Flymo EasiLife 200 Robotic Lawn Mower – Cuts Upto 200 sq m Ultra Quiet Mowing, Manicured Lawn, Bluetooth Application Control, Safety Sensors, Hose Washable, Lifestyle Functions, Frost Senso
Flymo – The Lawn Care Experts
Flymo EasiLife 200 Robotic Lawn Mower
Day or night, rain or shine, the Flymo EasiLife 200 robotic lawnmower automatically cuts the grass for you so you don’t have to. It independently mows a lawn of up to 200m², cuts any garden shape and tackles slope gradients of up to 35%. Designed with quick installation in mind – simply install the hidden boundary wire to define the cutting area and off it goes.
- Pin Protection for your security.
- Tilt, Lift and Collision sensors for your safety.
- Hose washable for your convenience.
Features intuitive Assist-U interface for easy scheduling, monitoring and communication with the mower from the onboard keypad & LCD display or via the smartphone app. It also comes with LawnSense and FrostSense to automatically adapt cutting schedule based on weather and lawn growth conditions.
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Where do the grass clippings go?
A Healthier, Greener Lawn
No need to empty a grassbox or dispose of grass clippings, its regular cutting technique returns fine grass clippings back into the lawn which acts as a natural fertilizer and improves grass quality.
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Does it have extra functions?
Extra Mowing Flexibility
It’s functions are designed to fit around your life: Spot Cut, Override, Park or Second Area.
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Can it mow in the rain?
Adaptive mowing whatever the weather
Detecting grass growth, it automatically adjusts the schedule to suit conditions, ensuring an even cut and protects the lawn.
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Can it mow my irregular shaped lawn?
Mows every corner of the lawn
Perfect for imperfect lawns, the EasiLife robotic mower can navigate across lumps, bumps and inclines of up to 35% so you can have a perfect finish.
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How easy is it to install and program?
Intuitive controls and quick scheduling
Install the boundary wire to define the cutting area and program the mower in 3 easy steps.
Why Choose a Robotic Lawn Mower?
Why Flymo?
Finding the right robotic mower for your lawn can be daunting, and it’s important for you to find a lawn mower that fits your lifestyle. Robotic lawn mowers are ideal for those of us that want to spend less time mowing our lawn, and more time relaxing and doing the things you love…
What robot best suits me?
Assist-U LCD Screen | Interface | Push & GO |
35% | Slope Performance | 25% |
200m2 | Working Area | 150m2 |
16cm | Cutting Width | 16cm |
20-50mm | Cutting Height | 20-50mm |
| | Smartphone App | |
| | Lifestyle Features | |
Assist-U LCD Screen | Interface | Push & GO |
35% | Slope Performance | 25% |
200m2 | Working Area | 500m2 |
16cm | Cutting Width | 16cm |
20-50mm | Cutting Height | 20-50mm |
| | Smartphone App | |
| | Lifestyle Features | |
- Flymo Easilife GO 150
- Flymo Easilife GO 500
| Weight: | 7.3 kg |
| Size: | 200 m² Cutting Area |
| Dimensions: | 550 x 380 x 230 cm; 7.3 Kilograms |
| Model: | 967979901 |
| Part: | 967979901 |
| Colour: | Orange and Grey |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | Yes |
| Batteries Included: | Lithium Ion |
| Manufacture: | Husqvarna Group Ltd |
| Colour: | Orange and Grey |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | 200 m² Cutting Area |
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
BUT the app is a another story. Initially the app was rather basic but functional. Couldn’t alter many settings – meaning getting on hands and knees to do it manually – rather defeating the object of an app!
Last few days, a much needed update to the app appeared. Many more setting options available. I was pleased. Only to discover that the Bluetooth pairing is not remembered between app restarts. So every single time you want to use the app, you have to get on hands and knees again to do the pairing, re-enter all the info, only for it to be promptly forgotten as soon as the app is closed!! Useless.
So if you want a properly featured app, you will need to avoid this mower until some future date, assuming the app is updated and fixed.
But as a manually set auto mower it works well.
Absolutely brilliant. Don’t know why I didn’t get one years ago. Has replaced a ride-on mower, has freed up those few hours cutting grass every week in summer, works away in all weather and no more heaving grass into compost bin. Only issue I have is in Spring time with daffodils growing in middle of lawn. I have to protect them with blocks until they finish flowering and wilt. You can’t leave anything on the grass or it will get run over and mangled. This goes for tools, glasses, clothing, cups, plates or anything you have set down. But you can hit the STOP button anytime and tell it to go home or sit until you want it to start again.
I’ve used this now for 2 seasons (summer/autumn 2019 and spring/summer/autumn 2020) and I’m not regretting the decision at all.
In general it’s a great bit of kit and once you’ve gone through the initial pain points of setting it up it really is a very low maintenance worker, considering it goes out (in our garden) 3 times a week.
A few points to note are:
1. the initial setup
Putting a guide wire around the area you want cutting takes a little while (a good afternoon’s work). We decided to just peg it in rather than dig a trench and have had no problems with the guide wire being cut. We started out with the cutting blade on it’s maximum height and slowly reduced it over the course of a month. The guide wire is now barely visible at all. In most places it’s completely invisible.
The manual recommends putting the base station out in the open, but I ignored this and shoved it in a corner. This doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, except that the mowbot can’t get to the spots in and around the base station to cut them. I just break out the strimmer once in a while to take care of this.
2. Including a separate garden area.
This is a little tracker to do, but not impossible. We have a very small front garden which needs mowing, didn’t want to have to buy a mower just for this, so instead we ran the guide wire from the back garden, through the garage and into the front garden. Looped the guide wire around the front garden and then back through the garage to the base station. This ensures the guide wire is one continuous loop. There’s a few places where the guide wire is plainly visible, but I’m willing to accept this as a compromise.
To cut the front garden I have to carry the mowbot through the garage, place it on the front garden and switch it to a ‘manual’ mode. It then bounces around the front garden until it’s battery runs out. Occasionally a passer by will stop to take pictures of it, it’s become quite the celebrity…
3 general maintenance
The main thing to do is to replace the cutting blades now and again. I’m particularly lazy with this and have used 2 sets of cutting blades per season. I think the manual advises to change them more often, but I’ve not had any issues yet. You get some spare blades in the box, but there are plenty of extra blades on amazon for a good price. I don’t think I’ve used all the original blades yet, but I have bought an extra pack (not flymo originals) which I haven’t opened.
The wheels sometimes get a bit muddy, especially during autumn months, so you might find you need to scrape mud off the wheel treads to make sure it doesn’t stop the wheels slipping or rotating. You could always stop it from mowing until it’s sunny again.
Otherwise, there’s very little to worry about. It’s very easy to get caught up watching it working to be honest. I’ve spent far too long staring at the thing.
4. Husqvarna
Husqvarna seem to be the industry standard and leader in robotic mowers. It’s interesting to note that some of the parts of the Flymo 1200 R are branded Husqvarna – I think this particular model is an older Husqvarna model rebranded with the flymo badge, which gives some confidence in build quality. (This is just my speculation, I’ve not researched this!)
In Summary there’s some pro’s and con’s to this mower;
Pro’s
– Never needing to mow your lawn again
– No clippings to take care of as the they are so small they’re basically invisible
– It lives outside so no storage space required inside until the winter months, but then it doesn’t take up much room.
– Seems to run pretty smoothly with very little maintenance required
– Works any hour of the day you want it to – rain or shine!
Con’s
– Initial setup takes some time
– If you have a separate front garden that you also want mowing, it’s a bit of a faff (but not impossible)
– It occasionally gets stuck either when it’s cutting blade is blocked (rogue palm leaves that it can’t cut through are a pain in our garden) or if it goes over a nasty pothole (we have a regular fox that visits our garden who digs holes for a laugh)
– It’s minimum operating temperature is 4 degrees (i think?) so it has to be put away for the winter (I also clean it off and shove it back in it’s box for the winter months.. this can take an hour or two)
– Doesn’t do the edges very well – especially where the edge of the lawn comes up against a wall or fence and it can’t get right up against the edge to cut. You may need to break out a strimmer or edging tool now and again.
I’ve used this now for 2 seasons (summer/autumn 2019 and spring/summer/autumn 2020) and I’m not regretting the decision at all.
In general it’s a great bit of kit and once you’ve gone through the initial pain points of setting it up it really is a very low maintenance worker, considering it goes out (in our garden) 3 times a week.
A few points to note are:
1. the initial setup
Putting a guide wire around the area you want cutting takes a little while (a good afternoon’s work). We decided to just peg it in rather than dig a trench and have had no problems with the guide wire being cut. We started out with the cutting blade on it’s maximum height and slowly reduced it over the course of a month. The guide wire is now barely visible at all. In most places it’s completely invisible.
The manual recommends putting the base station out in the open, but I ignored this and shoved it in a corner. This doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, except that the mowbot can’t get to the spots in and around the base station to cut them. I just break out the strimmer once in a while to take care of this.
2. Including a separate garden area.
This is a little tracker to do, but not impossible. We have a very small front garden which needs mowing, didn’t want to have to buy a mower just for this, so instead we ran the guide wire from the back garden, through the garage and into the front garden. Looped the guide wire around the front garden and then back through the garage to the base station. This ensures the guide wire is one continuous loop. There’s a few places where the guide wire is plainly visible, but I’m willing to accept this as a compromise.
To cut the front garden I have to carry the mowbot through the garage, place it on the front garden and switch it to a ‘manual’ mode. It then bounces around the front garden until it’s battery runs out. Occasionally a passer by will stop to take pictures of it, it’s become quite the celebrity…
3 general maintenance
The main thing to do is to replace the cutting blades now and again. I’m particularly lazy with this and have used 2 sets of cutting blades per season. I think the manual advises to change them more often, but I’ve not had any issues yet. You get some spare blades in the box, but there are plenty of extra blades on amazon for a good price. I don’t think I’ve used all the original blades yet, but I have bought an extra pack (not flymo originals) which I haven’t opened.
The wheels sometimes get a bit muddy, especially during autumn months, so you might find you need to scrape mud off the wheel treads to make sure it doesn’t stop the wheels slipping or rotating. You could always stop it from mowing until it’s sunny again.
Otherwise, there’s very little to worry about. It’s very easy to get caught up watching it working to be honest. I’ve spent far too long staring at the thing.
4. Husqvarna
Husqvarna seem to be the industry standard and leader in robotic mowers. It’s interesting to note that some of the parts of the Flymo 1200 R are branded Husqvarna – I think this particular model is an older Husqvarna model rebranded with the flymo badge, which gives some confidence in build quality. (This is just my speculation, I’ve not researched this!)
In Summary there’s some pro’s and con’s to this mower;
Pro’s
– Never needing to mow your lawn again
– No clippings to take care of as the they are so small they’re basically invisible
– It lives outside so no storage space required inside until the winter months, but then it doesn’t take up much room.
– Seems to run pretty smoothly with very little maintenance required
– Works any hour of the day you want it to – rain or shine!
Con’s
– Initial setup takes some time
– If you have a separate front garden that you also want mowing, it’s a bit of a faff (but not impossible)
– It occasionally gets stuck either when it’s cutting blade is blocked (rogue palm leaves that it can’t cut through are a pain in our garden) or if it goes over a nasty pothole (we have a regular fox that visits our garden who digs holes for a laugh)
– It’s minimum operating temperature is 4 degrees (i think?) so it has to be put away for the winter (I also clean it off and shove it back in it’s box for the winter months.. this can take an hour or two)
– Doesn’t do the edges very well – especially where the edge of the lawn comes up against a wall or fence and it can’t get right up against the edge to cut. You may need to break out a strimmer or edging tool now and again.
I’ve used this now for 2 seasons (summer/autumn 2019 and spring/summer/autumn 2020) and I’m not regretting the decision at all.
In general it’s a great bit of kit and once you’ve gone through the initial pain points of setting it up it really is a very low maintenance worker, considering it goes out (in our garden) 3 times a week.
A few points to note are:
1. the initial setup
Putting a guide wire around the area you want cutting takes a little while (a good afternoon’s work). We decided to just peg it in rather than dig a trench and have had no problems with the guide wire being cut. We started out with the cutting blade on it’s maximum height and slowly reduced it over the course of a month. The guide wire is now barely visible at all. In most places it’s completely invisible.
The manual recommends putting the base station out in the open, but I ignored this and shoved it in a corner. This doesn’t seem to be much of an issue, except that the mowbot can’t get to the spots in and around the base station to cut them. I just break out the strimmer once in a while to take care of this.
2. Including a separate garden area.
This is a little tracker to do, but not impossible. We have a very small front garden which needs mowing, didn’t want to have to buy a mower just for this, so instead we ran the guide wire from the back garden, through the garage and into the front garden. Looped the guide wire around the front garden and then back through the garage to the base station. This ensures the guide wire is one continuous loop. There’s a few places where the guide wire is plainly visible, but I’m willing to accept this as a compromise.
To cut the front garden I have to carry the mowbot through the garage, place it on the front garden and switch it to a ‘manual’ mode. It then bounces around the front garden until it’s battery runs out. Occasionally a passer by will stop to take pictures of it, it’s become quite the celebrity…
3 general maintenance
The main thing to do is to replace the cutting blades now and again. I’m particularly lazy with this and have used 2 sets of cutting blades per season. I think the manual advises to change them more often, but I’ve not had any issues yet. You get some spare blades in the box, but there are plenty of extra blades on amazon for a good price. I don’t think I’ve used all the original blades yet, but I have bought an extra pack (not flymo originals) which I haven’t opened.
The wheels sometimes get a bit muddy, especially during autumn months, so you might find you need to scrape mud off the wheel treads to make sure it doesn’t stop the wheels slipping or rotating. You could always stop it from mowing until it’s sunny again.
Otherwise, there’s very little to worry about. It’s very easy to get caught up watching it working to be honest. I’ve spent far too long staring at the thing.
4. Husqvarna
Husqvarna seem to be the industry standard and leader in robotic mowers. It’s interesting to note that some of the parts of the Flymo 1200 R are branded Husqvarna – I think this particular model is an older Husqvarna model rebranded with the flymo badge, which gives some confidence in build quality. (This is just my speculation, I’ve not researched this!)
