Generally I find that our 4.0 4wd runs without intervention BUT we have a difficult garden with lots of trees and shrubs which are not ‘wired out’ so the mower bumps the tree and goes off in a random direction. What has happened a few times is that it gets to such a tree and tries to climb it. So I have found it stuck stopped against the tree . If this tree was wired out then that would not occur . Other than that the only areas of that nature have been around the charge station where it is vital to get the wiring correct or the mower can stop at a strange angle inside the charge station on occasions , so get into the detail of that with the dealer . I also have found the ‘dock forward’ works more reliably than ‘dock reverse’. In forward docking it hits the charge station but then reverses, does a 180 degree turn and reverses in. I must say that , initially, we did have quite a few issues of that nature but , 6months in, I get very few as I have taken remedial action. Hope that helps. Roy
How long does the mower run between needing some sort of human assistance, eg because trapped, clogged etc? We are away from home for weeks at a time so need a really reliable machine. Our Husqvarna automower does not enable this because it regularly runs into trouble. Welcome your thoughts
It's been a year since the Ambrogio mower arrived at the Acreage and I remain impressed at its ability to keep the lawns well maintained and to handle borders, ramps, trees and without having to collect any grass. Would certainly recommend it. A full 12 month review is currently in edit and will follow shortly.
If you prefer a wire free mower there are plenty available. They aren't suitable for me at present on this site so getting one would be a waste of money for me. No regrets at all with this make, model or with a wired solution. Each to their own
I suppose it depends what you mean by totally waterproof. I haven't submerged it in water but it's certainly more than happy to cut in the rain (if you want it to). The mower stays out in all weathers over the cutting season. I have a cover for the docking station but that's entirely optional, it would be happy enough outside. I took it into the garage over the winter but other than that it's been outisde full time.
The system does indeed seem to suit your current usage pattern. If you were to electrify more in the future however you may wish you had put a bigger system in assuming you had the funds.
One of the things I liked about the DES Renewables approach was they matched the immediate and medium-term use to the kit supplied and fitted. We export around 40% of what we generate at present so there's some way to go in terms of headroom. The system is also modular to allow for additional batteries (as technology improves or costs come down) if required. There is also additional roof space should we wish to increase output in the future. However, at present and for the forseeable future it more than meets our current use.
Thanks very much for the kind thoughts about Taz - the Acreage is too quiet at the moment. In terms of strimming, just strim as normal. The wire gets drawn below the roots of the grass (hard to believe but true - see video above starting at 10.36) so there's no risk of cutting the wire unless you're digging up the grass with your strimmer. I'll add a short video to show how to join/extend/repair wire here with the next update. I've had one break in six months and that was my fault for not pegging into a dip properly - but once installed properly it's not possible for the mower to cut the wire.
I am away from my house between one and two months at a time do you believe this Ambrogio 4.0 elite unit will operate automatically without any problems for that span of time? I have a 1/4 acre yard with no trees or steep slopes.
The mower has been looking after four areas here since August with very little need to intervene. There is an initial period of sorting minor fixes to the wire/lawn but we'd done that within the first 2-3 weeks. I'd be confident that the mower could be left to its own devices for that long once you've got it up and running. You may well find a number of the Ambrogio models could handle an area of the size you describe. I needed the 4.0 elite due to some slopes and rough terrain. If you've a smaller area without slopes you've probably got more of the range to choose from. I'd have no hesitation in recommending Ambrogio based on my experience to date.
Great review. I am hoping to buy one of these soon. Ambrogio appear to have the best quality robots on the market. Great to be able to hear it mowing, most other videos play ridiculous music instead of allowing the mower to be heard. 🙄
Spiral mowing is hit and miss, the tight turn circle makes my Ambrogio 4.0 Basic often 'pirouette' on 3 wheels (check for grass around the front wheels axles!). It should be a user setting on the mower (or the app), but it isn't! Also, you are right about being being careful when putting on the perimeter wire, mine likes to rip off or even cut it's own perimeter wire (laid on the grass, a peg every 40 cm or so): the prongs on the sideskirts of the robot tends to snag them when reversing.
I haven't found the same problem of 'pirouetting' with the 4.0 elite 4WD and on this model I haven't had any grass collecting around any of the wheels. I had one wire cut incident in the first couple of weeks, but that was my fault as I hadn't pegged down into a dip. The skirting is on the front and rear for this model and so far (7 weeks later) no issues reversing or turning. I do agree it's worth investing time and care in the initial laying of the wire but it's been fine since the 'hidden dip' was corrected.
You have lost me at wire installation, as a owner of a luba 5000 and a husqvarna automower, I can clearly say that you have lost a lot of money with this acquisition.
I'm more than happy with this mower so far thank you for reasons given in the video. I considered a wire free model but chose to go with a perimeter wire. It was no issue to install and is already invisible. With patchy GPS signal here, the need for multiple repeaters given the location, complex areas with indistinct borders and with AI being new in this space it wasn't for me at this time.
Excellent reply I’m looking at this at the moment and I live in a rural area with patchy signal strength, oh..to have reliable signal strength and data from Vodafone. I’m still waiting after 21 years.
Did you consider a LUBA 5000? No wires, AWD, and wide cutting path. I've had my O.G. model for a month and love it. It's not perfect, but nothing in this field is.
I did look at a number of supplier both wired and wire-free models. It was a conscious choice to go with the wired model and for me Ambrogio won out for as explained in the video. As you say all makes/models have their strengths and weaknesses, but no regrets with this choice so far. It's doing a great job.
