Fancy relaxing with a cuppa and your feet up while automated appliances work around you keeping your home spick and span? Sound too good to be true? This sci-fi movie scenario may not be as futuristic as it seems. Robot appliances are available right now! The question is: do they actually work?  Today we’re talking robot lawn mowers and their pros and cons.

If you’re considering investing in one of these new-fangled mowers, we’re here to help you decide whether or not they’re worth the price tag!

Pros of Robot Lawn Mowers

• No more tiring mowing
• Don’t have to remove garden obstacles
• Better looking, healthier lawn
• Quieter than your old mower
• Automatic charging
• Good theft protection
• Safety conscious designs

No More Tiring Mowing

You’ll need to mow just once at the start of the mowing season to cut away longer grass. Then, set the robot mower up and running. It automatically trims your grass throughout mowing season. You don’t even have to dispose of the clippings, they’re so small they mulch down into your lawn, releasing nutrients back into the soil.

Don’t Have to Remove Garden Obstacles

Though you might have to fill in a couple of lumps and bumps on your lawn, the mower can handle slopes, irregularly shaped lawns, and obstacles. It will serenly bounce off trees and garden furniture, reverse and change direction.

Better Looking, Healthier Lawns

Grass that’s regularly trimmed is healthier and less likely to be patchy or full of weeds. You can’t get more regular than a robot lawnmower that’ll cut your grass daily.

Credit: Flymo

Quieter Than Your Old Mower

Some may like the noise lawnmowers add to the summer ambiance, but if you dislike the roar of the mower you’ll be pleased to hear that robot versions are much quieter. They run at about speaking volume.

Automatic Charging

You don’t have to worry about charging your robot mower up. It’ll find its own way back to the charging station in the evenings, once the day’s mowing is done.

Good Theft Protection

Having a high-value item roaming around your lawn unattended could be very tempting to light-fingered individuals. Luckily robot mowers have high tech theft deterrents including pin numbers, alarms, and immobilisers which can activate if the mower is lifted up or removed from the mowing area.

Safety Conscious Designs

The blades tucked away under the body of robot mowers along with automatic cut-outs if the machines are lifted or tipped and sensors letting the mowers know when they’ve encountered obstacles mean they’re quite safe to be left trundling around the garden.

Cons of Robot Lawn Mowers

• Quite a hefty price tag
• Tricky setup
• Costly replacement batteries
• Robot lawnmowers still need TLC
• Potential for thatch

Hefty Price Tags

One of the main reasons people might hesitate when considering buying one of these nifty garden helpers is the cost. Robot lawn mowers usually will set you back about £600 minimum and some have price tags in the thousands!  It’s definitely worth keeping your eye out for deals and offers if you’re thinking of buying one.

Tricky Setup

It can take a while to initially set up robot lawnmowers. Boundary wires that let the mower know the area to mow need to be correctly positioned and buried to stop the mower cutting into them. You’ll most likely have to program some settings in too.

Credit: Flymo 

Costly Replacement Batteries

Rechargeable batteries won’t last forever; they’ll eventually lose their ability to hold charge. Robot lawn mower batteries don’t come cheap. When you’re choosing your model of mower it’s worth researching the expected life of the battery and the cost of replacing it.

Robot Lawn Mowers Still Need TLC

Though they can cut, move and monitor on their own, robot mowers can’t fix themselves! You’ll need to regularly maintain your machine, sharpening or replacing blades regularly or clearing out grass build-up from under the mower. You know where you can get your replacement lawn mower blades if you need them of course.

Potential for Thatch

Thatch is dead grass and leaves that have built up on the surface of your soil, stopping moisture and nutrients from getting to the roots of your grass. As robot lawn mowers leave clippings from grass on your lawn, you may find you have to rake up thatch once a year. On the other hand, the cuttings may be too small to cause any thatch issues on your lawn.

So robotic lawn mowers aren’t without their flaws, but the ultimate test of whether or not they’re worth buying is all of you! The reactions from people who have bought them are quite positive; it seems if you’re willing to spend the money you’ll most likely be happy with what you get. But if the worst comes to the worst and you decide a robot lawn mower is out of your price range, you can still put your feet up. Just enlist a local teenager to do the hard work for you!

Tags: Robot Lawn Mowers