A robot mower isn’t a sign of the future, it is the sign of now! If you are after a perfectly cut lawn and are fed up of breaking your back pushing that hunky chunk of metal around the garden, a robot mower should be on your next shopping list. But what other things do you need to keep in mind when shopping for a robot mower?
How big is your lawn?
Depending on the size of your lawn you need to pick a robot mower that can handle the magnitude of your grass. Its ability to cut grass is all down to a flat and open area. If you’ve got a massive lawn space that hasn’t been tackled in months, or even years, you need to choose a robot mower with greater capabilities. If you have a lawn that’s got steep banks, you need to get a mower that has good traction. Even if it rains, robot mowers can still get to work. As long as you pick one with wheels that have a good grip you can put it to work at any time of day in any weather. If your lawn has various levels and intricacies, you may very well think that’s a robot mower won’t be able to undertake this. But modern robots have gotten very sophisticated. With GPS navigation and in-app programming, there’s not much that they can’t handle. And yes there’s several models that are perfect for small yards.
What is the state of your lawn?
Robot mowers are designed to make your lawn greener and healthier, and if you’ve got a loan that looks like it’s been hacked at, but you want to instill a sense of pride in your greenery in the back garden, a robot mower cuts down on so much effort, removing weeds, dethatching and aerating your grass. If you’re someone that doesn’t have time to look after your garden, a robot mower will make short work of any gardening operation. Instead of removing the clipping, which can deprive your grass of the nutrients, the clippings are mulched into very small pieces and returned back to the lawn. This then filters down to the soil level, returning the nutrients back into the grass, resulting in a fresher and healthier lawn. As you can send the robot mower out to do the lawn whenever you want, the regularity of cutting the grass will keep weeds at bay. And as your lawn will forever look flat, you can take an extra bit of pride in your lawn.
Are they safe?
No doubt you have spent a long time adopting a very safety conscious mindset when mowing the lawn with your old faithful, but as conventional lawnmowers are undoubtedly one of the most hazardous pieces of equipment in any garden, and the numbers of people attending the emergency department every year in the united states can attest to this, a robot mower is safer in so many different ways. Because robot lawnmowers use smaller blades with less power, there is no need for us to go near the device while it’s in operation. The blades are hidden underneath the device, as well as being able to initiate an emergency stop if there is any hint of interference. If there is a chance of collision, robot mowers use different components. Firstly, the vast majority of robot mowers use a floating shelf and the mower chassis. Some mowers will detect changes in the wheels speed. Some robot mowers use a soft bumper along with accelerometers attached. These accelerometers are able to detect obstacles in case of impact. In addition to these, many robot mowers have sonar or lidar detection. This means it can tell if there are obstacles on approach, so the device can slow down, stop or move away.
Do you think someone will steal it?
If you take pride in your lawn, and you live in an affluent area, you could run the risk of having somebody steal it to make a quick buck. But the great thing about robot mowers is that you can equip it with a PIN code lock, an alarm, and put a GPS tracker on it. If it ends up being stolen, you can report the product to the dealer and they will blacklist the mower. This means that future servicing is rendered impossible.
Does it need much maintenance?
If you spend so long looking after your old trusty lawnmower, you may think that something with more moving parts and technology requires double the amount of maintenance. In fact, robot mowers are simpler than conventional ones in so many ways. Because conventional lawn mowers have cutting mechanisms that are very heavy duty, as well as an internal combustion engine, this makes it tantamount to fixing a car engine if it was to break down. Robot mowers have very few components in comparison. It has an electric motor, the most basic of cutting mechanisms, as well as lithium-ion batteries. Looking after a robot mower tends to consist of cleaning the underside of it every few weeks to avoid grass clippings building up. You will also have to change the blades in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer. But with any device, if you want to keep it in good working condition, you need to look at it every so often.
How much money do you have?
As misleading as this is, you may think that robot mowers are very expensive. It all depends on your budget, they can range from $600 up to $3500. As there are numerous factors you’ve got to bear in mind that has already been mentioned, such as the size of your lawn, if you want something that does the basic job, you can purchase a cheaper model. In addition to this, when you think about the lifetime of a robot mower, it could work out a lot cheaper than a conventional one.
When shopping for a robot mower, keep these things in mind, and you’ll be able to find a mower that suits you, and takes a lot of the stress and strain of maintaining your garden.