In Summary there’s some pro’s and con’s to this mower;
Pro’s
– Never needing to mow your lawn again
– No clippings to take care of as the they are so small they’re basically invisible
– It lives outside so no storage space required inside until the winter months, but then it doesn’t take up much room.
– Seems to run pretty smoothly with very little maintenance required
– Works any hour of the day you want it to – rain or shine!
Con’s
– Initial setup takes some time
– If you have a separate front garden that you also want mowing, it’s a bit of a faff (but not impossible)
– It occasionally gets stuck either when it’s cutting blade is blocked (rogue palm leaves that it can’t cut through are a pain in our garden) or if it goes over a nasty pothole (we have a regular fox that visits our garden who digs holes for a laugh)
– It’s minimum operating temperature is 4 degrees (i think?) so it has to be put away for the winter (I also clean it off and shove it back in it’s box for the winter months.. this can take an hour or two)
– Doesn’t do the edges very well – especially where the edge of the lawn comes up against a wall or fence and it can’t get right up against the edge to cut. You may need to break out a strimmer or edging tool now and again.
Takes a while to install the cabling, I elected to bury it to avoid having pegs everywhere. Took over an hour and I only have a small lawn, far to small for an automatic mower you’d think, but all I can say is no lawn is too small.
Once installed its switch on and forget it and admire your perfectly trimmed lawn all year.
Probably only saves me half an hour a week but its far more thorough than I am and keeps it at the perfect height all the time.
I have a pond which I’ve buried the guide wire around, it was a bit heart in mouth the first few hundred times it approached the water and stopped just before falling in, but I’ve come to trust it now.
I was a bit worried about leaving a 500 mover in my garden but apparently thieves dont go for them as they’re unusable without knowing the PIN number. I just hope I dont get any stupid thieves, I have built a little brick garage type thing for it to hide in but being bright orange it does stand out a bit.
All in all, if your thinking about buying one, dont hesitate, you won’t regret not having to get the mower out every week no matter how small a lawn you have.
What do I like about this mower? Lawn is kept short, even after rainy days. Weeds are disappearing – I remove the odd dandelion flower but prior to the robot mower it was a mess. No grass cuttings to dispose of.
What could be improved? Control via wi-fi. A more random return to base as you can generally see the tracks left with daily cuttings. Easier set-up allowing the charging point to be placed off the lawn.
What you should know before buying – you are told to unplug the charger and edge cables if there is a thunderstorm!
Would I buy this one again if I had to replace it? Yes, unless I had the money to go for a top-end mower!
What do I like about this mower? Lawn is kept short, even after rainy days. Weeds are disappearing – I remove the odd dandelion flower but prior to the robot mower it was a mess. No grass cuttings to dispose of.
What could be improved? Control via wi-fi. A more random return to base as you can generally see the tracks left with daily cuttings. Easier set-up allowing the charging point to be placed off the lawn.
What you should know before buying – you are told to unplug the charger and edge cables if there is a thunderstorm!
Would I buy this one again if I had to replace it? Yes, unless I had the money to go for a top-end mower!
What do I like about this mower? Lawn is kept short, even after rainy days. Weeds are disappearing – I remove the odd dandelion flower but prior to the robot mower it was a mess. No grass cuttings to dispose of.
What could be improved? Control via wi-fi. A more random return to base as you can generally see the tracks left with daily cuttings. Easier set-up allowing the charging point to be placed off the lawn.
What you should know before buying – you are told to unplug the charger and edge cables if there is a thunderstorm!
Would I buy this one again if I had to replace it? Yes, unless I had the money to go for a top-end mower!
This is a long term review of the Flymo 1200R model.
We have used it for 3 years and it mows a ~250sqm lawn every day. It has had one new battery in year three, regular cleaning and blade replacement. The base failed in the first year and was replaced under warranty. It was the charging PCB that needed replacement. This is not a common fault judging by reviews.
Over time, the main thing that stands out is how rarely it needs attention. Often it goes several months. The few times it does get stuck, it’s usually because of a root. We have broken the wire through carelessness, e.g. when digging or aerating the lawn. With hindsight I could have buried the wire deeper.
We have added a Festnight Garage for Robot Lawn Mower to offer some protection from sun and rain. It is probably not necessary, but in our case it means a rose can grow over without fouling the charging station.
We have it set to mow 4h per day on weekdays. In practice this means ~2h of mowing then it goes back to charge and does another hour or so. It is so quiet you can’t hear it unless you are close.
In 2020 we have had a dry summer. The mulching of the cuttings helps keep the lawn moist and ours has faired better than the neighbours’ either side. Also, it chops up the leaves so you don’t have to rake really, which is a bonus.
The battery replacement was not manufacturer brand due to cost. This is was a mistake as the fit was poor and the case needed filing to make good contact. It is annoying how much Flymo charge for the batteries, but so do most brands.
As the product description says, it does mulch the cut grass into the soil. To the naked eye, I wasn’t sure there was any grass cutting at all, however it clearly it is cutting and the lawn is looking in great shape. It is barely audible and I’ve set it to cut in the early hours.
Just a few notes that I made having owned it now for a month. I would lay the wire at the recommended 20cm from walls and other hard surfaces and 10cm from otherwise free borders. I say this as I’d left it at 10cm from a wall border, in the hope to get a clean cut close the the edges, however this has left the lawnmower with scuff marks on the front and sides.
Some people have advocated burying the wires into the soil, but I found that after a few weeks, the wires have sunken down, to the point that I can no longer see the central guidewire, which was fairly prominent at the start. However, I would recommend leaving the cutting height to 5mm in the first few weeks, as I set it to 3mm after a couple of days, and it cut the central guidewire.
The downsides are that you won’t get a striped pattern in the lawn, as the cutting route is random. Furthermore, you will still need to strim around the edges by walls. Nevertheless it is amazingly convenient and reduces garden waste no end. Obviously it does need to be plugged into the mains, so would be of little use if you have no outside socket.
After a few read throughs of the manual I was still slightly confused about the installation. However after couple of questions direct to Flymo support about the installation of the boundary and guide wire all was sorted. I did not place the charging garage in the most ideal position as I need to buy a 25m charging cable. I started with just pegging the wires around the lawn. Most were fine as ‘Mower’ cut close enough to the edges, but as always a few tweaks were needed. A week or so later I buried The cable only taking a few hours. All seems to be working well and the lawn is looking really good. The lawn mower is so quiet and we have it scheduled to run first thing and last thing each day now. One thing to note is to make sure you really push the connectors on to the charging station. I didn’t realise when I first installed it, and had a couple of errors with boundary wire. Then found the connectors were not all the way in. Press them in hard.
Just built ‘Mo’ a summer house to keep dry and out of the sun during our lovely summer
I’d recommend the Easilife mower to any one.
Only thing I found out today that I will share, if you want to integrate an Easilife with google/Alexa assistant or SmartThings then currently buy a Gardena Sileno City mower as this used WiFi not Bluetooth to connect.
There is no denying that this is fiddly to get installed. Getting the wires in the right place and connecting up the guide wire will take you some time. Once it is in situ though, it will do you proud. The app isn’t particularly in depth, but it does what you would want it to in setting up a schedule and sending the mower out or bringing it in.
When setting up, it’s a really good idea to plan out exactly what you are going to do with the wire. Lay out the wire and adjust it. Only cut the wire when absolutely ready and don’t be tempted to do a small test area first and then expand it (from experience I can tell you that makes it worse!) The connection where the guide wire joins the perimeter has been a bit temperamental for us, with the wire ‘falling out’ of the connector on a regular basis. When we get round to burying the wire, we will twist the ends of the three wires together to make the connection and seal them together. The connectors are not necessarily needed, but are merely there to make things simpler… we just found them fiddly.
I’ll definitely be continuing to use these in the future and as and when this one needs replacing, will be getting the next model up probably just to have those extra few settings. For now this does exactly what we need it to do.
Once it’s set up it’s so relaxing to watch with a beer knowing you don’t have to walk backwards and forwards anymore with a lawnmower. Love it.
(Had to make it a house)
Once it’s set up it’s so relaxing to watch with a beer knowing you don’t have to walk backwards and forwards anymore with a lawnmower. Love it.
(Had to make it a house)
A great robotic lawnmower, although probably better value for a bigger lawn. A few things to note:
1. The guide wire is positioned to prevent the mower over-running the edge or banging into things. This means that there is a 5-20cm border that still needs to be manually cut.
2. The mower operation may be best suited to a straight/squared lawn. Ours is made up of multiple curved edges, which means the mower takes a lot of time to cover all areas and can leave islands of uncut grass.
3. The mower will not work in long grass. We had a newly laid lawn, so had to leave it for 3 weeks. At which point the grass was to long for the mower. Had to borrow the neighbors manual mower for the first cut.
I already knew set up would be time consuming, so I did ask for help with that.
However, once we were up and running, it was sheer delight. The bug putters around the lawn quietly shaving it, and I don’t have to do a thing. Not even empty a grass box. And there is no noise to disturb anyone.
My tips for new buyers:
1 – You don’t HAVE to sink the boundary and guide wire. You can just peg it down. We had to do that, as the ground was rock hard.
Just peg it firmly down to the ground, and maybe use more pegs than suggested. We didn’t experience any problems.
2- Pay attention to the recommended wire distances from paths, gravel and borders. There is a guide ruler in the box – we didn’t find it till the end, because it is embedded in the box itself (gah).
3 – Raise the cutting height up to max to start with, to help prevent issues with wire cutting or overlong grass
4- Don’t lose the Allen key, or you will kick yourself. Also make sure you have decent pliers. I had to adjust the wiring after my helper had left, so you can guess I learned this the hard way.
Special note: It is assumed that you will run the mower automatically on a timer, but you don’t have to do this. You can run it on an ad hoc basis. Set the mower to MAN (manual) and it will not operate until you start it. Be aware that there is a timer which is factory set to run from 7am if it is on AUTO, unless you instruct differently.
In summary: if you’re thinking of buying it, stop thinking and click buy now. If you have a higher budget you might enjoy one with app connectivity, but if you want your lawn mown with no effort and a non stratospheric cost, this one is perfect.
Have fun.
I already knew set up would be time consuming, so I did ask for help with that.
However, once we were up and running, it was sheer delight. The bug putters around the lawn quietly shaving it, and I don’t have to do a thing. Not even empty a grass box. And there is no noise to disturb anyone.
My tips for new buyers:
1 – You don’t HAVE to sink the boundary and guide wire. You can just peg it down. We had to do that, as the ground was rock hard.
Just peg it firmly down to the ground, and maybe use more pegs than suggested. We didn’t experience any problems.
2- Pay attention to the recommended wire distances from paths, gravel and borders. There is a guide ruler in the box – we didn’t find it till the end, because it is embedded in the box itself (gah).
3 – Raise the cutting height up to max to start with, to help prevent issues with wire cutting or overlong grass
4- Don’t lose the Allen key, or you will kick yourself. Also make sure you have decent pliers. I had to adjust the wiring after my helper had left, so you can guess I learned this the hard way.
Special note: It is assumed that you will run the mower automatically on a timer, but you don’t have to do this. You can run it on an ad hoc basis. Set the mower to MAN (manual) and it will not operate until you start it. Be aware that there is a timer which is factory set to run from 7am if it is on AUTO, unless you instruct differently.
In summary: if you’re thinking of buying it, stop thinking and click buy now. If you have a higher budget you might enjoy one with app connectivity, but if you want your lawn mown with no effort and a non stratospheric cost, this one is perfect.
Have fun.
I already knew set up would be time consuming, so I did ask for help with that.
However, once we were up and running, it was sheer delight. The bug putters around the lawn quietly shaving it, and I don’t have to do a thing. Not even empty a grass box. And there is no noise to disturb anyone.
My tips for new buyers:
1 – You don’t HAVE to sink the boundary and guide wire. You can just peg it down. We had to do that, as the ground was rock hard.
Just peg it firmly down to the ground, and maybe use more pegs than suggested. We didn’t experience any problems.
2- Pay attention to the recommended wire distances from paths, gravel and borders. There is a guide ruler in the box – we didn’t find it till the end, because it is embedded in the box itself (gah).
3 – Raise the cutting height up to max to start with, to help prevent issues with wire cutting or overlong grass
4- Don’t lose the Allen key, or you will kick yourself. Also make sure you have decent pliers. I had to adjust the wiring after my helper had left, so you can guess I learned this the hard way.
Special note: It is assumed that you will run the mower automatically on a timer, but you don’t have to do this. You can run it on an ad hoc basis. Set the mower to MAN (manual) and it will not operate until you start it. Be aware that there is a timer which is factory set to run from 7am if it is on AUTO, unless you instruct differently.
In summary: if you’re thinking of buying it, stop thinking and click buy now. If you have a higher budget you might enjoy one with app connectivity, but if you want your lawn mown with no effort and a non stratospheric cost, this one is perfect.
Have fun.
I already knew set up would be time consuming, so I did ask for help with that.
However, once we were up and running, it was sheer delight. The bug putters around the lawn quietly shaving it, and I don’t have to do a thing. Not even empty a grass box. And there is no noise to disturb anyone.
My tips for new buyers:
1 – You don’t HAVE to sink the boundary and guide wire. You can just peg it down. We had to do that, as the ground was rock hard.
Just peg it firmly down to the ground, and maybe use more pegs than suggested. We didn’t experience any problems.
2- Pay attention to the recommended wire distances from paths, gravel and borders. There is a guide ruler in the box – we didn’t find it till the end, because it is embedded in the box itself (gah).
3 – Raise the cutting height up to max to start with, to help prevent issues with wire cutting or overlong grass
4- Don’t lose the Allen key, or you will kick yourself. Also make sure you have decent pliers. I had to adjust the wiring after my helper had left, so you can guess I learned this the hard way.
Special note: It is assumed that you will run the mower automatically on a timer, but you don’t have to do this. You can run it on an ad hoc basis. Set the mower to MAN (manual) and it will not operate until you start it. Be aware that there is a timer which is factory set to run from 7am if it is on AUTO, unless you instruct differently.
In summary: if you’re thinking of buying it, stop thinking and click buy now. If you have a higher budget you might enjoy one with app connectivity, but if you want your lawn mown with no effort and a non stratospheric cost, this one is perfect.
