Friendly Robotics RoboMower 21-Inch Automatic Cordless Electric Lawn Mower #RL850 | 
| Brand: Friendly Robotics
List Price: $1,999.99
Buy New: $1,389.00
You Save: $610.99 (31%)
New (3) from $1,389.00
Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 26275
Media: Tools & Hardware
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 95
Dimensions (in): 34.5 x 13 x 26
MPN: STC 80850
Model: RL850
UPC: 701762808506
EAN: 0807706002112
ASIN: B0001ZI54M
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Automatic lawnmower designed to mow entirely by itself | | • | Efficiently and safely mows lawn, while you relax | | • | Cuts up to 10,800 square feet on a single 24-hour charge | | • | Onboard sensor and bumper avoids obstacles; built-in child safety lock; powerful mulcher | | • | 5,800 rpm blade speed; 2-year warranty |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description
The Friendly Robotics RoboMower Automatic Lawn Mower is a fully automatic lawnmower designed to mow your lawn entirely by itself. The fully-automatic mower travels across the lawn in a crisscross pattern, covering up to 10,800 square feet on a single charge while you relax on the porch. The RoboMower works by mowing within a selected boundary outlined by a small wire (the unit includes 500-foot perimeter wire). Its navigation system can handle any lawn, regardless of shape, slope, or obstacles. It is capable of mowing 3/4 of an acre on one battery charge. Because the mower is rechargeable, it doesn't need gas or oil, and emits no pollution and little noise. However, it's still as powerful as conventional mowers, employing a battery-powered 3-blade, 21-inch powerful cutting system equivalent to a 5-1/2 HP gas mower, but with better mulching and a 5,800 rpm blade speed (double that of a typical gas unit). The Triple Chamber Mulching system compacts grass into small clippings that decompose naturally on the lawn, improving your lawn's health while lightening your workload. The mower also comes with a host of safety features, such as a child lock and a detection system that automatically turns off the blade if the mower is lifted. It also includes a user-controlled theft protection and disabling system using a personal password. The mower comes with plenty of oomph, completing about three hours of mowing with a single 24-hour charge. The RL850 is also upgradeable to the RL1000, which comes with a programmable docking station. The RL1000 will automatically depart and return to the docking station at preset times to mow the lawn--even at night while you're sleeping--adding yet another level of convenient operation. A 2-year warranty is included and comes complete with 2007 generation software.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 21 more reviews...
An honest view... June 14, 2005
J. Cisnero (Tennessee)
176 out of 178 found this review helpful
First off let me say I've seen a mix of reviews. Most of them have been positive, but a few negative ones as well.
I will discuss the negative points fully since they should be mentioned, but they are far outweighed by all of the positive things I can say about this mower, which is why I have given it four stars. I would, and should give it five stars, but I want people to know how I honestly feel and I want them to read the negative points so they can decide if this is best for them.
The subjects I will cover are setup, use, upkeep, quality, and price.
Setup (Three stars): First off, this is by far the worst section. I can see a lot of potential for someone to set their mower up in an improper fashion resulting in limited performance, but if you keep in mind that this mower is supposed to help you overcome the bulk of your yard work keep in mind it doesn't do everything.
It works as has been noted by many people by placing a wire around the perimeter of your yard. Let me say that this is best achieved by breaking your yard up into sections, especially if you have a medium to large sized yard (half to full acre).
Getting the wire just right is the hardest part, and the wire is supposed to be held in place by special plastic stakes that nail it down. The package comes with 200 of these pegs and for any good sized yard it's not nearly enough since they really need to be close together to keep the wire from becoming loose enough for the mower to snag itself on. Alternatively, you can bury the wire up to six inches into the ground which I highly recommend if you have that patience and tools. Otherwise either buy extra stakes when you purchase your mower, or do as I did and visit your local department start and aquire some relatively cheap plastic tent-stakes since this can work out cheaper for you in the end.
