Lidl Parkside 20V 1000M2 robot mower review

SchrodingersCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122096225#Comment_122096225

Another person in the thread was wondering about how to reset the PIN on the mowers too.
When I took it apart, I noticed that the main board has a button battery. It might be worth taking this out and leaving it for a few minutes to drain the board of its power, then putting it back in again.

This power cycle might reset its memory.
Il give it a go myself if I get the chance and report back. Other mowers that I’ve looked at (flymo, husqvarna, Gardena) have much better security of the PIN where this wouldn’t work. But judging by the build quality of these Lidl yokes (you get what you pay for) I wouldn’t be surprised if it worked.

mcauleydjm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122136445#Comment_122136445

Initial contact I sent grizzly@lidl.ie the following:

• Part number (IAN 356377_2007)
• Serial number
• Date purchased
• Date when the problem occurred
• Description of problem
• Copy of receipt

LIDL asked for name, address and approval for transfer of personal data to supplier.

Eventually after some prompting, NOVO contacted me asking for:

• Full Address including Postcode/Eircode:
• Contact phone number:
• Serial Number: (This can be found on a black label on the machine see below for example.)
• Finally, so we have further evidence of the fault could you please attach a photo(s) or very brief video of the fault to help us complete the diagnosis.

And everything went from there.

TBH - I don't know what happens if you don't provide a receipt, I had a copy in the Lidl plus app.

Surely all of these bots are<3 years old anyhow - worth a try?

maxymo

Hi @mac25 I bough two units of the Parkside robot mower a couple of weeks ago, the B2 version for 500sqm. One unit was installed and has been working very well, I was very happy until this morning where I saw condensation in the display, everything still working fine but seems to me the condensation issue is still not fixed in this new model and is sad that this happen after two days of raining.

Curiously I called Lidl Customer Support and they said that my warranty is voided because I left the mower outside in the rain! she says it is in the manual (I cannot see it, except for a part that says it is not recommended to operate the mower in the rain, the the mower was parked all the time), I was very surprise by this since it has a rain sensor? and it is just unpractical to take the mower inside the house every time is raining because that will cause more work than actually mow the lawn in this country that rains so often.

I have to say I don't have the garage yet, I was thinking to put one but really thinking to try to return this unit plus the other on it that is still not open, didn't they say anything like this when you brought your damaged mower last year?

mac25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122138072#Comment_122138072

My issue was the mower wouldn't turn on after the water damage. I always had the rain sensor enabled and built my own garages out of wood. Lidl support (Grizzly) didn't quibble once I provided a video showing the mower wouldn't turn on and after I provided details of my receipt. I would simply not accept that response as it's ridiculous to have to bring in the mower every time it rains. I have run a bead of silicone around the keypad as recommended by another post in the thread. My remaining mower is still going strong and running for 18 hours a day cutting two lawns. I am still waiting on my replacement for the failed mower. Perhaps say the mower doesn't turn on anymore and don't mention that it could be water damage. It is for Lidl support to work that out. From the sound of things, they don't even look for the old mower back.

SchrodingersCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122137768#Comment_122137768

Thanks for all the details! There is some very good information here. I will see how I get on with my own investigation first. There are no warranty void stickers on them, and im confident that I can get them back together as they were previously before I got my paws inside them. So I will give them an email if they are irreparable.

SchrodingersCat

I had another dig around in the PMRDA that became unresponsive with water under the display. The keypad membrane can be removed by heating it with a hairdryer and gently prying it up along with its adhesive with a spudger. I spotted rusty discolouration from corrosion in the exact same spot that you found, @mcauleydjm just where the ribbon cable for the keypad goes into the body of the lawnmower. There was actually water in the ribbon cable when I squeesed it.

If the adhesive did its job properly, it should have kept the water out. Wondering how it failed, I had another look and spotted an issue. The adhesive is applied in two pieces to the keypad (1 & 2, below). This means that there is a thin channel with no protective adhesive between the two pieces. Water from outside can enter at one end and exit the channel at the other (3, blue arrows below) and run down the ribbon cable causing damage to the cable (4) and the innards of the mower.

Its a silly design flaw. It must not have been tested in rain properly. The suggestion earlier in the thread of putting silicone mastic around the edge of the keypad is a good one, as it should block this channel.

