Ambrogio L60 Review, Manual, and Comparison to Flymo, Miimo and Yard Force Automatic Lawn Mowers

The Ambrogio L60 is a different kind of robot mower.

It's a mower for people who don't want to mess with full-on automation.

There's no boundary wire, for example. Nor is there a charging station.

In essence, this is a mower that replaces a person, even down to the fact that it can only really mow when you can be bothered to take it out of the garage.

Ambrogio L60 Features

For all that, it's a clever box.

It can tell the difference between grass, and not grass; coupled with bumpers that help it figure out if there is an obstacle such as a family pet, small child or tree.

The mower has 4 wheel drive, and can mow for about 3 and half hours on a three hour charge. It just can't get back to it's refuelling point by itself.

That means that if your lawn is big enough that 3:30 of cutting leaves some areas untouched (bearing in mind that the mower covers the ground at random), you have to pick it up, take it inside, and charge it up.

The advantage is that installation is easy. You just drop the mower in the middle of the lawn, press a button, and go about your business.

Ambrogio L60 Manual

The Ambrogio L60 Manual is one of the clearest, and easiest to follow that I think I've seen.

However, that's not surprising, as the robot mower is pretty much plug-in-and-go. There's no messy perimeter wire installation, and for those with a simple garden, not much extra landscaping to do.

On the other hand, it is clear from the manual that if you have ponds, walkways, and flower-beds, that you need to make sure your garden is up to the job.

There are some pretty tight guidelines for things like the height of delimiting curbs, and the kinds of materials that the Ambrogio will recognise as 'not grass'.

The screen needs very little explanation: it's so basic that there's nothing more than some descriptions about starting, stopping, and charging the mower.

The manual, is, in short, as complicated as it needs to be for a device that is clever, yet pretty dumb.

Ambrogio L60 Price

Here's where I have a problem. Price-wise, the L60 sits somewhere between the Flymo 1200R (which I own) and the es of the Honda Miimo or Yard Force machines.

The blades are non-standard, making them more expensive to replace.

For a machine that needs so much manual intervention, I find that the £1,500 plus price tag is a bit excessive.

However, the manufacturer would probably cite the admittedly clever technology that powers the robot in their defence. I have a friend with an earlier model, and for what it's worth, it works.

I just think that, for me, I'd rather have the mower on-call 24/7 than have to haul it around between charges.

Then again, I enjoy messing around with the perimeter wire, too. That's not for everyone; perhaps the Ambrogio L60 will find a market with the less technically inclined gardener whose garden is large, with complex shapes, and yet with well defined boundaries...

YardForce Lawn Mower: New Robotic Lawn Mower to Rival Flymo 1200R

The Yard Force SA series robotic lawn mowers are German built, four wheeled, swing bladed lawnmowers with a price bracket that matches the cheaper end of the market such as the Flymo 1200R.

The basic features are similar:

• Perimeter wire;
• Weatherproof charging station;
• 3M style connectors;
• Swing blades, etc...

However, there are also some aspects that are an improvement on the venerable Flymo / Gardena / Husqvarna automowers.

Yard Force SA600 Specifications

For a start, the wheels are solid, and there are four of them. This means no rubber bits to wear out, and cause the wheels to come apart, as happened with the Flymo, before we replaced them.

The mower happily deals with up to 40% (27 degrees) of slope, too, even in the wet. However, mowing in the rain is not recommended.

It has a large touch-screen to adjust various parameters, and a handy set of icons for illustrating the exact level of battery charge.

It's a real bonus to be able to see all the relevant information on the screen at once, too, unlike the line-by-line approach of other mowers. It's not quite as good as the Miimo's screen, but that comes at a price.

Naturally, in line with all the others, it has the usual PIN protection as well.

Yard Force Lawn Mower Manual Review

According to the Yard Force SA Series Manual, installation is pretty much the same as all other boundary-wire based mowers.

As seems to be the trend, there's no return wire, which increases reliability, but means that the manufacturers have to come up with increasingly clever ways to get their bots back to the charging station!

Programming looks easy, and is well-explained. There doesn't seem to be a function to change the way that the mower cuts (i.e. no 'lines' or 'spiral' setting), but the grid approach to programming the timer looks to be effective.

Various options, such as the rain sensor, can be turned on and off, and there's both a handy 'Stop' and 'Home' button.

Finally, the blades seem to be the standard type used by most spinning, rotating blade mowers, so the replacement blade cost ought to be in line with other manufacturers.

Yard Force Lawn Mower Price

The Yard Force SA600 is listed at around £600 at the time of writing, which makes it competitive when compared with the Honda Miimo and Abrogio mowers.

It's still slightly more expensive than the Flymo 1200R, but arguably the solid wheels, and higher level of customisation make for better value for money.

Honda Miimo 500 Robotic Lawn Mower: Price, Manual, Review

The Honda Miimo 500 is one of the more expensive robotic lawn mowers on sale. Although it has a lot of key features (such as silent running and different cutting modes), it also lacks some, like Bluetooth or WiFi control, that cheaper models are starting to offer.

On the other hand, Honda has a long association with robotics and electric vehicles, making it a natural first choice for those looking for reliability and innovation.

The HRM 500 is the middle model in the Miimo range, and has a bigger battery, allowing it to mow a larger area than the 300 series, but lacks some of the features (such as smartphone control) enjoyed by the model above it.

Honda Miimo 500 Robotic Lawnmower Features

The HRM 500 has some interesting features that mark it a cut above (pun intended) mowers like the Flymo 1200R:

• Ability to cut in stripes;
• Up to 5 programmable 'start points';
• Special 'edge cutting' mode.

It's also nearly silent, and has blades that bend rather than snap when they hit a solid object like a rock.

Honda Miimo 500 Reviews

Here's a run-down of opinions across the various review sites:

• UK's Alphr has a comprehensive review which confirms the silent operation, and notes that, if you employ a gardener, they would have to cut the lawn over 60 times before paying back the purchase price (source: Alphr.com.)

• C|Net called it "an adorable Roomba for your lawn" (source: C|Net.com), citing innovative features such as timers and variety of cutting modes.

• The UK's Which? magazine praised its good looks, but lamented a 'luxury' price tag (see Which? online).

• The German site Testberichte gave it a score of 1.9 'Good' (source: Testberichte.de) with lower scores going to the operating instructions (poor) and time between charges (average).

