My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

Tubber Man · 10-08-2016 6:30pm

Hi Guys,
The post from Shefwefan reminded me that I meant to update previous post.
I have no experience of the Viking but I took delivery of a 450X about 4 weeks ago.
I had queries regarding smaller lawns off the main area which included crossing a tarmacadem driveway. My main area is approx 2700sq mts including front and back of house. The smaller lawns were ruled out given kerbing and due to the design / run of the perimeter wire, the wire was hitting max length. Even though the weather wasn't great when the 450X was installed, it took it about 3 days to get area under control but everything now is flying. One full day from 6.30am to 10.00pm gives a full cut - it's about 12 hours cutting. We are very happy with the Huskie and look forward to watching work away while we have a beer!
Cheers.

Shefwedfan · 13-08-2016 9:43am

Hi, just wondering what months you leave the mower out for? I havent purchased yet and not sure should I till next season. Just wondering how many months of this year I would need to leave mower going?

Of course I am going to drop into shops and see do they do any end of season sales

KCross · 13-08-2016 11:54am

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Hi, just wondering what months you leave the mower out for? I havent purchased yet and not sure should I till next season. Just wondering how many months of this year I would need to leave mower going?

Of course I am going to drop into shops and see do they do any end of season sales

I left it out as long as the grass was growing which was November the last few years.

The start of the season is whenever the grass starts to go beyond the limits of the mower, usually Mar/Apr.

You can leave these mowers out longer than a ride on because they won't mark the lawn like a ride on would if the ground is wet because they are so light.

Shefwedfan · 13-08-2016 12:19pm

KCross wrote: »

I left it out as long as the grass was growing which was November the last few years.

The start of the season is whenever the grass starts to go beyond the limits of the mower, usually Mar/Apr.

You can leave these mowers out longer than a ride on because they won't mark the lawn like a ride on would if the ground is wet because they are so light.

Thanks, I am still waiting to get access to lawn so it will be probably Sept before I need to cut it. I have a gardener coming in first to cut back as it is overgrown.

Need to think if I should invest this year or try and get part time solution and buy next Spring, keep money in bank to make some interest:D

I think this is crowd I was talking to at Bloom, anyone know anything about there mowers? seem cheap http://www.robotlawnmowers.ie/index.html

KCross · 15-08-2016 1:28pm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Thanks, I am still waiting to get access to lawn so it will be probably Sept before I need to cut it. I have a gardener coming in first to cut back as it is overgrown.

Need to think if I should invest this year or try and get part time solution and buy next Spring, keep money in bank to make some interest:D

I think this is crowd I was talking to at Bloom, anyone know anything about there mowers? seem cheap http://www.robotlawnmowers.ie/index.html

Probably not worth it this year so.
I'd hold off until the season starts next year as it will give you the most out of your warranty as well.

Also, when you get in there you might decide to change things and gives you time to put in fences etc. Get as much of that sorted first before you start laying wires for the robot.

cornet · 29-08-2016 8:08pm

Has anyone any experience of crossing a tarmac driveway with a robotic mower? Any complications? Very little info in the Robomow or Husqvarna installation manuals. Thanks

KCross · 30-08-2016 9:42am

cornet wrote: »

Has anyone any experience of crossing a tarmac driveway with a robotic mower? Any complications? Very little info in the Robomow or Husqvarna installation manuals. Thanks

The main complication is that the wire has to be recessed into the tarmac.

You also have to ensure that the path on/off the tarmac is smooth (i.e. no steps/kerbs).

cornet · 31-08-2016 6:26pm

KCross wrote: »

The main complication is that the wire has to be recessed into the tarmac.

You also have to ensure that the path on/off the tarmac is smooth (i.e. no steps/kerbs).

Thanks for that. Will be pulling the trigger on a unit in the next week or so.

cornet · 04-09-2016 8:15am

So it's between a Husqvarna 420 and a Robomow 615. I think both of them can do the job and each has their own advantages/disadvantages.

One final question for Husqvarna owners. How close to the edge can you get? I see there is a drive past wire function to allow which can allow the unit to get closer to the edge - anyone use it?I've no problem strimming but don't want a 15-20cm of a strip showing - looks bad after a big investment. Although the Robomow claims to have an edge facility it still involves some element of strimming.

