My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

keaneu788

Hi. Thanks for the brilliant thread. I am thinking of purchasing a 450X.

I have two concerns....

1) a wall with a drop. Is it safe to leave a large enough distance between the edge and the perimeter wire to prevent it sliding and falling off?


2) I want to join two gardens by laying some astroturf on this slope. The slope measures 30 degrees on my iPhone. The spec says max 24 degrees. Maybe I can reduce the slope. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks

Apparently I cannot upload photos yet as I am a new user

Water John

You can get bigger tyres, that might help. Could you run the link in a semicircle, not a straight line and so by increasing the travel distance lower the angle.

keaneu788

Do you need a data sim or can you run the mower without the internet connectivity?

Thanks

Dr4gul4

keaneu788 wrote: »

Do you need a data sim or can you run the mower without the internet connectivity?

Thanks

450x comes with one, pre loaded for 2 years internet access if i recall correctly ..

Happiness2019

Thanks for this super thread. It was a great help when I was deciding whether to upgrade to an autonomous lawnmower and I purchased the 430X on the back of recommendations here, couldn't be happier with it so far.
Can anyone advise pls if they were successful in getting it insured and with what insurance company as mine (Aviva) wont insure it? Many thanks

Frankirish

Happiness2019 wrote: »

Thanks for this super thread. It was a great help when I was deciding whether to upgrade to an autonomous lawnmower and I purchased the 430X on the back of recommendations here, couldn't be happier with it so far.
Can anyone advise pls if they were successful in getting it insured and with what insurance company as mine (Aviva) wont insure it? Many thanks

We have ours insured with Zurich. RSA also insure them.

septicsac

Itsforwomen insured mine for me

Dr4gul4

Appears somebody lost a 330x over the weekend I don think these models came with the GPS module as standard however .


https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=757852534666623&id=201057320346150

jprboy

septicsac wrote: »

Itsforwomen insured mine for me

Frankirish wrote: »

We have ours insured with Zurich. RSA also insure them.

That's very interesting, thanks for posting.

I presume it was added to your household policies.

How much extra did you need to pay?

Any special terms and conditions applied by your insurance companies?

Are you alerted by your mowers if they're removed from the property and can they be tracked by you?

Thanks !

septicsac

jprboy wrote: »

That's very interesting, thanks for posting.

I presume it was added to your household policies.

How much extra did you need to pay?

Any special terms and conditions applied by your insurance companies?

Are you alerted by your mowers if they're removed from the property and can they be tracked by you?

Thanks !

I explained the workings of the mower to itsforwomn, they were well aware it would never be locked in and running at all times of the day, they added it to my household insurance as a specified extra for 60 euro extra. That was over 18 months ago, will review to see what else is out there when renewal comes up

ArrBee

Hi,

I started reading this thread yesterday but didn't get through the whole lot.
This seems like the right place to ask my question so sorry if it's answered already....


I have decided to get a robot mower. It won't be just yet, possibly next year so I don't know which brand I will go with.
The thing is though, we are getting landscaping done currently with paving being laid and tarmac etc. from what I've read, I should probably be thinking about any guide wires that might be needed so they can be put under paths.


I will want a mower that takes care of lawns front and back.
As a way to get between the lawns there are 2 options:
One side of the house will have tarmac driveway which changes to gravel (not done yet), the other has paving that hasn't yet been grouted yet which will lead to a brick path that isn't laid yet)

I've an oil boiler behind a hedge which might be an ideal spot for the base unit as I should be able to take an electrical feed from the boiler pump? to power it, and the location is between both lawns.



Questions:
-is it generally good to keep the mower off the driveway (in case it's operating when a car drives in)
-when traversing a guide wire to get to a zone, does the mower straddle the wire or can it travel half a foot in from the wire? this would allow the guide to be off the paving that is already laid...
-if laying the wire in the paved area, can it go between the flags and grouted in place?
-what sort of wire would be suitable?
-would I get away with laying just a guide wire now, or would I need to also put the perimeter wire for the zone I was guiding to?
-Will the choice of mower change anything about the answers above other than "some mowers don't do more than 1 lawn"?

Cheers!