They have put hot-melt adhesive around the ribbon cable as it comes into the main body of the cable. Probably to try and stop the water going any further. But on mine this looked like it was applied by a drunken racoon so the water could easily get past it through its holes.

mcauleydjm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122140449#Comment_122140449

Thanks for the update @SchrodingersCat

That's a good spot wrt the gap in adhesive - I had just assumed the adhesive itself just wasn't up to the job of sealing properly.

I removed my keypad and tried 'start' by shorting the relevant pins that a working keypad start button press would do - no luck but I haven't been back to try again. Could be something else gone in the control board.

I've put silicone grease all round mine as I wanted something non-intrusive whilst the mowers were in warranty. I might now do a good exterior clear sealant instead rather than having to re-apply the grease periodically.

hbab2009

Hi, great thread to be fair. I have just 2 queries….

1. Has anyone put spikes on the wheels in order for mower to gain traction? 2 parts of my garden the mower struggles with for traction.
2. The mower seems to cut quiet a bit down the back of my garden and skips the front. Is there a setting I need to sort?

Thank you.

SchrodingersCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122141559#Comment_122141559

Thats interesting. I wonder could the water/rust in the keypad be continuously shorting one of the buttons already? If so, shorting one of the buttons may not work, as it would be like pressing one button while another was pressed already. Maybe disconnecting the keypad first, and then shorting the pins on the connector that correspond to that button.

mcauleydjm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122145245#Comment_122145245

Yep - I disconnected the keypad completely and soldered wired to the testpoints on the pcb that corresponded (I think) to the start button operation. Got a blip on the screen but that was it.

I'll re-look at it again when I can.

mcauleydjm

Haven't tried modifying the wheels.

For the front versus back - have you tried adjusting the secondary areas to make sure your bot starts in the front more often?

Pighead

Pighead's father in law got one of these last week and tried setting it up for him yesterday. Found the instructions a bit confusing but got the jist and gave it a bash. Garden is pretty much a big square with a narrow path going right down the middle. Basically just laid the wire around the garden in a square. Is that ok? Will it damage the blades going across the path? Should Pighead have put wire either side of the path as well?

Also when Pighead sent the mower on its maiden voyage it seemed to follow the wire ok but the grass didn't seem to be cutting. There were a few bits of grass around the blades suggesting it was cutting a bit but grass wasn't noticeably cut. Had it on the 65mm setting which is the highest setting for cutting. Had to abort testing pretty quickly as it started raining. Does it do a wee run about first before cutting it properly? Have attached pic of layout of garden. Any help appreciated.Cannot have father in law thinking Pighead is useless.

randomguy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122148327#Comment_122148327

Having also set up my father-in-law's one, a few comments. I am not techy and don't understand a lot of the posts above, but with trial and error I managed to get it up and running for him, and so far so good.

There seemed to be two main sets of instructions, one in larger format, but with no diagrams in the text. Then a smaller one with identical text as that, but with the actual diagrams (ie drawings of boundaries and paths and trees etc) - that smaller one therefore made way more sense, because you could see the scenario in diagram that the text was actually referring to.

For cutting, 65mms is high - drop it to 50mm, an you will know fairly quickly - but also bear in mind that the blades are small, and it does not cut a clear deep swathe or stripe like a normal push mower, but operates more on the principle of cut a small amount but frequently. I set my f-in-ls at 65 the first day, and then dropped it the next day to 50mms. After 20 minutes at 65 I wasn't sure it was cutting at all. After 4 hours at 65 the entire lawn had been clearly cut once.

For the path, if the path is level with the earth the grass is growing on, or a cm or two higher or lower than the earth, just do one big square. If there is a bigger drop or step up between the grass and the path, it is harder to know.

And I hope you are getting the son-in-law brownie points you have earned.

Pighead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122148578#Comment_122148578

Very helpful. Thanks a million. Will try it again after work and try dropping it to 50mm. Cheers.

hbab2009

Folks a question regarding the area/zone scheduling…..if I set the metre amount to lets say 120 and the % to 40 does this mean it will start cutting the area just beyond 120m for 40% of the battery time?

tazb

Just Joined owners list 12thMay and already on my second one. Water damage on first day and I didnt see any rain. Went on school run and when I returned the display was fogged and menu not behaving like it should.