• The Netherlands-based Rientes Tuinmachines was also impressed, noting the mulching capability and giving precise instructions on laying the perimeter wire (see their web site.)

It's worth noting that there aren't any Amazon.co.uk reviews at the time of writing.

Honda Miimo 500 Manual

The manual can be downloaded from Honda's site.

A quick glance through it doesn't confirm Testberichte's assertion that it is a difficult read. In fact, I found it both clear and comprehensive.

Alphr also noted that it requires a Honda technician to install: however, the installation is very well covered in the manual. I'd recommend doing it yourself, if only so that you know how to fix it if something goes wrong!

The manual also confirms some of the more advanced features, such as:

• Setting mowing start points (Page 19)
• Setting the Work Calendar (Page 22)
• Setting the work timer by start point and season (Pages 27-29)
• Programming 'Quiet Times' (Page 30)
• Settings for narrow passages, and other configurations (Pages 32-37)

All in all, from the opinions, manual, and various videos, it's clear that the mower has a lot to recommend it. The level of customisation is beyond anything that I've seen in other robotic mowers, but it's unlikely that anyone with a regular shaped garden will ever need most of them!

Honda Miimo 500 Price

The HRM 500 is quite expensive. Amazon lists it at around £2,200 and Alphr at £1,900; which puts it at around 3-4 times more expensive than the Flymo 1200R.

However, the Flymo is noisier, has fewer mowing patterns, and can only start from a random point (or the end of the return wire). It also doesn't have the customisation that the Honda has, which makes it easy to install, but useless for complex lawn designs.

Oh, and the Honda is better looking.

Of course.

AL-KO Robolinho 3000 Review: Comparative Review of the AL-KO Robolinho 3000 Robotic Lawn Mower

AL-KO has a proud tradition in the production of lawnmowers. They first started building them in 1966, and in 1975 were honoured with a Franz Beckenbauer (then a famous professional footballer) testimonial for their Golden Line mowers.

Now, with the AL-KO Robolinho, they've taken their reputation for safety and quality, and applied it to the world of automatic robotic lawn mowers, production of which actually goes back to 2012.

This comparative review* looks at the AL-KO Robolinho 3000;one of the most popular models, if not the cheapest, at around £2,000 as we went to press.

So, what do you get for your money?

Blades

The first difference between many of the mowers on the market an the AL-KO line is the blade configuration.

The Robolinho has double-decker blades, apparently offering improved mulching and less grass build up. Regular readers will remember what happened to the Flymo 1200R when grass built up inside our mower. Long story short: the rubber dampers broke, presumably as a result of the acid in the grass.

Anything that helps reduce grass build-up and mulch better at the same time is to be welcomed. The innovative twin blades are non-standard, though, which potentially makes them more expensive to replace.

Boundary Wire & Charging Station

The Robolinho uses a standard boundary wire, but no return wire. So, unlike other mowers (actually, mainly those based on the Husqvarna Automower chassis, like the Gardena R40LI, or Flymo 1200), the mower has no easy way to get 'home'. It even has a 'home' button, which is an innovative feature, but without a return wire, I suspect it will spend a while bumping around until it finds, and presumably follows, the boundary wire.

With a 1200 square meter mowing area, that could be a long journey!

The home itself has to be placed on the boundary wire, akin to mowers from, for example, Bosch, and has a single transformer providing power. It's an open charging station, according to the installation manual.

Looking at images of the charging unit, it seems that connection is provided by two pads, that match up to two pads on the base station. This could be an improvement over the 'slot in' connectors that other makes have to contend with, which can get dirty, but one has to question what happens if the pads become slightly burnished or if they are exposed to corrosion.

Features

The control panel looks about the same size as the Flymo 1200R, but seems to contain space for a bit more explanatory data judging by the screen shots in the manual. There are also some fairly self-explanatory buttons around the edge of the screen, which make programming easier.

One of the additional features is the rain sensor, built into the mower, but the manufacturer also notes that the mower is quite capable of cutting the lawn in the rain.

Conclusion

Most of the features are comparable to other brands, but there are a few areas that, for the price, you'd expect a bit more for your money:

• Small screen;
• No GPS;
• Open base station.

The upside is the large mowing area. However, since the Flymo 1200R is now around £500, you can get three of them, and still be £500 better off for the 1200 square meters, or just risk buying two, and be £1000 better off...

In addition, the mower comes with rubber coated wheels, which I always find a bit of-putting. Read "...and then the wheels came off" to find out why I swapped from rubber to solid wheels on the Gardena R40Li.

To sum up: the specification is okay for the price, and AL-KO has a solid reputation for quality, but there are mowers that represent better value for money, with more modern features like GPS and smartphone control.

(* DISCLAIMER: review performed by comparison to the Flymo 1200R / Garndena R40Li range on the basis of features only, and is not an ownership-based review.)

Professional Installation Guide: More than just a Robot Mower User Manual!

Regular readers will remember my post on Paradise Robotics, a while back. Now, they have released a new edition of their installation guide for the mowers that they stock - namely Ambrogio and LawnBott models from Zucchetti Centri Sistemi (ZCS).

Written by Kathy Moseler, and first published in 2011, it covers pretty much all the Ambrogio, LawnBott and other ZCS mowers that have been on the market since the early 2000s.

Due to this extensive coverage, it also serves as an excellent getting started guide for anyone interested in buying a robotic lawn mower. In fact, it would be a great accompaniment to any of the manufacturer's official robot mower user manual.

For example, because Ambrogio has followed trends in robot lawn mower design, it discusses models with and without return wires (known as Follow Wire, or On Wire) in a section entitled "Base Return Methods".

The guide has both diagrams (annotated examples from various user guides) as well as photos of real-life gardens, helping to solve the various boundary wire design challenges that lawn mower owners will face.

Given that most mowers have the same basic requirements (except those with GPS), the section covering the installation of a boundary wire would be useful to everyone, and well worth the £20 price tag.

For those who can't afford, or can't find Ambrogio lawn mowers, it also helps to build a picture of the kind of mower that you need -- some of the advanced features of the mowers such as the ability to cross asphalt paths are also covered. In conjunction with our own free Buyer's Guide FAQ, a comprehensive question and answer session can be conducted in-store to make sure you get the most appropriate model.

