Discussion
Anybody got one?
I already have a robot vacuum cleaner, which I don't regret buying at all. The mowers are a tad on the expensive side, but they have dropped a bit recently (at least the Flymo has) which tempts me.
However, most (including the Flymo) seem to use random patterns, meaning they take - literally - hours to cut your grass each time and that seems ridiculous. So I'm currently favouring the Bosch Indego, if I can persuade myself that it's worth spending that amount of money to save myself the trouble of cutting my grass manually (which admittedly only takes about 15 mins).
I already have a robot vacuum cleaner, which I don't regret buying at all. The mowers are a tad on the expensive side, but they have dropped a bit recently (at least the Flymo has) which tempts me.
However, most (including the Flymo) seem to use random patterns, meaning they take - literally - hours to cut your grass each time and that seems ridiculous. So I'm currently favouring the Bosch Indego, if I can persuade myself that it's worth spending that amount of money to save myself the trouble of cutting my grass manually (which admittedly only takes about 15 mins).
Can't comment other then the reviews on Amazon....26 people rating it 4.5 out of 5 is a pretty good metric to go off!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flymo-Lithium-ion-Robotic...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flymo-Lithium-ion-Robotic...
Andehh said:
Can't comment other then the reviews on Amazon....26 people rating it 4.5 out of 5 is a pretty good metric to go off!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flymo-Lithium-ion-Robotic...
Yep, I saw them - but I really don't like the idea that it will be running pretty much all day to cut the grass. I think the "intelligent" ones make more sense, and in this price range that seems to basically mean the Bosch.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flymo-Lithium-ion-Robotic...
My father in law and brother in law both have these and swear by them. As we have recently moved we are seriously considering one too.
The thing I didnt realise is that they will move pretty much ever day rather than on a set day or weekly schedule. So they will constantly be out there trimming for most of the day, with the (very short) cuttings going back into feeding the lawn as it goes. The lawns that my inlaws have are immaculate as a result.
Lawn size is apparently a determining factor in which model you'll need to go with.
I do need to find out which make they have though. They just call them Elmo...
The thing I didnt realise is that they will move pretty much ever day rather than on a set day or weekly schedule. So they will constantly be out there trimming for most of the day, with the (very short) cuttings going back into feeding the lawn as it goes. The lawns that my inlaws have are immaculate as a result.
Lawn size is apparently a determining factor in which model you'll need to go with.
I do need to find out which make they have though. They just call them Elmo...
I nearly bought one but then after getting a robot vacuum decided against it. Instead I am in the process of putting down artificial grass. Costs a fair bit but against the cost of an erratic robot and all the other maintenance of a lawn I'm a happy bunny (and the shed I used for the mower and strimmer is being converted into a sauna !)
OK - it's a totally frivolous purchase, and I shouldn't have done it - but I have.
I was favouring the Bosch Indego and there are two varieties - the normal one (currently £950 in Amazon) and the Indego 1000 - which seems targetted to bigger lawns (which I don't need) and allows remote control with a phone app (which I obviously do - at least, as much as I "need" one of these in the first place!). That's currently £1025 + £10 delivery on Amazon (not available on Prime at the moment) and about £850 from other sellers. In reality, still a bit too pricey I thought.
However - I noticed from the Amazon reviews that one reviewer had bought his Indego 1000 from Amazon.de, at 999Eu - which works out a chunk cheaper than the UK. So I took a look - and by coincidence, today that is reduced to 799Eu - for Prime members only. However - although I'm a prime member, it wouldn't let me order at the prime member price.
Turns out, Prime membership is only to your domestic Amazon provider - so although I'm a prime member here, I'm not in Germany. But - it also turns out that Prime membership in Germany is half the cost it is here - 49Eu / £40.
It seemed too good a deal to ignore - although clearly, I will need to put a UK plug on, or use an adapter. Delivery will take a few days (they estimate delivery around the 10th - 11th) and still only cost me about £10 (18 Eu). So instead of the cheapest UK price I found of £850, it came in at £673.68 - plus £40 prime fee.
Interestingly - I assumed I could cancel the German prime membership once it turns up, but the wording of their T&Cs seems to imply that if you cancel it they will take back any saving you made by using prime - so although it's a free trial, you can't use it like this. However - it's relatively inexpensive so can run for the year and I'll cancel the renewal in April next year - guess there may be other things in the next 12 months which work out significantly cheaper from Germany (although I did browse my recent orders and most things looked the same).
