My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

Mad Benny

Thanks for the info. The lawn is approximately 3000m2.

deadl0ck

I was wondering if anybody has serviced their robomow themselves - apart from a software update, and a good cleaning, what else does then dealer do during a service ?

I'd love to know what's involved as it can't be that much - I'd like to keep mine in top condition, but don't want to pay 120 Euro for something I could do myself (apart from the s/w upgrade)

KCross

deadl0ck wrote: »

I was wondering if anybody has serviced their robomow themselves - apart from a software update, and a good cleaning, what else does then dealer do during a service ?

I'd love to know what's involved as it can't be that much - I'd like to keep mine in top condition, but don't want to pay 120 Euro for something I could do myself (apart from the s/w upgrade)

There isnt anything to service other than the software update and change the blades.

deadl0ck

KCross wrote: »

There isnt anything to service other than the software update and change the blades.

I though as much - I'm on last year's software (the one with the robohome menu item) - anything in the newer version worth having ??

KCross

deadl0ck wrote: »

I though as much - I'm on last year's software (the one with the robohome menu item) - anything in the newer version worth having ??

Actually, just to qualify, now that I realise you were referring specifically to robomow, I'm talking about Husqvarna Automower.

I dont know about robomow specifically but I bet its the same. I'll let robomow owners comment.

Zzippy

septicsac wrote: »

I know it has a tracker, but if anyone thinks criminals cannot disable these then they are mistaken. I know they will also be useless without the base, but if stolen and not found, destroyed or taken out of the country then owner is out a lot if money.
Much as I want one, it will have to be insured.

Can't get insurance AFAIK. I was apprehensive too, with road on two sides of our garden, but between the alarm, geofence alert, tracking and the fact they are useless to a buyer I think they're secure enough. It would take a criminal a little while to figure out and disable the tracker, by which time I would hope I'd have a good idea where it was.
We won ours on a free trial so the expense wasn't an issue, but having had it for a year now, even with the security worry, we'd go out an buy another one if ours had any issues.

jod1983 wrote: »

When i powered it down and back up again it did clear the fault. But what it did next was strange, it reversed about a metre (like it was coming back out of the base), turned, went forward, then reversed again and then gave the same alarm!! This was it second run, the first was ok.
When it met high grass, it would drive into it a little, then reverse away from it.

I'd say knock down the high grass with a strimmer, maybe the tufts are just too dense and it's sensing it as an obstacle. If that fails I'd return it to the dealer for servicing.

searay

septicsac wrote: »

Ride-in mower on its last legs and thinking of investing in one of the husky robotic mowers, probably 450X, as three lawns coming to near 1 acre of grass. They tick all the boxes, as far as I am concerned, except 1, the insurance box.
Contacted my insurance company and they say they cannot insure one, as they are not locked in at night!
Has anyone found cover for these under their home insurance and if so what companies are providing cover?
Any info much appreciated.

I included the automower as an unspecified item when I renewed my home insurance. I previously had a ride-on down for the same value and they didn’t make an issue of it.

KCross

searay wrote: »

I included the automower as an unspecified item when I renewed my home insurance. I previously had a ride-on down for the same value and they didn’t make an issue of it.

Probably because they dont know what it is or the fact that it is not locked up at night. Did you tell them it was loose on the lawn and not just a regular lawnmower?

You can specify anything you like on your insurance but when it comes to paying out they will look for a Garda report to explain how it was robbed from its secure location.... its only then they will realise that it was an unsecured item sitting on the lawn.

I suppose you could argue ignorance at that stage and say I paid the premium, you took the money so you have to cover it.... but these insurance companies are slippery f*cks, they will try to get out of it if the time comes to pay up.

Basically, it has to be inside a locked garage or inside the house. Thats what I was told.