Bungusbeefcake

Hey, I'm just at the garden design stage but I'm thinking of getting a 450X for about 3000-3500m2 area with possibly 2 zones. I have a number of questions: The 2 areas have a stone kerb border which makes them raised up a couple of inches. I wanted to go from one to the other would i have to create a ramp for the mower? And if so, what would you suggest as the best way, noting that the second zone is on the other side of the driveway, or should I basically make it one zone and do the boundary as a bridge between the 2 zones with the guide in the middle? I can post a picture if it helps? There is quite a slope in part of the garden and I'm wondering how the mower would deal with that too, especially if the slope was directly on to where the boundary wire is placed?
Was are the majority of peoples experience with self-installation? Would you recommend installing it yourself?
Lastly, I was thinking of getting the mower and installation kit from www.entreprenadbutiken.com. I can see others have had experience with these guys, are they good? Would anyone have any discount codes if that is a thing? And would anyone have any other suggestions of where to get it if not them?

Thanks!!

septicsac

The corridor across a driveway is created with the guide wire between two outer perimeter wires and the mower just treats it as part of the lawn. This means it will often not drive straight across and can remain "attempting" to ensure the driveway, it thinks is part of the lawn, is cut adequately.
With regards to self -install, I paid an installer and thats what worked for me, entirely your own preference. The mower will need to pass from lawn to drive pretty seamlessly, it will handle small inclines or bumps, but nothing too steep. I had straight forward ordinary kerbs, I just turned 2 on each side opposite each other on their side and made mini ramps from lawn to drive. Iwth stone I suppose you could try build something similar?
Each mower has a note on their specs re slopes they will handle, I would say allow for a little less as they dont deal with them as well in the wet weather when grass tends to gather on the wheels. If at the garden design stage I would try to eliminate as many steep slopes as possible at this stage, it will save further labour later. There are xtra wheels you can buy for increased grip, but unsure how successful these are.

Cyrus

Gah getting the dreaded no loop signal , ran as normal the other night and hasn’t left the dock since .

Just checked there and getting the error

Garden is small so can re lay but what’s the way to check if there is a break somewhere ?

Flymo 1200r

Shaunoc

Cyrus wrote: »

Gah getting the dreaded no loop signal , ran as normal the other night and hasn’t left the dock since .

Just checked there and getting the error

Garden is small so can re lay but what’s the way to check if there is a break somewhere ?

Flymo 1200r

check connectors first at dock.
AM radio check along perimeter wire after seems to be common step - never had to use it yet

KCross

Cyrus wrote: »

Gah getting the dreaded no loop signal , ran as normal the other night and hasn’t left the dock since .

Just checked there and getting the error

Garden is small so can re lay but what’s the way to check if there is a break somewhere ?

Flymo 1200r

Are you in the areas where there was lightning on Thu night? Was it after that that it threw the error?

septicsac

Am radio to white noise(no station), cable will make it buzz when held close above it (3/4 inches) and will stop when it comes to a break. Start one side of loop and work way around, you should have basic idea where cable is. As someone else said check connections to base first, sometimes they look ok, but need reconnecting. Not sure re Flymo, but Husqavarna have method of sending mower out to check guide wires etc, is there any such functions for testing wires on Flymos?

Cyrus

KCross wrote: »

Are you in the areas where there was lightning on Thu night? Was it after that that it threw the error?

Am in dalkey not sure re lightening

SchrodingersCat

septicsac wrote: »

Am radio to white noise(no station), cable will make it buzz when held close above it (3/4 inches) and will stop when it comes to a break. Start one side of loop and work way around, you should have basic idea where cable is. As someone else said check connections to base first, sometimes they look ok, but need reconnecting. Not sure re Flymo, but Husqavarna have method of sending mower out to check guide wires etc, is there any such functions for testing wires on Flymos?

On the flymo 1200r there is a guide wire check. Unfortunately this does not check the connection of the guide wire, it checks if the mower can physically follow it. If there is a break in the perimeter or guide wire the mower will not move and will report an error.

Vanjohn

I have a Robomow and two days ago it stopped mid lawn it now has a message "No Wire Signal" or "Waiting for signal" dispalyed.

I have installed a fresh loop of wire to check that it is not my existing perimeter, which has a resistance of 2 ohms for about 280meters of cable.

Can anybody give me guidance on checking the outputs from the charger and head unit? (I have good quality multimeters with frequency measurements)

deadl0ck

Vanjohn wrote: »

I have a Robomow and two days ago it stopped mid lawn it now has a message "No Wire Signal" or "Waiting for signal" dispalyed.

I have installed a fresh loop of wire to check that it is not my existing perimeter, which has a resistance of 2 ohms for about 280meters of cable.