Next is the issue of the wire itself. 500 feet is included and the officially available 16 gauge solid copper wire they make available for purchase is severely overpriced (nearly $50). Since 500 feet was barely large enough to do cover my front yard I had to buy 1000 extra feet. After some research I discovered that 14 gauge THHN solid copper wire which is available at most hardware stores works equally well (if not a little better due to it's stiffness) and is much cheaper (around $16 for 500 feet).
Setting the wire up is tedious and will require some adjustments and I feel that the process is a little more involved than they make it out to be. It took me the greater part of three days to get the wire setup in such a way that I was fully satisfied with it, and even still I can find areas that require an extra stake because the mower has worked them a little loose. Luckily I haven't manage to get one snagged yet, but this is because I've been supervising it closely to make sure it doesn't mow over a stretch that is too loose.
I also can't stress nearly enough how important it is to get the direction of your wire correctly (as illustrated in the manual) lest you be faced with a robot that gets easily confused with flower garden/tree islands that are wired in the wrong direction of flow.
After the setup though things are all downhill. So in closing the topic of setup, expect some hair pulling and annoyances because it isn't painless unless you do bury the wire which I would highly recommend after my experience with staking the wire down.
Use (Five Stars): This is where it starts to get good. The mower does it job as expected, and rather cleverly. It's ability to handle obstacles, zone-islands, corners, and even edges is much better than I expected. Keep an eye on the mower when you first get it to watch for problems, but most of them can be handled well with clever wire placement. The robot handles ruts, holes, and other such things better than the negative reviews I've seen. If it gets stuck in small pits or other such irregularities, it can work itself free. Most of the negative reviews I've seen have blamed the issues on the design, but the owners clearly owned the RL500 or 800. The RL850 is what I own and what this review is centered around. It has improved tires and navigation software and does a great job dealing with the issues some people have complained about in the past. Therefore any negative reviews you have seen regarding these issues are aimed at the RL 500 and 800 exclusively and not the 850. Those reviews are highly inappropriate for this model and should be taken with a grain of salt. (NOTE: The 500 and 800 are no longer available from Amazon.Com or any other site that I've visited.)
As for the quality of cut I can vouch for every positive review I've seen. It's a little slow but it is persistent. The battery lasts much longer than advertised and a full day's charge is enough to mow all three of my zones. I suspect the length of a charge for me will shorted as the battery ages, so I will almost certainly purchase a spare battery and rapid charger. That is something else I highly recommend. One battery may be enough while it is new, but it won't stay new forever. The rapid charger also will help a whole lot since the robot takes almost a full 24 hours to charge the battery on it's own.
Upkeep (Four Stars): This is one area where it doesn't fare as well as it's performance. The blades should not be sharpened in other to avoid getting them out of balance. This isn't by itself a bad thing but their price may turn some people off (see price section below). Since you can hose under the deck you will be picking grass-sludge out by hand or with a tool, and it does tend to get bits of grass all over itself. The wheels can also cake up with dirt and grass so I recommend not using this mower on wet grass or in mud. Since the wheels don't easily come off (if they come off at all) cleaning them is a chore. Though the mower claims to be able to handle moist grass and slight rain, I recommend avoiding it. It will make cleanup easier in the end if you restrict the use of your robot to dry and sunny days.
Quality (Four Stars): Many have complained about the quality of the unit. Don't listen to the most negative things you've heard. Some have complained about the battery not working (Did you check the replaceable automotive fuse, people?) and others have complained about the 2 year warranty not being long enough. Most complaints are centered around the plastic it's constructed out of (as opposed to what? Metal?) or the lifespan of the battery. These are items you can hardly complain about so that leaves just the motors and the controls, both of which are obviously very adequate for the job.