What company are you with?
I might try again next time around.

jod1983

I'd say knock down the high grass with a strimmer, maybe the tufts are just too dense and it's sensing it as an obstacle. If that fails I'd return it to the dealer for servicing.[/QUOTE]

Powered her back up this evening and away with her. Think ill get a push mower for the higher parts.
Thanks for the help

Sysmod

Zzippy wrote: »

We won ours on a free trial

Good for you :-)

mayoman1973

Feck ... after 8mths since installation,  and just a prob with a wheel coming loose which left my 430x cutting in circles,  I have encountered my first 'WTF' problem.  Mower was out every other week over winter ( just to keep it operational ) as I don't like things being unused for months on end,  esp if they cost over £2k,  and now 5 or 6 min after it starts mowing it stops at random and gives error "Cutting system blocked"  I put it up to max height where it doesn't even touch the grass,  put in new blade set,  checked for string or the like around the cutting disk, cleaned it with brush,  but still it just stops after 5 or 6 min operation. Any one get this problem?  Will call the supplier before the week out but don't want to bother them if its something silly.

Zzippy

Check posts by jod1983 above with same error message. Not sure if he got sorted.

jod1983

mayoman1973 wrote: »

Feck ... after 8mths since installation, and just a prob with a wheel coming loose which left my 430x cutting in circles, I have encountered my first 'WTF' problem. Mower was out every other week over winter ( just to keep it operational ) as I don't like things being unused for months on end, esp if they cost over £2k, and now 5 or 6 min after it starts mowing it stops at random and gives error "Cutting system blocked" I put it up to max height where it doesn't even touch the grass, put in new blade set, checked for string or the like around the cutting disk, cleaned it with brush, but still it just stops after 5 or 6 min operation. Any one get this problem? Will call the supplier before the week out but don't want to bother them if its something silly.

Powered my unit down for the night and powered it up again the next day and had no problems. Parked it again straight away though as forecast was poor.
Was kind of worried myself at first and ran it again yesterday and on the second run it came up with the same error!!
But it going again today and had no problems. Only difference was that the grass was dry today. The grass was fairly high as well, so borrowed my fathers ride this evening and topped the whole lawn. Funny thing after that was it ran for alot longer then.
Hope this helps a little. I did google the problem and no common fault was being reported.

Water John

Thinking of going with the Husky, this year, at last. Talking to installer this evening, says they are really raking off this year. He installed 3 today.
I will be the 315 with two docking stations.

kittytwister

The Husqvarna dealer in Wexford has an advt. on local papers installation is free. From memory I think it’s been hel at Horse and Hound about 5mi. From New Ross on Wexford Road.

kittytwister

It’s on wed. night 4th. April at 7 pm

KCross

Water John wrote: »

Thinking of going with the Husky, this year, at last.
I will be the 315 with two docking stations.

Why the above?
Have you unconnected lawns or something?

Carrying the mower between lawns might get old fast. You will have to do it every few days depending on the relative size of the two lawns.

Water John

Yeah lawns not connected. Just alternate mower every few days, no big deal.
Just the docking stations for what is a simple charging unit and plastic, are a ludicrous price.

KCross

Water John wrote: »

Yeah lawns not connected. Just alternate mower every few days, no big deal.
Just the docking stations for what is a simple charging unit and plastic, are a ludicrous price.

Is there zero possibility to connect them via the guide wire? Even if you had to do some digging?
FYI: It will cross driveways if you want it to.

If it were me I'd spend a few euro and connect the lawns somehow rather than deal with moving the mower every few days all summer long. I think its going to annoy you long term.

Water John

Not really. As I wrote earlier in this thread, there is a risk, some fool,(me maybe) might drive over it crossing the drive. Don't see a problem moving it across, every two days.
Largely going to bury the wire, which I prefer, what are other installers doing?

KCross

Water John wrote: »

Not really. As I wrote earlier in this thread, there is a risk, some fool,(me maybe) might drive over it crossing the drive. Don't see a problem moving it across, every two days.
Largely going to bury the wire, which I prefer, what are other installers doing?

I dont know WaterJohn... thats a lot of hassle in my book. Might be fine for a few weeks but its going to get annoying long term... trust me.

Do you have a google picture of the house/lawn you are willing to share? There might be other options. PM it if you wish.



No need to bury the wire. I laid it on top of the grass day one and then the grass grows around it and you cant see it at all now even if you try to look for it. It sinks into the earth eventually.

If you bury it it makes it harder to adjust it afterwards, not that you need to do much adjusting but you might (e.g. around kerbs or flowerbeds or if you add beds to the lawn etc).

