My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

EletricMan · 27-08-2022 8:30pm

Anyone know what's the run time on the 315x. Only have mine set up this week. Seems to be only 20mins from when it leaves the doc to when its back charging again. Seems to spend more time on charge than anything else. Also it returns with 35% battery left.

oleras · 28-08-2022 9:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119525253#Comment_119525253

Have you tried a factory reset ?

https://support.yardforce.eu/en/support/solutions/articles/80000430488-how-do-i-do-a-factory-reset-on-my-robot-mower

Bedouin79 · 28-08-2022 9:12pm

Lads anyone servicing Ambrogio mowers in cork. Not the guy the in the mallow they are just a sakes team and not a great one.

on a second note anyone have a problem last week with the major thunder and lightning.

KCross · 28-08-2022 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119534677#Comment_119534677

on a second note anyone have a problem last week with the major thunder and lightning.

I haven't had any problems recently but I was advised for my Husqvarna to use a surge protector as the docking station is somewhat weak to power surges as well as the power supply itself. I've had both replaced at this stage but not since I started using the surge protection.

Mr. Guappa · 28-08-2022 10:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119530621#Comment_119530621

I have a 315 and usually get about an hour of cutting before it returns to base. Mine will always head back at about 35% too, think that's standard. Is yours working particularly hard to cut very high grass? That might partially explain the short cutting time, but it still seems way too short.

bauney · 28-08-2022 10:53pm

Keep us posted on how the grass looked and recovered after lowering the cutting height.

I have a similar problem with lots of thatch grass. Once I cut it lower that 6 (husky 430x) its noticeable yellow.

I find that if I ruffle the green grass by hand or run about with football shoes (kids) then alot the grass will be uplifted and exposes alot of yellow grass e.g. too much thatch

bauney · 28-08-2022 10:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119444294#Comment_119444294

Keep us posted on how the grass looked and recovered after lowering the cutting height.

I have a similar problem with lots of thatch grass. Once I cut it lower that 6 (husky 430x) its noticeable yellow.

I find that if I ruffle the green grass by hand or run about with football shoes (kids) then alot the grass will be uplifted and exposes alot of yellow grass e.g. too much thatch

Thud · 29-08-2022 11:40am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119528115#Comment_119528115

The shortcut works very well and is very easy to set up, two strips of magnet and four pegs.

my one issue with the Landroid was it getting stuck on corners of the boundary wire due to it wearing down the grass on the corners. I hard turned off zones and border cut to reduce it, hopefully this will help further

EletricMan · 29-08-2022 12:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119535002#Comment_119535002

What cutting height is yours at? I had mine set a 4, I have moved it to 7 now. I cut the lawn with a ride on before I set it off for the first time. It has been cutting now a week today. From 8am to midnight.

Bedouin79 · 29-08-2022 3:10pm

Yeah just upgraded to a surge protector had the same problems as yourself. Appreciate the feed back

Happy_Harry · 30-08-2022 11:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119535139#Comment_119535139

Cutting it lower to 50 was the worst decision I made this year.. As expected it went yellow due to the thatch, but worse is that since a few weeks most of the grass is not growing anymore, especially in the spots with loads of thatch.. I put some fertiliser on and hope for the best. I have now decommissioned the robot.. want all the grass to grow so it greens over , then I will use lawnmower to give it a nice high cut. Then the robot can go back to 60..

Obviously I need to have a proper scarification done, but that is for next spring..

On an aside, I did manage in mean time to get the robot to cross my gravel driveway ( 5-6m).. Quite chuffed with that 😎 Now need to make some custom traffic signs to alert people to the wee fecker crossing..

J@yK@y · 30-08-2022 2:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541410#Comment_119541410

I would be interested to see how you managed to cross the gravel driveway. I have a Worx Landroid on order and face a similar challenge. Thank you!

Zardoz · 31-08-2022 10:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119444294#Comment_119444294

September is a good time to scarify, there should be good grass growth there once it cools down a bit.

Mid September should be ideal and you don't have germinating weeds to contend with like you do in Spring.

Happy_Harry · 02-09-2022 8:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119551184#Comment_119551184

Thanks for the tip.Unfortunately I will be away for a few weeks... also I have spent enough time with my lawn in the past months.. bit sick of it to be honest.. Looking for new energy and motivation next spring. I may also look to re-do the whole lawn, as the soil has never been great, and I had a new lawn installed in the back garden on new soil and absolutely love the look of it ...

Happy_Harry · 02-09-2022 9:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119542738#Comment_119542738

I made mine cross where the the gravel has compacted .. about 5 foot from where the road is- my road has very little traffic (cul-de sac with one neighbour past my house). Hired a kango and dug 2 trenches of about 3 inches deep,8 inches apart.

I had some black pipe (1.5 ") left so I used it up as a duct, used normal insulated 2 core cable ( in case one breaks, have a spare at the ready..). Pipe in about 2-3 inches under surface, fill around with sand/cement mix, used some of the gravel to bed into the sand/cement mix. Then connected it all up and it works !

I did try with just cable under the gravel just to try it out and that the robot would recognise it as a "tunnel" and not a lawn area.