KCross · 04-09-2016 9:34am

cornet wrote: »

One final question for Husqvarna owners. How close to the edge can you get? I see there is a drive past wire function to allow which can allow the unit to get closer to the edge - anyone use it?I've no problem strimming but don't want a 15-20cm of a strip showing - looks bad after a big investment. Although the Robomow claims to have an edge facility it still involves some element of strimming.

The deciding factor is the distance between the blade and the body edge of the mower. The blade is 18cm's from the edge of the mower body.

Depending on whether your boundary is a hard wall or onto a patio you can get the mower to overstep the boundary wire further(i.e. drive past wire function you mention). Obviously not much point in telling it to do that if there is a brick wall or fence beyond the boundary wire.

Like most lawns the boundary will be different in different parts of the lawn so one simple setting wont solve the entire boundary.

My lawn boundary has a combination of soft hedging, timber fence, patio and raised kerb. Telling it to overstep the boundary around the hedge would be fine but that would then mean it would fall off the kerb onto my driveway. So, I didnt change the figures for that feature.

The solution is simple enough.

Hedging and patio.... put the boundary wire very close to them. No strimming required.

Timber fence and kerb.... put the wire back at the recommended distance and burn off the grass. Even with a ride on its difficult to get right in tight to a fence so usually you have to strim anyway. Just burn off the grass.

Shefwedfan · 08-09-2016 6:40pm

Just wanted to post to say thanks everyone for advice.

Unfortunately in the end I had to go tractor lawnmower. After much discussion with everyone to try and convince myself the auto mower was the job I finally had to agree it wouldn't work for me...:mad:....for the moment...:D

I resolved the issue with the overgrown grass but it was only after a full investigation I am losing between 4ft to 6ft to overgrown trees at different points around the property

This is bigger job to tackle, neighbours to take into account and everything. If I went robotic mower now I would end up moving the guidewire every couple of months as I tackle each section....but give me 12-24 months and I will be back

After that big disappointment I had to get something robotic so the newest arrival today is : http://www.gearbest.com/smart-home/pp_217065.html

:P:P

jprboy · 08-09-2016 11:41pm

^^^^^^^^^

Congrats on your the new arrival.

One question: do you have a dog?

http://www.ibtimes.com/roomba-poop-story-goes-viral-after-vacuum-cleaner-goes-wrong-one-mans-dumpy-morning-2402178

:D

cornet · 10-09-2016 9:50am

Decided to go for the Husqvarna 420. Deciding factor was reliability of the machine. The Husqvarna Automower Challenge on YouTube was a great idea and gave plenty of real life experiences. For Robomow it was difficult to get such insights and a lot of videos were faults with the machines. There is a German forum which seems to show a lot of issues with Robomows http://www.roboter-forum.com/forumdisplay.php?77-Robomow I still have some modifications to make to the garden to allow a smooth transition across paths etc so might get a couple of cuts done before the end of the season but at least it'll be up and running when the season starts next year.

Shefwedfan · 10-09-2016 10:01am

jprboy wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^

Congrats on your the new arrival.

One question: do you have a dog?

http://www.ibtimes.com/roomba-poop-story-goes-viral-after-vacuum-cleaner-goes-wrong-one-mans-dumpy-morning-2402178

:D

haha. After using for a few days I could see that happening

trigger.happy · 12-09-2016 8:47am

Hi,

Interesting thread, I am looking for information on power consumption of these automowers.

Vendor brochure and spec only give batteries, time to charge etc...

Anyone has done some research on the cost or rather the increase in electricty bill ? (of course related to the size of the garden.)

Further to that I saw there was a Husqwarna model with little solar panel but it is not for sales. Is this model stopped ?

KCross · 12-09-2016 10:24am

trigger.happy wrote: »

Hi,

Interesting thread, I am looking for information on power consumption of these automowers.

Vendor brochure and spec only give batteries, time to charge etc...

Anyone has done some research on the cost or rather the increase in electricty bill ? (of course related to the size of the garden.)

Further to that I saw there was a Husqwarna model with little solar panel but it is not for sales. Is this model stopped ?

