Anybody using a lawn mowing robot? Anybody using a lawn mowing robot? - Talk of The Villages Florida

Anybody using a lawn mowing robot?

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Old 03-20-2021, 11:46 AM
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Default Anybody using a lawn mowing robot?

There are lawn mowers that operate like Rombas, except they live outside and mow grass. They start at 600.00 with the sweet spot about 1,000.00

The Best Robot Lawn Mowers for 2021 | PCMag

For me that places the payback at about 2 years over a service. I will have to do the string trimming manually, which doesn't bother me.

Yes, YES, YES, YES! I know lawn mowing is inexpensive here, but it is not essentially free after two years.

Do you have any experience with one of these

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Old 03-20-2021, 06:05 PM
EdFNJ EdFNJ is offline
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Anybody using a lawn mowing robot?
Yea, my lawn guy. He works just like one ..... back and forth and back and forth ...... but he trims and blows of all the crap left behind and the leaves from the neighbors shedding trees and goes up the steep incline on the side of our property without flipping over on his back like a turtle (although he did slide backwards down it once when the grass was wet but recovered).

I'm a big fan of techie toys but I'd also rather pay him if they work anything like the vacuum cleaner one we tried once and that really killed me because I was doing the vacuuming that Robby The Robot (we named him) was supposed to do.!.
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Old 03-20-2021, 07:16 PM
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Yea, my lawn guy. He works just like one ..... back and forth and back and forth ...... but he trims and blows of all the crap left behind and the leaves from the neighbors shedding trees and goes up the steep incline on the side of our property without flipping over on his back like a turtle (although he did slide backwards down it once when the grass was wet but recovered).

I'm a big fan of techie toys but I'd also rather pay him if they work anything like the vacuum cleaner one we tried once and that really killed me because I was doing the vacuuming that Robby The Robot (we named him) was supposed to do.!.
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Old 03-20-2021, 08:27 PM
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“The boss” will not let me get a lawn mower because I would start obsessing about the grass and mow two or three times a week. This would have a serious affect on the battery life and my peace at home. I think I will just let the lawn service do it...
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Old 03-20-2021, 09:44 PM
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One of our neighbors had one up north. I used to watch the thing, fascinated, whenever I was walking past their house. But at one point it started skipping sections, and eventually it stopped working. Turns out the sensors at the edge of the property were damaged, or a mole dug a tunnel under one and it ended up tilted the wrong way or some such. It's not JUST a mower. You have to set sensors along the property line, so the thing knows not to keep going through your neighbor's lawn.

They're also not very heavy, which means on the stuff we call grass down here, they might be too light to actually work very well. Or worse - they might get stuck, because the stuff we call grass down here isn't grass at all, it's a very dense network of vines.

It's a fun toy, with a function. For actual lawn care I'd rather just use a normal lawnmower or hire someone to do it for me.
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Old 03-20-2021, 10:19 PM
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Old 03-20-2021, 10:58 PM
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My lawn mowing guy also nukes the weeds in my garden once a month, which is very important to us. Are there any robots that can do that?
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Old 03-21-2021, 04:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
There are lawn mowers that operate like Rombas, except they live outside and mow grass. They start at 600.00 with the sweet spot about 1,000.00

The Best Robot Lawn Mowers for 2021 | PCMag

For me that places the payback at about 2 years over a service. I will have to do the string trimming manually, which doesn't bother me.

Yes, YES, YES, YES! I know lawn mowing is inexpensive here, but it is not essentially free after two years.

