During the dog days of summer, few people want to go out and spend time in the hot sun mowing their lawn. Thankfully, that no longer has to be the case as we now have robot lawn mowers that give us the freedom to take care of other tasks.
The automation of chores is a fantastic by-product of smart home devices, and now the outdoor space has joined the scene as robot lawn mowers are addressing lawn maintenance needs. These smart devices do their part in ensuring that the exterior area of your home is neat and presentable.
Robot lawn mowers provide a wide array of features and functions that remove the strain from yard work. They begin mowing your lawn from the get-go and return back to their charging docks when their chore is completed.
There are plenty of features and capabilities available with the latest robot mowers, but knowing how to make sense of them and how to choose the right one can be a challenge. Let’s take a look at some of the features you’ll want to consider, along with how to choose the robot lawn mower that works best for you.
Features to Consider
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of features available when it comes to robot lawn mowers. Here are some of the more common and prevalent ones you’ll want to think about as you make your decision.
Cut
When it comes to the quality of cut your robot lawn mower provides, you’ll want it to be nearly as good as the one you would get with a traditional lawn mower. Additionally, some kinds of grass grow and look better when cut at specific heights. While it may not have an impact on your lawn, it’s always nice to have the ability to set the mower to your preferred setting.
Size of Lawn
Do you have a small yard or a few acres of grass? Depending on the size of your yard, battery life might be an important feature. If your robot lawn mower isn’t able to completely cover your lawn, then it’ll take several cycles to get it completely cut. This means you might have to set additional boundaries or move the boundaries around, which somewhat defeats the purpose of owning a robot lawn mower.
Charging station
There are some robot lawn mowers that do not have the capability to charge themselves. While they might be cheaper than the ones that can, do you want to plug in your lawn mower every time you need to cut the grass? It might be a little more expensive, but a mower that can return to its charging station when it needs more juice lets you worry about other things.
Boundaries
Speaking of boundaries, robot lawn mowers have a method for setting up and installing the boundaries. These boundaries limit where the mower can go. Some boundaries are placed above ground while others might be buried a few inches into the ground.
Additionally, some robot mowers have sensors which tell them to go around obstacles or to avoid certain situations. If your yard requires a smarter robot mower, then you might want to consider one that has the ability to learn the terrain of your lawn.
Weather capabilities
More than likely your robot lawn mower is going to live outside, which means you’ll want one that is more rugged than your typical indoor smart device. If it rains a lot in your area, you might want to make sure you have a robot lawn mower capable of handling water.
Ease of use
There are some robot lawn mowers that can do everything on their own once you program it, while other mowers might require a little more assistance. There are also mowers that are complex and confusing to use. This is an important feature to consider since you don’t want to waste all your time trying to figure out how to operate your robot lawn mower.
How to Pick the Right Robot Lawn Mower
Selecting the ideal robot lawn mower can be difficult. Because of how expensive these smart devices are, you want to do what you can to make the right decision the first time. We’ve discussed some of the more important features to consider when looking at robot lawn mowers, now let’s think about how you should go about picking the right one for your yard.
Size of lawn
As we’ve already mentioned, the size of your lawn has an impact on what type of robot lawn mower you want to purchase. No matter what type of mower you purchase, you’re going to have an area limitation. Your goal is to find one that fits what you need.
For instance, if you have a large lawn, you might consider the Robomow RS630 or RS622, as they cover 30,000 and 23,000 square feet respectively.
If, however, your yard isn’t as large, you might consider something that doesn’t require as much juice. The WORX Landroid can manage up to a quarter of an acre, running for up to 45 minutes on a single charge.
Of course, you don’t have to go that route, but it makes sense to have a robot mower that suits the needs of your yard so you aren’t wasting time or money. Additionally, keep in mind that as the yard size goes up, the price may go up as well. This isn’t always the case, but more often than not it will be.
Slope
In addition to the size of your yard, you might also consider any hills or valleys the robot mower will need to navigate. Each mower has a maximum slope it can handle, so you’ll want to determine the slope of your lawn. If you have a heavy slope, you might want to reach out to a professional to help you.
Most robot mowers can handle a decent slope. For instance, the previously mentioned Robomowers can each mow on a slope of up to 36 degrees. Comparatively, the Lawnbott Spyder LB1500 can handle 34 degrees, while its counterpart, the Lawnbott Spyder 1200 can handle 32 degrees.
Just remember that even though a model says that it can handle a certain slope doesn’t mean it will handle it with ease. Some models might struggle with mowing steeper slopes and wind up veering off course.
Price
Of course, the biggest factor for most people is the price. As previously stated, usually the bigger your lawn, the more you’re going to spend on a robot mower that can get the job done. This is especially true if you want one that can mow your entire yard in one cycle.
However, in many cases, if you decide to go with a cheaper model, you might also be susceptible to defects or lack of functionality. It just depends on what you’re willing to live with or without. Check out our buying guide if you want a better idea of what you’re looking to spend on a robot lawn mower.
Mowing the lawn used to be a big, boring chore that just takes up too much time. Thanks to robot lawn mowers, you can do other things while these nifty devices take care of the job for you! Find here all you need to know about the best robotic lawn mowers.
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