Whereas I really like getting out and reducing my garden as quickly because the climate begins to heat up, after a couple of instances, it begins to turn into a burden. It is because it takes about two and a half hours to mow all of my garden, and with a busy household, I’ve different issues to do with that point. My world modified practically two years in the past after I examined my first robotic garden mower, the Husqvarna Automower 430XH. I gained the facility to regulate time.
OK, I do not actually management time, however the robotic garden mower takes on certainly one of my largest weekly chores and provides my household and me extra time collectively. Whereas the Husqvarna Automower 430XH opened my eyes to what a robotic mower can supply by way of getting time again, I’ve since examined extra superior autonomous fashions.
The outcome? A superbly manicured — not simply reduce — garden and even extra time to spend on summer season enjoyable. With necessary new options similar to GPS steerage.
In the event you’re interested in including a robotic garden mower to your yard and out of doors arsenal, here is my expertise with two new robotic mowers, the Segway Navimow i110N ($1,299) and Mammotion Luba 2 AWD ($4,099), and why they’ve turn into my secret weapon for an ideal summer season.
I began with a non-GPS robotic mower and it was irritating
The Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 10000H is ruggedly constructed and extremely able to dealing with lawns of all kinds.
Husqvarna provides extra superior choices than the Automower 430XH, which was my was my first foray into robotic garden care. Now it resembles a extra budget-friendly robotic vacuum cleaner.
Like much less superior robotic vacs that do not have fashionable lidar (a sort of laser mapping), the Automower 430XH was with out GPS steerage and mapping, and required a bodily boundary wire to be put in. This wire acts as a digital wall for the mower to “bounce” off and helps it discover its charging base. Whereas this finally will get the job performed, the mower would ceaselessly get caught on objects, mow over objects my youngsters left within the yard or get misplaced looking for its approach house.
Whereas the Segway Navimow 110i is small, it’s mighty and able to reducing a pleasant garden.
Not solely did the randomness go away unusual mowing paths in my yard, but it surely additionally left my yard uneven. Whereas this may occasionally sound like complaining, I am nonetheless comfortable that I wasn’t the one doing the mowing. It additionally means I am a lot happier now, as a result of, like with robotic vacuums, there have been lots of developments and new gamers within the robotic garden mower class.
However one of the best factor about fashionable robotic garden mowers is the mixing of GPS know-how permitting mowers to deftly deal with a complete garden with nearly no effort required from me, each within the preliminary setup and through mowing periods. Apart from the time I save by not mowing the yard myself, the period of time required to get began with the mowers is dramatically lower than those who want a boundary wire.
GPS steerage makes robotic garden mowers a pleasure to make use of
These enhancements embody annoying boundary wires being changed by GPS-guided mowing in addition to superior object recognition, improved effectivity and, in the long run, a better-looking garden for much less work. Two robotic mowers I am presently testing are the Segway Navimow i110N and the Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 10000H. Each have strengths and weaknesses and are nowhere close to excellent, however they’ve turn into important instruments in my garden care and way of life.
Segway’s Navimow is nice for smaller lawns
The $1,300 Segway Navimow‘s navigation is restricted to a quarter-acre of mowing, because of some onboard storage limitations. This is not a lot of my 5 acres of rural property. However I discovered the right a part of my garden for it, and after driving it round like an outsized, very gradual RC automobile utilizing my OnePlus Open telephone because the distant. I arrange a mowing schedule, and the Segway robotic mower does the remainder. This Navimow saves me about 30-45 minutes of mowing twice weekly.
Mammotion Luba 2 can deal with 2.5 acres of yard
The Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 10000H has so many options that permit it to deal with lawns of all kinds.
This implies the remainder of my regained time has come from the Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 10000H. This specific mannequin can deal with as much as 2.5 acres. Once more, no wires are wanted, and whereas slower than an RC automobile, the Luba 2 AWD can transfer as much as a surprisingly quick 4 ft per second. The AWD portion of the title means this robotic mower has all-wheel drive, serving to it to deal with extra demanding lawns. Mammotion’s mower has two mowing decks, in comparison with Navimow’s single deck, can reduce from 4 inches right down to 2.2, and has much more customization controls. This souped-up mannequin will price you greater than $4K.
Handsfree, excellent garden
My yard has by no means had such knowledgeable look.
Completely manicured lawns with mowing stripes and checkerboard patterns aren’t quite common for Kansas nation properties, however I’ve it this spring. It is not unusual for pals of mine to name me a “high-tech redneck” with all my sensible gadgets, they usually could also be proper, however I do not stress over getting my grass reduce. I haven’t got to work all day after which spend hours in the summertime warmth mowing my yard. I can have my weekends to go on household tenting journeys, ball video games and extra.
Even high-end robotic mowers have unhealthy days
The Segway Navimow i110N and Mammotion Luba 2 AWD 10000H each have quirks and sometimes want human interplay to maintain going. Generally a stick will get caught within the wheel or mower deck, so the mower stops and I’ve to take away it. And typically the mowers will neglect learn how to get again to the charger, or will get high-centered on a clump of grass and must be bodily moved. That mentioned, these points aren’t mechanical and have by no means required quite a lot of minutes to clear up.
Robotic garden mowers have gotten more and more widespread. As know-how improves — particularly, superior GPS steerage — and costs decline, it is nearly as good a time as ever to splurge on one. And they’re a splurge, ranging wherever from $600 to effectively over $5,000. Do I nonetheless take pleasure in mowing the garden? Certain, however solely after I need to, not as a result of I’ve to.
Watch this: The way to Prep Your Garden Mower for the Season