You can see the robot is not filled with joy going over it or back, but he does it still. I guess the key is not to have too deep loose gravel where you want it to cross.

Zenith74 · 02-09-2022 5:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119489240#Comment_119489240

No. I guess you might already have guide wires down from a previous unit, or you might need 100m or 1000m, you might need pegs to do it surface laid or not if burying it etc. And it's a nice way for them to charge a few quid more without increasing the price of the mower.

brokenangel · 03-09-2022 7:30am

Anyone know, I have a Landroid flying away at the moment. I want to give to my parents so I bought myself a cheap SA650 Yard force. I had one before but had to cancel

Just wondering will the wire I have down for the landroid work with the Yard force?

corcadorcha · 05-09-2022 8:51pm

Now that we are coming to the end of the cutting season. Has anybody seen any deals on a decent robot lawnmower for around a 600/700m lawn? I’m still it sure what to get and would like to have it setup for next spring… The mower needs to get along a small path to part itself if possible

Thanks

Happy_Harry · 08-09-2022 2:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541410#Comment_119541410

A bit of fertiliser, lots of rain and warm weather did green up the lawn quite well.. Robot is now fully set up with zones and happily cuts my grass without any interference.. long may it last..

blast06 · 08-09-2022 9:06pm

Hi, i have a McCulloch R1000 for 2 years. Couldn't fault it, does a great job.

A battery problem today though where it permanently displays "Charging" and can't even see how it has progressed. If i drag it off the docking station, the battery seems to be fully flat as it won't even turn on.

Anyone experience anything similar ? I presume i just need to get a new battery ?

This is a pain as i fertilised the lawn a week ago and it's now 'Augusta-fairway' green and looking perfect. Mower hasn't been working for (i'd say) 2 days and it will now be mid next week before i get a new battery delivered so will have to cut it with a normal mower early at some stage which means it doesn't get re-fed with a weeks worth of rich grass cuttings 🤬 #FirstWorldProblems

KCross · 09-09-2022 1:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119592343#Comment_119592343

I presume i just need to get a new battery ?

I wouldn't assume that. It could be a bad contact or a fault in the docking station.

The battery will usually degrade over time and you will notice it by it spending less time cutting per charge but it generally would not just give up overnight... its possible it is faulty but I wouldn't buy a new battery without doing some more diagnostics first.

Check the contacts for dirt/rust etc and reboot everything for a start.

blast06 · 09-09-2022 3:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595354#Comment_119595354

Thanks.

I went ahead and ordered a battery last night ........ but now i see its not the problem 😫

Battery indicated it was fully charged this morning and so i tried to start it (i would have expected it to start without me having had to intervene but anyway). It said no loop signal. However, the light on the docking station was still a solid green rather than flashing blue, i.e.: it should have been flashing blue if there was a loop break.

And i can't see any loop break in any case (wire is down 2 years and was sunk a few inches at the time).

So now i have no idea what to do! Anyone any ideas ?!

halfforward · 11-09-2022 9:31am

I have a McCullouch r1000 it's about 15 months old. Display now says charging even when it's not in the docking station. I took out the battery and put back in and it cleared for one run but then it happened again. Is my battery knackered?

Dutch Roll · 11-09-2022 11:39am

I too have a Rob1000, on its 2nd season. It's a great machine, all going well but I must keep an eye on it.

Does anyone have an opinion on getting a new robot mower at this time of year? I have a purchase lined up but not sure if I should wait till next spring or go for it now...

redlough · 19-09-2022 9:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602661#Comment_119602661

If you can get a good deal now I would fire ahead with it...

redlough · 24-09-2022 8:53am

Second thoughts

Dutch Roll · 24-09-2022 3:11pm

Not an especially good deal, just pretty difficult to get the particular machine I'm after.

Buying it now and not using or even opening the box for 5 months is what I'm not so sure about!

redlough · 25-09-2022 12:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119659496#Comment_119659496

Will you not use it? I have mine going and grass is still growing and will probably only stop in Nov based on previous years

jprboy · 25-09-2022 3:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119662645#Comment_119662645

Exactly.

Only stop mine around mid Nov/early Dec and out again early March.

Lots of growth to come yet!

Nicer time of the year to set it up as well plus it will be all set to go in 2023.

Dutch Roll · 25-09-2022 3:45pm

Yea good point, I could probably get it out cutting for a few weeks if I get my finger out.

Olivia_WilsonAUS · 26-09-2022 10:47am

My Moebot S10 Robotic lawn mower does a great job. I mulch during the summer but switch to bagging during this time of the year.

It chops them up pretty small and my neighbor puts them on his compost pile. I make several passes until it stops filling the bag.

wexfordman2 · 26-09-2022 11:06pm

Well, for those interested in cost of ownership, my robomow615 pro is on the blink again!

Have it 4 years, 2,800 to buy and install. Worked qell for the first 2 to 3 uears, but since, i habe had to replace

2 drive motors

1 mow motor

1 lcd screen

1 charging head

Now it appears a second mow motor has gone also, and the front roller wheel is stsrting to fall apart (thats 80 quid alone)!

