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Here's what robotic mowers blades look like to understand how they work - https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676d76e61268a410caaecfcb/1737216881609-4

Here's what robotic mowers blades look like to understand how they work - https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676d76e61268a410caaecfcb/1737216881609-4MH44TMJXKLK1W6QWQYE/feature-sunseeker-floating-cut-deck.png?format=750w https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/676d76e61268a4... We just got a Sunseeker X7 to do ~4 acres of grassed area but probably ~2 acres will be garden beds and roads etc The hardware is there, it's all software now. People talk about updates and the robot improved amazingly, comments like - "these scuffs are from pre-update" These are Elon's updateable cars, they will get better with time. (Sunseeker is also camera not yet LiDAR) Robotic mowers are better than humans, there are a few if's and buts, grass nerds compare the cuts on a grass blade on YouTube for instance. With a robot you can set blade lengths for areas and be seasonal/weather orientated. The constant cuttings mean the nutrients get shredded back in. The Chinese seem to be the best... but that might have been my price bracket. Obviously since you can run them at night at 3am you quickly see other uses like security/wildlife auditing. Exciting times to live in.

fy20 1y ago
The price still needs to come down for what is effectively a slightly more rugged robot vaccuum. I could buy a used car for that, and have enough left over to make it run reliably. The quality of cheaper models is not great. I bought two from Einhell (power tool brand like DeWalt in Europe) and they both had to be returned due to motor failures. A replacement motor was €150 - for a €400 robot without battery (it uses their 18V tool batteries which is what appealed to me - easy replacement).
- bmicraft 1y ago
  The thing is, they are more than a robot vacuum. They need to be able to: - deal with rougher, bumpier terrain (friction!) - do so uphill through uncut grass - not stall the mowing motor with high grass - cover a larger area - be waterproof against rain All of these points need a lot more power individually, and especially so when taken together (and carrying the weight increase of all those upgrades). It seems reasonable they'd cost at least twice as much for "similar" feature/budget levels. And I think that's pretty much what we're seeing.
lars_francke 1y ago
Please don't run them at night to protect animals like hedgehogs and others that are active at night.
- wing-_-nuts 1y ago
  I mean how fast do these mowers mow? I seriously doubt it's fast enough to run over an animal
  - eightys3v3n 1y ago
    I think the concern is animals that hide or sit still when threatened more so than it chasing down a rabbit :p Also, eventually animals would get used to the noise until they get hurt.
- aaron695 1y ago
  [dead]
- lukan 1y ago
  Also to protect all those, animals and humans alike, who would like to enjoy a silent night.
  - alias_neo 1y ago
    I'm assuming (perhaps unreasonably?) that given the suggestion you could run it at night, that it's silent, or near silent? If that's not the case, GP must be a madman.
    - lukan 1y ago
      Anything having lots of rpm ain't silent. Especially not at night. So they surely ain't as loud as a combustion lawn mower and are pretty silent in comparison, so maybe you won't notice them in the city with its background noise. But in rural areas I perceive them as noisy even on daylight with normal noise level. And I never saw anyone using them at night - for a reason. And as for gp .. he is already shadowbanned and you likely cannot see his answer (I have showdead=true). He reacted poorly I think.
King-Aaron 1y ago
My father just picked up a Husqvarna 430x to do his yard, and it's a pretty great piece of equipment. It runs basically around the clock and handles his acre on a hillside with relative ease... It finds a couple of the garden beds a bit tricky to navigate, but that'll be a software issue that likely improves as time goes on.
lionkor 1y ago
The wildlife (like hedgehogs) will feel very audited when they get sliced up by a razorblade, run over, and can barely drag themselves off your lawn to bleed out throughout hours of pain. If they don't bleed out, they often end up mutilated, unable to properly eat, walk, etc. Nice wildlife auditing. Hedgehogs are endangered in lots of areas of the world. Run your robot lawnmower during the day. If you don't like that mental image, you should feel for the people working at hedgehog rescues
- piltdownman 1y ago
  They're certainly not endangered. They were "Least Concern" up until the last few years but have been reclassified as "Near Threatened" due to greenfield sites turned over to land development fragmenting their habitats. The most likely place a person will see them in 2025 is flattened on a road. Domestic gardens make up an almost insignificant percentage of their natural habitat in any case, and any sort of HOA or Estate Management scenario would likely make it a violation to rewild a garden sufficient to create an amenable hedgehog habitat. In short, its the responsibility of land utilised for agriculture - and this is recognised by measures around Europe such as the Eco-Scheme and ACRES (Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme) which indirectly support the re-establishment of hedgehog populations.
- a_subsystem 1y ago
  My dogs will eat them if they get hit. It's not a problem.
- PunchyHamster 1y ago
  Hedgehogs ignore loud moving things going their direction ?
  - dpassens 1y ago
    No, but they curl up into a ball to protect themselves. Since they're spiky, that seems to work reasonably well against animals. Less so against blades.
Nursie 1y ago
I’ve been watching the “Lymow One” with great interest because it appears a lot more rugged and it uses actual mower-style blades rather than the rotating-disc-and-razors model. Also claims to be able to take care of 1.7 acres, which is about spot on what I need. It’s still pretty new though, and it's a kickstarter from a new company so not much trust yet.
- aaron695 1y ago
  [dead]
nonethewiser 1y ago
How well does it cut 2 acres? how long does it take?
p-vs-np-vs-pp 1y ago
Their website lists the X7 as "0.75 acres" - how that relate to the 4acres you got it to do?