Not to forget, of course, that online deals can quite often yield huge savings; but as always, it's better to enter into a large online purchase from a reputable store armed wit the right information. Paradise Robotic's "Professional Installation Guide" for robot lawn mowers would make a great starting point!

Flymo 1200R vs Honda Miimo 3000: Are High Tech Robot Mowers Better?

It's fair to say that the Honda Miimo series is pretty fully specified. In fact, a lot of buzz about the Miimo online makes quite a big deal of the smartphone app control, electronic height adjustment, amongst other leading features.

Of course, regular readers will know to ignore anything that talks about the blades, mulching effect, low noise and ability to mow in the rain; unless they're missing! Every mower worth buying can do all of these things, but it's the little details that set the leaders apart.

Flymo, part of the Husqvarna group, appear to lead on price.

More specifically, the Flymo 1200R, while not the latest iteration of mower technology, has a top line price of around £900 but can be had for under £500 online. The Miimo comes in at three times that; albeit with some additional bells and whistles.

It also lacks a few things -- like instructions. However, this has improved with recent models, but certainly in the early days, the advice was to get the local Honda dealer to install the Miimo rather than try to do it yourself.

Not that it's difficult; but there are apparently a few limitations (revealed in this online article) such as not being able to run over paving stones, which would make the installation a bit more challenging.

Flymo 1200R vs Miimo Feature Comparison

The core similarities between the Flymo 1200R and Miimo are:

• Perimeter wire;
• Docking station with smart charging;
• 360 degree bump and tilt sensors;
• Random mowing movement;
• PIN code protection;
• Height adjustment from 20-50/60mm.

The core differences are some additional Miimo features:

• The Bluetooth app;
• Electronic height adjustment;
• Seasonal timers & day/night modes.

Both models, it has to be said, lack the more advanced features that are becoming more common such as rain detection, GPS aided mowing, and neat little docking stations with rain hoods. However, it is debatable whether the high end mowers with these features actually do a better job of cutting the lawn.

On that front, both the Flymo and Miimo have very similar mechanics. Spinning blades, double edged, for longer blade life and a good mulching action that doesn't leave any residue. They both mow randomly, so don't leave worn tracks (a problem for some mowers that take the same route 10 times a day!), and are nice and quiet.

Is the Honda Miimo Better?

Where the Miimo might have the edge is in two areas not yet touched on in any detail: it's turning action, and place anywhere docking station.

When the Miimo gets to the edge, rather than stopping, reversing, and turning, like most other mowers, it will gently curve away from the perimeter wire. I think there are two advantages in this: the smoother action will likely prolong part life (motor, wheels, etc.), and it may produce  a better cut to the edge.

The drawback might be that gaps could appear where the curve's apex is, but these will, over time, be covered by repeated mowing sessions.

Finally, the place anywhere docking station means that you don't need to worry about the orientation of the docking station when you design the perimeter wire path. This is a neat differentiator, especially for awkward shaped gardens, or ones where you could  hide the docking station away.

The only question is: is the price difference worth it? Check out the Miimo here, and the Flymo here, and decide for yourself!

Flymo 1200R Rubber Damper Picture and Repair Instructions

Back in October 2016, I went through a thorough overhaul of our robot mower, including replacing the four rubber dampers, which had become worn.

I'm quite prepared to point out a few things before we get to the pictures and walk-through, and they're important if you've just bought the Flymo 1200R, Gardena R40Li or Husqvarna 305 mowers, which are all based on the same chassis:

• overbumping -- i.e. relying on bumpers rather than the perimeter wire -- will cause them to wear out;
• lack of cleaning will cause them to be ravaged by grass juice (I kid you not);
• weather likely has an affect on rubber.

So, beyond the usual care you'd expect to need to take of a sophisticated piece of machinery, regular cleaning and checking is a must.

The consequences of ignoring the buildup of grass can be seen in the picture on the right.

The two relatively unscathed rubber dampers were situated under the hood, and didn't get exposed to the full wrath of built-up grass clippings or damp lawn mowing.

The others did, and were also situated near the rear, where they also tend to flex a lot. So much so, in fact, that the far left one broke.

So, what do you do if your Flymo 1200R develops the same fault?

Flymo 1200R Rubber Damper Pictures

Firstly, you need to dismantle your mower, following the appropriate spare parts guide. Here's a screen shot of the relevant page.

The location of the dampers are circled in red.

Note that there are actually 4 -- one in each corner -- but only two are shown in the exploded diagram, taken from the spare parts guide.

The cover is actually all that needs to be taken off, by releasing the appropriate screws on the underside of the mower.

Anyone who has already replaced wheels, or thoroughly cleaned the mower will have seen how to do this.

Once it has been taken off, here's what the cover looks like (see image on right).

Again, the fixing points for the four rubber dampers are circled in red. The top left corner damper has been removed completely (it was the broken one) just so that you can see what it ought to look like.

So, how did the repair go?

Repairing the Flymo, Gardena & Husqvarna Dampers

On the left is a close up of what I found when I took off the cover by removing the screws that held the dampers onto the chassis.

The damper had sheared off due to a mixture of corrosion, and, I suspect, over-bumping due to a poorly designed installation on my part.

I decided it was best to replace the dampers in pairs, and set about removing them, which was just a case of removing the two screws holding the support clamp.

On the right is a close-up of the removed clamp and damper:

All that's needed is to replace the damper with a new one, put the clamp over it, and screw the screws back in.

Then, position the chassis over the cover, and secure the dampers to the chassis with the screws removed in the first step.

I also checked the screws for corrosion, too, but they seemed to have stood up to the constant abuse better than the rubber dampers.

Where to Buy Spares?

This is a tricky question: a quick online search reveals that Partmaster is a good place to start in the UK, but also that the best bet for European owners is just to go back to the vendor.

Places like Amazon don't tend to stock spares, as they're quite specialist, but you could be lucky and find an eBay seller who has them. However, as always, caution needs to be exercised since it is better to pay a bit more and get a quality original, than a sub-par replacement.

Having said that, aftermarket compatible blades seem to stand up to the job, so I would be tempted to try other spares should I need to replace the dampers again!

Robot Mowing in Paradise

Recently, I received a request from Paradise Robotics' owner to mention Ambrogio (formerly LawnBott) mowers on the blog. You'll find them listed on the Robotic Lawn Mower Brand and Model Page, but they definitely deserve a closer look in the future.