The manual for the Husqvarna 330x/430x says....

Mean energy consumption at maximum use: 43 kWh/month for a working area of 3,200 m2

Thats about €7/mth.
When I was using a ride-on it cost more than that per cut on petrol and you have to value your time as well!

low_carbon · 30-09-2016 2:17pm

Hi KCross,

I am about to buy the Automower 430X and I have a similar size garden to you (~2800 sqm). I have a query regarding the cutting time. From your earlier description, you were running a schedule for 6 hours per day Mon-Fri. That is 4 hours cutting time and 2 hours recharge time, 5 days per week.
Referring to the product manual, it suggests a working time of 7 days per week at 20.5 hours per day for 2750 sqm area. Not sure if the "working time" includes recharge time but let's assume it does. So in a week, your mower will work for 30 hours versus the recommended 143.5 hours.

I just wonder why there is such a deviation between your schedule and the manual?

KCross · 30-09-2016 2:33pm

low_carbon wrote: »

Hi KCross,

I am about to buy the Automower 430X and I have a similar size garden to you (~2800 sqm). I have a query regarding the cutting time. From your earlier description, you were running a schedule for 6 hours per day Mon-Fri. That is 4 hours cutting time and 2 hours recharge time, 5 days per week.
Referring to the product manual, it suggests a working time of 7 days per week at 20.5 hours per day for 2750 sqm area. Not sure if the "working time" includes recharge time but let's assume it does. So in a week, your mower will work for 30 hours versus the recommended 143.5 hours.

I just wonder why there is such a deviation between your schedule and the manual?

I dont know. Maybe it has something to do with different grass growth rates and they are allowing for worst case scenario. I'd be worried if I had to send it out 20hrs a day. Thats effectively non-stop.

The 30hrs per week that mine is cutting(scheduled 11am-7pm, ~6hrs cutting) is keeping up with the job. A few times this year it didnt as I fertilised the lawn so the growth was faster and so I had to do a few "cut continuously" sessions. You just go into the menu and tell it to cut continuously for 24hrs or 3 days.

Lesson learned... I should have increased the schedule to allow for the faster growth after fertilising the lawn.

How many hours you will have to send it out will depend on your grass and your soil. It is a trial and error process for the first season to see what works.

low_carbon · 30-09-2016 8:13pm

Well that's good to hear. My fear was if the machine is out non-stop, it wouldn't be long before major replacement parts are needed (new battery etc.)
Just out of interest, in your earlier post you said you had set the schedule in the nighttime (8pm-2am). But now your schedule is during the day. Any particular reason for changing to daytime?

The resaon why I ask is that I have young children and I would prefer to set it in the evening when they are hopefully in bed!

KCross · 01-10-2016 9:37pm

low_carbon wrote: »

Well that's good to hear. My fear was if the machine is out non-stop, it wouldn't be long before major replacement parts are needed (new battery etc.)
Just out of interest, in your earlier post you said you had set the schedule in the nighttime (8pm-2am). But now your schedule is during the day. Any particular reason for changing to daytime?

The resaon why I ask is that I have young children and I would prefer to set it in the evening when they are hopefully in bed!

It can cut in the rain but I still don't like seeing it cutting in the wet as a lot of clippings get clogged underneath and I find if its cutting at night the grass has dew on it so I changed it to 11am when the dew would be burned off.

Wet cutting usually requires cleaning the underside a bit more as well but it rains during the day too so it doesn't matter a whole lot.

It's just a preference, you can do as you suggest and it will work fine.

cornet · 02-10-2016 8:13pm

Installed the perimiter and guide wire last weekend and the robot had it's maiden voyage this weekend. Very simple to setup - the grass was quite long but decided to let the automower run 24/7 from Friday to Sunday. Very impressed with the results - crosses the tarmac driveway no problem and gets in and around some obstacles (trees, ESB pole) which are less than 1m from the perimeter wire. The mower is exceptionally quiet. So far so good. Thanks to KCross and prospect for their input on this thread.