Hopefully - no more manual grass cutting this year (apart from once more to get it in a state the robot can cope with).
I was favouring the Bosch Indego and there are two varieties - the normal one (currently £950 in Amazon) and the Indego 1000 - which seems targetted to bigger lawns (which I don't need) and allows remote control with a phone app (which I obviously do - at least, as much as I "need" one of these in the first place!). That's currently £1025 + £10 delivery on Amazon (not available on Prime at the moment) and about £850 from other sellers. In reality, still a bit too pricey I thought.
However - I noticed from the Amazon reviews that one reviewer had bought his Indego 1000 from Amazon.de, at 999Eu - which works out a chunk cheaper than the UK. So I took a look - and by coincidence, today that is reduced to 799Eu - for Prime members only. However - although I'm a prime member, it wouldn't let me order at the prime member price.
Turns out, Prime membership is only to your domestic Amazon provider - so although I'm a prime member here, I'm not in Germany. But - it also turns out that Prime membership in Germany is half the cost it is here - 49Eu / £40.
It seemed too good a deal to ignore - although clearly, I will need to put a UK plug on, or use an adapter. Delivery will take a few days (they estimate delivery around the 10th - 11th) and still only cost me about £10 (18 Eu). So instead of the cheapest UK price I found of £850, it came in at £673.68 - plus £40 prime fee.
Interestingly - I assumed I could cancel the German prime membership once it turns up, but the wording of their T&Cs seems to imply that if you cancel it they will take back any saving you made by using prime - so although it's a free trial, you can't use it like this. However - it's relatively inexpensive so can run for the year and I'll cancel the renewal in April next year - guess there may be other things in the next 12 months which work out significantly cheaper from Germany (although I did browse my recent orders and most things looked the same).
Hopefully - no more manual grass cutting this year (apart from once more to get it in a state the robot can cope with).
now you see you need the correct herbivore for the job. A goat will eat pretty much everything in your garden except the grass. What you need for grass is a sheep. sidekickdmr said:
My lawn is about 1/3 an acre, so would need the bigger "1000" one.
However one side of my (level) lawn drops off down a hill/cliff with no protection/fence, would my mover commit suicide immediately or can I bury a "no go" wire that it won’t cross?
It comes with the "no go" wire. My understanding is that you need to use this anyway, even if you have a flat square garden - it marks the perimeter and the mower will only work within that perimeter. Seems to be a common feature of all of them.However one side of my (level) lawn drops off down a hill/cliff with no protection/fence, would my mover commit suicide immediately or can I bury a "no go" wire that it won’t cross?
I was very sceptical of these.
However, my parents neighbours have a large plot with a one acre lawn.
They have been using one for nearly 2 years now with no probs. There lawn now looks like a bowling green.
It even works through the winter which I found amazing.
As mentioned above, people come round to install a perimeter wire so you can keep it away from cliffs.
You can even set up different zones (or front garden and back garden) and it will stop mowing, go to the other zone and carry on.
They run all the time (except when they go to base to charge).
My parents garden is right next door and they are not disturbed by it at all admit is so much quieter than ride on/ normal mowers.
However, my parents neighbours have a large plot with a one acre lawn.
They have been using one for nearly 2 years now with no probs. There lawn now looks like a bowling green.
It even works through the winter which I found amazing.
As mentioned above, people come round to install a perimeter wire so you can keep it away from cliffs.
You can even set up different zones (or front garden and back garden) and it will stop mowing, go to the other zone and carry on.
They run all the time (except when they go to base to charge).
My parents garden is right next door and they are not disturbed by it at all admit is so much quieter than ride on/ normal mowers.
Condi said:
What benefit is there to an 'intelligent' one? The random ones seem to do a very good job from what Ive seen.
In reality, perhaps none. But it seems the random ones don't know where they've cut and hence have to run for many hours to cover the same area - that can't help the battery life, and I would prefer it was running for half an hour than half the day.Since I went the German route, the intelligent Bosch has cost about the same as the dumb Flymo - which was significantly cheaper than most brands anyway - so for me, there would have to be a big advantage to the non intelligent one to make it worth the same money.
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