fy20 1y ago

The price still needs to come down for what is effectively a slightly more rugged robot vaccuum. I could buy a used car for that, and have enough left over to make it run reliably. The quality of cheaper models is not great. I bought two from Einhell (power tool brand like DeWalt in Europe) and they both had to be returned due to motor failures. A replacement motor was €150 - for a €400 robot without battery (it uses their 18V tool batteries which is what appealed to me - easy replacement).

bmicraft 1y ago
The thing is, they are more than a robot vacuum. They need to be able to: - deal with rougher, bumpier terrain (friction!) - do so uphill through uncut grass - not stall the mowing motor with high grass - cover a larger area - be waterproof against rain All of these points need a lot more power individually, and especially so when taken together (and carrying the weight increase of all those upgrades). It seems reasonable they'd cost at least twice as much for "similar" feature/budget levels. And I think that's pretty much what we're seeing.

lars_francke 1y ago

Please don't run them at night to protect animals like hedgehogs and others that are active at night.

wing-_-nuts 1y ago
I mean how fast do these mowers mow? I seriously doubt it's fast enough to run over an animal
- eightys3v3n 1y ago
  I think the concern is animals that hide or sit still when threatened more so than it chasing down a rabbit :p Also, eventually animals would get used to the noise until they get hurt.
aaron695 1y ago
[dead]
lukan 1y ago
Also to protect all those, animals and humans alike, who would like to enjoy a silent night.
- alias_neo 1y ago
  I'm assuming (perhaps unreasonably?) that given the suggestion you could run it at night, that it's silent, or near silent? If that's not the case, GP must be a madman.
  - lukan 1y ago
    Anything having lots of rpm ain't silent. Especially not at night. So they surely ain't as loud as a combustion lawn mower and are pretty silent in comparison, so maybe you won't notice them in the city with its background noise. But in rural areas I perceive them as noisy even on daylight with normal noise level. And I never saw anyone using them at night - for a reason. And as for gp .. he is already shadowbanned and you likely cannot see his answer (I have showdead=true). He reacted poorly I think.

King-Aaron 1y ago

My father just picked up a Husqvarna 430x to do his yard, and it's a pretty great piece of equipment. It runs basically around the clock and handles his acre on a hillside with relative ease... It finds a couple of the garden beds a bit tricky to navigate, but that'll be a software issue that likely improves as time goes on.

lionkor 1y ago

The wildlife (like hedgehogs) will feel very audited when they get sliced up by a razorblade, run over, and can barely drag themselves off your lawn to bleed out throughout hours of pain. If they don't bleed out, they often end up mutilated, unable to properly eat, walk, etc. Nice wildlife auditing. Hedgehogs are endangered in lots of areas of the world. Run your robot lawnmower during the day. If you don't like that mental image, you should feel for the people working at hedgehog rescues

piltdownman 1y ago
They're certainly not endangered. They were "Least Concern" up until the last few years but have been reclassified as "Near Threatened" due to greenfield sites turned over to land development fragmenting their habitats. The most likely place a person will see them in 2025 is flattened on a road. Domestic gardens make up an almost insignificant percentage of their natural habitat in any case, and any sort of HOA or Estate Management scenario would likely make it a violation to rewild a garden sufficient to create an amenable hedgehog habitat. In short, its the responsibility of land utilised for agriculture - and this is recognised by measures around Europe such as the Eco-Scheme and ACRES (Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme) which indirectly support the re-establishment of hedgehog populations.
a_subsystem 1y ago
My dogs will eat them if they get hit. It's not a problem.
PunchyHamster 1y ago
Hedgehogs ignore loud moving things going their direction ?
- dpassens 1y ago
  No, but they curl up into a ball to protect themselves. Since they're spiky, that seems to work reasonably well against animals. Less so against blades.

Nursie 1y ago

I’ve been watching the “Lymow One” with great interest because it appears a lot more rugged and it uses actual mower-style blades rather than the rotating-disc-and-razors model. Also claims to be able to take care of 1.7 acres, which is about spot on what I need. It’s still pretty new though, and it's a kickstarter from a new company so not much trust yet.

aaron695 1y ago
[dead]

nonethewiser 1y ago

How well does it cut 2 acres? how long does it take?

p-vs-np-vs-pp 1y ago

Their website lists the X7 as "0.75 acres" - how that relate to the 4acres you got it to do?