I want a robotic mower plus

[DirtMechanic]

I must be really picky. I mean its not good enough for me that robotic mowers even exist, which is amazing, but I literally expect a higher level of integration and control than the random direction cutters I see on the market today. Does anybody make a "smart" mower yet?

 

[Silentrunning]

I have never cared for the idea of a lawnmower blade rotating at a couple thousand RPMs going about its business unattended. It just seems that there are too many things that could go wrong.

 

[CanadianLori]

I would buy one if they weren't so expensive.

I have a roomba and am amazed that it does sweep the kitchen, living and dining rooms - about 1000 square feet or so. on one charge. They just go and go and until they need to dock and recharge. Of course it doesn't move furniture or anything so I use the central vacuum every 10 days or so to get any leftovers.

The robotic mowers probably have a bigger battery than the vacuum and the vacuum runs for nearly 2 hours on one charge.

I'm thinking it would be necessary to never let the grass go more than a few days without trimming.

 

[MaryMary]

I literally expect a higher level of integration and control than the random direction cutters I see on the market today.

What, exactly, do you want it to do? You want to be able to tell it to make fancy lawn lines in programmable patterns? I don't think there is a smart mower yet. Give them a year.

I have never cared for the idea of a lawnmower blade rotating at a couple thousand RPMs going about its business unattended. It just seems that there are too many things that could go wrong.

I think you have a point there.

 

[Ian]

If you have a circular garden, this method is 100% accurate (cheap too) :

Funnily enough, I've just bought a robot vacuum cleaner to help save me time cleaning each week. It hasn't arrived yet, so I'm yet to put it to the test - but from what I understand, the technology has improved a lot in the past couple of years. I'm sure it won't be too long before robot lawnmowers catch up too.

 

[DirtMechanic]

@MaryMary you have given me my new yard anthem to be sung loudly while driving madly about on my riding mower! I would like one that could geolocate off radio beacons for example, thereby allowing an improve pattern instead of running a random number generator on the 360 degree directional compass it must have in its head. Or I would like it to track the perimeter wire and use that info to the same purpose. The yard is at least 25k/ft and is the upper side of what the bots are handling from what I have been reading.

@CanadianLori they are not as expensive as my riding mower, but not quite as useful either except that guarunteed time spent every weekend mowing when I could be doing anything else.

 

[Daren]

You can get them Cheap of the back of lorries now. But the problem is they keep going missing Round here

 

[JBtheExplorer]

This is the type of lawnmower I'd like.



Unfortunately I have too much lawn to go that route. Eventually, I'd like to have no lawn. Then again, I'd like no one around me to have lawn either. Noise pollution is my least favorite part of summer.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I really have a problem with time. The reel mowers are cool, and they are used on golf courses in gangs, but I have 3 businesses and a federal government that has made me responsible for the workers even though they have never vetted me, a state government that penalizes me for the behavior of workers, a county that taxes yearly everything I have already paid taxes to buy, and city governments that think I am free labor to do their bookkeeping on sales taxes and penalize me for the least mistake. Believe me when I say you should not fools yourself into buying a mower of that type. It has too high of a time price. Tax is what I do when I get off work. Then I can get to plants. You may not have the same issues because a person like me was stupid enough to ....wait.. I am just gonna stop now.

@Daren I understand the rfid chips and geolocation have helped that issue.

 

[Silentrunning]

The new push and self propelled mowers you buy today won't even let you take your hands off the handle without the engine shutting off. I can't see the government letting a company sell an autonomous mower.

 

[DirtMechanic]

If you tilt them they have instant brakes now. And the blades are bent downwards..funny looking things like a blender blade sort of thing.

Forgive this edit, Its not intended to be smarty but really, riding on whirling blades or grabbing onto a whirling blade via the short handle or being 50 yards away.....which is really safer?

 

[Daren]

Sounds like you got your Hart Set on Getting One Well If I was Going down that Path I do like Husqvarna Automower I have seen them working & they Seem to be able to deal with most Lawns weather there are steep Gradients & long grass But Don't leave the Tortes out or the Expressive Sunglasses on the Lawn lol. I start thinking about your lawn bounder's Make sure there are no alterations you would like to make before Lay the boundary wire for your now mower & if you get one Let us know what you think. As far as I'm Aware the only task once set up should be Replacing The blades once a month or so other than that just an occasional watch to make sure its not got stuck or next doors dog is not chasing it lol Hope you find it a better way of dealing with the mowing duties DirtMechanic

 

[roadrunner]

I've reduced my mowing by mulching over the grass

 

[MaryMary]

The yard is at least 25k/ft

25,000 square feet? So, a little over a half acre? Hmm... my parents put me on a riding mower and had me mow our 3 acres when I was about 12 years old. Could you find a responsible neighborhood child willing to take on a summer job? ( I would have been thrilled to get as little as $10, instead of... you know... food and shelter. .) Even if you had to drive to pick them up and take them home, it would free up some of your time. People drive their babysitter back and forth, so why not?


If you don't have neighbors that would report your yard as a nuisance, you could take a page from the book of @JBtheExplorer, and give over half of that space to native plants. Plant self-seeding perennials, mulch them once a year, and let them grow! It might be more time in the beginning, but it's gardening time, not mowing time. If you grew at least half of them from seed, it probably wouldn't cost as much as the mower.

If that could work, here is a link to native Alabama perennials.
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/c...01=1&height_02=1&1&pagecount=10&pagecount=100

I specified no taller than 3 feet, and there are 667 options to choose from. You can narrow the search based on soil type and sun requirements. You can also switch around the bloom times, so that you could always have something flowering.



If you are dead set on buying the robot mower - I had a look at them, and a lot of them look like little race cars!! Please paint flames on the sides of it!!

@MaryMary you have given me my new yard anthem to be sung loudly while driving madly about on my riding mower!

I was so busy ignoring you yesterday, I didn't have time to respond to that before work! I'm glad you liked it, and the mental image you gave me makes me laugh out loud!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

If you don't have neighbors that would report your yard as a nuisance, you could take a page from the book of @JBtheExplorer, and give over half of that space to native plants. Plant self-seeding perennials, mulch them once a year, and let them grow! It might be more time in the beginning, but it's gardening time, not mowing time. If you grew at least half of them from seed, it probably wouldn't cost as much as the mower.

The biggest thing is weeding in the first two years. By year three, it can out-compete most weeds and becomes nearly self-maintaining. Native gardens can even be designed to look more like typical gardens rather than wild gardens, which would avoid any problems from pesky neighbors. I had too much useless grass, so I added the native garden. I still have too much grass, to be honest.