Common Questions
Cutting grass on slopes can be challenging especially with petrol machines. Their are robotic lawn mowers that can provide a solution to this problem. Now in 2019 Husqvarna have developed the all wheel drive Automower 435x AWD this machine can climb slopes up to 35 Degrees. This is a big increase from the previous top model for slopes the 450x Automower which was able to climb 24 degrees.
How do you repair a break in the robotic lawnmowers boundary wire?
If you have the no loop signal message appear on your Automower or if you have the flashing blue light on the charging station then its likely that the perimeter boundary wire has been broken.
To join boundary wires:
1. Insert both cable ends into the coupler. Make sure the wires are fully inserted in the coupler by checking that the ends are visible through the transparent area on the opposite side of the coupler.
2.Now fully press down the button on top of the connector. Use a pair of pliers if the button on the coupler is difficult to press down by hand.
If the supplied boundary wire is not long enough to cover the entire working area, extra wire can be added using an original coupler. The total length of the boundary loop should however not exceed 800 meters.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Twisted cables, or screw terminal (chock-blocks), insulated with insulation tape are not satisfactory splices.
Soil moisture will cause the conductors to oxidize
A common question we get in Autumn is what will an Automower do to fallen leaves.
- Will leaves prevent the Automower from working?
- Will the Automower mulch the leaves?
The answer is the Automower will make small slices into the leaves and continue to work as normal. So the chore of raking up the leaves is still required unfortunately but you don’t need to worry about any effects to your Automower.
They don’t: the Husqvarna Automower and the iMow are both designed to give you a perfectly cut lawn provided that they are installed correctly on a lawn size appropriate to the machine in question. They MUST be allowed to operate for a sufficient number of hours per week to give good coverage. If these conditions are met your lawn will be beautifully and evenly cut, and we’ve never seen a lawn that wasn’t. The use of technology such as GPS ensures that the lawn is covered intelligently; the lawn is mapped and mowing activity is recorded. We can even plug in our test program and produce a plot of the robot’s movement over a period of time. With premium brand robotic mowing, if there’s grass to be cut; it will be cut – no missed bits.
No problem at all. The Automower and iMow robot mowers that we sell are designed to run within a perimeter wire that we will install below the surface of the lawn. As soon as the mower reaches the perimeter wire it stops, and then it rotates away from the boundary and carries on in a different direction. There are some limitations on slopes or tight turning space and the Mincost technician can advise on this during a survey.
The one thing that is certainly impossible with a robot mower is to create the stripy effect that a traditional cylinder mower would produce. If you want stripes – a robot mower is not for you unless you are prepared to use a garden roller separately.
There are several ways to approach this situation. We have successful cost effective installations that utilize one mower to run with two or more base stations – the robot mower is transferred manually between the two lawns. If the lawns are in close proximity, and together below the maximum area limit for the mower, we can connect them into one circuit and, once again the mower is transferred manually between lawns. The first method is a better solution because battery charging is assured; the single base station installation would require regular return to the lawn with the charging station to ensure that the battery is topped up. All of these multi lawn installs require you to be vigilant to grass growth and constantly move the mower manually to ensure the robot does not struggle to cut an excessive length of grass. This may not suit everybody and it does defeat the object of robot mowing, which is that the mower does all the work while you do something else with your time. Best solution is we create a pathway winch the mower can follow to access the other lawned areas.
We have conducted tests where apples or other fruit are run over by Automowers. Our conclusion is that this seldom presents a problem because usually the apples are pushed out of the way. Smaller apples or fruit are run over but they do not get pulverized by the blades as you might expect: the blade makes a small incision in the apple as it passes. The only observed problem has been that, very occasionally, the robot rides up onto the apple and this activates the tilt sensor and stops it. If this does happen a user intervention is required to move the mower off the apple before restart. As always, the design of these robots is such that the machine shuts down to wait for a restart, rather than running uselessly and draining the battery.