Yes, the robot mower is made of plastic. And yes the perimeter switch does feel kind of cheap. But overall the qualities that matter most are outstanding, and I've never heard of a motor being burned out. In fact the mower has the ability to stop and cool itself down if it feels the motors are being worked too hard. So if you have to knock the quality of this unit let's make some real complaints. The perimeter switch is my biggest complaint, and isn't designed for a more permanent installation in a yard. This could be improved upon but it is by no means a show-stopper. The robot itself feels quite solid. The controller feels at least as solid as any video game console controller. And the other major parts seem very rugged. It's hard to knock anything important about the quality of this unit. So once again, take the negative talk with a grain of salt.
Price (Three stars): Just over $1000 for the mower itself is a great price. I have no problems with that. However, the connectors for the perimeter switch, the switches themselves (should you need extras) and the cost of the wire, blades, and batteries (which you will also need to replace once every few years) is outrageous. Avoid the cost of the wire and the stakes by using alternatives that are cheaper. They work just as well and it will save you lots of money.
That leaves the blades and the batteries, which you can only get in official form from FriendlyRobotis (and their resellers). At around $50 and $200 respectively the price is very steep and it's a cost any potential buyer must feel comfortable with. I personally think it's worth that much to spend about $350 over the course of three years to keep my robot mowing and to keep my yard looking good, but this may be a bit much for most people to swallow.
Granted, this solution won't be best for everyone. However for some people it is clearly the best solution to keeping a yard well groomed. Don't let the the naysayers dissuade you. The worst points are the obvious ones that anyone could have guessed, and the best points are the reasons people buy these things. I couldn't be happier.
Very good, but not perfect. September 29, 2004
Jeff L. Whitfield (Rochester, Michigan)
71 out of 74 found this review helpful
I purchased an 850 about three months ago. My thumbnail review: good labor saving device, if you do not set your expectations too high.
This tool saves me a LOT of work. Not necessarily time, but work. I don't feel comfortable leaving Raoul (our name for our "gardener") running when I go out. It takes him about two hours to cut one of our two zones. (It takes me about an hour to cut the whole thing by hand.) So for those two hours, someone has to be home. At first, we just sat and watched him cut. Now I usually work on something else, or eat dinner, or read a book. But I have to stay home. And he does not cut in an orderly fashion. Raoul just wanders around the yard in a long, cris-crossing fashion. What he does not cut in one pass, he might get in the next. Or maybe the one after that. So if you stop him early, you will have to look for the places he has missed. But I have gotten into the habit of just turning him loose whenever I happen to be at home for the evening, which is usually at least once a week. Not a problem.
You will end up with a nice lawn. It does not get closer than a couple of inches from any vertical wall, so you will have to edge, but it cuts well and mulches much better than anything else I have used. When the lawn is done, it looks good.
It appears to be pretty safe. In my opinion, you will have to work to lose fingers, or a pet. The bottom of my Robomower is relatively flat, with three bowl shaped indents. The indents are arranged in a triangle, two in front, one in the middle behind. At the bottom (top?) of each indent, about an inch above the bottom of the mower, is a blade. In order to get your finger in the blade, you must reach under the mower about two inches from the side (a good trick while the mower is moving), or about six inches from the front, then stick your finger up inside the indent, without lifting the mower (if the front wheel comes clear of the ground, the blades appear to stop), or bumping a sensor. Pretty hard to hurt yourself. Of course, you will have to make your own evaluation, and I accept no liability, and am just stating a personal opinion...
All of my problems have had to do with the state of my lawn. We just moved into a new house. We have five trees and a lamp post on the property. There are numerous low spots. Two of the trees have a significant surface root system. To be honest, I was impressed with how well Raoul copes with the roots. Usually, he rolls up, the front wheel bounces over the root (stopping the blade for a moment), he mutters to himself for a moment (something about removing the battery before lifting), then he proceeds on. Sometimes, though, he will try to go along the tree root, lifting his rear driving wheels, without lifing his front wheel. In this case, he really does not realize that he is not going anywhere. Sometimes he seems to figure out that he has gone further than is possible, and he reverses out, but sometimes that doesn't work either. I have stopped this for the moment by placing a rock partway up the problem roots. He bumps them and reverses. But I will have to come up with a permanent solution as we landscape.