Probably spent well over a grand on maintenance of it so far, never mind blade replacements, turning put to he an expensive bit of kit, that appears to now to be on its last legs!

Edit, any recommendations for a new mower to cover approx 600sq meters of a lawn! Easily repairable preferrably (in fairness the robomow was easiky repairable but parts very expensive)

keno-daytrader · 27-09-2022 12:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119669077#Comment_119669077

WORX Landroid. Reviews on Amazon excellent and from me 😜

redlough · 27-09-2022 3:19pm

I have a Yard Force SA650eco, bought used from Amazon Germany. Cost me 273 with shipping

If anyone is interested in buying? if not I am shipping back because it is not what I want and it was a silly buy :-)

wexfordman2 · 27-09-2022 3:29pm

Where are you based ? Anywhere ner cork?

boycee · 27-09-2022 10:33pm

Have a Viking/Stihl imow, 632P. Had a similar problem initially, new temp stat & batteries replaced. Docking station head replaced twice, after software updates. Then started getting temp reset problems, which then lead to contact specialist fault, €300 later. Problem is actually eModule is faulty, €700-900 repair now. Disaster. Would not recommend product to anybody. I also got software updates each season as recommended, would not recommend, I don’t believe it improved the mower. Can’t afford to be replacing with another robot mower.

Olivia_WilsonAUS · 03-10-2022 7:08am

My Moebot S10 Robotic lawn mower does a great job. I mulch during the summer but switch to bagging during this time of the year.

It chops them up pretty small and my neighbor puts them on his compost pile. I make several passes until it stops filling the bag.

KCross · 03-10-2022 8:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694520#Comment_119694520

I mulch during the summer but switch to bagging during this time of the year.

Why?

Why not let the robot do its thing for the full season?

sligopaul · 04-10-2022 10:24am

my Stihl imow 632 is into its 4th season but still finds ingenious ways to get beached. We ran it till late Nov last year and with it tracking the perimeter had problems with deep ridges that when wet create wheel slippage. We upgraded the wheels and then went around and filled the tracks with small stone. This had been an issue numerous times a day until I bit the bullet with the stones and they seem to have worked . Once filled with stones the better wheels became a problem as they kicked the stones out so went back to the original wheels . Have had other niggly issues this season , including a random stop in the middle of the front garden yesterday.

Do other owners and brand have issues with perimeter over tracking on the return to charge ?

Boycee I also found we had an update in season 1 and problems ensued so I have decided since if it is running ok I'm not going to look for updates

I also notice some bleed on the LCD screen which given time will probably make the screen unreadable ( Told they all do that ..)

Lurching · 05-10-2022 11:59am

Anyone close to parking up for the winter? My Husqy is starting to get stuck a bit with the damp conditions.

sligopaul · 05-10-2022 5:16pm

Have paused mine for a few days given the level of rain we have had

Thud · 05-10-2022 6:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119698879#Comment_119698879

I switched off zones and added shortcuts to my landroid perimeter, both were causing it to have to track the perimeter more than it needed too, less problems now but will still dig up the odd corner that gets soft after rain

Bedouin79 · 05-10-2022 8:16pm

Luigi is off at the moment the amount of rain recently he was getting stuck and creating tracks.

ElectronicFur · 07-11-2022 3:47pm

My Automower 430x Connect board seems to have stopped working. I can't connect, get a GPS network problem message, and also I no longer get the signal strength indicator. In the Accessories->Automower Connect menu it says it's not available, and when I go to the Quick Info->Info->General->Automower Connect menu it shows COM:0.00.00.

Anyone else had this problem or have ideas what could be wrong? My Connect board says it is model 3 board, which I believe is one of the earlier 2G/3G boards.

dermotp · 08-11-2022 3:25pm

Hi All

Need advice have a hosqvarna 105 with 12 months working well I have stopped using for the winter now as ground is very soft due to heavy rain, I have the mower housed in a trixie converted dog kennel, I,m wondering if it's OK to leave the docking station out under the kennel for the winter or should I bring it in like the mower,I'm also wondering has anyone with a 105 removed the top cover for cleaning, I have looked everywhere even the manual,on utube, but could not find how to remove the cover,

thanks in advance

Lurching · 08-11-2022 4:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119849480#Comment_119849480

Can't comment on opening for cleaning (although, after 3 seasons, my 315X could do with it).

Against Husq advice, I leave my dock out all winter - I just unplug it in the garage. It's not even in a house. No issues so far.

dermotp · 08-11-2022 6:36pm

Lurching,

thanks for your reply, as I said above I have the mower in a converted dog kennel, see attached photo, so I will let it be on your advice.

20220921_152116.jpg

dashoonage · 09-11-2022 10:13am

I leave the doc out all winter here as well with no issues so far.

I've a 315x and the top pulls off with a little force.

dermotp · 09-11-2022 12:39pm

dashoonage thanks for your reply

CowSniffer · 14-11-2022 10:38am

Hi Everyone,

Its been a while since I've been on. Where are people ordering robomowers from now? I see now that myrobotcentre.eu and roboexpert.de both seem to be gone now.

thanks

My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

Comments