Have fun.
I must admit that I was a little skeptical when a friend gave this product rave reviews one night at a dinner party. He just would not stop talking about it, but his lawn looked like a professionally kept cricket pitch so I thought I would give it ago. I have been using it for 6 months now and am quite literally stunned by the results. My lawn looks like it is professionally kept. It always looks like it was just mowed. Which it was! The robot covers every inch of my large back garden and never, ever, misses even one inch of it. I thought it would leave cuttings everywhere, but they are literally invisible because it is cutting every day and is therefore only taking off a minute amount. I watch the robot happily working come rain or shine (works perfectly even in downpours), and it is always a talking point when anyone comes to our house for the first time. They are not super cheap, but when you weigh it up against the hours and hours you’ll spend mowing, the many days your lawn does not look mowed in between times, the hauling of grass cuttings, and the overall boredom of constantly having to do this job, this thing pays for itself in no time! If you have any reservations about whether this robot works, stop wasting your time reading and start buying – you will not be disappointed!
I was a bit sceptical initially about the cost of a robot lawnmower, that has dispelled now we have it in the house.
Set up is relatively easy, there is a reel of wire to lay out around your garden with the supplied pegs. This makes sure that the mower slows a little before bumping into things. If it does bump into something (like a sleeping dog) it does realise that and moves away.
I would recommend NOT burying the cable until you are happy it is in the right position, then it’s just a matter of pushing a spade into the grass and sliding the wire in. The grass does grow around it quickly, so you may decide that it does not need to be buried.
The cut length is determined by a dial under the waterproof cover where all the time and date programming is done, set up is easy and quick.
Once the mower is set up it more or less does its own thing, it just needs an occasional clean (every month or so on a daily cut cycle). Blades are cheap and easily changed (about once every three months), there are plenty on of third party bits and pieces on Amazon.
The big benefit is the quality of the lawn, especially with this weather recently. If the mower is cutting every day its only removing one days growth which it leaves behind to mulch the grass. Our lawn has never looked as good. no more ‘scalped’ lawn look the day after mowing, then ‘unruly’ for a week until my husband gets round to cutting it!
When you weigh up, the quality of how the lawn looks. How much time (and space) you save by not owning a conventional mower. Set that against the cost of a new mower, then you have a great reason to invest in a robot lawn mower.
All you have to do then is sit back and watch it mow the lawn, oh, you will need to pick a name for it as well, it quickly becomes one of the family.
I was a bit sceptical initially about the cost of a robot lawnmower, that has dispelled now we have it in the house.
Set up is relatively easy, there is a reel of wire to lay out around your garden with the supplied pegs. This makes sure that the mower slows a little before bumping into things. If it does bump into something (like a sleeping dog) it does realise that and moves away.
I would recommend NOT burying the cable until you are happy it is in the right position, then it’s just a matter of pushing a spade into the grass and sliding the wire in. The grass does grow around it quickly, so you may decide that it does not need to be buried.
The cut length is determined by a dial under the waterproof cover where all the time and date programming is done, set up is easy and quick.
Once the mower is set up it more or less does its own thing, it just needs an occasional clean (every month or so on a daily cut cycle). Blades are cheap and easily changed (about once every three months), there are plenty on of third party bits and pieces on Amazon.
The big benefit is the quality of the lawn, especially with this weather recently. If the mower is cutting every day its only removing one days growth which it leaves behind to mulch the grass. Our lawn has never looked as good. no more ‘scalped’ lawn look the day after mowing, then ‘unruly’ for a week until my husband gets round to cutting it!
When you weigh up, the quality of how the lawn looks. How much time (and space) you save by not owning a conventional mower. Set that against the cost of a new mower, then you have a great reason to invest in a robot lawn mower.
All you have to do then is sit back and watch it mow the lawn, oh, you will need to pick a name for it as well, it quickly becomes one of the family.
I was a bit sceptical initially about the cost of a robot lawnmower, that has dispelled now we have it in the house.
Set up is relatively easy, there is a reel of wire to lay out around your garden with the supplied pegs. This makes sure that the mower slows a little before bumping into things. If it does bump into something (like a sleeping dog) it does realise that and moves away.
I would recommend NOT burying the cable until you are happy it is in the right position, then it’s just a matter of pushing a spade into the grass and sliding the wire in. The grass does grow around it quickly, so you may decide that it does not need to be buried.
The cut length is determined by a dial under the waterproof cover where all the time and date programming is done, set up is easy and quick.
Once the mower is set up it more or less does its own thing, it just needs an occasional clean (every month or so on a daily cut cycle). Blades are cheap and easily changed (about once every three months), there are plenty on of third party bits and pieces on Amazon.
The big benefit is the quality of the lawn, especially with this weather recently. If the mower is cutting every day its only removing one days growth which it leaves behind to mulch the grass. Our lawn has never looked as good. no more ‘scalped’ lawn look the day after mowing, then ‘unruly’ for a week until my husband gets round to cutting it!
When you weigh up, the quality of how the lawn looks. How much time (and space) you save by not owning a conventional mower. Set that against the cost of a new mower, then you have a great reason to invest in a robot lawn mower.
All you have to do then is sit back and watch it mow the lawn, oh, you will need to pick a name for it as well, it quickly becomes one of the family.
Easier instructions. Not keen on the design connecting at the back. Contacts seem precarious and are completely uncovered. I have a vacuum robot with a single cable at the back, contacts seem precarious. However, I burried the wire, worked first time, had to move it to give a smoother run up, still worked perfectly, wire is easy to cut.
Do include the loop in the boundry wire, as the base may need to be moved, as mine did ( the angle had to be changed, taking the three contact wires in the back with it). Distance In front of base is necessary for robot to back up and turn. Hard work for me to place in the ground, a flower bed edge may have been a lot easier.
Mows everyday.
The different sizes (200, 350, 500) are exactly the same hardware. The only difference is the length of boundary wire (you can buy more from their parties that works perfectly) and the software. The software difference is how long the robot will operate each day. So unless you want him cutting for 12 hours every day there is no point going for the top model.
Set up is time consuming. The cable to the base is only 8m, which restricts where you put that somewhat depending on your plug socket availability. You need to install a boundary wire & a guide wire. They can be buried or pegged above the ground. I have pegged initially to allow for adjustments but will probably bury bits further down the line. It comes with good instructions and a ruler to help with this.
You can only install one guidewire. However this can be up to 500m long! You can set up to three zones. This is done by setting how far along the guidewire it starts mowing. You can then dictate how much time it spends in each zone. I have a “U” shape garden so have zone 1 at 0m for 66% of the tine, zone two at the top for 25%, and zone three at the other side for 9%. The guidewire also helps him go home to recharge.
The App is very basic. It works via Bluetooth so you have to be in close proximity (works through the window though!) and allows you to start or stop him. Most programming is done in the machine which is easy enough, but really the App could be improved a lot relatively easily.
So far he is cutting at his tallest level and mostly scarrifying all the moss out. Which is great, I just pray grass will grow in its place. It should do, and I am hopeful that by the end of summer I will have a beautiful lawn.
The set up took 4 hours or so. But in the first day he had already cut my entire 210sq m garden, so it’s almost paid off already!
The different sizes (200, 350, 500) are exactly the same hardware. The only difference is the length of boundary wire (you can buy more from their parties that works perfectly) and the software. The software difference is how long the robot will operate each day. So unless you want him cutting for 12 hours every day there is no point going for the top model.
Set up is time consuming. The cable to the base is only 8m, which restricts where you put that somewhat depending on your plug socket availability. You need to install a boundary wire & a guide wire. They can be buried or pegged above the ground. I have pegged initially to allow for adjustments but will probably bury bits further down the line. It comes with good instructions and a ruler to help with this.
You can only install one guidewire. However this can be up to 500m long! You can set up to three zones. This is done by setting how far along the guidewire it starts mowing. You can then dictate how much time it spends in each zone. I have a “U” shape garden so have zone 1 at 0m for 66% of the tine, zone two at the top for 25%, and zone three at the other side for 9%. The guidewire also helps him go home to recharge.
The App is very basic. It works via Bluetooth so you have to be in close proximity (works through the window though!) and allows you to start or stop him. Most programming is done in the machine which is easy enough, but really the App could be improved a lot relatively easily.
So far he is cutting at his tallest level and mostly scarrifying all the moss out. Which is great, I just pray grass will grow in its place. It should do, and I am hopeful that by the end of summer I will have a beautiful lawn.
The set up took 4 hours or so. But in the first day he had already cut my entire 210sq m garden, so it’s almost paid off already!
I had been looking at this product and others like it for about a year. I hate mowing my back lawn in particular as it took so long. I have had this set up for about 3-4weeks now and I haven’t had to do anything for except remove the kids toys. I have a trampoline, kids slide; swing; seesaw 3 in 1. Sand pit and young child’s swing and slide set. It moves about all theses just fine. I did make up a bumper for the trampoline legs as I have ties for it too.
I have given him a slight clean on the bottom once in this time and also made a cover for him to go under when “home”
The setup takes ages! Took me about 4hours however once done that is it. No more mowing. Its really not difficult to install though. I was worried about the mulching as thought the kids would be bringing in lots of little bits into the house, but as he goes out so often you just don’t even see anything but a perfect lawn. As longs as you don’t mind not having lines this really is a great time saver.
I think for my size lawn (roughly 100-150m2) this was perfect. Even if my lawn was half the size I think I would still buy this product depending on the price you get it for as it has ranged significantly over the years.
Product arrived next day, and the following weekend I set about placing the boundary wire, guide wire and recharging station. Picked an absolutely foul weekend to do this, heavy rain etc, but I was excited!
Having read other reviews and advice, I decided to go straight for burying the cables, rather than pegging them to the surface. I used an edging tool to cut a slot and then pushed the cable into that, to about 1-2 inch depth. Took quite a while due to the miserable weather conditions, and the fact that our garden size is at the upper end of the range for this mower, with various ‘island’ trees to consider.
Got it done eventually and had the mower on charge as suggested while I was doing this. Once set up, and after a final cut with our old mower as the lawn was quite shaggy, I set the robot to work.
Now, the nominal cutting width of the blades is 175mm so very narrow and our garden is quite large and an odd shape. I had been worried due to the random cutting pattern used by this mower, that there would be odd little triangles of tufty uncut grass all over the place. I neednt have worried however, this mower is fantastic. I set it to cut between 7am and 7pm every day initially – which it does by cutting for about an hour, then returning to base for an hour or so to recharge, then cutting for another hour and so on, until 7pm. So approximately half the time in fact is spent cutting.
Initially there was the odd high spot where it might go aground (tree stumps that I’d cut close to the ground but not close enough to pass over or high enough to bump into and turn round, but I then removed these altogether. So the first week or so was really fine tuning. I started with the mower on the highest cut setting (50mm) and then gradually wound it down to about 30mm as the days passed. I have never known my lawn to look anywhere near as good. It is short, uniform, and looks a beautiful healthy green. There is no trace of any clippings. Because the mower cuts every day, the amount cut is only a few mm at a time so the clippings are tiny and just mulch straight back into the lawn. And after the preliminary set up, it really did just get on with it with no intervention from me. Kept it going until the first frosts came in early november, which is much later than I’d normally cut the grass if I were having to get the old mower out and cut it myself – but this one just trundles out as programmed come rain or shine and does a fantastic job. It has now been put away in the shed along with its base for the winter. The wires mercifully can stay put all year round.
There are slight long patches right around the perimeter where it doesn’t cut, but if you set the boundary wire up correctly, these should be minimal and can easily be taken care of with 10 mins of strimming every couple of weeks.
It does require a bit of thought and planning before setting up and I would urge you to do this and read the manual carefully as it will pay dividends.
But really this has become one of the best purchases I have ever made.
Not sure how the longevity the battery will be, but if that ends up being 100 quid every couple of years for a new one, it will more than be paid for by personal time freed up and petrol saved.
Do it!
Product arrived next day, and the following weekend I set about placing the boundary wire, guide wire and recharging station. Picked an absolutely foul weekend to do this, heavy rain etc, but I was excited!
Having read other reviews and advice, I decided to go straight for burying the cables, rather than pegging them to the surface. I used an edging tool to cut a slot and then pushed the cable into that, to about 1-2 inch depth. Took quite a while due to the miserable weather conditions, and the fact that our garden size is at the upper end of the range for this mower, with various ‘island’ trees to consider.
Got it done eventually and had the mower on charge as suggested while I was doing this. Once set up, and after a final cut with our old mower as the lawn was quite shaggy, I set the robot to work.
Now, the nominal cutting width of the blades is 175mm so very narrow and our garden is quite large and an odd shape. I had been worried due to the random cutting pattern used by this mower, that there would be odd little triangles of tufty uncut grass all over the place. I neednt have worried however, this mower is fantastic. I set it to cut between 7am and 7pm every day initially – which it does by cutting for about an hour, then returning to base for an hour or so to recharge, then cutting for another hour and so on, until 7pm. So approximately half the time in fact is spent cutting.
Initially there was the odd high spot where it might go aground (tree stumps that I’d cut close to the ground but not close enough to pass over or high enough to bump into and turn round, but I then removed these altogether. So the first week or so was really fine tuning. I started with the mower on the highest cut setting (50mm) and then gradually wound it down to about 30mm as the days passed. I have never known my lawn to look anywhere near as good. It is short, uniform, and looks a beautiful healthy green. There is no trace of any clippings. Because the mower cuts every day, the amount cut is only a few mm at a time so the clippings are tiny and just mulch straight back into the lawn. And after the preliminary set up, it really did just get on with it with no intervention from me. Kept it going until the first frosts came in early november, which is much later than I’d normally cut the grass if I were having to get the old mower out and cut it myself – but this one just trundles out as programmed come rain or shine and does a fantastic job. It has now been put away in the shed along with its base for the winter. The wires mercifully can stay put all year round.
There are slight long patches right around the perimeter where it doesn’t cut, but if you set the boundary wire up correctly, these should be minimal and can easily be taken care of with 10 mins of strimming every couple of weeks.
It does require a bit of thought and planning before setting up and I would urge you to do this and read the manual carefully as it will pay dividends.
But really this has become one of the best purchases I have ever made.