Being of a curious nature, I also decided to check out Paradise Robotics and uncovered a treasure trove of listings relate to all kinds of robotic products. They have stuff for hobbyists who like to build their own robots, and products for doing everything from cutting grass to cleaning pools.

One thing that the Paradise Robotics site has is a comprehensive set of LawnBott / Ambrogio mower upgrade guides, ideas, and products.

What I found especially interesting was the software update guide for older LawnBotts, giving users access to features that were built into mowers up to 2009, not to mention an expensive - but probably worth it - upgrade package to take your LawnBott and give it a complete overhaul.

They'll change motors, bump sensors, fit better wheels, replace the chassis and probably even do a software upgrade if they can!

Regular readers will know that of the various things that can go wrong, wheels and bump sensors are the two things I've had to replace, so I'd encourage you to at least consider using such a service.

For those of you who have yet to take the plunge, then check out the Buyer's Guide FAQ for help on deciding if a robot mower is right for you, and how to choose the best one!

How Do Robotic Lawn Mowers Work?

Before you buy a robotic lawn mower, it's worth knowing a bit about how they work so that you can make reasonable choices when confronted by a shop full of makes and models.

There are five general areas that are important to consider:

• wheels: these vary in compound, size and arrangement;
• control: how the mower drives around, and finds the edges;
• cutting: there are different blade types and arrangements;
• battery: all robot mowers are cordless;
• programming: how easy are they to customise?

A robot mower is supposed to be a time-saving device. A true modern convenience. However, they tend to get a bad press, usually due to poor choices leading from misunderstandings around how they work.

Wheels

The mower will only be as good as its wheels and blades.

Both depend on the type of lawn. If it is undulating, and located in a part of the world which is frequently wet, then the wheels will have a big impact on the result.

Most robot lawn mowers have two drive wheels, and then one or more balancing wheels. The most common arrangement seems to be three wheels: with the two drive wheels at the nominal 'front' of the mower.

This is great for all round mowing, but tougher terrains will need mowers with more sophisticated arrangements, bigger drive wheels, and wider treads.

For example, the Robomow RX12U is a cheap, highly capable little robotic mower. But one look at it will tell you that if you ask it to mow a golf course, it's going to struggle.

Control

With very few exceptions (mainly robotic mowers used to cut large areas, like golf courses, for example) robot grass cutters use a wire to delimit the area that they are allowed to cut.

This also helps them to cut around the perimeter (so-called edge cutting mode) in certain models.

Husqvarna mowers (including Flymo and Gardena) also have a return wire that has two functions:

• guide the robot home for charging;
• start the mower from a predefined point on the perimeter wire.

This is a handy innovation for people who have lawns that are divided into zones by way of a small entry, such as a gate, or who have fairly large or irregularly shaped lawns where the mower runs the risk of missing far flung areas.

In these cases, better control of the mowing area is gained by running a wire from the base station to a far point on the perimeter wire. The mower will then, on occasion (and the frequency can be adapted in the menu) follow the wire to the end point and start cutting from there, rather than a point nearer the base station.

Newer, and more expensive, models are starting to use apps to offer better control and management over the mower, which is a trend that is very likely to continue, as is using a combination of GPS and perimeter wire.

Localised radio beacons are another control option (think of the Roomba, but outside), but these have yet to make a dent on the market; due to expense and complaints of radio wave pollution.

Cutting

Robot mowers use various blade arrangements. It's worth remembering that a robot mower is a battery powered machine, and as such weight is at a premium.

Single blades as found on traditional mowers are heavy, take a lot of energy to spin up and stop, and can create huge vibrations that make control of an autonomous nature difficult at best, and dangerous at worst.

Manufacturers of home robot lawn mowers have opted for multi-blade (usually three) cutting, usually based on a spinning disc and freely rotating blades with two or more cutting surfaces. The blades are thin, break easily, and need replacing during the season, but deliver a great cutting result.

Larger mowers, designed for bigger spaces, use single blades for robustness (such as the John Deere range of robot mowers), and some makes (such as Robomow) have slightly more robust, powered spinning blades that cost a lot more to replace, but which may be less prone to breakage.

However, the most cost effective option at the time of writing is a three bade arrangement on a spinning disc.

Battery

It's important to pick a mower that has the right level of autonomy for the lawn it will be cutting.

Lithium ion batteries are expensive, but charge quickly and can stand repeated discharge/recharge cycles without losing capacity.

For medium to large lawns, an Li based mower is clearly the best option.

However, for smaller lawns, a different approach can be used. To go back to the current low cost end of the market, the Robomow RX12U takes about 18 hours to recharge, but on a small lawn that doesn't matter, as it will usually be able to cut the whole lawn in a single session.

Programming

However, these cheaper mowers lack finesse in the amount of programming that can be done.

The Gardena R40Li for example, has a flexible cutting schedule, but even that pales into insignificance when compared to the top of the range Worx Landroids which interface with a mobile phone and can be tweaked in a variety of ways.

However, the more options you have, the more time it will take to set up the mower, and the more expensive it will be.

My advice would be that, unless you really need the flexibility to control when, how, and using what pattern the mower should cut the grass, then an entry level mower that is pre-programmed to mow at random and gives you options that are aimed more at convenience than precision is the best bet.

To find out more, check out our free automatic robotic lawn mowers buyer's guide!

Are Robotic Lawn Mowers Any Good?

Anyone reading my review of the Robomow RL 555 in 2013 would be forgiven for asking whether, despite all the hype, are robotic lawn mowers any good at all?

What a difference 4 years makes.

Not just in the technology, but also in my own opinion of robotic vs. standard walk behind mowers.

Back in 2013, I had a few choices to make regarding which mower to buy. If this report of robot mower trends to 2020 is to be believed, the field is going to widen a bit, despite the various legal challenges brought by Husqvarna in trying to protect their technology, but back then, my choices were limited to:

• Gardena (Husqvarna / Flymo / Gardena are all the same group)
• Bosch (Indego)
• Worx (Landroid, since subject of a patent infringement case)

Regular readers will know which I chose, and will have followed the last 4 years of blade changes, wheel replacement, repairing rubber bumper supports, and repairing broken perimeter wires...

...and yet despite the various trials and tribulations, I'd willingly go through it all again.

The Lawn Has Never Looked Better!

Okay, so you'll have to take my word for it, but having a robotic lawn mower has led to a greener lawn.

Why? Because the grass, when cut, is mulched.