It does this itself. Every Automower or iMow installation has a base station, to which the robot automatically returns for charging when the battery reaches a certain voltage. The robot can find its way back to the charger by means of the boundary wires, a special guide wire that we lay under the ground, and signals emitted by the base station. No user intervention is required. If for any reason the mower becomes unable to reach the base station, it will stop operating and preserve the remaining battery charge. Each base station is connected to a mains 230v supply which can be inside your home, in an outbuilding, or from a special outdoor socket. If you do not have a suitable supply we can arrange for a qualified electrician to provide the necessary circuit.
Yes through the smartphone mobile application, you can receive your Automower’s current status and send “Start”, “Stop” and “Park” commands to the mower from anywhere in the world. Automower Connect brings the mower’s menu system to your smartphone, making it easy to read and change the mower settings remotely*. In case of theft, you will get an alarm and be able to track your mower’s position. This feature is only available on selected models.
Due to the large driving wheels, the Automower can work very well with uneven ground surfaces. It also handles slopes up to a 45% (24°) incline. It will not scalp hills like normal mowers do. Small deep holes may cause the mower to get stuck so it’s important to fill the holes before starting the mower.
Due 2019 All wheel drive Robotic Lawnmower. 435 AWD Automower, slopes up to 70% .
There are several ways to approach this situation. We have successful cost effective installations that utilize one mower to run with two or more base stations – the robot mower is transferred manually between the two lawns. If the lawns are in close proximity, and together below the maximum area limit for the mower, we can connect them into one circuit and, once again the mower is transferred manually between lawns. The first method is a better solution because battery charging is assured; the single base station installation would require regular return to the lawn with the charging station to ensure that the battery is topped up. All of these multi lawn installs require you to be vigilant to grass growth and constantly move the mower manually to ensure the robot does not struggle to cut an excessive length of grass. This may not suit everybody and it does defeat the object of robot mowing, which is that the mower does all the work while you do something else with your time.
Robot mowers can maintain any size of lawn, some large installations will have multiple robots operating.
No . The sound level of the Automower is very low, ranging from 69 dB(A) down to 58 dB(A) depending on the model. You can easily have the mower operating without disturbing you or your neighbours day or night.
A common misconception, we have found, is that people believe the robot mower has to travel up and down the lawn parallel to the edge and mistakenly think their irregularly shaped lawn is not suitable. This couldn’t be further from the truth because in fact the robots travel randomly around the lawn bouncing from the perimeter to perimeter or off any obstacles in between. This form of cutting is ideally suited to the most complex shaped gardens. There are a very few limitations, particularly of there are very tight corners or sloping boundaries and these will be highlighted by our technician during a survey. We can generally provide a solution for difficult gardens.
The robotic mower’s precision cutting takes a minute amount of each blade of grass: the cuttings are almost invisible and disappear into the lawn. The lawn is perfectly cut, achieving a beautiful and carpet-like look. The razor-sharp blades cut the grass gently from all directions, helping it to grow strong and the mulched grass cuttings act to fertilize the lawn and keep it healthy.
New from 2019 Husqvarna has brought out Automower endurance blades. They have twice the life of the older blades and require changing roughly every two months for the best cutting result.
Please note that you also change the screws holding the blades in place, these are provided with all Husqvarna Blades sold.
Robot mowers are completely weather proof. Husqvarna Automowers are unaffected and will continue to cut during the rain with the same results.
The Viking Imow will return to its base station are make up the hours at A later date.
Automower has several theft protection systems that may be activated. The mower can not be used without the personal PIN code. The installation lock prevents it from functioning on any other installation other than your own. The time lock requests your four-digit PIN to be entered at an interval decided by yourself. The alarm requires the PIN code to be entered when Automower is stopped – or an audio alarm will go off. In addition, GPS communication units include a GPS tracker available as an accessory for most models.
Contact us if you have any other questions.