Our lawn robot
The name was given by my wife. Lambi means “lamb” in Finnish. I am an Estonian. Don’t ask! I don’t know also.
Medieval times and time well spent
In the olden days when I was a kid, my dad used to cut grass and hay with a scythe. He was a true master and I am still in awe when I recall how well the grass was cut by him. I never mastered the art of cutting hay with the scythe. It is definitely not an easy skill to learn!
About three decades ago, when my father passed away, we got ourselves a lawn mower. Countless summers went by, me walking behind the lawn mower each weekend. I have realized that I have spent several thousand! hours of my life walking my lawnmower. Sounds nuts, I know! The goal has always been to have a pretty garden with a nice lawn – this slightly justifies the wasted thousands of hours. Later we obtained a lawn tractor which made my life much easier. Hours spent mowing the lawn decreased significantly.
Future is now 4 years ago! Wut?
Four years ago, we decided to get a lawn robot. I researched brands and models, asked for quotes and finally we decided to go with the Husqvarna Automower 420. It is an older model; it does not have mobile app connectivity nor GPS. We got it with a nice discount from a dealership where it was used as a demo machine – cutting grass in front of their office. We also ordered the installation as the planned area was complex and we were not very keen to install hundreds of meters of perimeter wire by ourselves. Initial area planned was ca 1400 sqm.
After all the research I had done, I was still skeptical. Our garden has many complex flowerbeds, nooks, and crannies. It took about a week until I was convinced that this was the best investment (total ca 2000 EUR) into our garden’s appearance and most of all – into my time. I did not have to cut the grass anymore! And it looks fantastic. All the time!
It has now served us perfectly for four summers. I have never taken it into maintenance. It has never broken down. I have only cleaned it and replaced the blades. Its top cover was initially gleaming glossy white. We painted it with green and brown spray paint and ordered the original camo stickers.
Last spring we increased the operating area. It now takes care of ca 2200 sqm. It runs 24/7, I only park it when there is heavy rain or when strong winds litter the grass with nig branches and pinecones.
Here are some tips I follow to keep it going and everyone happy:
Pick up debris! I remove branches, pinecones and other objects in the grass that could dull the blades.
Don’t leave anything laying around in the operating area. It is easy to forget smaller tools or objects in the grass. Something will get damaged!
I insert 3 short sticks in the ground around young trees (or surprise tulips in the middle of the lawn in spring) so the robot will not bump into the tree.
If your robot has perimeter cables, try to always remember this! Especially when you are changing the shape of your flowerbeds etc. Don’t cut the cables with the spade!
I park the robot during heavy rain. Wet grass clippings will stick to the wheels and it will be annoying to clean them later.
I also park the robot when guests are coming over. Our robot operates where we have car traffic. One clueless driver could be catastrophic for our Lambi.
I clean the machine now and then with a brush and air compressor. Clean machinery will last longer.
Changing blades yourself is easy and cheap. Grass will look better. Dull cutting blades will start to fray the grass. Instead of cutting, rounded blades start “beating” grass blades. Robot will become noisier.
At the end of the season, I clean the robot thoroughly.
Do not store the robot in sub-zero temperatures (like I did). It will not be good for the battery!
This is not an advertisement! I am not getting paid by anyone. I am just documenting and sharing my experience. I have planned to make a post about replacing the cutting blades soon. Let me know I in the comments area if You want to know more about our life with Lambi! Do You name Your machines?