Mulching basically reduces the clippings to a fine mist that falls back into the lawn, between the blades of grass, and helps to nourish it. Hence: a greener lawn.

The lawn is trimmed daily, regularly, and at a constant level.

It all contributes to a better looking lawn.

Yes, I still have to trim the edges, but that's more a design choice than anything else. I could have replaced the edging with little paving stones that the mower would roll over and trim right up to the edge, but I like my wood effect edges that separate the raised flowerbed from the lawn.

Once the wood rots away, as it will, I might rethink, but until then, I'll just have to do the edges myself.

Choosing the Right Robot Grass Cutter

I think that, reading the reviews on Amazon, that the biggest issue that people have is in choosing an appropriate robotic lawn mower for their lawn and level of expertise.

For example, almost without exception, robot mowers use a perimeter wire to prevent them going outside your lawn and chopping up the flowerbeds. One of the biggest ownership bugbears seems to be installing and maintaining the perimeter wire.

However, it needn't be the case.

Just be prepared to spend a little time designing the perimeter boundary, and a little more time checking that you made all the right decisions by observing the mower in action, and then relax for the rest of the season.

• Don't dig it into the lawn; just let the wire sink in naturally.
• Don't have sharp turns at the corners; either cut them or round them, checking as you go along that the mower still reaches into the corner as required.
• And don't forget that if you have height changes, pin down the wire with a peg so that it always follows the gradient of the lawn; otherwise it might just get clipped!

Make sure you choose the right mower: if you have a complex lawn shape, pick one that is designed to cover an area just a bit bigger than the actual lawn.

At the same time, if you like lines, and have a regular, rectangular lawn, then pick a mower that cuts in stripes, like the Bosch Indego, for example. It's a bit more expensive than some of the Flymo and Landroid rivals, but it does a good job provided you have a regularly shaped lawn.

In my case, the Gardena R40Li (Flymo 1200R) was more appropriate, just because of the shape of the lawn, size of cutting area, and price.

More modern mowers also exist now, complete with WiFi connection to your mobile phone and GPS to help monitor the job that they've done. I'm not convinced that app connectivity is anything more than a gimmick, but I'll admit that there is a part of me that is attracted to the idea of controlling my mower with my phone.

However, I think that it will be a while before the tweaking that you can do with such a connection actually brings something new to the party. Meanwhile, for £600, the Flymo 1200R remains my personal recommendation.

The Cost of Ownership

Another potential bugbear is the cost of owning and running a robot mower.

Sure, you don't need to spend hours actually cutting the lawn, but that's not much of a saving if you then have to spend hours in maintenance.

Luckily, most robot mowers only need seasonal maintenance, and that's mainly about replacing blades. These vary in cost: from the cheap but slightly flimsy blades used by Bosch, Flymo and Gardena that wear down often and need replacing at least twice per season and can be broken if they so much as clip a bit of gravel, to the solid traditional style blades used by John Deere robot mowers which are expensive but durable.

In between there are all manner of spinning cutters, such as those used by Robomow and Worx in their Landoid mowers, which have multiple cutting edges and spin independently.

It's worth checking, before you buy, which type of blade is needed, and the replacement cost, as well as picking the right kind of blade for your lawn. Rougher lawns with tough grass will benefit from a more solid blade, whereas lawns that have finer grass will benefit from multi-edged blades such as Bosch, Flymo and Worx use.

The important point is that, if the ends of the grass seem to be tinted slightly brown, and a ragged cut, it's time to replace or sharpen the blade. Just like with a regular mower.

One thing people forget is that a regular, walk behind mower, also needs maintenance!

So, in the final analysis, and after 4 years of robotic mower ownership, I would say that robotic lawn mowers have come into their own in 2017, and will no doubt continue to grow in popularity.

Are robotic lawn mowers any good? Yes. But, as with all purchases, be prepared to do your research, hunt down the best deal, and compromise on features that don't bring any real benefits.

To find out if a robot mower is right for you, check out our free robot mower buyer's guide, or, for a summary of all the makes and models on the market, take a look at our robot mower brand and model guide.

Flymo Robotic Lawnmower 1200R Review: Price, Setup, Maintenance and Tuning Advice

The Flymo 1200R robotic lawnmower is based on the Husqvarna Automower design, also used for the very popular Gardena R40Li. This isn't surprising, since Flymo and Gardena are both part of the Husqvarna group, whose Automower was arguably the first mass market automatic robot lawn mower.

With such an impressive pedigree, you'd expect something special, and you would be right.

Or, half right.

Flymo 1200R Price

Let's start with the price.

Currently (June 2017), the Flymo 1200R is priced at a very, very, competitive £599, via Amazon's UK site.

For those who are still reading, my own Gardena R40Li which is identical (except for the colour) cost over 1200 EUR. The Flymo 1200R went on sale at just under £1000, and although the design might come across as a bit dated (more on that later) it's proven to be very reliable.

Installing the Flymo 1200R

All robotic lawn mowers require the installation of a perimeter wire to stop the mower from cutting anything other than the lawn.

There are exceptions, but these are rare, and generally use training or GPS which are both pretty fiddly to set up.

The 1200R is easy to set up, if a little time-consuming. All you need to do is choose a spot for the base station, a location for the return wire, and lay the wire all around the mowing area. You even get a little ruler in the box to help you gauge the distance from the flower bed or path to the perimeter wire.

Online opinions vary as to whether you should actually physically bury the wire, but I'd caution against it. It grows over really quickly (a matter of weeks), and leaving it exposed lets you troubleshoot the installation if need be.

Once installed, you can then set up the cutting schedule, and other parameters (like the PIN) using the LCD screen and simple menu system. Actually, it's lucky that it is a simple menu, because the screen makes setting up the brain harder than it was to set up the rest!

Flymo 1200R Wheels

Where I also have a bit of beef is in the wheels.

Before taking the Flymo to market, I just wish they'd replaced those rubber band treads with solid plastic wheels. On rugged ground, they tend to wear out and drop off; this isn't as dire as it sounds, because replacing the wheels is incredibly easy.

But, it's one of those small things that niggles. Eventually, you know that you're going to have to replace the wheels, and you get into the habit of checking for wear and tear to try and prolong their life a bit.

Like the blades.

Flymo 1200R Blades

The blades give a great cutting result, but they're wafer thin.

