My autonomous lawn mower thread/blog

FM252

^^ Thanks! Well its a good deal compared to normal dealership so price comes close to what 420 would be and I'm willing to put in the ground work to save money.

The only other thing I have to think about is front and back lawn is separated by stone driveway. Not alot of loose stone so its a fairly surface or can be made to be if problems. Plenty of room for it to move between the two. However, it would be around 55 feet between the two. And that is the easiest route as beds, hedges trees is a divider.

Am I asking it to do too much of it? Should I consider getting two machines instead or maybe the 430x is perfect for the job?

Last question I swear!!

Thanks in advance!

odoliam

FM252 wrote: »

^^ Thanks! Well its a good deal compared to normal dealership so price comes close to what 420 would be and I'm willing to put in the ground work to save money.

The only other thing I have to think about is front and back lawn is separated by stone driveway. Not alot of loose stone so its a fairly surface or can be made to be if problems. Plenty of room for it to move between the two. However, it would be around 55 feet between the two. And that is the easiest route as beds, hedges trees is a divider.

Am I asking it to do too much of it? Should I consider getting two machines instead or maybe the 430x is perfect for the job?

Last question I swear!!

Thanks in advance!

Ha, no chance that'll be the last questions!

I have a similar requirement, but instead of gravel, I have a small grass section down the side of the house. Most mowers would "not" be able to traverse it as it was 0.5metres wide at best, but some would.
I decided to go with 2x mowers in the end as I thought while a mower "could" do it, I was adding more complexity to the whole situation.
I also found 2x Worx machines M500's on a good deal - cheaper than a Worx 1500, which I would have needed.
Small grass strip is now a flower bed
Overall, I'd recommend reducing complexity where you can

If you're set on Husqvarna's, then 2x 315 models would be perfect - but overall ~3 grand.
If open to Worx (been great for me so far and I have an overall lumpy, awkward garden with lots of angles and corners!) then I'd suggest 2x L1000 for a total of 2 grand. Include the ACS option if any of the lawns have lots of "furniture" and it simplifies the wire laying by just avoiding anything solid that is about a foot high

Or
Get Worx 2000 for 1300 quid, will do the gravel section, and save you a ton of cash!

louis346789

Have the Stihl imow 632 for 2 years now. It's been a good investment but is struggling with 5000 m2. Going to use it exclusively for 2000 m2 plot this year
Am thinking of going for the ambrogio L350i.
Looks like costing 3500 euro. Will be on a 5000 m2 plot.
Any feedback would be welcome.

tedimc

louis346789 wrote: »

Have the Stihl imow 632 for 2 years now. It's been a good investment but is struggling with 5000 m2. Going to use it exclusively for 2000 m2 plot this year
Am thinking of going for the ambrogio L350i.
Looks like costing 3500 euro. Will be on a 5000 m2 plot.
Any feedback would be welcome.

No direct feedback, but I was talking to an Ambrogio dealer today and he was very positive about the L350i. He says they have sold a large number of them and it handles 7000m2 with ease. I was actually looking at the dearer 4.36 Elite and he was recommending this instead.

3500 seems like a good price - he was quoting 4000 even.

Bedouin79

louis346789 wrote: »

Have the Stihl imow 632 for 2 years now. It's been a good investment but is struggling with 5000 m2. Going to use it exclusively for 2000 m2 plot this year
Am thinking of going for the ambrogio L350i.
Looks like costing 3500 euro. Will be on a 5000 m2 plot.
Any feedback would be welcome.

Have l250 elite plus it’s rated for 5000m2. I’ve it working in just over 4000m2 and it’s been great.

tedimc

Has anyone teamed 2 or more mowers together?

If so, how do you organize the perimeter wires? Just link the docks in series?

And if so, how do you prevent both mowers trying to dock at the same unit?

My question is specific to Ambrogio - but I presume it is similar for other brands also.

blackbox

tedimc wrote: »

Has anyone teamed 2 or more mowers together?

If so, how do you organize the perimeter wires? Just link the docks in series?

And if so, how do you prevent both mowers trying to dock at the same unit?

My question is specific to Ambrogio - but I presume it is similar for other brands also.

I've never heard of anyone doing what you describe. Normally if someone has two automowers they are for completely separate areas.

odoliam

tedimc wrote: »

Has anyone teamed 2 or more mowers together?

If so, how do you organize the perimeter wires? Just link the docks in series?

And if so, how do you prevent both mowers trying to dock at the same unit?

My question is specific to Ambrogio - but I presume it is similar for other brands also.

Always interesting to understand everyones different requirements
Never seen or heard this before, but I guess it could be done

What's your thinking behind it...the why?