Not sure how the longevity the battery will be, but if that ends up being 100 quid every couple of years for a new one, it will more than be paid for by personal time freed up and petrol saved.
Do it!
After 6 months of use our flymo (aka Hank the Tank in our house) is still going strong. Set up was easy, and the DVD guide was very useful. Great value for money, and even better timesaver. Living in a city estate, not having a bag of cut grass to dispose of is great, the arisings from the daily mow are lost around the garden.
The only negative i have is the connections to the rear of the home base are too flimsy, and are easily disconnected by accident (we have a rabbit in the garden who regularly hops over the back and disconnects the guide wires), for that reason cant give the ‘easy to install’ rating 5 stars. The version of the base on the DVD seems to have much better connection types than we got.
The wire placement is a faff, but I actually enjoyed adjusting the placement after a few months so that I could fine tune the perimeter and now take great satisfaction at the mm-perfect approach to the wall.
I have lost the odd day of mowing a fair few times where he has managed to get lost or stuck or fallen down a hole, but to be honest, most of those are explicable by the challenging terrain (the massive hole for example).
The lawn looks fantastic.
Do I feel guilty about spending so much on a lawnmower – still yes. Would I buy a new one tomorrow if it broke, even after only 14 months – still yes!
Nothing to dislike – he is marvellous – we have a difficult garden – large pond in the middle but he gets round it and keeps the grass looking O.K. it gives our gardener the extra time to actually garden for us. I think it would be a good idea for the wiring from plug to robot (the black and white wiring) to be longer as it limits where one can site it and we have to have the shed in sight because our outside plug is on the house wall. However, not much of a sacrifice.
If you are using with cats I would recommend making your own carport as the ones you buy have too much space at the side and cats will easily be able to get in there – mine was being used as a litter tray!!! Another reviewer suggested using a Samla box from ikea and it’s perfect. I covered mine with ivy fence roll and camo gorilla tape to make it look a little less intrusive (both available on amazon).
The instructions say don’t put the docking station in a corner – but I found that with a bit of trial and error I was able to find a set-up that works perfectly in the corner.
I can honestly say my lawn has never looked this good – and the trimmings truly are invisible. (I was skeptic al about this).
Would I buy one of these again? Absolutely YES.
If you are using with cats I would recommend making your own carport as the ones you buy have too much space at the side and cats will easily be able to get in there – mine was being used as a litter tray!!! Another reviewer suggested using a Samla box from ikea and it’s perfect. I covered mine with ivy fence roll and camo gorilla tape to make it look a little less intrusive (both available on amazon).
The instructions say don’t put the docking station in a corner – but I found that with a bit of trial and error I was able to find a set-up that works perfectly in the corner.
I can honestly say my lawn has never looked this good – and the trimmings truly are invisible. (I was skeptic al about this).
Would I buy one of these again? Absolutely YES.
Digby is our Flymo 1200R, as affectionally named by our kids – I bought one because I really hate mowing the lawn, it would take about 1.5-2 hours to mow it, its a 100ft garden by maybe 40ft wide, so a nice size for kids to run about in. I have been wanting one for ages now and an Amazon Prime day came along and I was feeling flush so bought one.
Installation was time consuming, maybe a couple of hours – we don’t have many obstacles other than a trampoline to route the wire around, so was reasonably straight forward. My plan is to dig the wire in once we are happy with the location of it and it’s cutting ability.
Once setup I gave it a Monday to Friday 6am-3pm job of cutting the lawn, and that was it. We have had a couple of incidents where he fell into a small hole that had had grass over it, but quickly filled it in and let him on his way….
He is silent – you wouldn’t notice him doing his work, We have trained the kids to hit the stop button if they think someone or something is in danger – but he has been perfect. He navigates the archway in the middle of our garden with ease (connecting the smaller formal part with the bigger kids part) and he gets on with it. 4 weeks in and the garden is already looking healthier and well groomed.
I have to say, even my wife, who knows I like toys is impressed with him. Its one more chore we don’t have to worry about – so by my calculations he will have paid for himself within a year in regard to time etc. Now if someone could build a robot to cut the hedges I’d buy that as well
Really great product – can highly recommend. Don’t be sceptical, it really does work. If/when it breaks – I will buy another. Long live Digby!
The process is fairly straightforward, you have a single loop of wire that is installed around the edge of the lawn (boundary wire), the spacing from the wire to the edge depends on what the lawn finishes against so read the manual carefully). The loop starts and finishes at the charging station. Then the guide wire is installed, this runs from the charging station to the most remote edge of the boundary wire were it is connected to the boundary wire using one of the included connectors. Make sure you follow the guidance on which wires connect to which terminal on the charging station as the layout wasn’t what I would have considered logical!
Once all my wires were installed I added topsoil to provide a flat smooth surface for fresh new turf. This meant that my wires were buried and protected. After 2 weeks of growing the turf was ready for cutting (ahead of schedule). My initial attempts to initialise the robot ran into issues which i realised was due to the grass being too long (80mm)!!! So a quick final cut with the traditional mower got it back to manageable lengths. The robot is now fully initialised and starts cutting at midday everyday to the fascination of visiting children 🙂
Whilst i appreciate its brand new turf which helps, I’ve never had such a healthy looking lawn! Long may it continue.
Hi,
Well, I’ve been watching this on amazon (camel camel camel uk) for about 1 year. The price varies quite a bit, usually hovering around 550 – 600, but I got it for 399 on Prime Day, 2019.
I’m delighted with it. My garden is about 550sqm, and the flymo suggested limit is 400sqm, so I knew I would be pushing the limit with it.
It manages to get to all parts of the garden in about 5 days, so even at the moment (end of July in Ireland) when growth is at its maximum, it still manages to keep the grass nice and trimmed.
The lawn had about 4 weeks of summer growth on it when I got it setup, but it wasn’t a problem.
It comes with 150 meters of wire, but I needed to buy another 150m, which cost about 70. Other than that, I built it a little wooden house and it all works fine.
Setting up the boundary wire is a lot of work, took about 8-9 hours in total over a few days as I needed to wait for the extra boundary wire to be delivered, but once it was installed, it works great. Read the instructions, and other reviews for tips, as this will save you time when installing it.
A large part of my garden has a fence, so I just ran the wire along the top of the fence rather than pin it down or bury it. The mower just detects the fence, and chooses a different direction. I also ran the wire along the back of my trees around the edge of the garden, again along a fence. It just bounces off the tree and goes on its merry way. My kids have named it Wall-e.
I also put the boundary wire underneath my cobble at a few places and it still detects it.
Mine is set to the default time, 7am to 10pm. It doesn’t run this whole time. Its cuts for 45-50 mins, and then starts searching for the guide wire to bring it back to its docking station to recharge. It will cut for a max of 6 cycles per day, and 6 recharges per day, and then wont work again until 7am the following morning. 6 x 45 mins is a lot of cutting, 7 days a week. This is the max allowed by the mower. The manual says the battery life is 2 — 4 years. I assume running it to the max like this, 7 days a week with quicken the battery’s demise. You can buy a replacement battery when needed. I’m going to keep mine on max like this until the autumn.
Overall I am very happy and would highly recommend this. I purchased it, as due to my large garden, I takes about 90mins to cut the grass most weekends. Aa a result, I wouldn’t have the time or inclination to take on other garden/household tasks eg, painting, weeding, cleaning gutters, planting flowers, playing with the kids. Cutting the lawn just became a inefficient use of my time, when I can get a machine to do it instead.
Just like washing machines or a dishwashers, at some stage, they become cheap enough to justify their purchase.
I couldn’t register it with flymo, as they don’t have the facility to register mowers in Ireland.
Other than that, I love it.
Hi,
Well, I’ve been watching this on amazon (camel camel camel uk) for about 1 year. The price varies quite a bit, usually hovering around 550 – 600, but I got it for 399 on Prime Day, 2019.
I’m delighted with it. My garden is about 550sqm, and the flymo suggested limit is 400sqm, so I knew I would be pushing the limit with it.
It manages to get to all parts of the garden in about 5 days, so even at the moment (end of July in Ireland) when growth is at its maximum, it still manages to keep the grass nice and trimmed.
The lawn had about 4 weeks of summer growth on it when I got it setup, but it wasn’t a problem.
It comes with 150 meters of wire, but I needed to buy another 150m, which cost about 70. Other than that, I built it a little wooden house and it all works fine.
Setting up the boundary wire is a lot of work, took about 8-9 hours in total over a few days as I needed to wait for the extra boundary wire to be delivered, but once it was installed, it works great. Read the instructions, and other reviews for tips, as this will save you time when installing it.
A large part of my garden has a fence, so I just ran the wire along the top of the fence rather than pin it down or bury it. The mower just detects the fence, and chooses a different direction. I also ran the wire along the back of my trees around the edge of the garden, again along a fence. It just bounces off the tree and goes on its merry way. My kids have named it Wall-e.
I also put the boundary wire underneath my cobble at a few places and it still detects it.
Mine is set to the default time, 7am to 10pm. It doesn’t run this whole time. Its cuts for 45-50 mins, and then starts searching for the guide wire to bring it back to its docking station to recharge. It will cut for a max of 6 cycles per day, and 6 recharges per day, and then wont work again until 7am the following morning. 6 x 45 mins is a lot of cutting, 7 days a week. This is the max allowed by the mower. The manual says the battery life is 2 — 4 years. I assume running it to the max like this, 7 days a week with quicken the battery’s demise. You can buy a replacement battery when needed. I’m going to keep mine on max like this until the autumn.
Overall I am very happy and would highly recommend this. I purchased it, as due to my large garden, I takes about 90mins to cut the grass most weekends. Aa a result, I wouldn’t have the time or inclination to take on other garden/household tasks eg, painting, weeding, cleaning gutters, planting flowers, playing with the kids. Cutting the lawn just became a inefficient use of my time, when I can get a machine to do it instead.
Just like washing machines or a dishwashers, at some stage, they become cheap enough to justify their purchase.
I couldn’t register it with flymo, as they don’t have the facility to register mowers in Ireland.
Other than that, I love it.
I’ve had the mower 4 months now and the grass looks great, always, and all I have to do is strimmer the edges.
Tips I found:
If the boundary is against a flat path just go as close as possible to the path with the boundary wire.
I had a narrow patch of grass down the side of the house. I lifted the paving slabs and put the boundary wire under them to create a wider area. Mower runs over the paving slabs, no problem
I was really keen to bury the boundary wire in the lawn as I wasn’t convinced the wire would be sufficiently hidden if pegged in. This was quite difficult so I ended up pegging. In less than 4 weeks I couldn’t see any wire or pegs, it was great. Recommend just to peg.
I left the high on max for a month then slowly lowered each week to now on about 1 cm height. After lowering, just do a couple of checks as in some place the boundary wire became exposed. I just added a peg and problem solved.
Overall really recommend the mower. Does a great job and is a cool gadget to own and wind your mates up by sending pictures of the mower cutting the grass as you drink a bee
OMG This machine has changed my life. If I’d known how fantastic it was I’d have bought it years ago. It’s changed my life literally!
Take a while to bury the boundary and guide wire in the garden but well worth it. As once its in its in and you can foreget about it. Then just wire up the base charging station and program the little monkey and off he goes. Larry, the lawnmower, was programmed to mow every day 7 days a week, for 10hrs. He had the lawn looking great in a week, and after a month to five weeks he’s had his work hours cut to just 4 days a week. Had no problems at all. He’s easy to programme and just gets on with his work. Only had one collision but that was my fault, as I put the ends of the boundary wire behind his house so it went in thru the back, and he got stuck trying to mount himself on the charging station, but he’s not done it again since. I’m going to buy him a proper little wooden house for the winter as the one I have I made from semi rigid clear polycarbonate and although it shelters him from most of the weather, it’s not ideal. It’s like a big cloche. Once I get a proper house for him it should eliminate the risk of another collision.
He cuts the grass perfectly I set it on the highest cut to begin with and now it’s on no.3 mid setting. My ground is very lumpy and bumpy so any shorter and it would be skimmed on the lumps. Everyone says how good the lawn looks, like a bowling green (with weeds). But the weeds are getting fewer as Larry cuts the tops off before they can bloom and seed themselves. I reckon come autumn I’ll have a perfect lawn. I have to do the edges with either the strimmer or the electric mower once every few weeks but thats no hardship. It only takes half an hour.
Anyone can install one of these, just read the manual, get to know the machine and what you can and can’t do, follow the instructions and watch a few vids on youTube cos there’s a few on there, and Bobs your uncle.
I don’t know what I’d do without Larry. I’ve got quite attached to him, and seriously considering getting him a twin for the front lawns or another base station.
If you are unable to mow your grass due to health issues, or you just hate mowing, get one of these. It’s money well spent. Best thing I’ve ever bought.
OMG This machine has changed my life. If I’d known how fantastic it was I’d have bought it years ago. It’s changed my life literally!
Take a while to bury the boundary and guide wire in the garden but well worth it. As once its in its in and you can foreget about it. Then just wire up the base charging station and program the little monkey and off he goes. Larry, the lawnmower, was programmed to mow every day 7 days a week, for 10hrs. He had the lawn looking great in a week, and after a month to five weeks he’s had his work hours cut to just 4 days a week. Had no problems at all. He’s easy to programme and just gets on with his work. Only had one collision but that was my fault, as I put the ends of the boundary wire behind his house so it went in thru the back, and he got stuck trying to mount himself on the charging station, but he’s not done it again since. I’m going to buy him a proper little wooden house for the winter as the one I have I made from semi rigid clear polycarbonate and although it shelters him from most of the weather, it’s not ideal. It’s like a big cloche. Once I get a proper house for him it should eliminate the risk of another collision.
He cuts the grass perfectly I set it on the highest cut to begin with and now it’s on no.3 mid setting. My ground is very lumpy and bumpy so any shorter and it would be skimmed on the lumps. Everyone says how good the lawn looks, like a bowling green (with weeds). But the weeds are getting fewer as Larry cuts the tops off before they can bloom and seed themselves. I reckon come autumn I’ll have a perfect lawn. I have to do the edges with either the strimmer or the electric mower once every few weeks but thats no hardship. It only takes half an hour.
Anyone can install one of these, just read the manual, get to know the machine and what you can and can’t do, follow the instructions and watch a few vids on youTube cos there’s a few on there, and Bobs your uncle.
