What is a Robot Lawn Mower & Why Should You Buy One?

For those brand new to robot lawn mowers, this page is perfect. I’ll be explaining exactly what they are and why you need one in your life.

To put them into perspective, I’ll compare some of their features with those of the conventional mower (but if you want a more in-depth comparison of the two then read my ‘Robotic Mower Vs Petrol Mower‘ post).

With this new found information you will realise just how much the robomower can actually benefit your life. Instead of making time to mow the lawn, a strenuous and at times annoying task, you can relax, enjoy yourself and just get on with life.

A robot mower really will make a huge difference to your lifestyle and your garden, so it’s about time you knew all about them.

So read on below to familiarise yourself with the bits and bobs of a robot lawn mower.

What Is It?

A robomower is a self-propelled and independent lawn mower.  It requires no input from you and drives around your lawn using a series of sensors, with a little help from a guide or perimeter wire and state-of-the-art navigation technology.

It can also map out the size and shape of your lawn so that no area of grass is left untouched.  So that it keeps up this high standard for weeks, months and years to come, it has a built-in memory system to remember the best route for your lawn.

They also don’t need you to set them on their way each mow.  Instead all you need to do is setup the exact days and times you want it to work during installation (right before the first mow).  For most models you will need to use the control panel on top of the bot, however for some you can do this using a mobile phone app.  This is a great feature which is especially useful during autumn when the last thing you want on a freezing cold day is to play about with an even colder lawn mower.

However that is just a very simple introduction to what they can do.  Below I’ll be going into much more detail on all their main features and exactly how they will benefit you.

But have a watch of the video below first:

 

Cutting Quality

Okay so they may be safe to use and they won’t get stolen, but can they actually do a better job the normal mowers?  Well that’s a bit of a difficult question because it depends on the time frame you are looking at.

During The Short Term

If you compare the first mow of both mowers then you are more likely to get a more noticeable cut with the normal mower. This mower will likely cut much more off each blade of grass so it will look like you’ve done a great deal more work.

Whereas the robomowers only take the smallest of grass clippings. But don’t not worry this is not because it is faulty, in fact this is deliberate and I’ll explain why a little further on.

Now in terms of the final result from the first mow, you will probably find that the normal mower will leave your garden looking less uneven than the robomower.  Due to the higher cutting setting, you are much more likely to cut every blade of grass – even the smaller ones the robomower won’t.  So you could say that it does a better job (assuming you are very thorough with the mow), but only slightly.

However this is entirely dependent on you. If you aren’t any good at mowing then you will struggle to maintain your lawn properly and this poor mowing will likely carry on for the following few months. So if you consider yourself a poor mower then you will probably prefer a robotic one.

Over The Long Term

Okay so this is where the robomower takes over and begins to flourish. Over the next few months, even weeks, after you have installed the new robomower you will see significant differences in the quality of your lawn. It will begin to look much more even, greener and on the whole, just a lot healthier.

But how does it do this? I’m glad you asked… let me explain.

As I mentioned earlier, all robomowers only take tiny little grass clippings each mow. The reason for this is that these little clippings act as a mulch that fertilises your soil when they begin to decompose.  Once cut, the grass is small enough to fall all the way down to the bottom soil. They then pass on nutrients to the soil to improve its health. This results in much healthier, greener and fuller grass growth. Giving you a much better looking lawn.

There’s also a bonus. Because the clippings are so small, you don’t need to go and pick them up after every mow. In fact you won’t even see them. Instead just sit back and let them do their thing.

The same cannot be said for normal mowers however. Because you’ll only be mowing about once every week, the grass with be left to grow much longer than it would with the robomower, then in order to get it back to the length you want, you have to make very long grass clippings.

This leaves your lawn looking a little more rugged than you’d like. Not very desirable and is a good reason why the robomower is greater than the normal mower.

The Best Way To Think

I hope this is obvious by now but you’ll only see the true potential of the robomower over the long term.  So don’t expect your garden to look like a golf course in a week (although give it a month and you’ll be pretty close!). It’ll take some patience but it’ll be well worth it.

The results these mowers produce will be better than anything you’ll be able to do yourself. But don’t take this to heart, they’re just that good.

A Robomower will keep up the same standard throughout all the years to come with almost no effort from you. No matter rain or shine, they’ll just keep on mowing.