KCross · 02-10-2016 9:37pm

cornet wrote: »

Installed the perimiter and guide wire last weekend and the robot had it's maiden voyage this weekend. Very simple to setup - the grass was quite long but decided to let the automower run 24/7 from Friday to Sunday. Very impressed with the results - crosses the tarmac driveway no problem and gets in and around some obstacles (trees, ESB pole) which are less than 1m from the perimeter wire. The mower is exceptionally quiet. So far so good. Thanks to KCross and prospect for their input on this thread.

Cool. Start high and just drop the level bit by bit.

Do the mowers come with the remote app connection feature or is that still an extra? How much is it now?

low_carbon · 07-10-2016 11:39am

I decided to go for the Automower and installed it last weekend. Now that the mower has been running for a few days, I am very pleased with the results. I have experienced all the positive things that have been said on this thread so no point in repeating here. Just to thank everyone for their insights which makes the decision easier.

Regarding the remote app connection feature for Husqvarna, it is an optional extra with the 430X.
It costs around €200 extra for the comms module and you will also have a monthly connection fee (at least €10 p/m depending on SIM supplier). I didn't go for it but nice to know it's an option for the future.

padraig.od · 07-10-2016 3:39pm

low_carbon wrote: »

I decided to go for the Automower and installed it last weekend. Now that the mower has been running for a few days, I am very pleased with the results. I have experienced all the positive things that have been said on this thread so no point in repeating here. Just to thank everyone for their insights which makes the decision easier.

Regarding the remote app connection feature for Husqvarna, it is an optional extra with the 430X.
It costs around €200 extra for the comms module and you will also have a monthly connection fee (at least €10 p/m depending on SIM supplier). I didn't go for it but nice to know it's an option for the future.

I too have purchased a Husqvarna 430X. My lawn has just been set, so I won't be setting it up and using it until next spring.

One question I have is how hard is it to adjust the boundary wire once it is in place? Currently my lawn is one great mass of grass but I do plan on adding some shrubs and trees about the place. Will it be difficult to add boundary wire around these obstacles once the initial setup is complete?

Right2Write · 07-10-2016 4:10pm

Was talking to someone who has had what I think is a Robomow for six or seven years. Over that time, say it has worked well but have been issues inc. battery needing to be replaced and returns for repair. Same as any mower in that regard, they don't go forever and parts wear out.

cornet · 08-10-2016 8:55pm

KCross wrote: »

Cool. Start high and just drop the level bit by bit.

Do the mowers come with the remote app connection feature or is that still an extra? How much is it now?

I've the 420 so it's an extra with that. It's only standard with the 450X. Think another poster had the price for it.

cornet · 08-10-2016 8:59pm

padraig.od wrote: »

One question I have is how hard is it to adjust the boundary wire once it is in place? Currently my lawn is one great mass of grass but I do plan on adding some shrubs and trees about the place. Will it be difficult to add boundary wire around these obstacles once the initial setup is complete?

It's straightforward to add new obstacles. If you need to add wire to create an island just cut the boundary wire (turn the power off first) and join the new wire with the connectors provided. The manual gives the detail on how to set it up and rules regarding the guide wire. No re-programming is needed.

padraig.od · 08-10-2016 9:48pm

cornet wrote: »

It's straightforward to add new obstacles. If you need to add wire to create an island just cut the boundary wire (turn the power off first) and join the new wire with the connectors provided. The manual gives the detail on how to set it up and rules regarding the guide wire. No re-programming is needed.

That's reassuring, thanks.

givecredit · 26-10-2016 10:47pm

Husqvarna Automower 430X robotic lawn mower for €2299 incl installation kit includes:
• Perimeter wire: 400m
• Wire pegs: 600 pcs.
• Plug connectors: 5 pcs.
• Wire connectors: 5 pcs.

and 5 year guarantee and GUARANTEE PERIOD will start on 01/03/2017

http://www.myrobotcenter.eu/en/husqvarna-automower-430x

How do these handle Leaves falling from trees this time of year?

airedale · 10-03-2017 3:27am

I just picked up the 450x, and am trying to decide how much to setup the boarder wire around some of my trees. I have a line of 6 trees, which are spaced about 6 feet apart, and they have no mulch around them. Should I put the boarder wire around them, or just let the automower bump into them? Along with that, I have a row of dogwood bushes (6 again) spaced about 3 feet apart that I am wondering the same thing on.

My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

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