Robot Mowers - Frequently Asked Questions

Not for most robot lawn mowers. Stripes are created by the rollers on the back of mowers.  Robot mowers don’t have rollers and don’t cut in parallel lines except for our Belrobotics range which is introducing stripes for the first time.

Most robot mowers mow in a random pattern i.e. they set off in a straight line and when they turn ( due to the edge of the lawn or an obstacle), they turn in a random direction and set off again.  The Ambrogio range of mowers use technology (mainly GPS) to try and ensure that they don’t cut the same area twice for a number of days to ensure more efficient cutting. Some mowers cut in spirals when they sense particularly long grass.

To get a great lawn, the trick is to cut ‘little and often’. The recommendation is to never cut more than a third of the blade of grass off in one go.

A robot mower will normally be scheduled to cut every day to ensure the grass stays at a constant height even when it’s growing fast (it can grow up to 3-5 cms per week).

Using traditional mowers, most people don’t have time to ‘cut little and often’  but most robot mowers (excluding the Ambrogio L60 Elite & Elite S+) mow based on a user specified schedule (my mower goes out everyday) so they take the ‘little and often’ to the extreme.

The Ambrogio range uses its GPS system to ensure that each square area of grass is cut every 3 days.

Firstly you need to ensure that you buy a robot mower that can cover the total area you need, secondly that it is built to handle more than one area and thirdly that it can move from one area to another.

1. The manufacturer will state the area the robot will cover.  You can’t say that you have two 600 sq. m. lawns but you’ll use a 600 sq. m. mower and move it between the lawns every other day.  You have 1200 sq. m. so you need to buy a mower that handles that…..sorry! Use our measure my lawn page to find out.
2. Each mower will say how many areas it can cover, our mowers cover between 2 and 8 areas (e.g. the L35 Deluxe)
3. The perimeter wire needs to enclose all the areas in a complete loop.  Where the mower goes from one area to another, it needs a corridor to follow (all the Ambrogios need a 1m corridor although in certain circumstances get away with 50cms).  You need to be able to lay the perimeter wire along the corridor (i.e. not solid concrete) and the robot needs to be able to grip (i.e. not shingle).

Have a look at our test garden and see how complex and area can be managed.  If you are not sure, Contact Us, there are not many areas that we cannot come up with a solution for.

We have a black labrador.  When she first saw it, she barked at it when it went past but after half an hour, she just ignored it – now she barely notices it.

We also have horses in neighbouring fields, their initial nervousness soon disappeared,  now it’s funny to watch them stand there and follow it with their heads.

If you are concerned, we do offer a unique solution, the Amico tag. This stops the blades turning when it approaches your pet .

As for their poo, if you don’t manage to pick it up in time,  it’s still better than a normal lawnmower since the chances of the wheels running over it are less as the wheels aren’t as big as a lawnmower and there is no roller – it won’t stop the machine running.

1. The area you need to mow – you can use our Measure My Lawn page to measure or have a site survey.
2. How many areas you need to mow – Areas are connected lawns which the mower can move between.
3. How much time do you want to be ‘robot free’ – e.g. if you only want your robot to mow overnight, you need to ensure that it will cover the area within the hours of darkness.

Although a number of manufacturers and third parties sell covers, the mowers are built to be outside with no cover during the season – the only recommendation is that the base is not in constant direct sunlight.

You may want to buy a robot mower garage/ kennel for security reasons or so that you can paint it the same colours as the surrounding buildings…that’s fine, just make sure that you buy one which suits your mower i.e. big enough and won’t get in the way of the mower.

We would suggest installing the mower first and then thinking about the garage after you have seen it working.

The initial purchase and installation cost

Robot mowers are generally more expensive than traditional electric or petrol powered mowers although for large gardens, they can be cheaper than a ride on mower that covers a similar area.

The cost of your time (or maybe your gardener’s time)

This is where the big saving is found. If you have a gardener, how much do they cost – £20-£30 an hour in our area.

If you mow the lawn yourself, how much do you value your time and if you had that extra time, what would you do with it…probably other household jobs but that’s another story. Apparently we spend on average 2 months of our lives mowing.

The cost of fuel

 Robot mowers cost approx £20 – £40 per year to run, that wouldn’t run your petrol mower for long!

Cost to the environment

In the US, it was reported that petrol mowers represent Petrol mowers 5% of U.S. air pollution. Hopefully it has decreased since that report but it is still significant.