Physical Effort (Or Lack Of)

Probably the most important benefit of a robotic mower is that it completely removes the physical act of manual mowing.  If you are beginning to struggle with maintaining the lawn by yourself, you’ll love this.  No longer will you have to drag out the normal mower from the shed anymore and push it along your garden. Instead just have a rest and relax.

Hay fever suffers will also receive an added benefit.  Robot mowers can completely eliminate contact with grass waste meaning no need to be put through the wars every time your garden needs tidied.

Mobile Phone Control (only for iPhone & Android)

As said before, most robomowers can be connected and controlled by you smart phone. However, not all of them do so it depends on which model you choose (tends to be high-end).

Even though this is more suited to those with busy lifestyles it can certainly be useful to everyone.  It completely removes manual labour from gardening.

All you have to do is download the corresponding app and connect it to your mower.  You can then alter mowing times, cutting schedules, and many other things. For example, the Robomow app even lets you control your mower like a toy car.

So some apps may be more comprehensive than others, for example, Husqvarna’s app is much more safety concerned than most.  It is built with a GPS tracking system so if someone does manage to take your mower, you can follow their every step. There’s also a SMS text alert system which sends you messages if anything goes wrong.

But even if they are slightly different, they is no denying that this is brilliant technology and takes all the extra work out for you. Just think of all the Netflix box sets you can watch when the robomower is working away!

Safety

Letting loose a little machine with spinning blades to drive about your garden independently does sound a little dangerous, especially if you have kids and pets.

But you need not worry. All robot mowers come with built-in detection sensors, preventing them from bumping into anything while mowing.  If at any time during its route the mower encounters an obstacle, it will immediately stop and turn off its blade. It then recalculates a new route and begins mowing in the opposite direction.

Even though this is primarily to help navigation, it provides reassurance that you and your family are safe to use the garden while it’s at work.

If at any point you wanted to lift it up while it’s mowing (you know when you are showing off your brand new toy to friends), you can do so with complete confidence. Whenever the mower is lifted or tilted, its sensors will automatically turn off its blade, therefore you won’t get any nasty cuts to your hand or fingers.

As an extra precaution, the majority of mowers have been built with small blades that don’t even reach the edge of the base. So if the blades don’t stop, due to mechanical malfunction perhaps, they will still cause no threat. This is much safer than conventional mower with one huge blade

Also, if anything does go wrong, most models have stop buttons on their control panel.

So have no fear, the robomower is completely safe to roam around without your supervision.

 

 

Environment

Robotic mowers will cause a hell of a lot less pollution than the standard petrol mower. They are all electrically powered so don’t give off any nasty emissions. Unlike the petrol mower which probably does just about as much good for the environment as your car.

They are also very quiet, meaning you can put them to work whenever you want. Whether it be at night after you get home from work, on a Sunday morning before you wake up or even during the night.  No matter when, a robomower will not be disturbing anybody while it works away.

Theft Prevention

Okay so these pieces of equipment can be quite expensive so it’s understandable that you may be uncomfortable leaving it outside during the night.  After all, you don’t want someone jumping over the fence and nicking your brand new mower.

So it’s a good thing they all come with PIN and alarm security systems. This does mean you will have to punch in a code every time you want reprogram it, but as you will only have to do this a few times per year (i.e. during season changes) this shouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to prevent theft and make sure you sleep well at night.

It will keep up the same standard throughout the years to come all with very little effort from you. No matter rain or shine, the robomower will keep mowing.

Conclusion

There you go, everything you need to know about robomowers. Not only can they get you better results than the common mower but they will do it completely on their own. They really do let you get on with the, perhaps, more important things in life and give you the much needed time off when you just aren’t feeling that great. They truly are the way for future.

Now that you have a good, although brief, understanding of a robot lawn mowers ability, I think it’s time for you to move onto the next stage… learning exactly how they operate.

In all honesty I don’t think this stage is completely necessary, you could still find the perfect mower just on everything I’ve given you above, I just think it’s best practice to follow on through. With what I’ve told you already, you won’t get to fully appreciate the potential and power of these products. That’s why it’s important to go in a little deeper.

So to continue on in a more effective manner, make sure you click on through to my ‘How Do Robotic Lawn Mowers Work’ page. Here I go through the three main factors that contribute to robot lawn mowers operation – the Navigation System, the Charging System and the Cutting System. In the article, I explain how all three work and why they are important, making it as easy as possible for you to understand.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and if you’ve got any questions then please leave them below.