Water John

Appreciate the offer Kcross. But I'm a stubborn mule and have done my thinking on it. If I have any problems with it, I will have no problem acknowledging them here.
Ha, zero chance of flower beds ever going in here. If I could fence it right, i'd put a few calves on it!! Just have a shovel to hand.

agentblue

Water John wrote: »

.
Largely going to bury the wire, which I prefer, what are other installers doing?

I echo what KCross says. You might be better off laying it above ground i.e. staking it down to begin with. There will always be a small bit of fine tuning involved. After a few months, it will sink down so much you'll have to dig it up if you need to get at it again. I speak from personal experience:eek:

Josieg

I spent all of last year moving my 450x between two lawns and it didn't bother me at all. It would be handier if connected but it a long quicker than pushing a mower around for 5 hour every weekend!! I only have on charging unit so it's probably more trouble than your situation even.

Regards the boundary wire, I wouldn't bother burying it to be honest. It really does disappear after a few weeks and it's very handy when you have to make the inevitable adjustment.

mayoman1973

@jod1983. Cheers bud for previous suggestion. Just did a power down of mower, base station , the works and mower has behaved the past 2 weeks with no prob. Threw a few F**ks at it, showed it the receipt so that might have helped get it in line as well.

On to another issue that I havn't seen addressed here yet.
Hollow coring your lawn when you have mower guide wires all around the place. Its a thing that needs to be done annually as only proper way to keep thatch/moss under control.
Has anyone done it after having your automower installed? The obvious risk being the aerator prongs piercing the guide wires as they bore maybe 2 or 3 inches into the soil.


Edit... Just off the phone to the suppliers there and they have said. Yes, has caused problems for them so avoid going near the wire. Problem now is getting exact location of the wire so as to be certain I don't nip it.

KCross

mayoman1973 wrote: »

Hollow coring your lawn when you have mower guide wires all around the place. Its a thing that needs to be done annually as only proper way to keep thatch/moss under control.
Has anyone done it after having your automower installed? The obvious risk being the aerator prongs piercing the guide wires as they bore maybe 2 or 3 inches into the soil.

Aerating the lawn.... humph... posh f*cker!


On a serious note though.... I think the fact that the mower keeps the grass low all the time means less weeds/moss. I dont aerate anyway but I suspect your lawn is like the 18th hole at Augusta and you have higher lawn standards than me!

mayoman1973

lol. Defo less weeds an moss about this spring than last with mower installed since last Summer. However without proper maintenance, liming, aeration, scarifying, sanding ( Note I didnt use the word fertilizer as almost no need for it in a healthy lawn ) then moss WILL move in and take over.

whippet

I had horrendous moss and thatch last spring before I got the automower ... had it all cleared off and more or less started from scratch with the automower.

I was worried this spring that moss would be a problem again and was panicking about the guide wires etc .. but fortunately the lawn is moss free and I don't have to worry about it.

On another note it is such a nice feeling to come out the other side of winter and not have to worry about the state of the lawn !!

fanzhiyidan

Hi all, I'm also thinking of taking the plunge with a Husqvarna Automower but I have a similar issue with 2 lawns that are not connected.
I've 2 young boys and have fenced off the back lawn from the front to keep them at the back....very busy main road out the front.

Has anyone seen any idea for allowing the mower under or around a fence that would not allow a child through the same opening?

KCross

fanzhiyidan wrote: »

Hi all, I'm also thinking of taking the plunge with a Husqvarna Automower but I have a similar issue with 2 lawns that are not connected.
I've 2 young boys and have fenced off the back lawn from the front to keep them at the back....very busy main road out the front.

Has anyone seen any idea for allowing the mower under or around a fence that would not allow a child through the same opening?

I made a path under one part of my fence to allow the mower get under the fence. Obviously, any path you make for the mower to go under the fence will also allow a child to do the same.

I dont think you can solve that issue unless you are willing to physically carry the mower between the lawns, which defeats the purpose of having an automated mower in the first place.

My kids dont go under it but every child is different so I get your concern. I suppose your children could equally climb over the fence so is a relatively small gap under the fence that big an issue? If it worries you too much then its probably not for you.