There are three of them, and they spin freely to clip and mulch, so that a fine mist of grass ends floats down onto the lawn to fertilise it.

We've noticed the difference, but I've also started walking around the lawn from time to time and removing anything that might damage the blades, because easy as they are to replace, they can become expensive.

Still, that's the case with all robotic mowers in this price bracket. Luckily, too, since it's a popular design, numerous suppliers have popped up to supply unbranded aftermarket blades for Flymo, Gardena and Husqvarna mowers.

Flymo 1200R Battery

A robotic lawnmower lives and dies on its battery.

The Robin, for example, has a very low battery capacity. It's a very low cost mower, and takes a whopping 18 hours to recharge which means that its use is limited to small gardens.

Not so, the Flymo. It's got a great battery. It cuts for ages, and recharges quickly.

According to the manual it has a 2-3 year life span, but I have to say that we've gone sailing past that and don't see any visible change in performance.

Of course, we do overwinter the mower, and empty the battery frequently by letting it run around in a zone with no charging station, which may have an effect, but the battery shows little sign of needing replacing.

(And, if it ever does need replacing, it's easy to do. I checked!)

So, let's round up the good and bad of the Flymo 1200R:

Pros:

• Value for money
• Cutting quality
• Robust build

Cons:

• Tiny LCD screen
• No phone link, app, or GPS
• Rubber wheels

Features:

• Mulching action
• Audible alarm & PIN code
• Super-silent operation
• Collision detection

The conclusion, however, is the important bit. Would I buy it again? Yes. Not at the original price, because there are better robotic lawnmowers for around £1000. But at the current Flymo 1200R price, I'd snap it up in an instant.

Robin: The Low Cost Robotic Lawn Mower Alternative

Owning a robotic lawn mower looks, on the face of it, quite an expensive and time-consuming way to maintain a perfectly trimmed lawn. Even the sub-£500 Robomow RX series is quite a lot more expensive than the average manual mower, and most robot mowers come in at £1,000 plus.

As we reported in a previous article, however, the Dallas startup Robin has a solution that is in line with the usual US practice of paying someone else to cut your grass.

For as little as $15 (about £12 or 13 Euros) per month, Robin will install the perimeter wire using their accumulated experience, set up and maintain a robotic mower, and store it during the winter months. The bonus is that you only pay for the months during which your little helper is actually needed.

Advantages of Automatic Robotic Lawn Mowers

On their automatic mowing service page, Robin claim that being able to do this makes their lawn care cost lower than the more traditional service of sending people out with a noisy, polluting, petrol engine lawn mower, as well as being more reliable.

There is, as we noted in the original article, a certain security risk associated with so many unattended mowers driving around on people's front lawns.

Thus, the modern robotic mowers that Robin deploy include GPS location and extra security features meaning that the mowers can't be used anywhere else, can be located, and are less likely to go missing as people become educated as to the futility of stealing one.

All of this added technology makes the mower a bit more expensive, however. I'd estimate that the Robin mowers are of a class that edges up towards the £1,500+ category.

Based on their rental figures, and allowing for exchange rates and economic differences, a similar UK based service might hope to be able to charge a top-end price of, say, £10-15 per month.

That's about 100 months of payments just to pay for the mower. And, given that the UK and Continental European customers don't have a tradition of paying for lawn care, I would also hazard that the market would be quite resistant.

The Cost of Owning a Robotic Lawn Mower

However, the true cost of ownership, assuming that you plump for a robot mower with some basic security features such as a PIN lock is going to start out with a relatively expensive investment of around £750.

(Note that in a previous article, we pointed out that the Flymo 1200R has been sold for as little as £600.)

The electricity cost is likely to be negligible, even at the 17 hours it takes (per cycle) to charge something like the Robomow RX12U, but consumables such as blades can add substantially to the annual cost.

While Robomow blades seem to be relatively expensive (but long lasting), my own experience with the Gardena R40Li (a Husqvarna model identical to the Flymo 1200R) leads me to estimate that I spend about £15 on blades each season, as long as none get broken by bits of wood, children's toys, or other obstacles.

I've also had to replace the wheels, at a cost of around £20, so all-in all, having bought the beast at the top of the market, price-wise, I've invested about £1,500 in trouble-free lawn care. The lawn looks better (greener), I've got more free time (filled with chores invented by you-know-who), and the dubious pleasure of being able to tell people I've got one.

Over 4 years of ownership, that works out at £15 per month, assuming that it lies dormant for 2 months per year.

Now, assuming the same calculations at today's prices, that falls to about half that for the Flymo, and even less if you have a small, secure lawn, and opt for the Robomow. You can read a comparative article of sorts on this blog.

So, now the question you need to ask is: for £10 per month, do you want to let a robot mow your lawn  for you?

Robomow RX12U The Affordable Robotic Lawn Mower

Unusually for me, I'm going to lead with the price: £499 on Amazon.

I'll just let that sink in.

At that price -- which I'll admit is still a lot of money -- the Robomow RX12U begins to compare pretty favourably with a regular lawnmower.

It looks pretty good, the charging station is low profile, and you even get a natty app so you can talk to it from your mobile rather than having to bend down over a badly lit LCD screen.

Okay, so it won't mow the largest of lawns. In fact, it's limited to something between 150 and 250 square meters of grass.

Part of the reason for this limitation is that it can only mow for an hour and a half before needing a full 16 hours to recharge itself.

And, obviously, with these limitations, it also prefers a squareish lawn without too many complicated turns. Otherwise, it's going to miss areas repeatedly, and result in an uneven cut. The grass, in the growing season, can get quite unruly after only a few days.

Still, the result on a regularly shaped lawn of about 200 square metres is likely to be pretty good. The novel design means that it will go over the edges, too, so you'll get a crisp finish. Just make sure that you follow our Perimeter Wire Tips and Tricks, to get the best results.

Specifications and Installation

For the technically minded, the cut is provided by a single blade, and replacing it doesn't look to be a cheap: going purely on the price of blades for other models (the RM, for example) they seem to cost between £35 and £60. They do, however, look pretty solid, unlike the Indego and Automow (Flymo) variants.

Installation looks easier than most, too, since there's no return wire, and the docking station just sits on the perimeter wire. Now, when it comes to fault finding, I'm a big believer in using the return wire to test for breaks in specific sections (see The Perimeter Wire Revisited), but there's no reason that you can't use the perimeter wire loop instead, for small lawn areas.

