So be honest - Robot Lawn Mowers - are they really that good?

[LondonBuyer]

I have a garden that is made up of 3 distinct lawns - the largest being 15 x 40m. None are connected. However that said mowing them myself is proving rather time consuming and I am often asked why don't I get a robot mower. I'll be honest - I worry it won't be able to handle all the gardens, that it will run into trouble when it meets leaves, pinecones and fallen tree branches - and that the fact I will have to myself put it on each of the 3 lawns once a week will be a pain (given the layout of these 3 lawns).

So I would love to hear your experiences - do you have a robot mower and is it as good as they say? Especially if you have a bigger more complex garden with lots of trees and hazards - has it been fine?

I'm watching with interest because I'd love one. Bloody expensive mistake though if it doesn't work!

There was one at a holiday house we stayed in once (long holiday) - it seemed great! It was a large flat lawn and yes there were pine cones etc from mature trees- occasionally one would run the wrong way into the blades and it would stop, but I can't say it happened often. The more common scenario was that it ran over its own border cord (the one that sets its operating limits) because the soil was quite sandy and bits of cord could become exposed easily. It's an easy enough repair. I think in 3 months we were there it stopped 5-6 times at most. We didn't hear it at night, would just find it on the lawn by morning instead of in its little home base.

It ran every night though - I'm not sure you can get away with having it on a lawn every 3 days (if you alternate between them). This is possibly model-dependent, but all the ones I've looked up since (I'm keen to get one one day!) appear to work similar, as in clip a little every night. Also, it's supposed to return to base at the end of its run - how would you do that if your lawns aren't connected?

We have one, I named him Monty and he is my friend!
Ours is a cheaper of the range Flymo one. He can't do first cut of the year so you do still need a mower or get someone in once a year.
Ours needs a wire all the way around, wasn't too hard setting it in BUT I keep digging new beds and extending the garden/ reducing lawn. This means I'm always digging up the wire, patching and rerouting. I do not recommend getting one until you're confident there won't be lots of changes.
He also doesn't do the edges great. I plant right up to the edge of the lawn and over so setting the wire further in doesn't work so I need to regularly do the edges myself.
The plus side, he's super quiet, the garden always looks good and as the tiny bits it chops each time is put back in the lawn I don't end up filling my garden bit just with grass cuttings.

Ours also doesn't work if we pick him up and move him outside his wired area so we couldn't do the front with him for example, my friends does still work when plonked in random areas so either pay more for one that can be moved or get 3 cheaper ones 😬

Could you link to yours AmIAWeed - I keep looking at them but not sure i can quite justify the cost. (Actually, I want a robot lawnmower and a robot hoover!) How does it work with weather - do they only mow when it's dry?

@LondonBuyer sorry but I don't think one would work for you you...

We have a Landroid mower and it's great for a single lawn but multiple separate lawns don't work... I also regularly clear acorns etc from the lawn when I potter about in the garden / otherwise the mower would try to shred them so if you gave lots of debris you'd also be very busy keeping it clear.

For anyone with a single lawn, it can work well but get one that can easily handle the fuse if your lawn abs set aside a day to set it up properly.