I didn’t help install it so don’t know all the details, but I believe my FIL had to bury a cable around the perimeter (I think it’s like an inch down) and that keeps the mower in the yard. It then does patterns to mow everything. It returns to the pod to charge, and I think you can also schedule times it does mow. It has to mow everyday since it is using such small blades - it won’t mow down a weeks worth of growth. That’s my limited knowledge based on my talking to him. He’s very happy with it though since they are getting up there in age and had been paying a service to come and they are on an island where it is very expensive to hire any service.
That, or maybe its cousin, is what I have. My problem is that the shape of the area to be mowed is extremely complex, and it took me a very long while to finish running the wire. So long, that I think the battery died from lack of use. (So long = a couple of years. The first time I tried, I ran out of wire, and one thing led to another…)
I’m surprised that can do an even remotely decent job cutting, well, anything with a cutting system made up of “3 pivoting razor blades”. I figured that was just a name for something that would resemble an actual blade, but no, it’s literally just 3 razor blades.
Whenever I’ve heard about robot lawnmowers (Honey I Shrunk The Kids not included), I always had this image in my mind of it going rogue and heading down the block. Or worse, someone saying ‘what’s this thing’ and grabbing the deck to pick it up only to lose all their fingers.
I kind of like that, actually - easily replaceable and presumably fairly cheap blades. AIUI, you run your robot pretty much continuously (every couple of days or so?) so that it never has much to cut.
Yes, it has to run often. As I said, it won’t cut the deep grass if it is off for a week. It is extremely quiet with those little blades. It whirrs and the blades kind of jingle as they cut the grass.
Thanks to the OP and to the many informative responses. To quote one of the recurring lines from PG Wodehouse stories, it interests me strangely!
This summer was the summer that I was finally determined to get a landscaping service. I’m an old fart, I’ve had heart issues, and now I have (minor) mobility issues due to pain in one leg, though it’s fine once I get walking around.
The problem is that my most reliable guy doing one-time work in the past and willing to do a seasonal contract has moved away. Another guy isn’t returning my calls, I assume because he’s completely booked for the summer. I suppose there are any number of other services I could call, but I’d probably get ripped off.
What I’m getting to here is that I’m really tempted to go the way of the OP and get exactly that same Ryobi self-propelled model and just bloody well do the back lawn myself – it couldn’t be more than about 3000 sq ft. The cost would be comparable to what one of these guys would charge me for just one summer. The tricky thing is that I have to judge my ability to do this. I’m not sure how much of a difference the self-propelled bit is really going to make. The majority of the yard is flat and unobstructed except for one tree.
Given what you’ve said about age and health, my WAG is … err to the side of caution. I’d guess you’d end up appreciating the self-propelled feature far more times than you’d regret opting for it.
Unless we’re talking about the grocery money constituting the difference in price.
No, sorry, you misunderstand my meaning. It’s not whether self-propelled is worth the cost – that’s a given! What I was getting at is whether the self-propelled feature is sufficiently effective that it would enable me to actually mow the lawn. In the past, pushing around a cheap corded electric mower drove me to the point of exhaustion! Not to mention the PITA of dealing with the cord.
Good news! For a shitload of money you can but one of several battery-powered riding mowers. Ryobi, Greenworks, and Ego all make at least one each.
I’ve got the Ego self-propelled and it’s quite effective (and helpful when turning/maneuvering). It will probably do 3000’ 3x on a charge if necessary. And it’s light if you want to push.
My Ryobi battery mower experience du jour…
I got it (non self propelled but 40v) out to mow the lawn. Started it, went a couple feet, and it died. What? Started again, pushed a bit, and it died again. OK what’s going on? It wasn’t struggling…and we have LOTS of Ryobi tools. When that battery isn’t strong enough, it’s just done. No sputter, no slow down, nothing—it’s just done.
Those extending arm handle things need to be locked…played around with that. Same thing…ran a short while, stopped.
