Electric Robot Lawn Mower FAQs
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When shopping for an electric robot lawn mower, it’s understandable to have questions. I mean, a robot cutting your grass? Sounds futuristic right? Well, we’re here to tell you that the future is here and the days of mowing your lawn manually are over.
You may not be sold yet. How does it know when to turn or where to go? How does it charge? How does it work?
We get these types of questions a lot. These are just a few questions we’re going to answer below in our frequently asked questions section.
These questions should answer all the questions you have about electric robot lawn mowers and how they operate. Here’s everything you need to know:
Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Robot Lawn Mowers
In simple terms, how is an electric robot mower powered?
Electric robot lawn mowers are powered by electric motors that run on rechargeable batteries. These mowers require no gasoline or other fuel source besides the electric motor. This is a benefit to buying an electric mower over gas – they give off no emissions, thus a better impact on the environment. To operate, you simply charge the battery when it gets low.
What's the charging process? (How long does it take, does it plug itself in?)
Electric robot mowers make charging simple, as they return to their base to charge when the battery is low so you don’t have to do any work whatsoever. When it’s finished, it will return to where it leftover mowing.
Most models take a few hours for the batteries to recharge. This may seem like an inconvenience, but considering you won’t be spending any manual time cutting the grass yourself, the recharge time really doesn’t affect the overall mowing process.
How long does the electric charge of a robot mower last?
The length of charge of an electric mower varies depending on model, but typically, a mower’s battery should last for 1 to 2.5 hour at a time, and cut up to about a ½ acre at a time. Some models may last less or more time than that. A solid mower like the Worx WR155 Landroid’s battery runs 10% longer than other brushed motor mowers.
But, if you want something that’s going to cut your whole long in one go, you may want to consider a robot mower like the Ambrogio L4001 which can run for 11 straight hours and cut up to 5 acres at a time. Not all models are the same, but this one is a workhorse!
Are robot lawn mowers truly automatic?
Yes, robot lawn mowers are fully automatic. But, they require some upfront, manual work to get them to function self-sufficiently. Let’s break down how electric robot mowers function automatically.
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Installing the boundary wire
First, you must install the boundary wire that comes with your robot mower. (You don’t have to install the boundary wire, but it greatly improves your mower’s performance). You’ll install this around your yard so that your lawn mower knows what area to stay within. It does this with the use of sensors.
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Sensor signals
Robot mowers come equipped with a number of sensors that perform different functions like communicating with the boundary wire. There’s other sensors that detect moisture in the grass and rain.
Some mowers like the Gardena Sileno even come equipped with frost sensors for those early and late season cuts to ensure that mower doesn’t go out when the ground is too moist to perform its job. (You can check out our full Gardena review here.)Most have an anti theft sensor that will go off when the robot is moved when it isn’t supposed to. This safety feature is nice and allows you to not worry about cutting your grass or getting your robot mower taken.
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Mobile apps
Most of these mowers come with their own manufacturer mobile app that allows you to program a schedule for your lawn mower, change its settings, track progress, get updates, and even allows you to intervene if your mower has gotten off track.
These mobile apps allow you to set and forget about your lawn mower. This combined with the sensors and other technology in your robot mower help your mower operate truly automatically.
Some mowers like the Robomow RS360 even let you control your lawn mower via your Amazon Alexa and other smart assistants!
Are there gas/solar options?
There are currently no gas or solar robot lawn mower options on the market. Gas would make the automatic nature of the robot mower pointless as you’d have to refill the tank every so often, and the size of the mower wouldn’t handle much gas.
Solar options aren’t quite viable due to surface area of the solar panel. The robot mowers come with a small surface area, not enough for a big enough solar panel. There’s simply not enough room to have a solar energy system powerful enough to charge an entire lawn mower. There is, however, a weeding robot that is solar powered. It functions as a weed whacker that chops the tops of weeds down before they get bigger. It’s a novel concept that is handy in the yard. Checkout Tertill’s Garden Weeding Robot as a good solar powered weeding robot option.