The other environmental problem is the low spots. In some cases the front wheel will get in a low spot, the blades stop for a moment, and Raoul will drive out of it, but sometimes it seems to stymie him. I am filling in the low spots with a topsoil/grass seed mixture and I think this problem will go away.
Bottom line - Would I do it again? I think so. It took me a while to set him up and learn his foibles, but he is a neat toy and at this point, I just don't worry about cutting the lawn!
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OK, it is two and a half years later and a couple of more comments... I need to buy batteries about every two years. The roots continue to be a problem. I have wired around one set, so that tree is no longer a problem. Of the four remaining trees, Raoul seems to cope with three of them all right, but I need to wire around the last and biggest tree (a huge old weeping willow). I have used three bags of stakes, and will probably need to buy a fourth.
The biggest pain in the neck has been wire breaks. Maybe I have stretched the perimeter wire too tight, but I have had three wire breaks. Not major breaks, but enough to break the circuit. Finding and fixing these breaks takes just about a whole afternoon. After reading some other reviews, I think I will try some 14 gauge wire, rather than the 16 that came with the unit.
Had one unit breakdown in three years. The folks from Friendly referred me to RoboDirect. These guys are VERY good. Diagnosed the problem over the phone, talked me through verifying it, and sold me the $25 control cradle that I needed, all in one day. Took a week to receive it, I installed it easily, and had Raoul back at work. Only had to mow once with the old push mower. I am sure that Friendly is trying hard, but the biggest source of negative reviews on this site seems to me to be tech support. Now I just deal with RoboDirect. No problems. The symptoms of a minor line break are not obvious (a 5 second delay, followed by the weak battery signal) and Friendly tech support did not seem to recognize it. I mentioned it to RoboDirect and they diagnosed it and told me how to fix it right away.
Don't know if everyone will have it this easy, but that has been my experience.
 By Golly, It Works May 21, 2004
31 out of 32 found this review helpful
My paid lawn care service bailed out on me and left me high and dry with no mower and a lawn that was beginning to look like a hayfield. I added up the money I paid others to mow my lawn last year, and decided that if the Robomower worked, and lasted 1-1/2 years, I'd be even, and wouldn't have to give up my evenings after work and brave the mosquitoes and black flies.
I love it. I'm stretching its capabilities in terms of lawn size and inclines, but the little thing just keeps chugging along. I have it set to high clearance and a high cut, and it is handling my very uneven lawn with no problems. It took two mows per zone to transform my badly overgrown lot into a groomed lawn. The cut is good, just like my riding-mower or push-mower neighbors' except without the lines. The Robomower mulches beautifully, leaving no evidence of clippings on top of the grass.
I start the mower when I get home from work. While it mows, I'm inside doing all the other evening chores, and then relaxing. It keeps on mowing after the sun goes down, and it's so quiet that you won't disturb the neighbors if it finishes up at 10 PM. (Just remember to bring a flashlight to find where it has stopped when it is time to bring it in!)
While you can just set it up and go, to get the best cut be prepared to spend a little time optimizing things after you've seen it run a couple times: adjusting the perimeter wire, and changing zone configurations if you need to. I started out with two zones, but changed to three, given the size(10,000 sq ft+) and irregular shape of my lawn. I may get the optional fast charger so I can mow more than one zone per day.
Side effect: You will get passers-by stopping to stare and chat. It is a definite conversation starter.
Added over two years later: Still working, and I'm still happy with it.
 Will it last? I don't think so and here is proof July 10, 2007
kcobra07 (USA)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
Make sure you read all of this review before making your decision. Anyone can buy a new car, toy, or appliance and be happy the first few weeks. It's the time factor that you need in making an intelligent decision about a product. Just how long does it last. That's why I try to make sure I update my review throughout the life of the product.