Can anyone tell me which app to use for it and wifi or bluetooth ? please. My phone is not finding either signal from nearby . Great group and seriously helpful comments. I will be using silicone on the keyboard before I let it ouside the door and only wondering If I should dismantle mid section and apply silicone there too. Is it possible it gets moisture from underside ? There are no wet patches in lawn but its not perfect after so much rain.

All help appreciated

mcauleydjm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122150499#Comment_122150499

My take on it is that 40% of the starts will be from that point. Where it goes after that depends on your lawn layout.

Sami23

Will hopefully try to get mine setup in the next few days.

Is it just a case of running the wire around the boundary keeping it back 30cm's from the edge such as fence/decking rather than laying the wire along the fence/decking ?

Also, I see it mentioned a couple of times to ensure the mower returns to base station in a clockwise direction - how is this achieved versus anticlockwise ?

After than what type of schedule to cut do people normally use - is it hours per day or certain days each week. What works best ?

Tia

Peck07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122160483#Comment_122160483

wiring: mower goes "on" the wire to home, mower is I guess 41cm in width, so it goes at least 20cms over the wire if homing. Also it goes over it by 20-30cm till it stops while mowing.

clockwise homing: it's just that the mower turns to right if it finds the wire while trying to get to base, CCW would mean it turns left.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122162504#Comment_122162504

Ok thanks so the wire coming out of the charging station needs to go CCW around the lawn in that case.

Ever any issue of the mower cutting this wire ?

Joe555

Thanks for the review. I have just set up the smaller lidl modeling I.e.500sq.m.

I am buying the next model to do a 1000sq.m. am I correct in saying that if I want to avoid a tree is it OK to take the cable from the boundary around the tree but run it back to the boundary tight to the other cable then continue down the boundary. Hope this is not a confusing question. Thanks😀

mac25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122172067#Comment_122172067

Yes that is OK and it is what I have done. Be careful not to cross the boundary wire. You could also let it bump off the tree if you are tight on boundary wire.

Awaaf

Brilliant work on the reviews and the troubleshooting Folks! Special thanks to the OP for kicking it off.

Quick few questions:

1. Max Cable length given as 200m (although I see some have increased this!). My unit has 130m only. Is there an alternative model with the longer cable or do I need to get extra cable and do some joining?

2. My grass is edged in brick and then goes to a graval path. All pretty much level. Should I reduce the 30mm distance for laying the cable to cut the grass right up to the brick?

Many Thanks

mac25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122173113#Comment_122173113

Hi Awaaf.

1. You will be able to exceed the 130M based on my testing results. It is hard to say by how much, but you are probably good up to 160M or so.
2. You will be able to run the wire closer to the brick if it's level with the garden.

SchrodingersCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122163809#Comment_122163809

Ive had the issue of the mowers cutting the wire alright. You can repair them with waterproof connectors.

You need to keep the wire taut when you peg it down so that there is no slack that the wheels can lift up into the blades. I would also only peg it down temporally until you figure out the optimum location of the boundary. When you are happy with that, bury it. It can be buried by cutting a slit with the edge of a shovel and pushing it down with a cut-off of an old broom handle or something similar. You can also use an edging tool, or rent out a machine to do it.

E30M3

See LIDL have the 1000Sq m model this Thursday 30th. Is this a bigger machine that the recent 500sq m model or is it the same model with a 4ah battery and connectivity rather than 2ah and no connectivity on the 500sq model?

Just wondering what it offers over the 500sq m.

mcauleydjm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122189081#Comment_122189081

Same physical size, larger cutting plate (22cm v's 18cm) in addition to what you mention (4 Ah & WIFI). Software options, e.g. for number of secondary areas possibly different than the 500m2.

missyfirefly

I see that Lidl have the 1000m2 model coming into stores this week.

I don’t know if this question has been asked yet, but what’s the difference between the park side 500m2 model and the 1000m2 model… is it just the battery capacity and cutting width? Is the rest of the machine the same does anyone know? Advertised specs side by side below… 1000m2 listed on the right

E30M3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122192909#Comment_122192909

It is answered in the post directly before yours