I'd say the easiest way I can think of is lay 2 sets of perimeter wire for each mower, side-by-side. The the mower should just bump into and avoid the wrong charging base?....."should"

KCross

I'd say two perimeter wires would interfere with each other so I dont think that would work.

Two base stations on the one wire definitely wont work for some of the robots out there as the wire is powered by the base station and the base station sends additional signals on that wire for things like calling the mower back to the base.

So, if its possible to have two mowers on the same perimeter wire I think it would need to be something that the manufacturer specifically designed in. Not something you can hack together.

If Ambrogio dont have it mentioned in their manual or literature then I'd say its safe to say it wont work cleanly.

tedimc

KCross wrote: »

I'd say two perimeter wires would interfere with each other so I dont think that would work.

Two base stations on the one wire definitely wont work for some of the robots out there as the wire is powered by the base station and the base station sends additional signals on that wire for things like calling the mower back to the base.

So, if its possible to have two mowers on the same perimeter wire I think it would need to be something that the manufacturer specifically designed in. Not something you can hack together.

If Ambrogio dont have it mentioned in their manual or literature then I'd say its safe to say it wont work cleanly.

Thanks all - Ambrogio have a system called Infinity+ which allows two compatible mowers to work on a single area. They communicate in real time and won’t overlap on areas already completed. Apart from that - tech details are very limited. I’ve a large area to mow - circa 14k m2 across 5 areas. I wasn’t willing to splurge €14k on a single L400 unit, so am going to start with two Elite 4.36 units. When all landscaping works are complete, I may get another unit if needed.

I suppose I could assign different areas, but the majority of meterage is in the front lawn area so I may have to partition that. I was hoping I could team the two ( or three) units to all work together across the whole space.

Happy_Harry

From reading here ,I think my heart is set on a Landroid M700 ( size of lawn just over 500m2)

Some very specific questions- hope someone with a similar robot and challenges can help me.

1. My lawn borders on a field with cattle. These animals are very nosey and just wondering if anyone has experience - they typically push their noses through the wired fence to eat my grass for example- will they want to "play" with the robot ?
Cattle.jpg

2. There is the dreaded trampoline. I would like the robot to cut below it. Will I just encase the feet with some timber ? What will happen if the robot bumps into it ?
trampoline.jpg

3. I have a sleeper in the lawn acting as a retaining "wall" on a sloped part of the garden to bring it in line with the raised back lawn. The sleeper(s) start off at a height of about 45 cm and then at the top of the slope it barely sticks out of the grass for a length of about 80 cm. With my current mower I can go over it no problem. Can I use this 80 cm as if it was grass ( I would never cut the gras low) and guide the robot as per the picture where red lines are the boundary wire ?
border1.jpg

4. The biggest challenge is in the front lawns I think. I have post and rail fencing with grass on both sides. The lowest rails is only 22 cm high- will the robot be able to go under it ?
If not, I would not mind so much to manually cut the small sliver of grass of one side. How does it deal with the posts - will it just bump of it ?
fence.jpg

Finally- I would need it to go under the rails at one side, go over a bit of gravel and go under the rails at the other side to reach the other frontlawn. The rail in the fence here is about 30 cm high. I checked the gravel and it is not that solid as I expected . Will the robot manage in gravel ? and (how) will it know not to start mowing the gravel ? Picture has in red how I would put the wire down.
zones.jpg

I know loads of questions, but really tempted to avail of the € 749 offer right now for the new model, just need to have 90% confidence it will work in my garden.

krissovo

Hey Harry - I have a couple of Landroids in my garden a L2000 and a S300

Q1 - I had to put a hedge line between the cattle field, firstly the chewed through the perimeter wire and second they would nudge the Landroid and prevent the landroid getting home to charge (quite rare)

Q2 - The landroid will just navigate around the trampoline and cut underneath, you may need to cable tie a bit of 2x4 the metal bar on the floor if it is not high enough to catch the mower.

Q3 - It should work ok, worse case scenario you could level it out using a plastic mesh and sand

Q4 - You need 30 cm for the landroid if I recall my fence but I will check tonight. The mower just bumps off the post no problem

Q5 - I did the same as you , well nearly my crossing was within the boundary and it worked.....of sorts but it drove me crazy and I bought a second mower. If you want to attempt it you need a gravel stabilizer and a very low slope ramps with decent grip but it will fail to doc from time to time and the courier/kids/wife will hit it as some point.

Happy_Harry

Yes, was thinking the cattle may provide a serious challenge. I was even thinking of laying the wire in a duct. I guess though 26 cm in from the fence and hiding it should be ok. More worried about their curiosity about the robot itself.

4. Dimensions (online) only state 20.5 cm height, so would be great if you could check and also tell me which height for which model that you have.

I guess worst case I will lay the boundary wire just on the other side of the fences and the robot will bounce off and I cut the front bit manually. height is more important for the Q5 scenario where it needs to be able to go under the rail on both sides to reach the other side.

