you pay for installation something similar is used? I can't imagine that they're down on hands and knees with all their installs.

Stihl dealer used that for mine, 3k honda machine he told me

KCross

There's no fun in that. Get on your hands and knees and hammer those pegs in! Think of your sense of accomplishment at the end!

Ginger83

KCross wrote: »

There's no fun in that. Get on your hands and knees and hammer those pegs in! Think of your sense of accomplishment at the end!

I'd need sacks of pegs

Zzippy

KCross wrote: »

There's no fun in that. Get on your hands and knees and hammer those pegs in! Think of your sense of accomplishment at the end!

Cable a lot less likely to snap if it's a couple of inches under the ground rather than laying on top of it. And I had a real sense of accomplishment enjoyment watching yer man push the machine around, while having a nice cup of tea

KCross

Zzippy wrote: »

Cable a lot less likely to snap if it's a couple of inches under the ground rather than laying on top of it. And I had a real sense of accomplishment enjoyment watching yer man push the machine around, while having a nice cup of tea

To be fair its a fairly strong cable. Not easy to snap at all unless you do it wrong and have it sticking up for the mower to cut it.

Once the grass grows around it (two weeks or so) it sinks into the ground. I cant see my cable anymore and its never been cut.

The one downside of having it buried by the machine is that its much harder to adjust it later. I've had to move mine in one or two places where I was making changes in the lawn layout. If you are sure your lawn is never going to change then all is good.


The real joy is having that cup of tea and watching it cut the grass.... even in the rain!

Ginger83

So the charging dock was set up earlier, maiden voyage 8am tomorrow.

Model is Stihl Imow RMI 632PC capable of 5000m2.

Will post video tomorrow.

Shaunoc

Ginger83 wrote: »

Model is Stihl Imow RMI 632PC capable of 5000m2.

that has a perimeter right but no guide wires to operate?
curiosity, how much was mower and setup costs, if you want to share ?

Ginger83

Shaunoc wrote: »

that has a perimeter right but no guide wires to operate?
curiosity, how much was mower and setup costs, if you want to share ?

No guide wire, mower uses boundary wire to return to charge.

Mower was 3k, yet to get set up bill.

Shaunoc

i can think of 4 houses and my own with mowbots within a few miles now. the countryside is changing.
i now have take my neighbours grass cuttings for my compost heap as I have none of my own!

denismc

Not sure if it has been asked before, but what kind of plug comes with these mowers? 3 pin plug or industrial type plug?

Do people have a dedicated outdoor socket or do some of you just run the plug into a garage or shed?

Thanks

Shaunoc

denismc wrote: »

Not sure if it has been asked before, but what kind of plug comes with these mowers? 3 pin plug or industrial type plug?

Do people have a dedicated outdoor socket or do some of you just run the plug into a garage or shed?

automower 450x 3 pin plug
i already had outdoor socket in place (newish build)

staples7

I don't intend using a cable layer as im still developing the lawn and may require moving in places. For those that self installed the Automower what's the best way of 'future proofing' the cable. i.e. Could you leave a cable loop and bury it in a place where you know you might need extra? Or any tips.. I know you can use splicers to cut and connect but wondering if there's a better way. Hoping to order next week

Roen

Husqvarna come with a moulded three pin. I ran power to a shed specifically for it.
They need a bit of planning alright if you don't have an outdoor socket handy.

septicsac

staples7 wrote: »

I don't intend using a cable layer as im still developing the lawn and may require moving in places. For those that self installed the Automower what's the best way of 'future proofing' the cable. i.e. Could you leave a cable loop and bury it in a place where you know you might need extra? Or any tips.. I know you can use splicers to cut and connect but wondering if there's a better way. Hoping to order next week

My installer left me an extra 20yds of wire and dozen connectors in case I needed to move wire or fix breaks in existing wire. Already had to fix a break I caused myself so always handy to have some spare

Shaunoc

staples7 wrote: »

I don't intend using a cable layer as im still developing the lawn and may require moving in places. For those that self installed the Automower what's the best way of 'future proofing' the cable. i.e. Could you leave a cable loop and bury it in a place where you know you might need extra? Or any tips.. I know you can use splicers to cut and connect but wondering if there's a better way. Hoping to order next week

i think the install guide says leaving extra cable as a loop is a no no - have a check.
i have left a few inches of slack without an issue for a few months as i knew i was coming back to it to join with a guide wire. connectors are relatively cheap and easy to get more on amazon

Baoithin66

staples7 wrote: »

GPL shop have applied discounts. Not as much as I had hoped but 10% off 430x .

Husqvarna Automower® 430X
Was 2,728.16 EUR
Now 2,453.93 EUR

Still better than 3K at a dealer.

Hi has anyone purchased a mower from GPL?

Roen

Baoithin66 wrote: »

Hi has anyone purchased a mower from GPL?

Yes, a couple of months back. All good!

Moreilly

what about Roboexpert?, has anybody ordered from them? 430x @ €2368 .....

fanzhiyidan

I'd be interested in hearing if anyone bought from roboexpert too, the 315x is €1,855 compared to €2350 in Ireland.

denismc

I was in a Husquvarna dealership today and the guy was able to show me various customers mowers activity in real time, he had over a dozen machines on a list and could see which ones were active and their location on a map.

Is this normal? I wouldn't like it if someone had remote access to a device I own.
I wonder if the customers know he has this access?

KCross

He most likely needs a GDPR course!

WhichWay

denismc wrote: »

I was in a Husquvarna dealership today and the guy was able to show me various customers mowers activity in real time, he had over a dozen machines on a list and could see which ones were active and their location on a map.

Is this normal? I wouldn't like it if someone had remote access to a device I own.
I wonder if the customers know he has this access?

I gave my installer access. He was great at the start he could keep an eye on it. If his wire position was wrong he would come and fix it.