I don’t know what I’d do without Larry. I’ve got quite attached to him, and seriously considering getting him a twin for the front lawns or another base station.
If you are unable to mow your grass due to health issues, or you just hate mowing, get one of these. It’s money well spent. Best thing I’ve ever bought.
OMG This machine has changed my life. If I’d known how fantastic it was I’d have bought it years ago. It’s changed my life literally!
Take a while to bury the boundary and guide wire in the garden but well worth it. As once its in its in and you can foreget about it. Then just wire up the base charging station and program the little monkey and off he goes. Larry, the lawnmower, was programmed to mow every day 7 days a week, for 10hrs. He had the lawn looking great in a week, and after a month to five weeks he’s had his work hours cut to just 4 days a week. Had no problems at all. He’s easy to programme and just gets on with his work. Only had one collision but that was my fault, as I put the ends of the boundary wire behind his house so it went in thru the back, and he got stuck trying to mount himself on the charging station, but he’s not done it again since. I’m going to buy him a proper little wooden house for the winter as the one I have I made from semi rigid clear polycarbonate and although it shelters him from most of the weather, it’s not ideal. It’s like a big cloche. Once I get a proper house for him it should eliminate the risk of another collision.
He cuts the grass perfectly I set it on the highest cut to begin with and now it’s on no.3 mid setting. My ground is very lumpy and bumpy so any shorter and it would be skimmed on the lumps. Everyone says how good the lawn looks, like a bowling green (with weeds). But the weeds are getting fewer as Larry cuts the tops off before they can bloom and seed themselves. I reckon come autumn I’ll have a perfect lawn. I have to do the edges with either the strimmer or the electric mower once every few weeks but thats no hardship. It only takes half an hour.
Anyone can install one of these, just read the manual, get to know the machine and what you can and can’t do, follow the instructions and watch a few vids on youTube cos there’s a few on there, and Bobs your uncle.
I don’t know what I’d do without Larry. I’ve got quite attached to him, and seriously considering getting him a twin for the front lawns or another base station.
If you are unable to mow your grass due to health issues, or you just hate mowing, get one of these. It’s money well spent. Best thing I’ve ever bought.
Can’t say enough good things about this. The first cut took it a while due to my lawn being so thick and overgrown but it cracked on and managed it well. Set it on a higher blade length for the first go so it doesn’t get stuck so often. Then let it go over again at your preferred height.
I set mine to cut Monday and Friday mornings 9-12 and it does the job fantastically. Rain or shine. It will do a lovely job of cutting the snow if you leave it and forget to turn it off during the harsh weather!
You will need to strim your edges if you set the boundaries too far back or have lawn that goes right up to a fence/tree etc but that’s so little hassle compared to the time it saves you.
Install hint. When linking the guild wire make sure that the linking plug is pressed all the way down hard. Use pliers and a lot of force!
Other than that Rupert is a great addition to the home and the dog certainly enjoys running around with him! Fully recommend for a hassle free evenly cut lawn. The mulching as well is great as it just redress the lawn and you cannot tel at all that any grass has been left behind.
Originally I installed the boundary wire using the pegs provided which initially seemed fine. However, I also ordered more pegs because our lawn in quite large and I wanted to make sure it was properly secured in all places so it would be avoided by the mower blades. Unfortunately the third party pegs I used cut the boundary wire in several places (which I didn’t notice until I’d used several). This meant I had to get spare connectors and repair the cables. I then decided to bury the cable which took around 3 hours but is worth doing to avoid future breaks.
I’ve primarily been using the mower on the auto setting which started mowing at 7am every day until the end of the day, recharging itself as required.
It’s also worth pointing out they the power cable has a box that whilst it can be mounted outside, must be kept out of persistent rain. Mount it under a covered area, or even inside an outbuilding, and then feed the cable through… there is plenty of length supplied.
We needed a new lawn mower, so the decision was simple: buy a new lawn mower and spend an hour a week mowing the lawn or spend a bit more money (and more time setting it up) and then never having to mow the lawn again. Yes it takes a while (like most of a day) to get properly set up especially if you bury the cables (mine are half buried and half pegged). And you do need an outside power supply (luckily we already had one of these). When I finally connected everything up I was very glad to see no fault lights as that does look time-consuming. Occasionally ‘Mo’ (sigh) gets stuck but then our lawn is really uneven – maybe twice a week I have to go and find him and relocate him, but it’s a small price to pay. So far we’ve had him for just over a year and have had no problems at all. Fingers crossed.
I was really quite dubious about buying this but, I *HATE* gardening of any/all sorts and really fancied the apparent convenience.
Installing the guide wire around both my front and rear lawns was a somewhat of a challenge, though made more difficult because of how I had to run the cable and not having the right tools to hand. Overall it was the third day after I started that it was finished and operating but, if I was doing the same again armed with the knowledge of having done it previously, it’d be installed and operation on the same day.
I have it running automatically every Monday, Wednesday and Friday doing the rear lawn whilst we’re all out of the house at work/school etc. Then on Tuesdays and Thurdays I’ll take it andhave it manually do the front lawn.
It’s hypnotic watching go about its job – I could spend hours watching it I’m sure – which kind of defeats the object.
I did try running it at night that first night around 01:00 AM so I could see whether it was quiet enough to not wake the neighbours in the process but, it was a very still night with no wind… with my bedroom window open I could hear it fairly loud so I assumed my neighbours would probably be able to hear it too so reverted to daytime running only.
Had there been some wind/rain noise it probably wouldn’t have been so noticeable.
At 500 it’s more (considerably so) than I’ve ever spent on a lawn mower but for the convenience of not having to perform the absurdly tedious task of mowing the lawns and just perhaps once per week whipping out the strimmer to tidy up the edges, it’s the easily a decent investment and definitely a contender for the best purchase I ever made.
I absolutely recommend this.
It now trundles around the lawn saving me time and still doing a great job. Also you can go closer to edge than the instructions advise, particularly if there’s little “drop” off. This will minimize the amount of growth that will be inevitable that you’ll need to strim to keep tidy.
I moved it way down the garden and got an after market 30m low voltage power supply cable from Amazon. It’s better quality than the 10m version supplied with the mower! It’s now much further away and out of sight. Bright orange does stand out! – so we built a shed for it to sit in. Stops my kids and their friends inadvertently damaging it and keeps it out of sight.
I have found 2 small issues though:
1. If you have leaves or other debris falling on your lawn that would normally be “hoovered” up by a regular mow, then these will just get left on the lawn. It looks unsightly and you’ll need to mow or blow/vacuum the lawn to clear away debris.
2. If your lawn is bumpy, or has depressions (i.e. in mine where a pond used to be, we filled it in but it’s settled into a small depression relative to the rest of the lawn) then the mower will create a “crater” outline of short cut grass (or soil areas!) where the mower isn’t able to run level/flat. You’ll then need to raise/lower such areas to remedy this. If you were hand mowing you’d be “careful” and avoid such issues – robomower doesn’t care.
So far so good. It’s a great little machine and mesmerising to watch. I had a lot of moss on one side of my garden and the grass grew over that side fast too, with only cutting once a week it was good for the moss but since having this little flymo coming on 3 times a week morning and evening it’s definitely improved. It’s quiet so can have it going overnight if you prefer but will set off motion lights. The only negative thing I can say is the day after mine arrived, Amazon had a spring sale where it was 100 cheaper! Gutted but I’d already set it up and I suppose that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I buried all my guide wire and to be honest it’s definitely worth doing. I just used an old handsaw and cut a line which I then pushed the wire into. If you are thinking about getting one and can afford it then go for i
We call him Murray. Given he is mowing my lawn, I looked out and saw him beetling about in the rain – and felt sorry for the bot. He carries on in the rain and the mowing works very well.
The dog took an interest in him for a few minutes, but it’s just part of the garden now and they ignore each other.
The boundary wire took some effort – probably because I wanted to bury two thirds of it near the patio. I shouldn’t have worried about a trip hazard as it disappears really quickly, so should have pegged the lot down.
Seeing him approach the charging station, back up and reverse into the station is cute. He hasn’t missed it once.
He got stuck three times. One on a branch I had cut down and twice on two holes I should have filled in (one was a brick I removed when digging in the boundary wire)… Most of the t8me, he surprises me by reversing or turning out of trouble.
Was this a waste of money? No way.
Does it give me time back? Certainly yes.
Do I have a nice lawn? I do now and I expect it will get much better as the lawn much helps feed the lawn.
This unit must be made by Husqvarna as the power supply has that name on it, so I feel this is great quality kit and at an OK price.
I did think I wanted a bit to create lawn stripes, but the result I have now is tidy, neat and better than the petrol mower I previously used.
Be prepared to have some attachment to the bot, as it very quietly sorts your lawn out. That said, he isn’t coming on holiday with us as he will be too busy mowing the lawn – and I have every confidence he will get on with it whilst we are away…
There are a couple of things to watch out for:
1) The original installation took a couple of hours for our 150 sq.m lawn, but once it’s done that’s it. We followed the instructions and laid ours on the grass, hammering the pegs down to the level of the soil. After a couple of weeks the grass had grown up around the wire and it’s now invisible. During this time, keep the cutting height high to avoid cutting the wire – again this is in the instructions;
2) Cutting frequency: For our lawn Flymo suggest 4 times a week with 10 hours of cutting time available, which left it looking trampled. Once I thought about it, I realised that a set once approach is never going to work: you wouldn’t stick to the same cutting frequency with a manual mower, so why with an auto? Also everyone’s lawns are in different conditions, so will grow at different rates. A more flexible approach is needed. What we worked out (by putting it on manual and leaving it till the battery ran out) is that one charge pretty much does the entire lawn once. So we’ve now reduced the cutting down to a couple of days a week and a couple of hours of cutting. As the season progresses and the grass grows faster we’ll up it. We’re also trying having it start mowing later in the day so that the morning moisture has gone. Yes, it’s designed to cut when it’s raining etc. but it just seems better to try to minimise wet cutting as much as possible.
3) Winter: I brought everything in: mower, base unit and power supply. Just disconnected the cables and put it all back in the box having given it a clean. Does mean you need somewhere to store the box, but it’s worth it.
4) Connectors / Wire: buy more connectors and leave plenty of spare cable. The wire is quite brittle, so has a tendency to break especially at the base unit. Then you need a new connector and will get through the supplied ones quite quickly. They’re inexpensive (<5 for 5), so worth ordering some more. Just search the internet.
5) Don't forget where you laid the guide wire: I did. Raked it up getting rid of some moss. Dohh. (that's why I used more connectors)
In summary, get one you won't regret it. Watch the pricing, it fluctuates wildly; buy at a price point you're happy with and don't look again! 🙂
There are a couple of things to watch out for:
1) The original installation took a couple of hours for our 150 sq.m lawn, but once it’s done that’s it. We followed the instructions and laid ours on the grass, hammering the pegs down to the level of the soil. After a couple of weeks the grass had grown up around the wire and it’s now invisible. During this time, keep the cutting height high to avoid cutting the wire – again this is in the instructions;
2) Cutting frequency: For our lawn Flymo suggest 4 times a week with 10 hours of cutting time available, which left it looking trampled. Once I thought about it, I realised that a set once approach is never going to work: you wouldn’t stick to the same cutting frequency with a manual mower, so why with an auto? Also everyone’s lawns are in different conditions, so will grow at different rates. A more flexible approach is needed. What we worked out (by putting it on manual and leaving it till the battery ran out) is that one charge pretty much does the entire lawn once. So we’ve now reduced the cutting down to a couple of days a week and a couple of hours of cutting. As the season progresses and the grass grows faster we’ll up it. We’re also trying having it start mowing later in the day so that the morning moisture has gone. Yes, it’s designed to cut when it’s raining etc. but it just seems better to try to minimise wet cutting as much as possible.
3) Winter: I brought everything in: mower, base unit and power supply. Just disconnected the cables and put it all back in the box having given it a clean. Does mean you need somewhere to store the box, but it’s worth it.
4) Connectors / Wire: buy more connectors and leave plenty of spare cable. The wire is quite brittle, so has a tendency to break especially at the base unit. Then you need a new connector and will get through the supplied ones quite quickly. They’re inexpensive (<5 for 5), so worth ordering some more. Just search the internet.
5) Don't forget where you laid the guide wire: I did. Raked it up getting rid of some moss. Dohh. (that's why I used more connectors)
In summary, get one you won't regret it. Watch the pricing, it fluctuates wildly; buy at a price point you're happy with and don't look again! 🙂
There are a couple of things to watch out for:
1) The original installation took a couple of hours for our 150 sq.m lawn, but once it’s done that’s it. We followed the instructions and laid ours on the grass, hammering the pegs down to the level of the soil. After a couple of weeks the grass had grown up around the wire and it’s now invisible. During this time, keep the cutting height high to avoid cutting the wire – again this is in the instructions;
2) Cutting frequency: For our lawn Flymo suggest 4 times a week with 10 hours of cutting time available, which left it looking trampled. Once I thought about it, I realised that a set once approach is never going to work: you wouldn’t stick to the same cutting frequency with a manual mower, so why with an auto? Also everyone’s lawns are in different conditions, so will grow at different rates. A more flexible approach is needed. What we worked out (by putting it on manual and leaving it till the battery ran out) is that one charge pretty much does the entire lawn once. So we’ve now reduced the cutting down to a couple of days a week and a couple of hours of cutting. As the season progresses and the grass grows faster we’ll up it. We’re also trying having it start mowing later in the day so that the morning moisture has gone. Yes, it’s designed to cut when it’s raining etc. but it just seems better to try to minimise wet cutting as much as possible.
3) Winter: I brought everything in: mower, base unit and power supply. Just disconnected the cables and put it all back in the box having given it a clean. Does mean you need somewhere to store the box, but it’s worth it.
4) Connectors / Wire: buy more connectors and leave plenty of spare cable. The wire is quite brittle, so has a tendency to break especially at the base unit. Then you need a new connector and will get through the supplied ones quite quickly. They’re inexpensive (<5 for 5), so worth ordering some more. Just search the internet.
