My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

shanemkelly wrote: »

Thanks for that. Must say, I'm sorely tempted by the Landroid L2000 with ACS. According to the promo video on My Robot Center, the ACS allows the Landroid to "slalom" around objects - does this work well?

I have a kids play area on a raised platform and it does a decent job of weaving around it plus a few trees. The pain of ACS is that sometimes a single stem of a weed can shoot up and then the bloody thing moves around it leaving a small tuft of grass that it will not cut.

shanemkelly wrote: »

Thanks again for the replies - I don't mean to hog the thread with Landroid queries but hopefully others will find this useful.

Regarding moving (over a pathway) to another zone; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTFoTsFLyyY

Is it a disaster if the Landroid loses WiFi for a while?
There are "WiFi black spots" around our mowing area but I rather not incur the added expense for the "Find my Landroid" 4G module...

That video is a bit misleading, support documentation states that the gap of perimeter between pathway zones is 15 cm and not 6cm.

However back to your question, is it a disaster if you loose connectivity? In my use case it would not be a disaster. Worst case scenario is that the landroid gets in trouble and cannot warn you via a very good app. It will sit dormant until you rescue it. Even if it is days until you realize the landroid is stuck you just increase the schedule until it catches up. It will fail like all mowers at times and a require rescue. Mine in a very complex garden of 1900sqm with islands, Slopes in excess of spec's (40 degress), kids play area, tress and a very overgrown perimeter next to a hedge fails once in two days.

Trust me, my family all treat "Robbie" [the landroid] like a member of the family, its like a dumb pet and my kids (6 & 10) will regularly check how he is doing. Call me weird but I find it relaxing sat out in the garden watching his decisions and the OCD in me freaks out when he misses a tuft of grass by a few centimetres. He will miss bits but over time he will cut it.

EDIT: Just to add I have the module and I have black spots for the WiFi. The module works well and I get alerts when the droid gets in trouble.

KCross wrote: »

The main issue I've had is the transformer blowing... twice. Covered under warranty and i've put in a surge protector the last time to see if that helps things.

I have my 450x over two years. The transformer is blowing fuses when I switch it on. Even when I disconnected it from the docking station.


I've no idea why it happened. I'm going to return it to the shop on Monday. I don't know how long the warranty is.



Did the surge protector work for you KCross?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082BSMJXR?pf_rd_r=2M944WR4CDH451YVCBMC&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e

That's the link on Amazon btw!

BenAndJerry wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I’m interested in the Flymo EasiLife 200. I have a garden with about 180 m2 of grass.

It gets great reviews on Amazon and seems to be very competitively priced there at £470. However they won’t ship to Ireland or North Ireland. Any alternative options for ordering or has anyone seen it priced similarly elsewhere?

Any feedback on the model would be great.

Thanks!

BenAndJerry wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082BSMJXR?pf_rd_r=2M944WR4CDH451YVCBMC&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e

That's the link on Amazon btw!

BenAndJerry wrote: »

Someone has suggested AddressPal to me - anyone know if they block deliveries with batteries from the UK? thanks

I believe this (different model but cheaper price) will ship to Ireland; https://www.myrobotcenter.eu/en/worx-landroid-s300-wr130e-2019
I can't recommend anything yet as I'm still at the info gathering stage for my own purchase

Am thinking of two mid-range Landroids for my two unconnected zones rather than trying to bridge the two zones for one big-range Landroid.

Anyone have their charging station set up off the lawn, I see that most manufacturers seem to recommend having the charging station in on the lawn.

It's just that I have a path bordering one side of the lawn (88cm) along a shed and it'd provide better cover for the station having it right up to the shed rather than on the lawn.

I realise I'll need to chase channels in the path for the boundary and guide wires which wouldn't be a problem.

So anyone out there try or have anything similar or anyone know it's a definite pain or non-runner.

GaryCocs wrote: »

Newbie here, hopefully setting up the guidewire tomorrow evening. Just wondering with the heavy rain earlier how are peoples robomowers configured? Does it have to be lashing for it to not work or what's the story?

if it's really heavy rain i'd normally park mine - the wheels might get clogged with clippings and I have some fairly steep slopes and sharp turns where the wheels may slip or start to spin and dig.

antomack wrote: »

Anyone have their charging station set up off the lawn, I see that most manufacturers seem to recommend having the charging station in on the lawn.

It's just that I have a path bordering one side of the lawn (88cm) along a shed and it'd provide better cover for the station having it right up to the shed rather than on the lawn.

I realise I'll need to chase channels in the path for the boundary and guide wires which wouldn't be a problem.

So anyone out there try or have anything similar or anyone know it's a definite pain or non-runner.

I have mine setup on a narrow strip of path that runs along the back of the house. I didnt put in a guide wire so for the first week it struggled to find it but once GPS learns the area its been working well since

hero25 wrote: »

Bit off-track here..... but has anyone given their lawnmower a female name!! Looks like they're all male .... my own included!

Mine is called Mo so dual gender

Mine is Carlos, but he hits things regularly when reversing, so maybe I should change it

GaryCocs wrote: »

Laying the guide wire down the last couple of evenings. It's kind of sitting on top of the grass, I'm guessing it sinks into the grass over time, was that the case for others? (Also nearly every peg hit a bloody stone but that's a separate issue)

Have a look at the tips in this video for how to install the wire in a small trench:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KO5W5prrNw

GaryCocs wrote: »

B@lls! Might just strim it going forward. Taking it up again would be a right dose.

Ha, yeah, I can imagine it would be. What mower did you get? I'm still at the research phase - under 200square meter garden.

GaryCocs wrote: »

Worx 2000 (I've 1800 sqm) from Robot Centre, heard a lot of good things about Robot Centre and price was excellent.

Very good. I'm looking at the Worx Landroid M500 (WR141E) also from the My Robot Center. I'm trying to figure out first if I can get it to cross a small flat (2ft wide) path as my lawn is divided in to two areas.

Good luck with the install.

Not much to update yet as I'm still installing but:

1) I put the base station outdoor plug down too low, I should be ok but there might be a chance the mower might bump off it going back to base station.
2) While waiting for it to arrive I cut the grass down low especially around the edges so the wire is "flatter" to the ground.
3) The base station area looked level but when I put the base down I realised it was way off.
4) Comes with Euro plug
5) I ran the wire around the garden pre pegging but I didn't leave enough for the corners etc so ended up pulling back
6) Lots of stones near the kerbs, breaking a few pegs hammering em in.


Base Station with low plug: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ptlrmr35s212p6m/Screenshot%202020-07-15%2012.15.55.png?dl=0
Comes with euro plug: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3g3cef1x4qx73m3/Screenshot%202020-07-15%2012.13.47.png?dl=0
Pic of wire down on grass: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bxtb142tj7ro4qf/Screenshot%202020-07-15%2012.13.11.png?dl=0

Will a robot cross a path such as the one in the attached photo?

Thanks