My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

[QUOTE=Dr4gul4;110323243

As for standing still in the rain / Charging, I intend on putting up some form of a shelter, but I wonder will it effect the timer/ weather sensor. I'd assume no, as it's maybe forecast driven data ?[/QUOTE]

Funny you should mention that when I had my mower parked for the day when I went to start it from the control pad on the mower the next day nothing happened when I opened the cover, did not look for my pin or anything it was like if there was no power going to it so I shoved it in to the charger a bit more and an error message came up on the control panel saying not to use water when cleaning the mower to use a brush. That was the first time it had got wet.!! hoping its a one off glitch with it getting wet for the first time.

Frankenstein

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

I noticed that my Flymo 1200r struggled up a small grassy slope in my garden since I installed it. With the wet weather, it couldnt manage it at all. The wheels would just spin and it would dig up the grass as a result. It would also fall outside the boundary cable when it would slide causing me to have to pick it up and carry it back into position.

This annoyance happened far more often in the wet weather. Eventually, from fustration, I took the mower into the shed and removed the wheels. I drilled four short screws into each wheels so that they would act as spikes in the grass for better traction.

The mower is now much more sure-footed in the grass, in particular when it is wet. I notice that it would attempt to go up the slope and then back off the odd time. My guess is that there is an overload sensor on the wheel servo motors that causes the mower to re-navigate when it detects that it has to use too much force to move forward. Regardless, it is getting less stuck now, even though I have not solved the slope problem 100%. I guess I have the added benefit of the grass getting aerated and better drainage too :P

What now when the ground Dries out & hardens and your mower will be driving along like a Pegleg until you notice?

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

I noticed that my Flymo 1200r struggled up a small grassy slope in my garden since I installed it. With the wet weather, it couldnt manage it at all. The wheels would just spin and it would dig up the grass as a result. It would also fall outside the boundary cable when it would slide causing me to have to pick it up and carry it back into position.

This annoyance happened far more often in the wet weather. Eventually, from fustration, I took the mower into the shed and removed the wheels. I drilled four short screws into each wheels so that they would act as spikes in the grass for better traction.

The mower is now much more sure-footed in the grass, in particular when it is wet. I notice that it would attempt to go up the slope and then back off the odd time. My guess is that there is an overload sensor on the wheel servo motors that causes the mower to re-navigate when it detects that it has to use too much force to move forward. Regardless, it is getting less stuck now, even though I have not solved the slope problem 100%. I guess I have the added benefit of the grass getting aerated and better drainage too :P

You can buy similar spiked wheels for the Stihl, I dunno about Flymo though.

have2flushtwice wrote:

The thing about the auto mowers is that there is no resale or trade in value, unlike a ride on. If I upgrade the ride on I will get something for the old one, but if if the robot goes belly up then I start from scratch. Would I be tied to the same brand when the time for change comes around? Eg do I need a new charge station if I get a different brand, will the underground wire be compatible?

Here you will have mainly auto mower enthusiasts and great big mower thread you would have traditional mower enthusiasts. Each type has their own pro and cons for time, ground, slope, size, cost, storage, maintenance, weather...

I have a robot and it works a treat for my setup. Would be nice to hop on a ride on from time for a spin but today is a good example of why not. Lashing rain for couple hours but yet now after mowbot is doing what it's paid to do diligently while I have tea and play with kids. At home home I couldn't see robot working.

Parts on robot are replaceable handily from I have seen so far, blades, wheels, battery, wires. Nothing overly complex and more dealers are popping up. Can't see myself wanting to upgrade anytime soon as it is fit for purpose, just cuts grass slow and steady. Inside of a ride on would have me perplexed and in need of serious youtubing before attempting proper DIY, I prob wouldn't.

Cannot see why there is no resale value.. imagine just update owner via dealer online and away you go. Base stations are unique per brand and hopefully wires will be a thing of the past in coming years, but as mine is installed I never think of it unless serious gardening/planting.

It just whizzed by the window 😋

A machine is used to bury the wire, if that's the option you go for. I think €250/350 might be a cost. I'd say the alternative option of shearing the grass and pegging it, is a DIY option.
Doubt about the loose stones as the blade is running.