I have had my robomower for 3 weeks now and I love it. No more taking allergy medication before mowing for me. You put it in a dry place, let it charge and then set it out on its own. It took a good 2 days to install and it includes everything to get you running. The kit includes 200 stakes, charger, 500 feet of wire (if you need more you can use 14 guage - 500 feet - $20 from hardware store), signal unit and two signal unit connectors.
It's controlled by the installation of the wire around the perimeter of your yard. The mower will only run inside the wire. You can also break your yard into sections and put it in that section, moving it from each section when it finishes. The wire can be buried or installed with the small stakes included. Once you install the wire you connect the signal unit to the two ends of the wire from the perimeter to a small unit that sends a signal around the wire. Once the wire is installed you simply use the hand unit that looks like a ninetendo controller to drive the mower to it's starting position. Starting the mower is even easier, just press the "Go" button on the top of the unit. The mower will start by cutting around the perimeter of your yard following the wire. Then it will stay inside the wire and go back and forth cutting the grass. It makes a shape like a bunch of W's connected (WWWWWWW) when it cuts.
As you can see from the picture it looks like a little toy space ship. Little toy!? Don't let this fool you. This thing weighs in at a little over 100 pounds and it has some torque to go with it. If you have holes in your yard you may have to fill them in, but they will have to be pretty deep before the mower will get stuck. The wheels are adjustable and the higher setting does make it easier for it to pull out of tough situations. I was worried that my yard might be a little steep, but the mower really surprised me. The cut was clean and my lawn has never looked better. The neighbors are trying to keep up with me now.
As I mentioned, it has a small removable control that looks like a Nintendo game controller that you can use to drive it around your yard. I did find the controls to be a bit sluggish and if you are not careful you will find yourself pressing on the controller pretty hard. This may lead to unusual wear on the control and I could see myself taking it in for a repair.
I guess you may be wondering what this thing uses to cut. Well, there are three tungsten blades that make a low humming noise, but it's so low that you can carry on a conversation while it passes you in the yard. I had one neighbor comment that it was great that it was so quiet. I have put robo out late at night before to cut until 1a.m. The neighbors didn't even know that I had it out. So far it's cut the yard nicely. Although I imagine that you will have to buy a set of blades every year. I'll update this on the price later.
The first couple of weeks I had to put the mower out almost everyday for the whole week so it could get all the grass cut. It has to run over the tall grass a couple of times, but it eventually got it all. I do wish they would put a sensor on the mower so it knows when it hits a clump of tall grass and would cut in a square or circle for a few minutes.
I would also recommend robo owners to put their mower out at least once a week. I noticed that the dandelions, which are usually a pretty tough weed, were only cut if they were less than 4 inches tall. Dandelions will grow pretty fast and can be 7 inches in no time.
I also had a little trouble with the charging mechanism. It has an LCD window on the controller that tells you when the unit is fully charged. I put the unit on charge and checked it again after 24 hours, it was still telling me that it was charging. I checked with the manufacturer. They told me that it was known to happen and that it could be considered fully charged after 24 hours. After I unplugged the mower it showed on the controller that the battery was full, but the mower did not run the full 4 hours. Since my grass was completely cut I let it charge over the weekend. This time when I checked it the Ready indicator was showing in the window.
If you do not like mowing your yard, get a robomower. I would recommend it to anyone. You may want to hurry since they are discontinuing the 800 series. The new 850 & 1000 are almost double the price, but they do charge themselves which makes not mowing even better.
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June 24, 2004 -- Well into mowing season in NC.
The mower is doing great, although I have noticed a few sqeaks as it's running. I put it out every other day and let it run. I have noticed it being a little sluggish in thick bermuda grass, but I would have trouble pushing a mower through that stuff myself.
I also found out that you can replace the controller. It seems here is a small cover inside the controller tray that is removable. The controller plugs into the unit with a small plug that looks like a phone jack. Now I can replace it if needed.