One key drawback is that there's no anti-theft device fitted on the RX12 series, which will concern some people: especially as it doesn't seem to be locked to the base unit either, like some of the other brands, and doesn't need to be unlocked with a PIN, either.

Robotic Mower Alternatives

So, aside from building an Arduino based robotic lawn mower yourself (by the way, that's not a cheap option, which I'll explain in a future article), what are your alternatives?

It turns out that if you're willing to go with an older generation, admittedly bigger, bulkier (and uglier) than the little Robomow, for £100 more, you can get the Flymo 1200R.

Here's some advantages: the blades are cheaper to replace, there's a full anti-theft device (beeping, PIN codes and coded base station), it has a guide wire, so you can tell the mower to start at a specific place, and it can always find its way home, and it doesn't need 16 hours to charge.

In fact, our Gardena R40Li, which is the same machine, doesn't seem to need much time at all to recharge, and is almost constantly buzzing quietly around the lawn. Okay, so it's based on the Husqvarna Automower 105 style technology, but there's on big advantage that comes with it: Husqvarna invented the mass market robotic mower, and is still probably the market leader in Europe by some margin.

So, if you have a small, enclosed, secure lawn, go for the Robomow. Otherwise, that big orange robot represents a very good alternative, and at almost half price on Amazon may just be an opportunity that's too good to miss!

Replacement Blades for Flymo, Gardena, and Husqvarna Automower Models

Robotic lawn mowers are great, but they, like all mowers, have parts that wear out. As a result of their design, Husqvarna Automower based machines seem to need their blades replacing quite often.

Part of the issue is that they are smaller, lighter, and designed more for fine cutting than longevity. All it needs is a few errant branches and you will find that you need to buy replacement blades several times per season.

Original Blades Aren't Cheap

If you can find them, Flymo 1200r replacement blades (pack of 9) will set you back over £25. That's almost 30 Euros, and at that price, the compatible Gardena R40Li blade pack of 9 at 18.99 Euros begins to look tempting: all you'd need to do is hop over the Channel!

However, even these pale next to aftermarket blades available on Amazon.

For example, for less than £15 (excluding delivery), you can buy the pack on the right: 30 compatible blades, plus bolts, for all Husqvarna Automower models.

The seller is so confident that these are going to be a perfect drop-in replacement that they offer a refund if they don't. I would advise reading the small print, but there's also the suggestion that they would honour a refund even if you open the packet.

But wait! There's more.

From the same supplier, there's another pack of 30, seemingly supplied without screws (bolts), but with a rather fetching titanium coating, at an even lower price.

Now, I take pretty good care of my bolts, and it's fair to say that whenever I've replaced the blades, I've managed to stockpile quite a few of them over the past few seasons.

They're slightly special, as owners of any of these models will know, in that they have a kind of thread-less, slightly oversized shoulder, just underneath the bolt's head, which allows the blade to rotate freely.

So, if you haven't managed to hold on to them, it's worth keeping a note that next time you should do so, if only to give you access to the cheaper range of aftermarket blades.

Again, read the small print, but the manufacturer seems pretty confident that either pack will prove a decent replacement for the originals.

Source	Blade Price	Pack
Flymo	£2.70	9 + bolts
Gardena	(£1.82)	9 + bolts
Genisys	£0.48	30 + bolts
Genisys Titan	£0.43	30 blades only

It's also worth noting that Genisys also has a range of blades and accessories for all the popular makes, including the Bosch Indego, Worx Landroid, and Honda Miimo. If you go through their online catalogue at Amazon, you'll also find smaller sized  packs of blades so you can test out a cheaper pack before you commit.

See the whole range of robot mower spares from Genisys by clicking the link.

Robotic Lawn Mower Trends to 2020

Based on a recently commissioned report by Technavio (via Market Research Reports), the future for robotic lawn mowers looks bright.

Here are some headlines:

• Impressive double digit growth for the worldwide market;
• Market will pick up in the US, where sales have been sluggish;
• Next generation of mowers driven by improved safety and technological advances;
• As more enter the market, and challenge the incumbents prices will fall.

Read on to discover the movers and shakers of this exciting market, based on our own keyword based research commissioned from The Keyword Coach.

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Find out if a robot mower is for you by downloading our 

FREE robotic lawn mower buyer's guide!

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Robotic Lawn Mower Brands

According to our research, the leading brands worldwide are:

• Husqvarna
• Worx / Landroid
• John Deere
• Bosh
• Honda
• Flymo
• Viking

Together these brands account for about 59% of all search traffic, with Husqvarna and Landroid leading the pack.

It's worth pointing out that Husqvarna is something of a pioneer in the marketplace, and has previously sued Worx for patent infringement (source: GreenIndustryPros.com) Meanwhile, they also manufactured for Flymo and Gardena -- or at least there is more than a passing resemblance between Husqvarna's mowers and the Flymo 1200R and Gardena R40Li models.

While Flymo has about 6% of the market, Gardena has less than 2%, based on the research conducted around search terms for robotic lawn mowers in the 12 months up to March 2017.

Robotic Lawn Mower Features

When it comes to features, most search users seem to be looking for the 'best' robotic mower.

This is backed up by the countless references to reviews, versus comparisons, and other phrases that indicate some kind of pitching brands against each other.

However, it's also worth noting that 12% of searchers were looking for mowers that don't rely on a perimeter wire to delimit the mowing area.

At the same time, there is interest in using solar power for robotic mowers, as well as those that are fitted with GPS. The latter interest might have been sparked by reports in the media of robot mower thefts.

While most results across UK/US/World followed a general trend, it is interesting that the UK seems more interested than the US in kit built mowers, and the US market seems more interested in GPS equipped mowers than any other specific feature (excluding 'best').

The Rise of DIY Robotic Lawn Mowers

An interesting result of the search analysis that wasn't expected was the number of searches using words associated with building your own robotic lawn mower:

• Arduino had the same popularity as Honda;
• Raspberry Pi has the same popularity as Gardena...
• ...as does "Open Source Robot Lawn Mowers"!

It seems that this sector has some interesting times ahead; for retail, kit, and DIY mowers that use advances in modern technology to make cutting your lawn easier, and greener, than every before.

Half of Dallas Startup Robin's Robotic Lawnmowers Got Stolen!