Came in and checked youtube. I found this:
Tightening those six screws as he said seems to have fixed the problem. He also says his video might be a warning to those who haven’t yet bought one to think twice.
Ours is about a year old. I think those screws came loose because it isn’t self propelled and I have to wrangle it some. But they seemed a bit loose after I finished as well.
My WAG is that when they get loose something gets misaligned or whatever, causing it to cut off for safety’s sake.
My first thought was that something with the cable is getting wonky, but as long as both ends are (properly) anchored (and nothing is pinched/kinked), it shouldn’t matter.
However, there’s also an electrical connection (the button at the top), and I can’t picture any external wires for that. I’m curious if the circuit that includes that button, instead of wires, travels from the base, up one side of the handle and back down the other side. That could mean any loose screws (or the handle collapsing a bit) could break the continuity and shut the mower off.
I’ll have to test out that theory.
Okay. First off, the cable I was thinking of isn’t an actual cable like we’re used to seeing on ICE lawnmowers. It’s just an electrical connection. However, there’s an internal switch or connection that opens when the handle is collapsed (even a little). As soon as you start to lower it, the mower shuts off.
I didn’t check, but based on that, I think it’s entirely plausible that there’s another similar connection where the handle attaches to the mower deck. Those screws being loose could create enough play to open the circuit.
I suspect that the switch by the latches (that lock the handle into the extended position) are probably meant as a safety. It would stop the mower if the handle wasn’t properly locked (or the latches broke) and suddenly collapsed down (which could cause you to fall onto the mower). Similarly, and likely the primary reason is to prevent it from starting when it’s in it’s storage position.
A switch near the area where the handle meets the deck would do something similar. That is, preventing it from running (or shutting it off) if the handle is folded over. I didn’t check that since I didn’t feel like adjusting it, but if someone wanted to flip the handle forward, I’ll bet it doesn’t start.
Excellent point. Have that mower, and had the exact same problems with those 6 screws. The second time I had to tighten them, I put thread locker on them and didn’t have a problem after that.
That is also the reason my wife thought that getting the self-propelled Makita would be a good idea. Her theory was that the kids wrenched it around too hard and kept pulling stuff loose.
Thread locker, eh? I’ll have to look into that.
We had a Poulan (gas) self propelled…that was easier to mow with. But the Ryobi is pretty light, still not bad at all. But when turning tight corners it’s easier to manhandle, which is on me I guess. Maybe it’s in the Owners Manual?
We have My wife has been pretty happy with Ryobi. I haven’t been dissatisfied but she’s the gardener, not me. I kinda wish they’d designed this to work with multiple 18v batteries, because we already have those. We do have the lesser mAh 40v battery for the leaf blower, at least.
That was another bonus when I went with the Makita. I already had Makita tools, 4 5ah batteries, and a dual charger. When I bought the mower, I got another 4 5ah batteries and a dual charger. I am still using my Ryobi 24v string trimmer and hedge trimmer for this summer, but next year they’ll be replaced by Makitas as well.
I have a hard time getting behind 40v hand tools. The batteries are just so cumbersome and heavy. A couple guys I work(ed) with had 40v circular saws, and they were HEAVY. Much more so than my 18vx2 saw. They were at least as heavy as a corded worm-drive saw. I think it’s getting to a point that OMGVOLTS is going to lose its selling power.
Hey, how hard was it to put together? I think this the model I bought.
Less than 15 minutes IIRC
Sigh they get you with the batteries. I assume that Brand A has the best battery powered drill but Brand B has the best hedge trimmer, but Brand C has the best chainsaw etc. You want to be loyal but and have just one brand to deal with but…
Ha, yup! I was fully aware of that when I got my circ saw and dual charger and 4 batteries for $250. I knew their game was to get me locked in, but I had already decided to ditch all my Ryobi stuff because it wasn’t quite enough for what I was doing. So Makita it was!