5. I will probably just give it a go and see if it works or drives me crazy as well.. I can't justify buying a robot for 120sqm. The traffic here is very limited, indeed courier is the issue I guess. Perhaps I can program it to cut the other patch only after 6 PM or so ?

I guess it boils down whether it can go under the fence or not.

Do you have a well manicured flat lawn or is it a bit bumpy in places too- like mine ? How do your robots handle that ? And there is a lot of talk of lines from the robot driving back home along the boundary wire ? Is that really an issue ?

I really appreciate your help..

Happy_Harry

Took the plunge and ordered the M700 2.0 as I believe was a real special offer at €749 and ending today.. It is on pre-order anyway and have 14 days to cancel.. just didn't want to miss on a good deal. The previous model is £799 at amazon and has not been below €750 for all of 2020.

I guess I will somehow have to make it work , despite some of the challenges, but would still be good to know what height it is in advance.
To be continued I guess..

listermint

Lurching wrote: »

It's only the frost that would worry me. Not sure how much they like it.
Is it only the battery that can fail if it gets cold (Husq 430X)?

Look no offence. But I've been completely Lazare fair with my mower for its over three year ownership.

It's as good now as when installed. Pay no attention to weather suffice to say turning it off during winter months. Mine had a small roof over it home made to prevent sun ruining the plastic paint. Other than that nothing.

We live in an extremely temperature climate that simply doesn't suffer from extremes.

slayer91

Hi,

In the same boat as yourself, I ordered a M700 2021 Model on Monday from myrobotcenter.eu but it was 669e. I see you mention that your model is a M700 2.0.

As we have to wait until the 15th March for dispatch, I am just wondering if I have ordered an 'older model' ?

Regards

Liam

Happy_Harry

Hi,

In the same boat as yourself, I ordered a M700 2021 Model on Monday from myrobotcenter.eu but it was 669e. I see you mention that your model is a M700 2.0.

As we have to wait until the 15th March for dispatch, I am just wondering if I have ordered an 'older model' ?

I think so, I saw the M700 WR142E indeed for 669, and I think that the "2021 model" either is a mistake or perhaps some minor upgrade from the same 2020 model ? Maybe write to them to clarify ?

If you go on the product page of the m700 2.0 , scroll down to questions and there is one..describing the difference between both models.

As we mentioned in our product description - these are the differences: How does the new Worx M700 2.0 differ from the previous M700? The special features of the new Worx models of this season are the support with Wi-Fi and now also via Bluetooth. The new blade disc design automatically raises the blades when the Worx Landroid 167E encounters an obstacle such as small stones or bumps. With its IPX5 waterproof body, it is easy to clean. According to the specifications of the manufacturer, it can now be cleaned with a garden

I think this one also produces less DB..

I now see the offer of 749 indeed ended 3 March (CET timezone) and price is back at 899
Update : Back at €749 for anyone interested

krissovo

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Yes, was thinking the cattle may provide a serious challenge. I was even thinking of laying the wire in a duct. I guess though 26 cm in from the fence and hiding it should be ok. More worried about their curiosity about the robot itself.

4. Dimensions (online) only state 20.5 cm height, so would be great if you could check and also tell me which height for which model that you have.

I guess worst case I will lay the boundary wire just on the other side of the fences and the robot will bounce off and I cut the front bit manually. height is more important for the Q5 scenario where it needs to be able to go under the rail on both sides to reach the other side.

5. I will probably just give it a go and see if it works or drives me crazy as well.. I can't justify buying a robot for 120sqm. The traffic here is very limited, indeed courier is the issue I guess. Perhaps I can program it to cut the other patch only after 6 PM or so ?

I guess it boils down whether it can go under the fence or not.

Do you have a well manicured flat lawn or is it a bit bumpy in places too- like mine ? How do your robots handle that ? And there is a lot of talk of lines from the robot driving back home along the boundary wire ? Is that really an issue ?

I really appreciate your help..

The height of my fence rail is ~25 cm's, this gives me a couple of centimeters clearance. I did have a couple of lower spots that used to press the stop button when it went under but I raised these and all good now.

My lawn looks manicured thanks to the bots but reality is that there are bumps all over, if you ran across the lawn at some point you would be taken off balance. The bots do fine, they do occasionally hit a small bump and stop and turn but they cover the area fine eventually.

There are lines on the boundary, nothing major in most cases and I dont really notice them. The big problem is with angles on the boundary and when wet the landroid cuts up the grass so keep the boundary as smooth as possible and you can prevent that. In the areas where I have no choice I use plastic mesh and that stops the landroid cutting up the grass, its soon hidden into the grass and you will never know its there. I will grab some pictures later if that helps.

