Tractor or Robot?

prospect

Which do you think is the best option?

I have approx 1/3 of an acre of lawn, and it is all one piece. It is level and only has one large bed in it.

Pros of each:

Tractor/Ride-On:
Mulching available.
Around longer, proven.
Much wider cut, whole lawn done in one go.
Can be used with other accessories, e.g, trailer, scarifier, roller etc

Robot:
No labour, once set-up
Quiet
Even cutting
Apparently lawns look better due to the constant multidirectional cutting.


Cons of each:

Tractor/Ride-On:
More expensive initial cost
Fuel costs
Servicing costs
Labour hours involved in cutting grass
Physical storage space required

Robot:
Seemingly needs expensive blades replaced frequently
Only useful for one function
More easily stolen?
Cannot be used to cut grass between boundary fence and roadside
Can this be used for the first (heavy) cut of the season?

What are your thoughts & experiences.

prospect

Or maybe not

?:\

squire1

Prospect,

This is only opinion for what its worth.

The only thing I have heard about the robot mowers is that you need a lawn like a billiard table for them to operate on. I have never seen one working but a guy who looked into getting one last year told me that they cannot handle even small bumps or inclines. Your lawn is new and will take a couple of years to settle properly. I was also told that they were fairly expensive, have you costed them yet?

One other aspect with them is that they are very liable to theft which you already know. The model I know about works during the night, stops when the battery runs down and sits there for the day recharging. Too much temptation for any passing oppertunist! I heard of one guy who had one and his dog took a fancy to it and used to spend it's days humping it on the back lawn.:D A bit of secutity there but.....

For my money it would be tractor mower all the way. The fuel and maintenance costs are really quiet low. Secure storage would be your biggest problem there as they are also a target for theft.

prospect

Thanks for that squire1,

I know the robot mowers can be had for under €2000, which isn't bad. They have sensors that if they are picked up during operation they shut down and an alarm goes off, they then need a pin number to get them operational. I am not sure how secure these are though...

Looking up the spec sheet, they calim they can deal with certain inclines, and there is very little 'hills' in our lawn. But, as you pointed out it is new, and there is alot of settling to happen.

I am still undecided, which isn't ideal as i would imagine the first cut will be required in the next 2 or 3 weeks....

How is your project coming along?