Sorry for the sensationalist headline, but according to a recent piece on the Dallas News website, titled "Robots are coming to cut a lawn near you...", that's exactly what happened when the startup robotic lawnmower rental service trialled 12 devices during market testing.

European robot lawnmower owners will probably find that number a bit disconcerting. After all, uptake has been brisk,and I know plenty of people who have, or are looking to buy a robotic lawnmower as a replacement for their old gas guzzler.

Robotic Lawnmower Security Features

It's worth noting that there are essentially three kinds of robotic lawnmower:

• Grass sensing;
• Perimeter wire;
• GPS trained.

As pointed out in "The Perils of a Robot Lawnmower with No Perimeter Wire" one of the issues of the first kind is that they can be easily stolen and re-purposed elsewhere.

The GPS trained mowers have the advantage that, if stolen, they can be tracked. However, this also requires that they are communication enabled, too, which usually means a privately monitored service (such as those available for newer cars) or effectively giving the mower the robot equivalent of a mobile phone.

(It's worth noting that the article points out that recovery of several of the mowers was down to the fact that they contained GPS locator units -- expensive, but worth the extra cost.)

A perimeter wire solution, however, also ensures that the mower can't be used anywhere else, and is a relativity standard and cost-effective solution to the problem of both limiting the mowing area, and securing the mower.

In addition, most mowers come with PIN codes and alarms, plus a sticker that warns would be thieves that the device is protected. Stealing one would cause the alarm to go off, and it would be useless without the PIN, and doubly useless without the coded base station which is very hard to remove once set up.

The fact that 6 out of 12 robot mowers were stolen in Dallas would seem to indicate that there is a certain lack of education in the market around just how secure these devices are. The article itself seems to agree, citing a Robomow representative's experience that "robotic mowing companies are still educating American customers and answering questions."

Security was one concern, but other factors cited in the piece include the statement that "installation can be a headache"; something that readers of this blog will disagree with -- after all, it's just about preparation and research, something which the mower companies need to spend a bit more time on.

Having said that, we have our own Robotic Lawn Mower Buyer's Guide FAQ which you can download for FREE, and which will help you decide which mower to buy, how best to install it, and all the questions you need to be able to answer (and ask!) before you buy and install your mower.

The Perils of a Robot Lawnmower with No Perimeter Wire

I get a lot of questions directed to me about installation of a perimeter wire and the reason why all of the major brands (Bosch, Worx, Husqvarna, Flymo, Gardena, etc.) rely on this technology. The fact of the matter is it wasn't always the case, and it's also still possible to buy robot lawnmowers that don't rely on a perimeter wire to delimit the mowing area.

But, is that a good thing?

Let's look at a few of the options available to manufactures using today's technology.

Robot Mower with Sensors

Mowers like the LawnBott Spyder, for example, don't use a perimeter wire. In fact, according to the LawnBotts web site, this is hailed as "a new beginning for robotic lawnmowers."

However, I would dispute this, as I have a friend with a sensor-based mower that pre-dates my own Husqvarna/Gardena R40Li, which he inherited from a family member who I assume had upgraded to a better version.

A quick question and answer session later revealed that while there are issues with sensor based mowers, largely my friend was well satisfied with the performance of the mower. However, there were a few basic flaws.

The first is that without a ground wire, the mower has to way to find it's way "home" for recharging. Therefore, it has to be charged indoors.

In fact, the mower has no way of knowing where it is, or where it has been; it's a dumb mechanical device, with none of the intelligence built into more modern models.

The way that they work is simple: they have sensors facing down which detect grass, and bump sensors to prevent chopping up the family pet. The lawn sensors rely on moisture detection, and the ability to tell the difference between mildly damp grass and, say, concrete or gravel.

My own feeling is that this is fine for most regularly shaped, enclosed areas, but as soon as you add a pond, or something that can become overgrown and poses a threat to the mower -- either damaging it, or allowing it to 'escape' -- I wouldn't feel personally comfortable relying on a few sensors to keep it in check.

Then there's the security aspect: one can imagine that stealing a plug-in to recharge mower that doesn't rely on a coded perimeter wire signal is a bit more of an attractive option than one which relies on a fully wired-in installation.

However, there are other options.

Robot Mower with a Virtual Perimeter Wire

These fall into two categories:

• Roomba style transmitters;
• Remote control / smartphone control plus learning.

In 2015, iRobot secured the go-ahead from the FCC to develop and deploy the same kind of technology that is used for their Roomba robot vacuum cleaners for outside use. This would allow them to create an iRobot lawnmower. Because it is guided by localised positioning using radio waves, however, it sparked anger amongst radio astronomers.

Of course, since then, their flagship technology has moved up a gear, and now uses all kinds of visual cues and smartphone interaction to "map and adapt" to the task in hand, rather than using navigation pods. Perhaps this move away from the older technology explains why we haven't seen the iRobot lawnmower as yet.

That leaves remote control or smartphone control plus learning. In fact, SmartMow has pinned their hopes on this approach, and have patented "Virtual Boundary Technology" which they explain as the ability to "Just walk SmartMow around the perimeter of your yard".

I'm actually looking forward to reviewing the SmartMow, because it appeals to me on a number of levels, including some exciting technology for connecting to it via a web portal.

The idea seems to be that the mower will learn where the perimeter is by being "shown" it, and then left to its own devices. Of course, the mower also has the regular sensors to allow it to avoid unexpected objects, but because the solution is software rather than hardware, my reservations re: ponds and robots going mad (as in the movie Short Circuit) still hold.

Robot Mower with GPS

Everything from farm machinery to those massive machines that rake the pistes in the Alps use GPS, so why not home robot mowers?

Husqvarna's Automower does just that. It even has its own app to help you fully take advantage of the set and forget nature of automatic robot lawn mowing.

(By the way, these are at the expensive end of Husqvarna's range -- the affordable models still use a perimeter wire... as do the ones with GPS!)

But here's the thing; it still uses a guide wire, presumably for security reasons.

In fact, aside from this experimental design from 2016, I was unable to find an example of a commercial automatic lawn mower that relied 100% on GPS for its perimeter detection and mowing capability.

So, all in all, it seems as if the good old perimeter wire is here to stay: sometimes lo-tech is really the best tech! If you're still wavering, read our Perimeter Wire Tips & Tricks Post; I'm pretty sure you'll agree that it's still the easiest, safest and most reliable method of keeping your robotic mower in check.