Can anybody give me guidance on checking the outputs from the charger and head unit? (I have good quality multimeters with frequency measurements)

Can you get at the service menu? If so you should re-calibrate the wire sensor.

EDIT: There was an update to how you should calibrate the wire sensor - here it is: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SUl1tYtxo8eeK4F76vNIG1a3vkuLMcdo/view?usp=sharing

Also - you'll get the info on the measurements for the perimeter wire on this forum: https://www.roboter-forum.com/index.php?board/89-s-modelle/

It's in German but if you use the Chrome browser google will translate it for you.

If everything checks out it could be that you need a new front board

s7ryf3925pivug

How hard is it to move boundary wires after installing?

I want to get a robot mower but also getting some earth works done in the next couple of months (install a patio and some raised beds) as well as possibly planting trees.

Would it be a massive pain to adjust a boundary cable if needs be when that is done? Is there any trick I can use to make it easier (eg I read looping a couple of extra bits of wire around pegs can facilitate repairs by splicing later without needing to replace the whole cable)

Shaunoc

Nasir Shapely Room wrote: »

How hard is it to move boundary wires after installing?

I want to get a robot mower but also getting some earth works done in the next couple of months (install a patio and some raised beds) as well as possibly planting trees.

Would it be a massive pain to adjust a boundary cable if needs be when that is done? Is there any trick I can use to make it easier (eg I read looping a couple of extra bits of wire around pegs can facilitate repairs by splicing later without needing to replace the whole cable)

lay the wire with pegs to secure it. grass will grow over it after a few weeks but it is easily pulled up by hand with care.
not sure about adding extra loops - husqvarna install guide recommends against it.
it is very easy to add extra cable using connectors at a later time. i did so for some beds and loads of trees at start of year. manual effort needed but not complicated. snips, mallet, connectors, cable, knee pads, a few tea breaks...
perhaps peg less liberally in areas you know you will be lifting later. just ensure will not get taken out by mower / strimmer accidently

KCross

Nasir Shapely Room wrote: »

How hard is it to move boundary wires after installing?

I want to get a robot mower but also getting some earth works done in the next couple of months (install a patio and some raised beds) as well as possibly planting trees.

Would it be a massive pain to adjust a boundary cable if needs be when that is done? Is there any trick I can use to make it easier (eg I read looping a couple of extra bits of wire around pegs can facilitate repairs by splicing later without needing to replace the whole cable)

If there are alot of changes I'd hold off on the mower until you have the patio done, particularly since you said it will be done in a few months... just get the robot for next season.

Alot of wire changes are a PITA and for myself I'd rather limit the number of cable breaks/joins I'd have on the perimeter. Each one of those is a new weak point to leak and cause problems. Thats just me.

s7ryf3925pivug

I suppose the question is whether it's a bigger pain to do a new installation or keep mowing fast growing grass for a couple of months? Plan to install it on a lawn about a quarter acre in size. Have two other lawns but just going to maintain them manually (replace one at some point).

Shaunoc

Nasir Shapely Room wrote: »

I suppose the question is whether it's a bigger pain to do a new installation or keep mowing fast growing grass for a couple of months? Plan to install it on a lawn about a quarter acre in size. Have two other lawns but just going to maintain them manually (replace one at some point).

1/4 acre isn't too bad with a push mower for a couple of months.
but i also am a keen fiddler with my boundary wire (i have an organic/fluid farden plan! = not much planning involved):D

s7ryf3925pivug

KCross wrote: »

If there are alot of changes I'd hold off on the mower until you have the patio done, particularly since you said it will be done in a few months... just get the robot for next season.

Alot of wire changes are a PITA and for myself I'd rather limit the number of cable breaks/joins I'd have on the perimeter. Each one of those is a new weak point to leak and cause problems. Thats just me.

well the guy who sells them strongly agreed with you so I guess I'll put up with it for a while longer

PCeeeee

I know this sounds throughly dodgy but bear with me. I'm looking at a Husqvarna Mower that has 'lost' it's PIN code. Can you not get the dealer to look it up for you?

Frankirish

PCeeeee wrote: »

I know this sounds throughly dodgy but bear with me. I'm looking at a Husqvarna Mower that has 'lost' it's PIN code. Can you not get the dealer to look it up for you?

You’re right it sounds dodgy! Is the seller genuine and has the original sales receipt? Does the charging station and transformer come with it? If you answer “No” to any of these questions then I’d stay clear of it as it’s more than likely stolen!!!

PCeeeee

Dunno is the answer. On ebay.