The only other thing that I've noticed is that the charge time is around 36 hours instead of 24. The charger that comes with the mower is a trickle charge and doesn't put out much power. There is a fast charger but I don't think it's worth it.
Sept 16, 2004 - Hope this isn't a sign of the future
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Had to take the mower in for service. There is a sensor on the front wheel that detects if the front of the mower has been lifted. Mine is saying that the front wheel is off the ground when it is not. I just talked to the repairman the other day. He tells me that he put a new front wheel sensor in and it wasn't the problem after all. Now he is replacing the main motherboard. It's been 2 weeks now so my grass is getting pretty high with all the rain we have been having. I hope this is just a fluke of my luck. I would hold off on buying one until you see how my story ends. I'll post an update when I get the mower back. I only have a couple more weeks of mowing.
October 1, 2004
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Just got off the phone with the rep from friendly. He is telling me that the part for my mower should be here by next Wed. Today is Friday. They knew at the first of the week that the main board was bad. It looks like it's going to be a month before they can get my mower fixed. I understand that they are working with the local shop to make sure I get the part even though the shop should be going through their parent company. I also understand that it would have taken longer had it not been from Robomower company stepping in.
Final words: It's a good tool, but you better hope it doesn't break down. If it does it will take you a month to get it back depending on your area. Do your homework. Ask how long repairs should take. Also, my riding mower broke down once after 15 years of service. That was when I decided to buy a Robomower. I used to think that I wanted to sell Robomower's, but now I'm having my doubts. I will not sell a product that I feel will not give someone good service and they will get excellent service from the company.
My status on this product has gone from 5 stars down to 3 stars, those stars include the service you get from the company. I will always consider that in my reviews.
Service after the purchase always counts as part of the product.
October 7, 2004
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Finally got the robomower back. Lesson learned here. Make sure you know how long repairs will take. I did have a couple of issues after I got the mower back. Seems the repairman didn't reset the calibration settings so the mower would start in calibration mode. I talked with him over the phone and he talked me through the system settings. I had to play around with it a little while to get it to set the directional settings. Once it locked in it was fine. I let the mower cut for about 3 hours. The grass was rather high, so it took a while for it to cut. It's probably going to take a week for it to get all the high grass now.
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November 14, 2004
It's the end of the cutting season. I'm letting Robomower cut to test out the repairs. I've had it charging for a ouople of weeks. The last cutting seemed to do okay, but the mower would only run about 2 hours. Before the repair it would run for 3.5 to 4 hours. Also, the problem with the repairs seems to be with the shop where I bought the mower. I've been communicating with the home office and they are determined to make me happy. I told the representative there about my reduced battery time. He told me that if the time falls below 2 hours he would replace the battery. I'll keep this updated on the progress. If things work out I wouldn't mind buying their new mower that charges itself.
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April 20, 2005
It's a new cutting season and Robo is doing great. The battery trouble that I had has been rectified. the manufacturer sent me a new battery after my time dropped to 1 1/2 hrs of cutting time. I took it into the shop with the battery and the repair was done in 3 days. Beats the heck out of waiting for the shop to order the parts. I have noticed some difference in mower. I noticed the first charging session that it only took 24 hrs to charge. then the next sesssion I unplugged it and then plugged it back in the "Keep Charging" changed to "Ready" right after I plugged it in. The mower only ran for 2 1/2 hrs. This time I let it charge for 48 hrs and didn't unplug it until it had "Ready" on it's own. I'm hoping it will run the full 3 to 4 hrs. I have new blades that were $58 if I remember correctly. I kept the old blades and may see if they can be sharpened.
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July 25, 2005
Looks like I'm having trouble with the battery again. I don't know if it was the shop repair that is causing the batteries to run low or if it is the batteries. I found a reputable dealer on the internet that seems to work good with people and he has a fast turn around on repairs. I may see if I can send him the mower for repair. Looks like this is starting to get a little out of hand, but at least it is still under warranty.
