Are you considering buying a robot lawn mower? If so, you are not alone. More and more shoppers each year are starting to show interest in these devices. With robot mowers becoming more and more popular, there are a lot of questions that consumers have as they decide if they should buy one or not.
I thought I would take some time and go over some of the most Frequently Asked Questions About Robot Lawn Mowers. So let’s get into and see if we can help you in your decision on buying a new robot mower.
Are Robot Mowers Safe?
Yes, robot lawn mowers are extremely safe, especially when compared to their convention counterparts. There are over 85,000 ER visits each year due to traditional lawn mower accidents.
If you have kids or pets, you don’t have to worry about them getting injured by your robot mower. There are several safety features on every robot mower that make them nearly impossible to cause injury to humans or pets.
The use of tile and lift sensors prevent the blades from ever being exposed, which limits any risk of injury from the spinning blades. If your kid lifts up the robot, the sensor trips an alarm which instantly turns the robot off and stops the blades.
I actually just covered this in more depth in a recent article, which you can find here: Are Robot Mowers Safe For Pets And Kids?
Can Robot Mowers Avoid Obstacles In The Yard?
Robot mowers can easily navigate and steer around pretty much all obstacles in your yard. Trees, large rocks, the random toy, all are no problem for a robot mower.
A robot lawn mower comes equipped with several sensors that help it to navigate your lawn. The technology is also used to help the robot map out your yard so it knows where it has mowed and where it still needs to go.
the more advanced robot mowers comes with LIDAR, which does an extremely good job at identifying objects and steering around them.
It is very rare for your robot mower to run into anything in your yard. But it is still a good idea to keep your yard free of toys and other belongings. Not alone with this eliminate the risk of collision, but also keeps your mower from missing a patch or strip of grass.
Can Robot Mowers Stripe My Lawn?
Currently, there aren’t any robot lawn mowers than can leave nice stripes in your lawn, like you find with traditional mowers.
Robot mowers tend to navigate in more sporadic patterns and don’t tend do straight uniform lines like a human would do.
Also, robot mowers are much lighter than a lot of gas or electric riding and push mowers, so they don’t leave as much of an impression on the grass as the cut it.
I do think with time, we’ll see some manufacturers comes up with solutions. They know that homeowners take pride in those patterns in their yards, and they need to find a way to make that possible with robot lawn mowers.
How Does A Robot Mower Stay In My Yard?
Before you start using your new robot mower you’ll need to install what is called a perimeter wire. This is a wire that is buried under the ground, creating an invisible barrier around your yard. It is the same concept as your dog’s invisible fence.
The perimeter wire is detectable by your robot law mower and keeps it from crossing over it into your neighbors yard.
https://youtu.be/yt1wiZxBgQc?t=115
Can Robot Mowers Mulch Leaves
Robot mowers don’t have the ground clearance that your gas-powered riding mower has, so mulching up piles of leaves can be a challenge.
A robot mower can handle some small amounts of leaves, but it will not go over large piles and spit out nice mulched up leaves in your yard. I suggest raking of your leaves before you have your robot mower start its next job.
I covered this topic more here: Do Robot Lawn Mowers Mulch Leaves?
Do Robot Mowers Get Stolen?
Robot mowers come with several anti-theft features to keep them more secure when they are in your yard. It might seem like an easy to steal device, but in reality, it would be hard to make off with a robot mower from someone’s yard.
Most models on the market have some kind of tampering alarm that will sound should someone pick up the robot mower.
Even if someone were to make off with your robot lawn mower, you could have some peace in knowing that they probably wouldn’t be able to use it on their own lawn. Robot mowers come with PIN codes that you have to enter to use. (most models)
Also, you need to pair a robot mower to a base station in order to charge it. So the thief would have no way to charge the robot mower, even if he did crack your code (don’t use 1234).
And lastly, a lot of models have GPS and even geofencing enabled on them. So your local police might be able to locate the unit for you.
You can also blacklist the robot mower, so if mower burglar took it to a repair shop to try and bypass your code or charge it, the repair shop would see that it is a stolen unit.
Read more about this in my recent article: Robot Mower Theft
Can My Robot Mower Run When I am Not Home?
Yes, one of the great things about robot mowers, like most smart robot devices, is that you can schedule them for use at any time. You do not need to be home to have your robot lawn mower cut your grass. So if you are at the office for the day, or even on a beach vacation, you can still have your mower continue to cut your lawn.
You just need to make sure that your robot mower has access to its docking station so it can charge when needed. It is also a good idea just to give your neighbor a heads up that your mower will still be running, if you are away for a long period of time.
Are Robot Lawn Mowers Loud?
Not at all. Robot mowers are extremely quiet, especially when compared to their gasoline counterparts. You can easily run a robot lawn mower in the middle of the night and your neighbors would have no idea. Try that with your traditional riding mower and see how that goes!
Can Robot Mowers Handle Hills?
Robot Mowers can handle most slopes and hills in your yard as long as they aren’t too steep. Anything under a 45% slope shouldn’t be a problem for your average robot lawn mower.
I wrote a whole article about this topic, here: Do Robot Mowers Work On Hills?
The low center of gravity that these devices have make them very good at scaling most small to moderate inclines that your yard may have.
Do Robot Mowers Need Regular Service?
Robot mowers have far fewer working parts than their gasoline powered counterparts. Since there are less moving parts, there are less things that can break and go wrong. This leads to less maintenance on robot mowers.
The only regular maintenance that you’ll need to do on your robot mower is cleaning your robot from built of grass and debris and occasionally changing your blades. That is really about it.
How Often Should I Run My Robot Mower?
Robot mowers should be run a couple times a week, depending n the amount of rain you have gotten. Some people run their robots every day or every other day. This keeps the grass very short, which can actually lead to healthier grass in your lawn.
I usually run my robot mower in my front yard twice a week.
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10 Reasons To Buy A Robot Lawn Mower
Are Robot Mowers Good For The Environment?
Robot mowers have zero emissions so they are much better for the environment then traditional mowers.
Robot mowers also consume very small amounts of electricity when compared to other appliances. So, running a robot mower isn’t going to run up your electric bill.
Is My Yard Too Big For A Robot Mower?
Most robot mowers can handle yards of .5 to 1 acre. Some models can go over that, like the the Husqvarna Automower which can easily do 1.25 acres.
If your yard is much bigger than that, you’ll need multiple robot mowers. At this point, it may be more economical to use a more traditional or even an electric mower.
Related: Best Robot Mowers For Large Yards
Will I Have To Replace The Battery On My Robot Mower?
The battery on robot mower will last a long time. How long depends on how many months of the year you mow, how big your yard is, the terrain, and how often you mow.
Someone living in Ohio, like myself, only mows 5-6 months out the year versus someone in Florida who mows pretty much year-round.
In general, you should get several years of life out of your mower’s battery. On average, I found most manufacturers suggested 5-7 years before needing a battery replacement.
Are Robot Mowers Hard To Set Up?
No, robot mowers are not difficult to set up. If you choose to bury the perimeter wire, that is the most time consuming part. The actual robot mower is very easy to set up and use.
You can set up scheduling easily from the manufacturer’s app or, sometimes, on the actual mower itself.