5) Don't forget where you laid the guide wire: I did. Raked it up getting rid of some moss. Dohh. (that's why I used more connectors)
In summary, get one you won't regret it. Watch the pricing, it fluctuates wildly; buy at a price point you're happy with and don't look again! 🙂
There are a couple of things to watch out for:
1) The original installation took a couple of hours for our 150 sq.m lawn, but once it’s done that’s it. We followed the instructions and laid ours on the grass, hammering the pegs down to the level of the soil. After a couple of weeks the grass had grown up around the wire and it’s now invisible. During this time, keep the cutting height high to avoid cutting the wire – again this is in the instructions;
2) Cutting frequency: For our lawn Flymo suggest 4 times a week with 10 hours of cutting time available, which left it looking trampled. Once I thought about it, I realised that a set once approach is never going to work: you wouldn’t stick to the same cutting frequency with a manual mower, so why with an auto? Also everyone’s lawns are in different conditions, so will grow at different rates. A more flexible approach is needed. What we worked out (by putting it on manual and leaving it till the battery ran out) is that one charge pretty much does the entire lawn once. So we’ve now reduced the cutting down to a couple of days a week and a couple of hours of cutting. As the season progresses and the grass grows faster we’ll up it. We’re also trying having it start mowing later in the day so that the morning moisture has gone. Yes, it’s designed to cut when it’s raining etc. but it just seems better to try to minimise wet cutting as much as possible.
3) Winter: I brought everything in: mower, base unit and power supply. Just disconnected the cables and put it all back in the box having given it a clean. Does mean you need somewhere to store the box, but it’s worth it.
4) Connectors / Wire: buy more connectors and leave plenty of spare cable. The wire is quite brittle, so has a tendency to break especially at the base unit. Then you need a new connector and will get through the supplied ones quite quickly. They’re inexpensive (<5 for 5), so worth ordering some more. Just search the internet.
5) Don't forget where you laid the guide wire: I did. Raked it up getting rid of some moss. Dohh. (that's why I used more connectors)
In summary, get one you won't regret it. Watch the pricing, it fluctuates wildly; buy at a price point you're happy with and don't look again! 🙂
Initially I had a flashing blue light after installation of wiring this is not good as it indicates a fault in boundary wire or guide wire. I then reinstalled all my wires again and this time I got a solid green light. At that point I should have been ready to go but kept getting a loop fault. I decided I knew that I must have installed correctly but still got the loop faults when I had a solid green light. Trolled through YouTube Flymo DVD and manuals etc and basically green light means no issues. This was in a Friday so I decided to leave as is and contact Flymo on the Monday wasn’t straight forward for the tech person but eventually was advised I had to go into settings then security then create a new loop signal.
Once I did that every worked great.
Excellent cutting very quiet and highly recommended by me.
Then I powered up the circuit and let my mower go, now named ‘Herby 2’ after a dog I had as a kid. It got stuck in a couple of times in muddy holes in my rough lawn, which I easily filled with extra soil. It cut the wire a few times on mounds, so I cut the top of the mound off or buried the wire. But soon it was cutting away without any problems and chasing my dog around the garden. I had one concern at the start, it didn’t cut the full amount I had programmed, but after consulting the help desk I found it works like my Roomba, it estimates the size of your garden and stops once it thinks its cut it all.
As the summer progressed I lowered the cutting height and found the perfect grass length and have never looked back. The grass is greener and thicker and looks something akin to ‘Telly Tubby Land’ with its precisely mown undulations. Now I’m looking forward to opening up another 100m because it handles 400m easily on a 4 day week.
Finally, apart from cutting my lawn better than I could ever hope to with a normal mower, it is interesting to watch, travelling and bumping around my garden and hiding behind my shed so I think its disappeared. I would most certainly buy it again if I had the choice.
1. A very long real of cable. Peg this down around the boundary of the area you wish the lawnmower to be confined. Tip: save a decent length for the guide wire because it all comes off this 1 real. Don’t use it all up on the boundary.
2. A couple of bags of plastic pegs. Use these to peg the cables in to the grass. Smash them in deep so children, animals, the lawnmower and YOU cannot trip over them. Either that or bury the cable in the soil.
3. A large charging pad. Needs to be relatively close to the power outlet. Do not install the pad in direct sunlight. The mower will sit there and cook itself in the summer. Both ends of the boundary wire, the guide wire and the power supply all plug in to the sockets at the back of the charging pad.
4. A robot. This is the clever bit that cuts the grass. The cutting blades look quite pathetic at first glance, but don’t be fooled. Because the robot mower is cutting just the growing tips of the grass at regular intervals these little ‘razor’ blades do a good job. It doesn’t cut the grass like a good quality mower would do, but it’s good enough for a family lawn.
5. Power adapter. Steps down the 240v to 12v DC (I think). Either way it’s a sealed unit with a fairly long lead. Probably 5 metres.
After using the mower towards the end of last season I can visually notice the grass looks healthier. This is more than likely down to the mulching effect this mower has on the grass. I actually purchased three on these lawnmowers because I have several lawns. 2 I have yet to install as I wanted to see how 1 got on first. I’m happy enough with the first one so, come spring, I will be setting them all trundling across the gardens at midnight to take over mowing duties that would usually take me a weekend of manual mowing.
They are extremely quiet. You can hear the grass being cut over the noise of any motors inside!
They bounce off of objects, animals and people.
Be careful if you have overhanging trees. When dead wood drops to the ground this mower will typically run it over and whack it with the cutters for good measure. This will inevitably blunt the blades quicker than expected.
The theft alarm works well. I’ve set it off a few times. it cannot distinguish between a real theft attempt and the owner moving it.
It handles all terrains, that we have. Some mossy, more moist areas. Some barren areas. Some ares where, for reasons unknown to me, the grass grows 10 times quicker than anywhere else in the garden. We have inclines that could be described as small embankments I suppose. It cuts up and downhill as well as along the slopes.
In other words, the wheels are very gripful (I invented this word. It isn’t in the English dictionary yet but the more people use it the more likely it is to be included.)
You WILL name it. It’s natural for humans to name things that appear to have personality.
To summarise. I am a robot mower convert. I doubt I will never not own one again.
1. A very long real of cable. Peg this down around the boundary of the area you wish the lawnmower to be confined. Tip: save a decent length for the guide wire because it all comes off this 1 real. Don’t use it all up on the boundary.
2. A couple of bags of plastic pegs. Use these to peg the cables in to the grass. Smash them in deep so children, animals, the lawnmower and YOU cannot trip over them. Either that or bury the cable in the soil.
3. A large charging pad. Needs to be relatively close to the power outlet. Do not install the pad in direct sunlight. The mower will sit there and cook itself in the summer. Both ends of the boundary wire, the guide wire and the power supply all plug in to the sockets at the back of the charging pad.
4. A robot. This is the clever bit that cuts the grass. The cutting blades look quite pathetic at first glance, but don’t be fooled. Because the robot mower is cutting just the growing tips of the grass at regular intervals these little ‘razor’ blades do a good job. It doesn’t cut the grass like a good quality mower would do, but it’s good enough for a family lawn.
5. Power adapter. Steps down the 240v to 12v DC (I think). Either way it’s a sealed unit with a fairly long lead. Probably 5 metres.
After using the mower towards the end of last season I can visually notice the grass looks healthier. This is more than likely down to the mulching effect this mower has on the grass. I actually purchased three on these lawnmowers because I have several lawns. 2 I have yet to install as I wanted to see how 1 got on first. I’m happy enough with the first one so, come spring, I will be setting them all trundling across the gardens at midnight to take over mowing duties that would usually take me a weekend of manual mowing.
They are extremely quiet. You can hear the grass being cut over the noise of any motors inside!
They bounce off of objects, animals and people.
Be careful if you have overhanging trees. When dead wood drops to the ground this mower will typically run it over and whack it with the cutters for good measure. This will inevitably blunt the blades quicker than expected.
The theft alarm works well. I’ve set it off a few times. it cannot distinguish between a real theft attempt and the owner moving it.
It handles all terrains, that we have. Some mossy, more moist areas. Some barren areas. Some ares where, for reasons unknown to me, the grass grows 10 times quicker than anywhere else in the garden. We have inclines that could be described as small embankments I suppose. It cuts up and downhill as well as along the slopes.
In other words, the wheels are very gripful (I invented this word. It isn’t in the English dictionary yet but the more people use it the more likely it is to be included.)
You WILL name it. It’s natural for humans to name things that appear to have personality.
To summarise. I am a robot mower convert. I doubt I will never not own one again.
I had mine running twice a day (dawn and dusk), but that really was overkill. Its now been reduced to twice a week at 6AM and no visible mulch is left. I sleep through it mowing every day.
The mower is almost silent. If your grass is a bit long (first cut of the season) or there are leaves on the grass, you can hear this. Its not loud, but its audible. The motor whine driving the wheels makes more noise than the spinning disk.
The mower doesn’t go in straight lines, its not GPS or wifi controlled, just a timer and a random pattern.
The boundary wire is key. When setting this up, peg it out loosely where you want it to be and have enough slack cable. Its easier to cut wire off, than cut it on! Let the mower bounce around the lawn and try position the mower at different angles to the guide wire to check it doesn’t fall off (if you have a drop). The book says leave about 30 cm from the edge. I found I can get away with between 10 – 15cm YMMV I also turfed the area, so the cable was buried just underneath the turf without any issues
Top shell is a bumper, so it can operate forwards or backwards, so even if you mess the guide wire up (short of it falling off into a pond), it’ll bounce off something and probably take the heads off some flowers.
This is waterproof and will cut in the rain, but its always nice to make a little kennel for the device too. If you make it deep and short, its out of prying eyes and its fairly difficult to see as the orange is a bit shouty. As long as the return wire is straight for the last few meters, it will hide away nicely. Its fairly satisfying to see it reverse back into its kennel. Its even better not having to cut the lawn too.
I had mine running twice a day (dawn and dusk), but that really was overkill. Its now been reduced to twice a week at 6AM and no visible mulch is left. I sleep through it mowing every day.
The mower is almost silent. If your grass is a bit long (first cut of the season) or there are leaves on the grass, you can hear this. Its not loud, but its audible. The motor whine driving the wheels makes more noise than the spinning disk.
The mower doesn’t go in straight lines, its not GPS or wifi controlled, just a timer and a random pattern.
The boundary wire is key. When setting this up, peg it out loosely where you want it to be and have enough slack cable. Its easier to cut wire off, than cut it on! Let the mower bounce around the lawn and try position the mower at different angles to the guide wire to check it doesn’t fall off (if you have a drop). The book says leave about 30 cm from the edge. I found I can get away with between 10 – 15cm YMMV I also turfed the area, so the cable was buried just underneath the turf without any issues
Top shell is a bumper, so it can operate forwards or backwards, so even if you mess the guide wire up (short of it falling off into a pond), it’ll bounce off something and probably take the heads off some flowers.
This is waterproof and will cut in the rain, but its always nice to make a little kennel for the device too. If you make it deep and short, its out of prying eyes and its fairly difficult to see as the orange is a bit shouty. As long as the return wire is straight for the last few meters, it will hide away nicely. Its fairly satisfying to see it reverse back into its kennel. Its even better not having to cut the lawn too.
I had mine running twice a day (dawn and dusk), but that really was overkill. Its now been reduced to twice a week at 6AM and no visible mulch is left. I sleep through it mowing every day.
The mower is almost silent. If your grass is a bit long (first cut of the season) or there are leaves on the grass, you can hear this. Its not loud, but its audible. The motor whine driving the wheels makes more noise than the spinning disk.
The mower doesn’t go in straight lines, its not GPS or wifi controlled, just a timer and a random pattern.
The boundary wire is key. When setting this up, peg it out loosely where you want it to be and have enough slack cable. Its easier to cut wire off, than cut it on! Let the mower bounce around the lawn and try position the mower at different angles to the guide wire to check it doesn’t fall off (if you have a drop). The book says leave about 30 cm from the edge. I found I can get away with between 10 – 15cm YMMV I also turfed the area, so the cable was buried just underneath the turf without any issues
Top shell is a bumper, so it can operate forwards or backwards, so even if you mess the guide wire up (short of it falling off into a pond), it’ll bounce off something and probably take the heads off some flowers.
This is waterproof and will cut in the rain, but its always nice to make a little kennel for the device too. If you make it deep and short, its out of prying eyes and its fairly difficult to see as the orange is a bit shouty. As long as the return wire is straight for the last few meters, it will hide away nicely. Its fairly satisfying to see it reverse back into its kennel. Its even better not having to cut the lawn too.
All I do, is replace the three blades (cost 50p) every three months.
My lawn is always perfect and, because it mulches the grass, which helps the lawn, there is no green bin issue.
I recommend this wonderful machine.
Brian J Garside
Oh, and it’s fascinating to watch, is a real talking point for visitors and works in all weathers. VERY quiet too. Hardly sounds like it’s doing anything. Oh, and no, you don’t notice any grass cuttings (unless you leave it a very long time between cuts).
Oh, and it’s fascinating to watch, is a real talking point for visitors and works in all weathers. VERY quiet too. Hardly sounds like it’s doing anything. Oh, and no, you don’t notice any grass cuttings (unless you leave it a very long time between cuts).
The shorter guide wire meant the mower took about 10 minutes to find its way back to the charging station. I decided to purchase extra guide wire, pegs and waterproof 3 way joints – this was about another 40 all in. After 2 days the lawn was perfectly mowed. Once the extra wire arrived the mowing process became much more efficient so I was able to set the mower to work every other day rather than daily.
The mower has been working for 2 months now, it’s got stuck 3 times over that period, normally manoeuvring close to a boundary. 2 minutes gets it moving again.
Overall highly recommended as I have not had my lawnmower in use at all this summer!
Robomow goes off every night (you can programme him) and cuts the lawn while we sleep – it is so quiet!
The lawn is in excellent condition.
We have him installed on a couple of paving slabs in the corner of the garden under a little garage that keeps him out of view for the most part.
Price: when I first set eyes on it a year ago it cost 999. By Christmas it was down to 600. In March when I bought it, it was 487.50. Then it went up again. So if price is an issue for you, keep checking back until it reaches a level you’re happy with.
