You can also use an edging tool and bury the wire down and a few inches.Originally Posted by recaptured
You can also use an edging tool and bury the wire down and a few inches.
Top tip thanks
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A stubby hand saw works a treat too! A repairs I did, I cut a 1ft line and tramp the repair in.
Very interesting thread.
I’m just in the process of finishing the landscaping of my 1 acre garden (after building a new house). Very first grass cut happened last week!
It’s a challenging site, with some big slopes (actually barely any flat ground) and two areas (but could be linked across a gravel drive).
I’ve got quotes to keep the lawn under control which are broadly £150-200 a month for fortnightly mows. I’ve certainly not got the time (or equipment) to do it myself.
Beginning to wonder if the 435x is a viable alternative?
Does anyone have experience with Gardena mowers?
My lawn area is just over 300 square meters so he Husqavarna 105 or garden 500 would be more than adequate.
They’re both the same price but the garden has smart phone control which I would prefer - easier to programme etc.
Just wanted to know how it compares against the Husqavarna?
You really don't need smart phone control save your money and get the flymo
Flymo seems a bargain, is it really just a rebadged Husqavarna?
Yes. It's a husqvarna 105. The only difference I can see is a skid plate under the 105. I suspect the 400 vs 600m2 capacity is software related.
Watch the flymo on amazon off season and they drop to £450 regularly. I paid £850 for the same thing with a different badge!.... But at least got a decent spec Husqvarna pressure washer bundled in, which I needed at the time. Still threw away a couple of hundred quid for a badge mind you.
Superb, that's saved me a few hundred quid!
I was interested in these, but mentioned it to my wife earlier and she pointed out that it’s good exercise to push a mower. I guess that idea’s been vetoed
Have you asked her to do it each week for a year or more?I was interested in these, but mentioned it to my wife earlier and she pointed out that it’s good exercise to push a mower. I guess that idea’s been vetoed
To be fair, she did it for a whole summer after I had a back operation. That was pushing a big petrol mower to do our 1/3 of an acre.
For long term robot users, what do you do in winter?
For the higher end husqvarna models, dealers offer a winter service and storage solution, new blades, update software, give it a clean and then store it for you till spring. Not free of course. Most people I assume put them in the garage or shed, there are wall hanger brackets available. For me, living in the sticks with a garage and shed infested with rodents who chew and nest in everything, I just left mine where it was in the garden, didn't seem to do it any harm.
I still use the mowers in the Winter as long as the temperature is above 5C or so, maybe once a week - the grass still grows albeit very slowly. I take my two Husqvarna mowers for a service, get software updates and a clean. The service is essential to extend the warranty to 3 years. It costs £56 per mower. If the temperature is forecast to be around or below 0C then they are fully powered down and brought into the garage for as long as required.
Just over a week later . Superb little machine along with the Gtech strimmer I’ve gone from 2 hours a week to 5 mins . Was the daughters end of nursery party yesterday hence the bunting.
Looks much much better. Proof most things look worse before getting betterJust over a week later . Superb little machine along with the Gtech strimmer I’ve gone from 2 hours a week to 5 mins . Was the daughters end of nursery party yesterday hence the bunting.
Bargain time! Flymo 1200 R Lithium-Ion Robotic Lawnmower Up to 400 sq m, 18 V https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C70LU..._Ye-kDb0RT8MYB
£399 for what's essentially a husqvarna 105.
Just came on here to give basically the same heads up... Prime members price... never been as cheap.
Thanks for posting the Amazon deal - ordered today!
Installing the Flymo 1200r on Sunday. Any advice on boundary wires? I have on area that adjoins a patio (same level) and other sections are into privet.
If the patio is level with the grass and the mower can drive onto it, you can put the wire close to the patio so the mower will go onto it and cut right up to the edge. For the edges near the privet, if there is a drop off into a border, use the recommended distance in the instructions, if the mower could travel slightly under the privet, you can go a bit closer to get better coverage. You can always move the wire if you think it could go closer once you get an idea of how near the edge its cutting and if it could get in closer to the privet.
In each corner, leave a little loop of spare wire, it will enable you to pull a bit of slack through if you ever get a break that needs joining
This is the best advice you can get!
Also, if your lawn is very mossy, watch out over time as the robot cuts it down in height. I started at height = 5 on my mossfest... then after each week.. 4, 3, 2. The robot coped SO well, but as the moss height reduces, your guide wires start to sit up proud with slack in them. I must have had half a dozen breaks over a month, particularly on the return to home guide wire.
One year in... it's all good now though. Not a wire in sight.
I read that these robo mowers are causing problems for hedgehogs, as in running over them as all the hedgehog does is curl up in a ball. This causes immense damage to these endangered creatures, I hope the manufacturers sort this out pronto.
I've read this too. I have two Husqvarna robotic mowers and live in a very rural area with regular sightings of hedgehogs. I also have a couple of hedgehog houses around the garden. A reasonably local rescue centre uses my property to release hedgehogs several times a year and not once have I ever seen evidence of a hedgehog, or any other animal for that matter, being killed or injured by the mowers. I tend not to use the mowers through the night but one does operate until 11pm in the Summer months. One of the design features that Husqvarna implements to minimise the risk is to use pivoting blades that flick into the disc when they hit anything much harder than the grass.
Last edited by Skier; 20th July 2019 at 16:21.
Thanks for the tips!
Did the install on the Flymo 1200r today. After finding the measuring tape and working out all the portions of the garden it turns out we’ve got 260sqm and programmed accordingly.
Luckily it pissed it down on Friday so the ground was nice and soft to bury the boundary and control wires. Used an edging tool as it was easier than a spade.
‘Percy (Mower)’ as he is now named did a few test runs and is now going up shaving the grass.