Hurl_lad wrote: »

Hello, I am looking to buy an automower. I have a few questions first.

Is the wire easy to install ?. Would I better be burying it or laying it and let it disappear in a few weeks. If I were to pay somone to install it how much would I be looking at ?

Can the mower drive on loose stones ?

Thanks
Liam

The wire is very easy to install, nothing to it. there's no way id pay somebody to do it ( and i layed about 550m of wire) i decided to do it myself a couple of weeks ago and i just tightly mowed the path where the wire was going to be and pegged down the wire, it's completely gone now, can't see any of it. Buy yourself something nice with the 300 euro you just saved! get a google home (for about 40 quid)!so you can start the automower with voice commands or go on a holiday !!
Wouldn't be a great idea to have it driving on loose stones though, the blades would get wrecked !........ there would be sort of a workaround if you had to have it running over loose stones, you could probably disable GPS in the app and set up two zones,( ie one lawn one side of the loose stones and the other the other side of the loose stones and for example tell the mower to use guide wire 1 to start mowing after say 10 meters out and guide wire 2 which would be going to the lawn on the other side of the loose stones to start mowing after 30 meters for example..... when the mower is going to and from these set points the blades don't spin, although theres nothing to stop your automower wandering to the stones during its normal mowing time...

Pacifico wrote: »

How would the 430x be on a fairly uneven lawn?! What's the GPS for in the unit if you still need to lay guide wire?

Thanks

Depends on what you regard as uneven, but should be fine, as for the gps the reason you need the guide wire is that the gps accuracy is very poor, if you were to rely on gps for the mower to stop at a kerb or a object it would drive over it every time. its just not accurate enough for the mower. soon you will get mowers that use beacons ect. in the garden for more accurate positioning which will get rid of the need for wires for new mowers. as for the geofence on the mower, why in the name of god did the make it so big, even on the smallest setting its massive..

Pacifico wrote: »

How would the 430x be on a fairly uneven lawn?!

Few other reply's already on this, rear lawn is fairly un even here, humps bumps, holes etc, far from a putting green. My 430X bounces along ok in spots, i'd have concerns about how it will effect him long term, the springs and control control arms are under the main body to act as bump or collision sensors so may need some TLC in time, but all parts can be sourced, and if it's outside the 2 year warranty I'd replace them my self.

Pacifico wrote: »

I do have 3 areas to cut though and there would be a stone chippings it would have to cross to get between them. Would this be an issue? Also is there a limit on the distance the guide wire can be?

Yes, is the simple answer. It doesnt take much for these mowers to bury themselves. Loose stone could be an issue. It really depends on what grade stone it is and how deep it is. Its hard to give a definitive answer.

i.e. it may or may not be able to cross your stones.

Same here. Unfortunately for the mower, the dogs are fond of bones from the butcher so these cause an almighty racket and involve me having to resharpen the blades when it drives over them.

I am starting to suspect the dogs are doing it on purpose to knock a fresh part off the bone for them to chew on.

A question for Husqvarna Automower Connect users. I got a new 430X a week ago and am really pleased with its performance so far. I also set up Automower Connect on my iPhone XS. This works OK but, after the second day, I am no longer receiving push notifications for events such as out of boundary, etc. I still have communication with the mower and can see its current status and can send commands such as park, pause, etc. I can also see if there is an error condition but, if I don't check manually, I never receive a notification. Nothing has changed on my phone and notifications are still enabled on it.

The only thing I am wondering about is that, after initially pairing my iPhone XS and setting up the app, I then installed the app on my wife's iPhone 6s and iPad. I logged both these devices onto my Husqvarna account and all seemed to be OK. All three devices received push notifications on the first day but, as stated above, these notifications stopped even though all three apps can still communicate with the 430X. Have I caused a problem by having all apps on the one account? Should I have a different account for each device and can the 430X pair with more than one device at a time? App and IOS versions are all latest releases.

Any advice much appreciated!

staples7 wrote: »

I’ve noticed in the last while I’m not receiving notifications either. Ie if it’s stuck and I go into the app I can see the error. However no push notification. Perhaps a current issue with IOS

Anyone one else with same issue?

Same Issues here, Didnt really pass much remarks to it as I'm always about the house. but, it is a touch annoying !