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: Timmy mows our lawn now
Summary: 5 Stars
Timmy (Friendly Robotics RL1000) took over mowing our lawn August of 2005. I haven't mowed a lawn in over a year, 1 and a half growing seasons! I split up my front and back yard with a small gap so Timmy can do the front yard or the back and still make it home to his charging station. (home base is highly recommended!!!) I often start him up at 6pm and he keeps mowing until around 9:30pm and then goes to his little house for a complete re-charge for the next day. I did not choose the scheduled start option because I have two dogs and a 1 year old that leave toys in the yard. Also, Timmy can mow in the rain but grass cuts so much better when it's dry, plus grass clippings don't build up as much in the underside and wheel treads.
Setting up took some time and a bit of experimenting. Especially deciding which trees to block out with the wire and how to keep Timmy in the front or back while still being able to make it home when he's done. I purchased an extra roll of wire at Home Depo, any solid strand 16g or 14g wire will work. I soldered the connections instead of using the special wire nuts. I tried to go without an extra bag of wire stakes thinking I could just get something at Walmart or Home Depot but ended up buying 3 more bags of official stakes later on after an exhaustive search came up empty.
I have had very little trouble with Timmy. I'm good with new gadgets so dealing with little problems isn't too difficult for me. The outdoor power supply did break after only about 4 months of use but I just hooked up the indoor power supply inside and drilled a hole in the garage wall for the wire. I can now tell the blades need replacing after just over 1 year of use (about 5 months total in southern Maine) but that was expected. The battery life has gone from almost 4 hours down to about 3 hours so I plan on replacing those next spring. (I will just install 2 new 12v lead acid batteries in the existing housing and save about $75 on a new official battery pack)
Everyone in the neighborhood talks about Timmy, he's so popular! Mostly people ask about him when I'm outside and they walk by. I have had a few kids ring my door bell asking about him while he was busy at work.
Customer Review: Very pleased so far.
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this guy off-season and got him set up, running through multiple "shake-down cruises." Very few problems so far; a bit of a learning curve in setting up the perimeter, etc. But, jeez-o-pete, is he ever so cool! I may design and build a home for him, to simplify the winter storage process, but I can't wait until spring so I can truly turn him loose and see how well he performs in real life.
The docs are accurate, though a bit sparse, so far. There is a growing community of dedicated users more than happy to share their thoughts and experiences, which is a huge asset.
I wish I knew how to build a body-mod for him so he would look like the chomping turtle on the Flintstones!
A very positive experience so far.