Probably wouldn’t have bothered with this but for the positive comments from folk on here, so thank you everyone, you’ve saved a me a weekly chore!
Nice, enjoyDid the install on the Flymo 1200r today. After finding the measuring tape and working out all the portions of the garden it turns out we’ve got 260sqm and programmed accordingly.
Luckily it pissed it down on Friday so the ground was nice and soft to bury the boundary and control wires. Used an edging tool as it was easier than a spade.
‘Percy (Mower)’ as he is now named did a few test runs and is now going up shaving the grass.
Probably wouldn’t have bothered with this but for the positive comments from folk on here, so thank you everyone, you’ve saved a me a weekly chore!
I see you've given him a name already, Percy Mower, excellent. Mine is Mowin' Ali, anyone else given there's a name?
Yep, my first was named Patrick (Mower), the second, to keep the genders equal, is called Lorna.
Mobot-not that original but apt.
I grew up watching Blue Peter, and Percy Thrower = gardening.
Mowin’ Ali is hilariously brilliant!
"Robo Chop" is what ours gets called!
Seems that they’ve become part of the family?
I’ve seen one in Aldi in France reduced 250 Euros…. Would.be tempted if I didn't have the house on the market!
Chomper after the robot in Star Wars rebels
I actually enjoyed cutting grass while walking behind a powerful 4 stroke lawn mover with driven back wheels.
But what sold me on the robots is the quality of the lawn, so lush and nice to walk on bare feet.
I asked my Dad to make a house for my Flymo 1200r.
Couldn’t stop laughing when this turned up!
almost 5 months now since I've cut my grass. Best purchase of 2019 easily.
When do you put yours away- as the grass doesn't grow beyond a certain height its not so easy to guess when to stop mowing.
About now is probably right. You can always get it back out again if we get a warm spell.
I leave mine out all year (though not turned on or mowing) as i have nowhere to store it, both the garage and shed are infested with rats&mice that like to chew and nest in everything, so i think it would come to more harm getting chewed in there than left out on the lawn. Didn't seem to do it any harm last winter
I have a dog kennel style shed for it so may just leave in that over winter. will turn off this weekend.
The boundary wires really aren’t much work to put down, even less so if you peg them down. I buried mine using an edging tool and didn’t take me long .
This x2
My robot mower has been a revelation!
True enough - and my boundary has been fault free after 2 years now.
I was more interested in the fact that this one SEES where its going and stops when it needs to. They're touting it as the "uber" of mowers... imagine if a contractor had a fleet of them - he could pop one or two on lawns whilst working at bedding.
For myself. it'd be SO handy for dropping onto my elderly in law's garden every Sunday we visit!
Seems to work rather well:
Top tip for the husqvarna and possibly the flymo owners too: press and hold 7 and 9 on your keypad.
Enter expert mode! Some great stats menus in there and diagnostics.
When’s everyone restarting the mowers? Or have you left it running over winter?
I usually wait till March, but if it stays mild, I might send mine out late Feb. My gardens are riddled with moss so they're too damp and slippy right now.
I must treat them with something this year to combat the moss.
At the end of last summer I bought a scarifier off from Amazon for £60. It got about 3 of those one tonne aggregate bags filled with thatch. I then overseeded and fertilised the lawn and it seems to trick with regards to the moss and many of the weeds.
From memory it’s recommended to do do early spring and early autumn. Not for the faint hearted as the grass looks awful for a a while!
1st September
5th October
Last edited by Chalet; 24th January 2020 at 19:00.
My current mower is getting temperamental (Bosch cordless) so a robot replacement sounds like the way to go.
One question, how does a robot mower cope with pine cones. I also have five-a-side football goals that get moved around so has anyone dealt with the nets not being eaten by the mower?
Last edited by mangoosian; 12th May 2020 at 00:27.
It will depend on how big the pine cones are. Mowers have a front bumper ground clearance of around 50mm. If they're big enough and your lawn flat enough, they would probably just get pushed around. If smaller than 50mm, they will go under and get chopped, probably not good for the cutting blades or the motor. If they are a bit bigger than 50mm, they could get stuck under the front bumper, the mower will stop and give a lift error, then need manually restarting.
One option, depending on the size of your lawn, is not to have the mower set on a timer, just go out, do a pinecone sweep, then send the mower out manually., This is what i do as i have to do a sweep for dog eggs, dog and kids toys and make sure the wife hasn't left a duvet on the washing line that's touching the grass (yes that did happen once, messy). I have a fairly small garden and a massively over spec'd 430X, so i only need to send it out for an hour or 2 twice a week. If you're lawn is up near max capacity of your chosen mower, then it will need to be out mowing almost constantly, so the manual start will not be an option.
For the football goal, it will chew up the net (and duvets), so the options you have there are
1) If you're doing a manual start as described above, just move them out of the mower zone before you send it out
2) Pick a permanent site for the goals and lay your boundary wire around them, you can lay the wire into the goal itself so that will get cut, but you'd have long grass growing around the frame and back of the net, but you could move the goal and strim that every now and again?
Last edited by Brighty; 12th May 2020 at 08:54.
Great info thanks.
I have Greenthumb coming next week to assess my lawn and I am more than likely to get them to do the scarifiying and lawn treatments. I can then line up getting a robot mower.
My lawn is a bit bumpy, my thinking is the robot mower will help fix that (will see what Greenthumb say too as they may advocate sand and topsoil leveling too).
I have a TP-Link smart plug powering my automower docks ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Req...9293838&sr=8-1 )
It switches the mower docking stations off at midnight but switching ON is manually set, via the Kasa app on my phone.
It would work well here too - cast your eye out the window and if the goals/nets are out of the way.... tap "on" and close the blinds!
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