Friendly Robotics RL1000 RoboMower 21-Inch Automatic Cordless Electric Lawn Mower and Docking Station
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Friendly Robotics RL1000 RoboMower 21-Inch Automatic Cordless Electric Lawn Mower and Docking Station
Customer Review: Impressive
Summary: 4 Stars
I found this mower to be very impressive.
I have a lot about 100" x 25', generally flat with a mild slope down the length of the yard, and filled with small divits between clumps of grass. I generally don't have many bushes or trees in my property, so the deviations in my wire-line were few. I also have two dogs that commonly use the yard.
The set up was fairly simple; a single perimeter wire layed the groundwork along the fence. It rounds a few bushes and trees along the fence line.
I found the system set-up easy enough to only require a light read of the manual. When I started the mower I hadn't cut the grass in about 2-3 weeks (which is probably not recommended), but the mower cut through the 1' grass length without many problems. While tackling this length of grass it did stall in a few spots because of a lack of traction, so it needed a few nudges to continue. As it cut the lawn, however, the wheels were able to grab better and better traction and soon resolved the grass to the proper length. I don't believe I'll need to fill any of the divits to allow the system to run from here on in without my watching it.
I set it up to cut the grass to max power for every day of the week, however I will probably reduce this because the cut-time is certainly long enough to handle the backyard every few days (beyond 2 hours so far). I would recommend setting up the docking station on a flat stone surface (I'll probably lay cinderblock slabs beneith it later) as the mower will not be able to cut along the edges of the docking station very well.
My dogs at first were curious about it, but the quiet mowing sound wasn't at all intimidating, so they simply sniffed at it a few times and left it alone. Also, with the mowing sound lower than the general street traffic, mowing at any time of day would likely be fine.
Outside of that, my only regret is that I didn't buy this mower earlier in the year. That would have saved me a lot of time. I look forward to reducing my workload in the backyard going forward. All in all, I'm satisfied.
Customer Review: Love it
Summary: 4 Stars
I got my RoboMower in June of 2005 and other than one breakdown it has performed perfectly for me.
I have 12,000 Sq Ft of very level lawn (newly landscaped and graded yard) with no obstructions. The RoboMower comes out every night at 5:00PM, mows for a few hours, and comes back without issue. It's the hit of the neighborhood.
Laying the perimeter wire was a pain. At first I just laid it out and used the stakes to keep it down. I figured there was a 50/50 chance I'd be returning the unit (low expectations!) and I didn't want to spend the time burying the wire. After a couple of weeks I decided the unit was a keeper and I buried the wire - which took all day.
Suggestion: keep the box in case you need to ship the unit back. If you have the box they'll pay for shipping. It's a pretty bulky shipment, so it'll be hard to find a box that can safely ship it back.
Bottom line: My yard looks like a golf course every day. The quality of the mow is excellent.
Even if the unit broke every three years, I'd keep buying them. Having a mowing service would cost me $1,200/year ($60/week, 5 months a year) and the lawn would start to look shaggy a few days after mowing. With the RoboMower it looks perfect every day. A riding lawnmower would have cost me more, would cost more to maintain, and would still require me to mow my lawn myself every week. For me, it's a no-brainer.
Also, keep in mind that a lot of reviews are for older models. I have the 1000 version that automatically docks itself.
Customer Review: Poorly made to last just passed the warranty period
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the RL800 in April 2003 from Amazon, hoping to get out of mowing the lawn. I ended up wasting lots of time and money on this useless device instead. My original review for the mower was actually positive. It worked well for the first summer and I didn't mow the lawn once with my push mower. I even recommended it to my coworkers. But the following spring, we got a lot of rain which caused the ground to get saturated. The robomower wheels lost traction in the wet grass and kept getting stuck in the middle of my lawn. I had to go out to push it along at least 5 or 6 times. I would have been better off taking my push mower out and mowing it myself, which is what I did until the ground dried up. Once summer came around, I brought the robomower out hoping it would perform like it did the year before. Wrong again! After less than 2 hours, the battery ran out of steam. The robomower is EXTREMELY slow so 2 hours is nowhere near enough time to completely mow my lawn. And yes I did read the manual on how to properly maintain the battery. I constantly charged it even while not in use. And during the winter if temps fell below 0 degrees, I was instructed to remove the battery and place it inside somewhere dry, which I did. Hoping to salvage use for the robomower, I purchased a second battery and the rapid external charger this year. I manually mowed my lawn with a push mower for the beginning of this year while the ground was too wet for the robomower. Then when it dried up enough, I decided to let the robomower take over. I unleash it on my lawn and 20 minutes later it stops. The robomower was beeping with the error "Check Power" message on the controller. I bring it back in and try charging it, but the error doesn't go away. I plug the power supply into another power outlet on a different circuit breaker and get same error. I put in my second battery and still same error. I end up calling tech support for assistance. Coincidentally, the 2 year warranty just ended in April so I was one month passed it. Their diagnosis was possibly a bad power supply and/or bad controller. When I asked if they could help me fix it, they told me not without getting charged even though I was only a month out of warranty. Keep in mind, I would have found out sooner about the problem if the robomower worked properly when the ground was a little wet. Thanks Friendly Robotics! So don't make the same mistake I made. Just mow your lawn yourself like I do now.Customer Review: Song of the Sirens
Summary: 1 Stars
Well I must say that I was lured to the thought of a mower cutting the grass while I was doing other things. You can say I was like a Greek sailor and the Robomower was the Sirens. Anyone who knows Greek mythology knows that the Sirens lead Greek ships into the rocks and sent the sailors to their death. Tis the story with the Robomower.
For the high price of this mower I expected it to last more than 3 years without a major repair. My blade motor went out just after three summers of use. Since I live in Michigan my mowing season is quite short. Of course the mower is out of warranty. The cost of shipping for the repair and the repair itself is not a cost effective choice. I could purchase a low-end gas mower for the same amount.
Seems to me the technology has a little ways to go yet. I wish you luck if you choose to purchase the Robomower. For me I am going to wait until they are better built. My recommendation is you do the same.
Customer Review: This Mower worthless
Summary: 1 Stars
You have to have a flat lot, and not many trees in there for Friendly Robo... to work. It will get stuck right by the trees, and if it rained, then you cannot use it because it gets stuck. It can not cut tall grass, and leaves some grass here and there. The worst part is the service. Mine had problem the second week, and when I called the tech. the only way he would look at it is for me to ship it to them. That is 80 to 100 dollars in shipment, and he didn't know how long it will take. You are dealing with Middle Eastern company, so don't expect good customer service.