Setup: You can learn a lot by reading these reviews and the Q&As. You can also download the manual from the Flymo website before you buy to help understand the installation process. A key question is where you are going to position the base station and how you are going to get power to the base station. It comes with a power supply which you plug into a socket at one end and at the other end you either plug it straight into the base station, or into a 10m low voltage cable that is supplied (3m or 20m cable can also be purchased) which in turn plugs into the base station. I didn’t want to plug the power supply in inside the house and then run the low voltage cable out to the base station, as I didn’t think that would be safe. So I had to pay an electrician to put in an outdoor socket for me. (I got him to do two sockets while he was at it. They are very handy.) This meant the outdoor sockets were right by where i wanted to put my base station. So I didn’t need the low voltage cable.
However, the power supply must be kept dry at all times. My solution to this, which I had decided on anyway, was a robot mower garage. There are some very snazzy Swiss ones but they cost more than the mower! I found a wooden one online that came flat-packed and didn’t break the bank. It protects the mower from sun and rain, and it keeps the power supply dry (the power supply sits on top of an old hummus pot to keep it off the dew).
You have to choose whether to bury the boundary wire, or just peg it down using the pegs provided. I went for pegging because it’s less work and if there was a break in the circuit I wanted to be able to see it. It took several hours to lay the boundary wire and the guide wire. If you have a small or medium size garden then the pegs provided should be plenty. I have a big garden and the ground is quite uneven which means you need more pegs to keep it flat, so I ended up buying more. If you’re in a hurry to get the mowbot going, buy extra pegs in advance.
Once this was done I only had a couple of false starts, in both cases because I hadn’t followed instructions closely enough and in both cases I was able to identify the problem quickly using the troubleshooting guide.
Coverage: my garden is 400 sq m which is the upper limit of what the mowbot is said to cover. In fact it manages this quite easily and I think it probably could handle 500 sq m, maybe even if you ran it 7 days a week.
Slope: the mowbot is said to be able to handle 1 in 4 slopes, but the manual says not to lay the boundary wire on more than a 1 in 6 slope. Eh? My lawn has the same slope at the boundary as it does everywhere else. So I just laid it anyway down my 1 in 5 slope lawn. It hasn’t been a problem. (You can measure the slope of your lawn using Google Daft Logic tools to measure length of a line, and height above sea level at either end of the line.)
Mowing times: It’s important to understand that it doesn’t run all the time. It has a built in down time of 12 hours per day, so you can only run it for 12 hours per day. Within those 12 hours it will spend 6 hours recharging, so the most it will do is 6 hours mowing per day. The manual gives some figures for coverage to help you calculate how many hours you need, but I found it impossible to make sense of these figures so I just used trial and error. In any case I’m not there all the time, and I don’t like to leave it out when I’m away for security reasons, so I just run it to the maximum possible when I am there. This works for me.
Security: this was an issue for me as my garden backs onto allotments and anyone could walk in. I don’t worry about the allotment users but people do sometimes break into the allotments at night looking for things to steal. The mowbot comes with a pin code and you can’t use it without that, and it comes with a sticker that says so to put on the machine, but I’m not sure thieves would necessarily see that in the dark or believe it if they did. They would probably only find out later that it has no re-sale value, but I doubt if they’d bring it back. So I keep it on the highest security setting which means it screeches if you lift it and you need to enter the pin code to make it stop. This means I can leave it out overnight when I’m home knowing I’ll hear if anyone tries to move it. But when I’m away I leave it indoors.
Improvements: the mowbot works very well as is but I think it could be improved with a bit of smart technology. It would be nice if error messages to say it’s stuck or it’s been lifted could be sent to my smartphone. It would also be nice if I could tell it from my smartphone not to mow today if I can see it’s going to pour with rain. (It does work in the rain but it’s not ideal). No doubt future versions will have these features. But if I didn’t have one now would I buy one now or wait until it’s perfect? Get one now, no question.
Price: when I first set eyes on it a year ago it cost 999. By Christmas it was down to 600. In March when I bought it, it was 487.50. Then it went up again. So if price is an issue for you, keep checking back until it reaches a level you’re happy with.
Setup: You can learn a lot by reading these reviews and the Q&As. You can also download the manual from the Flymo website before you buy to help understand the installation process. A key question is where you are going to position the base station and how you are going to get power to the base station. It comes with a power supply which you plug into a socket at one end and at the other end you either plug it straight into the base station, or into a 10m low voltage cable that is supplied (3m or 20m cable can also be purchased) which in turn plugs into the base station. I didn’t want to plug the power supply in inside the house and then run the low voltage cable out to the base station, as I didn’t think that would be safe. So I had to pay an electrician to put in an outdoor socket for me. (I got him to do two sockets while he was at it. They are very handy.) This meant the outdoor sockets were right by where i wanted to put my base station. So I didn’t need the low voltage cable.
However, the power supply must be kept dry at all times. My solution to this, which I had decided on anyway, was a robot mower garage. There are some very snazzy Swiss ones but they cost more than the mower! I found a wooden one online that came flat-packed and didn’t break the bank. It protects the mower from sun and rain, and it keeps the power supply dry (the power supply sits on top of an old hummus pot to keep it off the dew).
You have to choose whether to bury the boundary wire, or just peg it down using the pegs provided. I went for pegging because it’s less work and if there was a break in the circuit I wanted to be able to see it. It took several hours to lay the boundary wire and the guide wire. If you have a small or medium size garden then the pegs provided should be plenty. I have a big garden and the ground is quite uneven which means you need more pegs to keep it flat, so I ended up buying more. If you’re in a hurry to get the mowbot going, buy extra pegs in advance.
Once this was done I only had a couple of false starts, in both cases because I hadn’t followed instructions closely enough and in both cases I was able to identify the problem quickly using the troubleshooting guide.
Coverage: my garden is 400 sq m which is the upper limit of what the mowbot is said to cover. In fact it manages this quite easily and I think it probably could handle 500 sq m, maybe even if you ran it 7 days a week.
Slope: the mowbot is said to be able to handle 1 in 4 slopes, but the manual says not to lay the boundary wire on more than a 1 in 6 slope. Eh? My lawn has the same slope at the boundary as it does everywhere else. So I just laid it anyway down my 1 in 5 slope lawn. It hasn’t been a problem. (You can measure the slope of your lawn using Google Daft Logic tools to measure length of a line, and height above sea level at either end of the line.)
Mowing times: It’s important to understand that it doesn’t run all the time. It has a built in down time of 12 hours per day, so you can only run it for 12 hours per day. Within those 12 hours it will spend 6 hours recharging, so the most it will do is 6 hours mowing per day. The manual gives some figures for coverage to help you calculate how many hours you need, but I found it impossible to make sense of these figures so I just used trial and error. In any case I’m not there all the time, and I don’t like to leave it out when I’m away for security reasons, so I just run it to the maximum possible when I am there. This works for me.
Security: this was an issue for me as my garden backs onto allotments and anyone could walk in. I don’t worry about the allotment users but people do sometimes break into the allotments at night looking for things to steal. The mowbot comes with a pin code and you can’t use it without that, and it comes with a sticker that says so to put on the machine, but I’m not sure thieves would necessarily see that in the dark or believe it if they did. They would probably only find out later that it has no re-sale value, but I doubt if they’d bring it back. So I keep it on the highest security setting which means it screeches if you lift it and you need to enter the pin code to make it stop. This means I can leave it out overnight when I’m home knowing I’ll hear if anyone tries to move it. But when I’m away I leave it indoors.
Improvements: the mowbot works very well as is but I think it could be improved with a bit of smart technology. It would be nice if error messages to say it’s stuck or it’s been lifted could be sent to my smartphone. It would also be nice if I could tell it from my smartphone not to mow today if I can see it’s going to pour with rain. (It does work in the rain but it’s not ideal). No doubt future versions will have these features. But if I didn’t have one now would I buy one now or wait until it’s perfect? Get one now, no question.
After reading the manual over and over again and restarting over and over again I eventually lowered the cutting height as nothing else left to do.
Then I could see bits flying about. I had previously strimmed the lawn quite low. There doesn’t seem to be any indication as how low your cutting blade is. The next thing it cut through a boundary wire, so higher cutting blade and check for exposed boundary wire. Now have to connect wires, but with hope Louis will be great!
Very quiet – doesn’t disturb us or the neighbours, we can even set it off at night with no problems.
Efficient – easily cuts our grass in one charge
Easy to use – we use it manually (we move it to the grass ourselves when we want it cut). All you need to do is put in the pin, press start and close the hatch.
Negatives:
Setup – it was a pain to setup and to get our head around. But this only needs to be done and, once we understood it, the setup wasn’t that complicated.
The wire – there is no easy, neat solution to having the Flymo. As the base must be permanently connected to the wire and a power supply it leaves wires trailing unless you have an elaborate way of hiding the wires (perhaps under your paving/decking etc).
Perimeter/Fencing/Walls – You have to place the perimeter wire about 30cm away from fences (I’m not sure why so far as the Flymo reacts quite well to bumping into objects and then choosing an alternative path). This leaves a very large amount of grass which then needs to be cut manually – not quite meeting the objective of having a robotic lawnmower.
Overall, we are very happy with the purchase. It’s much cheaper than alternatives and does a great job.
Very quiet – doesn’t disturb us or the neighbours, we can even set it off at night with no problems.
Efficient – easily cuts our grass in one charge
Easy to use – we use it manually (we move it to the grass ourselves when we want it cut). All you need to do is put in the pin, press start and close the hatch.
Negatives:
Setup – it was a pain to setup and to get our head around. But this only needs to be done and, once we understood it, the setup wasn’t that complicated.
The wire – there is no easy, neat solution to having the Flymo. As the base must be permanently connected to the wire and a power supply it leaves wires trailing unless you have an elaborate way of hiding the wires (perhaps under your paving/decking etc).
Perimeter/Fencing/Walls – You have to place the perimeter wire about 30cm away from fences (I’m not sure why so far as the Flymo reacts quite well to bumping into objects and then choosing an alternative path). This leaves a very large amount of grass which then needs to be cut manually – not quite meeting the objective of having a robotic lawnmower.
Overall, we are very happy with the purchase. It’s much cheaper than alternatives and does a great job.
I bought what they call a robotic lawnmower garage roof for mine and I think it should house under some protection when recharging/resting although the manufacturers do not say too.
But here is the ‘biggy’ I can’t encourage everyone enough to bury the boundary wire in the dirt and do not run on top of the grass just using the pegs, the lawnmower kept cutting the wire in various places even though we pulled the wire tight and pegged it right down, this caused me so much hassle in the beginning, I almost gave up on it, and every time it was because it cut the wire.
I had to call the manufacturers to send me new wire connecters as there were only a couple in the pack and even then I had to buy more from ebay, I decided to put the effort in and bury the wire, it is simple, I literally used a large kitchen knife, cut into the ground about an inch, wiggled it side to side a bit and kept slicing though unil I finished, then open the cut grass and push the wire in just so its level with the dirt and not above it – since doing this about a month ago I have not had this problem again and love my garden and mower. If you found this review helpful please give it a like
I bought what they call a robotic lawnmower garage roof for mine and I think it should house under some protection when recharging/resting although the manufacturers do not say too.
But here is the ‘biggy’ I can’t encourage everyone enough to bury the boundary wire in the dirt and do not run on top of the grass just using the pegs, the lawnmower kept cutting the wire in various places even though we pulled the wire tight and pegged it right down, this caused me so much hassle in the beginning, I almost gave up on it, and every time it was because it cut the wire.
I had to call the manufacturers to send me new wire connecters as there were only a couple in the pack and even then I had to buy more from ebay, I decided to put the effort in and bury the wire, it is simple, I literally used a large kitchen knife, cut into the ground about an inch, wiggled it side to side a bit and kept slicing though unil I finished, then open the cut grass and push the wire in just so its level with the dirt and not above it – since doing this about a month ago I have not had this problem again and love my garden and mower. If you found this review helpful please give it a like
We have a 500 sqm lawn, separated in 2 sections by a stone chip path. I thought it would only be able to do one of the sections… but no, copes with going across the path without batting an eyelid. When I say eyelid, my kids have laminated a set of eyes and added them to give it the “human” look – and he is now called “mo!” – and is a real character
The grass cutting is great, no visible mulch on the grass, ours has been going for 2 months trouble-free, it is near silent, and you could run it 24 hours without annoying the neighbours. The lawn quality looks very good as the cuttings sink into the lawn. You won’t get stripes, but everyday the lawn looks well cut and tidy……
I am a busy dad, commute to London in the week and my time at the weekends is at a premium – so when it saves 90-120 mins a week, at 500, an absolute bargain. Once in a while I strim and edge (have near buried the boundary wire) and it looks great. I left the cut height just under the full height and it is more than short enough.
Don’t delay, buy this awesome little chap, he’ll pay you back in time, entertainment and a pretty decent cut lawn……
I do still have some trouble with moss, but that’s a local issue. The grass is greener and healthier than its ever been before.
It’s so relaxing to drive home from work, pull into the drive, and see Trimmy working away, so I don’t have to!! The little computer tells me he has done 550 hours of cutting so far. I reckon his random nature means he takes about 3x longer to cut the grass than me (but then I’ve got all that emptying and setup/pack away to do too) so I estimate he has saved me between 150-200 hours of grass cutting since bought. Now the time can be spent tidying the rest of the garden, and the green bin can be filled with weeds and leaves instead of grass cuttings.
Just a great little machine!
Now I have the measure of the machine I will probably fine tune it by moving the boundary wire in sections where it does not fully cut the edge of the lawn and yet not run into the fence. There will always be a small strip along the boundary were the lawnmower will not reach if it is to operate without bumping into fencing, walls or reaching flower beds etc. I bought a cordless strimmer and just whip around the boundary in no time at all and with little effort.
My wife won’t let us leave the lawnmower running unless we are in the house. Although it has a PIN to activate and an alarm if it leaves the boundary wire area some people will steal anything regardless of whether it has any utility. Plus we have an exposed rear garden open to the public. When we are in it has been set to automatic and we let it run itself until we go to bed at night and bring it in, its not heavy. Over several hours it will mow the lawn in a random fashion until the battery is nearly exhausted, it then makes its way back to the charging station were it docks and charges for typically an hour and a half before setting off again for more random mowing. I believes the manual states it will cover roughly 33 sq metres per mow, so our lawn on the average needs about 3 mowings. We let it rn roughly every other day or when one of us is at home or when we get home from work.