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August, 4 2005
I have my mower back and it looks like it will do okay. I still can't get the full 4 hours of charge like it use to do. After I got the mower back it ran for 3 1/2 hours, but the time started to drop going down to 2 1/2 hours. They won't replace the batteries until it goes below 1 1/2 hours cutting time. I'm starting to think that the mower isn't all it's cut out to be. If I can get my five years out of it then it will have paid for itself. I will keep this updated.
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Feb 2006
It is starting to get close to cutting season and I've dropped the guy that I got the new batteries from a line. From my understanding Friendly robotics made a mistake in telling people to keep the mower on charge all winter. That's what caused the charge to drop. I didn't have mine on charge all winter and didn't charge it until a day or so before I needed to start cutting. It's a good thing that their are a couple of kids in the neighborhood that will be looking for some summer work cutting grass. It looks like my robomower will be in the shop again.
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May 30, 2006
Here we are in may and I'm in full swing of grass cutting. The batteries won't last but 1 /1/2 hours. I have sent an email to the internet robomower sales and I will see if they will replace the batteries since they have a 1 year warranty. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced the drop in battery time on their mower. I will keep this updated.
I will also be changing my ratings on the mower as I really don't think they are ready for prime time. It is starting to look like an expensive car that is in the shop all the time. It's good when it works.
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December 2006
I believe this is it. My mower went out on me about August. The front wheel sensor is bad "AGAIN". They replaced the batteries, but then something else goes wrong. Seems like the distibutors are drying up as well. The distributor that replaced my batteries is going out of business. I bought a front wheel sensor from him and will be putting my robomower on E-bay for a deep discount. Watch for it and you can get a good deal.
April 2007
I sent an email today to offer Friendly Robotics a chance to buy the mower back for $75. They said they have no need for it. I guess they read my review. Don't make the same mistake that I did and end up with a money pit. I'm going next weekend to get my new X300 John Deere riding mower. Check out my reviews and you will see it posted.
To sum it all up:
Robomower is a good concept, but I don't want to put out $750 dollars every 3 or 4 years. the newer one has less trouble, but it is double the price. It would have to last 10 years to pay for itself. I may revisit getting a new one in about 15 years, but for now I'm done. The last mower I owned was a Craftsman from sears. It ran for 15 years with no trouble.
Does exactly what I expected, and does it well January 25, 2005
KMW (NH)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Love it.
I bought this mower at the start of last summer, calculating that if it lasted a year and a half or more, I'd break even on what I was paying a lawn service to mow my yard.
I have an fairly uneven yard, with some steep parts. Set to the highest mow, robomower easily navigates the rough spots, and manages the slopes well. Robomower takes a lot longer to mow a lawn than it would take you to do it manually, but since you are off doing something else, and robomower can work in the dark, that doesn't matter at all.
Be prepared to experiment with the perimeter wire. I found dividing my front, side, and back yard into three zones was the best choice for me. Do the final complete pegging after you've run the mower a few times and know the wire is in the right place. If you have multiple zones and live in a part of the country where mowing days are limited by frequent rain, get an extra battery and/or the fast charger, so you can mow more than one zone per day when you get the chance.
The mowing pattern is not up and down in lines, but in angled criss-crossing, leaving lots of gaps at first, so you won't see a clean mow until it's done. But when it is, the cut is very nice: a smooth buzz cut with no lines, mulched finely leaving no clumps. My neighbor, who bought a riding mower just before he saw my robomower, agrees. After watching it all summer, he came over to say, "This thing does a really nice job. And you don't have to be outside with the mosquitos...."
So, now, when I get home from work on a dry day, I put the mower out in the next zone that needs done, and go in and let my cats out. Later in the evening, I go out and fetch the mower and let the cats in. My lawn gets regularly mowed and has never looked better.
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