Do you have any experience with one of these
The "sweet spot" isn't $1,000 dollars. Your link, and every review I've read shows a good, reliable robot lawn mower starts around $2,000 dollars. Using your figures, your break even would be in about 4 years. That doesn't include the money spent for your edging & trimming equipment and maintainence and assuming of course, there are no issues with the mower breaking down or not working where you'd have to spend more money to get the lawn mowed until it's repaired. Am sure they are worth it to some people.
I do know one individual in a village that has one and loves it... so far.
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Old 03-21-2021, 06:33 AM
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Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby View Post
They're also not very heavy
That’s a good point if they don’t cut well, but I think light weight would also have an advantage. Dean’s uses large, heavy mowers that are leaving ruts in my yard. I’m not happy about that.
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Old 03-21-2021, 06:41 AM
Papa_lecki Papa_lecki is offline
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I seriously considered one. I also think the price was closer to $2000 for a good unit. It works best on a smaller yard, so the cost to pay someone to mow is much less - so payback was longer. I also didnt have confidence the machine would last more than 18 months, mowing year round.
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Old 03-21-2021, 06:50 AM
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Anybody can cut grass, but the trimming is the hard part also cleanup. I support the local business man. I am not looking for a break even point. I think your focus needs to be on more important things in life.
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Old 03-21-2021, 07:27 AM
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Default My Experience With the Robot

I bought a Husquavarna robotic mower about three years ago. At the time I bought, the mower shop in Wildwood knew nothing about them. I had to run the wire around the property by myself. It was a 90 degree August day and I ended up in the hospital with heat stroke. By all ma professional to means, try to get a professional to bury the wire. The wire provided with the mower installation kit was very thin and got cut easily. I was constantly having to find the cut wire and mend it. I eventually replaced the entire wiring system with a heavier wire.

I set the machine to run for about eight hours a day. The frustrating thing is that the machine worked like a teenager. It would start in one part of the yard cut several random paths and move on without completing the area. Eventually, it did get to the entire yard but it was interesting to watch it move around.

Be careful if you buy one. The one I bought actually cuts the grass shorter than recommended at the highest setting.

Currently, there is a cut in the new line that I have not been able to find. I had to buy a small mower to cut the grass until one of my sons can come down and help me. Just another problem with Covid as they have not been able to travel due to their jobs.

Eventually, I will get the mower running again and will enjoy watching it cut the grass in the extreme heat while I sip a cool drink.
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Old 03-21-2021, 07:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
There are lawn mowers that operate like Rombas, except they live outside and mow grass. They start at 600.00 with the sweet spot about 1,000.00

The Best Robot Lawn Mowers for 2021 | PCMag

For me that places the payback at about 2 years over a service. I will have to do the string trimming manually, which doesn't bother me.

Yes, YES, YES, YES! I know lawn mowing is inexpensive here, but it is not essentially free after two years.

Do you have any experience with one of these
I took over our weed care as the services we were using for fertilization and pest control were failing miserably. I researched the robotic lawn machines but just couldn't pull the plug to purchase one over concerns of reliability, longevity, and my wife throwing me out of the house.

Logic from our experience with robot vacuums. 1st one noisy beat the legs of the furniture & baseboards up kept getting stuck in places that were hard to find. 2nd one was quieter, not as abusive to the furniture but kept getting stuck. Ah 3rd one good ole R2D2 does a great job quiet, treats the furniture with kid gloves and always makes it home to the docking station.

Then there are my drones.....another story

My wife, best friend, financial advisor, & smart one in the house said she wasn't going through that process again and forbid me from purchasing a robotic lawn machine. Since happy wife happy live I got a real nice battery lawn mower by EGO. No robot in her yard just a EGO and its I-dot...LOL (She really does put up with a lot of my high tech gadgets & bright ideas....poor woman)

Please keep us updated as if one turns out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I may reevaluate our situation and run in by my best half.
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Old 03-21-2021, 08:30 AM
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Our neighbor has one. They call it the turtle. It's always hung up somewhere in their yard. When it IS running, it seems to move about randomly, not back and forth in straight lines like most homeowners prefer.

I'll support a small business owner to cut my grass, who also, trims, blows and sprays for weeds when he sees them.
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Old 03-21-2021, 08:48 AM
Jerry Leinsing Jerry Leinsing is offline
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You think porch pirates are a miserable bunch, I hope you have insurance for your unattended lawnmower. People will steal this thing just because they can and then throw it in a dumpster...just to be mean.
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