It’s a real pleasure to sit at home on the sofa and know the lawn is getting a good mow with no effort from me. It operates rain or shine, day or night. I wish I had bought one earlier. This is one of my favourite tools and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Plus as the fine grass cuttings just mulch into the lawn I have noticed the lawn looks better than it has ever done before.
The set up is a bit of a pain especially if you have multiple bits of lawn across the garden – we have a two tier garden at the rear and two separate bits of lawn at the front of the house. It connected fine but needed to trail the boundary wire across both gardens and accepted that I need to use the manual mode for the areas that the mower can’t return to the docking station and auto charge.
The boundary wire needs to be laid on pretty short grass otherwise the mower will cut the wires which can be a bit of a pain to fix, you can dig a trench to sit the wire in but having tried this for about 5 metres, I gave up!
I was also worried about someone randomly walking off with the mower but it’s alarmed and you need a pin number to turn it on etc.
Overall the cut and finish is pretty good but you’ll still need a strimmer to finish off the edges, especially if you have grass that is next to a wall or a fence.
Like many people who’ve reviewed it we named ours – he’s called Freddie – so I feel the need to get that out of the way first. Laying the wire was simple enough and I’ve since learnt I was a bit too anal with the whole 20cm and depth thing in the beginning. Near the edge and reasonably flat works fine, after a few weeks you won’t even see it – except you’ll probably be pulling it up to move it because you didn’t get it right.
It is a bit trial and error with the wire, but it is far less laborious than it looks and once you do have it right it’s fine. I ended up re-edging my lawn and laying stones to compensate for the fact Freddie couldn’t get to the edges and I wasn’t about to have a robot lawnmower and then have to keep strimming every week! This meant one time I managed to cut the perimeter wire once, but it’s a simple fix and they give you loads of wire, pegs and joiners.
Operation is simple, turn him on and let him go, just be aware if you manually send him home, he stays there until you put him back into auto – it’s a mistake I made a couple of times before realising.
Every morning I get up and look out the window and there is Freddie, chugging around the lawn. He must go out at least three or four times a day, but for me he seems to do more in the morning than the afternoon/evening, although you can manually set windows of time to suit. It is so quiet you almost have to bend down next to him to check if the blades are turning or not, you won’t hear anything from more than a few feet away — it’s nothing like a traditional mower in that respect.
He has occasionally got stuck so it is worth just checking you don’t have tables or chairs or things with low bars he can get stuck on. He’s fine (yes I know I’m anthropomorphising a lawnmower, but he’s been Freddie for 3 months now, it’s like he’s a pet) with large items, say a rotary line or a BBQ, he’ll just bump into them and turn around, but something small like a tennis ball or a blanket will either get chewed up or cause him to stop (or both). It does mean if you have children you have to be a bit more diligent in getting things up after play, but you can just turn him off the for the day if you’re having a party or something.
He works fine come rain or shine (sometimes we feel bad for him when it’s lashing it down and he’s out there working, but what can you do?), but in my garden where the soil is just awful rocky clay, he can churn up the ground where there is no sunlight and leave you with bare patches when it gets very wet.
So, that aside, he’s a great addition to the family, but how is Freddie as a lawnmower? Well, fabulous! The grass is always at the desired length all over and there is none of the long clippings left on the ground I got with my old manual lawnmower. And I have to say my grass has never looked better as a result. I started with a patchy, weed filled mess and now I have a thick, slightly less weed filled, lawn.
The grass seems to have grown much better, it looks much lusher and it even feels better underfoot. I’m still working on the weeds, but that is slightly beyond Freddie’s remit – he’s done the best he can with them!
I hate mowing the lawn and my wife didn’t do it regularly enough so I’d lusted after a robotic lawnmower for a long time and now we have him, we would be without Freddie. He’s brilliant even though he ignores me when I tell him not to come my way when I’m doing something.
The one PSA I will give is if you watch the DVD that comes with the 1200R, it appears you are supposed to watch your lawnmower toil from afar with a beer or glass of wine in hand, but I can confirm it works fine with or without you drinking alcohol at the same time!
After being stored in the garage over winter it was released back into the garden just a couple of week’s ago (when the spring flowers had finished). It does a great job in a very varied garden – the area cut by the mower is approx 300m2 with a perimeter of circa 170m. This includes lawns and parts of former field/orchard (that is now a ‘lawn’).
The signal wire is very easy to install – simply peg on the surface (with small black plastic ‘tent peg’ style pegs) – it took me about 2 to 3 hours. But you need many more pegs and much more cable than comes with the package. I bought a 100m reel of 1.5mm conduit cable (about sixteen pounds) from an online retailer plus a couple of hundred extra pegs (from an Amazon retailer) and a bag of 100 crimp style wire connectors (very useful when the cable is inadvertently cut when digging!). The signal in the cable is a radio signal (like AM radio) and is very low voltage.
Its not a cheap device but it means that every day I can look out and enjoy the garden rather than heading to the mower shed (for that bit of the garden anyway!)
First, I cut the grass with my regular petrol push lawnmower to a height less than 10 cm (4″), Lay the cable, ( I should have cut the grass there to minimum on the path of the cable!!!) and let “Mary Poppins” do her job!! After a few days in “auto” mode (rain or shine), the lawn looks great, no more track markings.
A word of caution: Although the vendor (Flymo) delivers to the republic of Ireland, both the UK or Irish Flymo website use the same outfit for the product registration (Domestic and General direct) which unfortunately does not accept Irish residential address, even calling Domestic and General was not successful in as much they simply refuse to take my registration (Maybe the Flymo 1200R is not marketed officially in Ireland??)
I am left with the advice from Flymo customer service to keep my invoice from Amazon as proof of purchase! Hopefully I will still get 2 years guarantee and the anti theft service??
Well, we did buy a second one to handle the back garden. We have been very happy with “miss Mofett”, Flymo 1, now we have “mr Mofett”, Flymo 2!!!
I started by finding the best location for the base station, close to a power source inside. I then laid the boundary cable which took about 2 hours, I have a 20m x 20m lawn. After that I was ready to go and couldn’t wait.
Off it went and did its thing. It was addictive to watch and incredibly silent thanks to its razor like blades. You could see where it had cut, it cuts about a 15cm strip. It took about 24 hours for the whole lawn to be cut working with its random pattern.
I was totally impressed and so were friends and family who saw it who have now also bought one! I can’t fault it, it is totally effective and safe, I haven’t had to mow the lawn for 7 months!!! Just the odd strim around the sides. 5*
Thanks Flymo!!!
Setup
It was relatively straightforward. We watched the flymo video on you tube before receiving the robot. It was easy to peg the wire around the edge. My garden was L shaped and approx 430 sq metres (which is over the manufacturers lawn size recommendation)and actually ran out of wire so I went to my local diy hardware store and purchased more wire and cable connectors. Laying the wire took approximately 4 hours.
Programming
It was very easy navigating the menus through the button keypad. Setup a PIN code and alarm if it gets lifted. It was simple to program a timer for it to cut.
First use
In the first week the flymo managed to cut its own wire once but this was due to the geographics of my undulating garden where I had a small peak where the boundary wire crossed. Otherwise it did very good despite the wet conditions the robot had to operate in.
Grass cut finish
I’ve had the robot for over two months. There are no stripes. But despite I have an oversized lawn the grass is evenly cut and it is very pleasing to come back home to have a short lawn. In the two months the blade was set at maximum and slowly dropped the blade height to 2.5cm which is right height for my undulating lawn.
Maintenance
As the robot goes out everyday rain or shine does get very wet and picks up wet grass to the underside and wheels so does require cleaning when particularly wet as found mud and grass collects in the rear trailing wheel. The blades needed sharpening after 3 weeks usage.
It also had issues docking itself. Had watched it a few times one weekend. 2/5 times would not dock on the first attempt. When this happened it drove back out and straightens itself up and tried again with better success.
Overall this gadget has changed my life. I’m no longer a slave to mowing and raking a lawn. It’s fun to watch the robot cut the grass for you and to try and second guess which way it will turn. The grass always short. It is user friendly to operate.
Once off and running, it’s worked really well. We lowered the cutting level to a 3 and its coped really well. The factory settings run the robot every day between 7am and 10pm. We’ve left it as that for the while.
Installation was pretty easy if you read the manual and watch the videos online. It comes with a DVD but we haven’t watched that. The hardest work was digging the lines for the boundary and guide wires.
It’s mesmeric, and you end up yelling at it to turn around when it’s clearly doing something that won’t help it out of a corner. I am sure this will wear off.
I’m delighted with how it’s going so far and I’d recommend it.
After getting my robot replaced I can say that this is a very good product and recommend it. Recommend it so much that a relative now has one!
The Setup
The setup does take a long time (its not as quick as the videos suggest!). This is a new technology, so there are a few teething things, but the value it adds far out weighs the small improvements required.
No bags of grass!
I no longer have to sort out large bags of grass. The grass clippings a incredibly small and aren’t visible – nor do they get stuck to your feed / shoes (unless the grass was previously incredibly long). I have also noticed that the health of the grass has improved.
Tip and Crash Sensor
The tip and crash sensor works fine, most of the time, but sometimes its a bit sensitive and I have had a few occasions whereby the robot is “missing”. Its actually just stopped somewhere behind a tree because it “thinks” it has fallen over. This is probably once a week.
Battery Life and Return Home
The battery life of the cut is fine and it is more than happy to return home to charge (when it needs more juice).
Manual Cutting
There is an option to set this up and running on an area that doesn’t have the charge base – this is called “manual” cutting. I have this set up and it works fine. I just have to manually charge the device when it runs out of power. It has about an hour or cutting time in one charge.
Eating Things…
Ok, so this is a new technology and it has a few flaws. Eating things is one of them. If you leave ANYTHING on the grass (and it can get under the one inch gap at the front) it will probably eat it. Not been a problem for us, but be aware of stones, hose pipes and any small toys…
We have had it eat its only boundary wire twice. That is because it can fell into the garden bed and then the blades got low enough (when it was at an angle) to eat the wire. Easily fixed with the extra (included) clips though.
———
Setup time is lengthy, but fairly straight forward. I personally didnt have any issues with the menu system either.
HOWEVER: The product arrived faulty with a constant ERROR 18; COLLISION SENSOR FAULT. I am currently awaiting a replacement.
After spending three hours setting it up, I am not pleased I have to spend about hour and a half pulling it all back out the ground and putting it back in the box.
I will update this review when the new one arrives…
After getting my robot replaced I can say that this is a very good product and recommend it. Recommend it so much that a relative now has one!
The Setup
The setup does take a long time (its not as quick as the videos suggest!). This is a new technology, so there are a few teething things, but the value it adds far out weighs the small improvements required.
No bags of grass!
I no longer have to sort out large bags of grass. The grass clippings a incredibly small and aren’t visible – nor do they get stuck to your feed / shoes (unless the grass was previously incredibly long). I have also noticed that the health of the grass has improved.
Tip and Crash Sensor
The tip and crash sensor works fine, most of the time, but sometimes its a bit sensitive and I have had a few occasions whereby the robot is “missing”. Its actually just stopped somewhere behind a tree because it “thinks” it has fallen over. This is probably once a week.
Battery Life and Return Home
The battery life of the cut is fine and it is more than happy to return home to charge (when it needs more juice).
Manual Cutting
There is an option to set this up and running on an area that doesn’t have the charge base – this is called “manual” cutting. I have this set up and it works fine. I just have to manually charge the device when it runs out of power. It has about an hour or cutting time in one charge.
Eating Things…
Ok, so this is a new technology and it has a few flaws. Eating things is one of them. If you leave ANYTHING on the grass (and it can get under the one inch gap at the front) it will probably eat it. Not been a problem for us, but be aware of stones, hose pipes and any small toys…
We have had it eat its only boundary wire twice. That is because it can fell into the garden bed and then the blades got low enough (when it was at an angle) to eat the wire. Easily fixed with the extra (included) clips though.
———
Setup time is lengthy, but fairly straight forward. I personally didnt have any issues with the menu system either.
HOWEVER: The product arrived faulty with a constant ERROR 18; COLLISION SENSOR FAULT. I am currently awaiting a replacement.
After spending three hours setting it up, I am not pleased I have to spend about hour and a half pulling it all back out the ground and putting it back in the box.
I will update this review when the new one arrives…
After getting my robot replaced I can say that this is a very good product and recommend it. Recommend it so much that a relative now has one!
The Setup
The setup does take a long time (its not as quick as the videos suggest!). This is a new technology, so there are a few teething things, but the value it adds far out weighs the small improvements required.
No bags of grass!
I no longer have to sort out large bags of grass. The grass clippings a incredibly small and aren’t visible – nor do they get stuck to your feed / shoes (unless the grass was previously incredibly long). I have also noticed that the health of the grass has improved.
Tip and Crash Sensor
The tip and crash sensor works fine, most of the time, but sometimes its a bit sensitive and I have had a few occasions whereby the robot is “missing”. Its actually just stopped somewhere behind a tree because it “thinks” it has fallen over. This is probably once a week.
Battery Life and Return Home
The battery life of the cut is fine and it is more than happy to return home to charge (when it needs more juice).
Manual Cutting
There is an option to set this up and running on an area that doesn’t have the charge base – this is called “manual” cutting. I have this set up and it works fine. I just have to manually charge the device when it runs out of power. It has about an hour or cutting time in one charge.
Eating Things…
Ok, so this is a new technology and it has a few flaws. Eating things is one of them. If you leave ANYTHING on the grass (and it can get under the one inch gap at the front) it will probably eat it. Not been a problem for us, but be aware of stones, hose pipes and any small toys…
We have had it eat its only boundary wire twice. That is because it can fell into the garden bed and then the blades got low enough (when it was at an angle) to eat the wire. Easily fixed with the extra (included) clips though.
———
Setup time is lengthy, but fairly straight forward. I personally didnt have any issues with the menu system either.
HOWEVER: The product arrived faulty with a constant ERROR 18; COLLISION SENSOR FAULT. I am currently awaiting a replacement.
After spending three hours setting it up, I am not pleased I have to spend about hour and a half pulling it all back out the ground and putting it back in the box.
I will update this review when the new one arrives…