Happy_Harry

krissovo wrote: »

The height of my fence rail is ~25 cm's, this gives me a couple of centimeters clearance. I did have a couple of lower spots that used to press the stop button when it went under but I raised these and all good now.

My lawn looks manicured thanks to the bots but reality is that there are bumps all over, if you ran across the lawn at some point you would be taken off balance. The bots do fine, they do occasionally hit a small bump and stop and turn but they cover the area fine eventually.

There are lines on the boundary, nothing major in most cases and I dont really notice them. The big problem is with angles on the boundary and when wet the landroid cuts up the grass so keep the boundary as smooth as possible and you can prevent that. In the areas where I have no choice I use plastic mesh and that stops the landroid cutting up the grass, its soon hidden into the grass and you will never know its there. I will grab some pictures later if that helps.

Thanks for that.. I have taken the plunge, so now I just need to be creative to make it work. I will expect I have similar issues where it could start cutting up the grass.. that is a great idea with the mesh...

Do you have any manholes in the lawn ? I have 2 but as my current mower takes no issue with it and they are slightly lower than the grass I doubt the bot will have an issue just going over ?Any way of finding out out before laying down the wire ?

odoliam

I have a manhole that is quite a dip and was very surprised that my M500 never had an issue, yet struggles in a random relatively flat corner! lol

Definitely cut the grass lower before first start to give you the best chance to see where the issues are and get the bot free before the grass grows too fast again

krissovo

Happy_Harry wrote: »

Do you have any manholes in the lawn ? I have 2 but as my current mower takes no issue with it and they are slightly lower than the grass I doubt the bot will have an issue just going over ?Any way of finding out out before laying down the wire ?

If a tennis ball can roll over it the landriod can navigate it, the casters are about the size of a tennis ball so its a useful guide I find.

horseireland

Good evening
Has the Huskie 430x gone up in price from local dealers in the last 12mths. 500 more expensive than may..

septicsac

Whats the best non brand blades out there for a Husky 450X? Got some off amazon b4, were ok, but not wonderful.

caddy16

Hey folks, for anyone with an Ambrogio and slopes did you get the toothed wheel or is it needed?

FM252

odoliam wrote: »

Overall, I'd recommend reducing complexity where you can

If you're set on Husqvarna's, then 2x 315 models would be perfect - but overall ~3 grand.

So in the end I went for the 430x. I could not resist the deal of 2495 and liked the features including having 2 guide wires.

Going to sweep some of my gravel to give it a better chance and then run the guide wire out between boundary wire on driveway 2 feet apart. Then program it to start mowing after 40ft of following guide wire to area 2 etc. Hopefully, this will stop it mowing on driveway. Also read that making entrance to driveway passageway a little more narrow than 2 feet makes it highly unlikely that when in area 1 that it will enter driveway to cut. Will only enter with guide wire.

So my hope is it will only use driveway while getting to pre programed start point and then when needing to be charged when again it looks for guide wire and I presume it will not be mowing at the stage of it's process.

chelseavera

There's very few posts on this great thread about the Honda Miimo. I'll be buying in a month or so and had been leaning towards Ambrogio. It's just I get a better vibe from the guy selling the Miimo. I'd be availing of the installation service - so I'm best buying from a dealer. So! Honda Miimo (4000sqm) opinions?

Moreilly

Getting "cutting system blocked" error constantly on 430x , there is nothing there. Bought it in germany just under 2 years ago so it's still just under warranty. I remember at the time i looked into warranty and made the purchase knowing i could bring it to a local dealer if there was issues, did anybody have to do this yet ?

KCross

Moreilly wrote: »

Getting "cutting system blocked" error constantly on 430x , there is nothing there. Bought it in germany just under 2 years ago so it's still just under warranty. I remember at the time i looked into warranty and made the purchase knowing i could bring it to a local dealer if there was issues, did anybody have to do this yet ?

Does it spin freely? When you spin it by hand it should keep spinning on its own.

When it fires up does it sound normal?

Warranty should be fine with local dealer as long as you have proof of purchase.

Moreilly

KCross wrote: »

Does it spin freely? When you spin it by hand it should keep spinning on its own.

When it fires up does it sound normal?

Warranty should be fine with local dealer as long as you have proof of purchase.

It spins 'fairly' freely, spins for two or three seconds on it's own. contacted the local dealer earlier and got this

"due to the high volume of repairs that we are receiving at the moment, we are only repairing Automowers that we sold. Provided that they are in Ireland, the agent who originally sold the unit to you should be able to look after you, particularly if it is still under warranty."

Shaunoc

Moreilly wrote:

It spins 'fairly' freely, spins for two or three seconds on it's own. contacted the local dealer earlier and got this

Should spin longer. Have you stripped down to what you can?