My neighbor has a Husqvarna robot and what we notice was that the bot could not keep up with fast growing grass like in the spring or rainy seasons. When it is wet the bot would make ruts since it would randomly hit the same spots over and over. When the grass was growing fast his lawn looked like hell since it could never do the complete lawn in one charge. Also they can't handle thick or high grass. I guess if you have a tiny postage stamp lawn they might work but for normal size lawns the robot mowers aren't yet ready. Irobot is coming out with one soon that won't need wires and will cut in rows like the vacuum. This will save energy and maybe make it faster. we will see I guess.
The installation was done improperly or the unit is not allowed to operate long enough. I have several units doing multiple acres, no problems keeping up when allowed to run properly
A few changes I'd make with the design if it was me designing it. 1.) I'd put a small trimmer spindle on each corner (similar to the brush on a Roomba) with the trimmer line angled down. So when it reaches the border or up against a fence (like the wooden fence) it would start the trimmer spindles. Say the trimmer line is 3" then it would stay out 3" from the border or fence to do the trimming. 2.) I'd find a way to create a vacuum effect and a channel and grinding gears, etc. around the motor, so it would use the power of the motor. This way it would pick up leaves and grind them down while it's mowing. Something along the principal of a garbage disposal. 3.) Have it where you can choose the type of mowing pattern, be it stripped or random, etc. Also have it map the yard (like some Roomba's do) so if it needs to charge, it can charge and then resume where it left off. 4.) For security, I'd have it registered to a GPS location (or something similar). This way if it's ever stolen, it wouldn't work unless it's at the GPS location that it's registered to. 5.) I'd also look into having some type of sensor put on it so it can sense a fallen tree branch, or high spot, etc. 6.) Incorporate some sort of voice integration so this way you can have it skip a mowing, say due to weather; or need to have an additional mowing, like if you have it scheduled to mow once every three days, and you see your yard could use a cutting in between, you could say "Hey Google (or Alexa), have Miimo mow the lawn at 6 PM.
@@john_thorpe 1. It would require something more powerful than a brush. Adding trimmer line would obviously be a high maintenance issue and defeat the whole purpose if it being automated. Would require more power and decrease battery life. 2. The batteries don't last long due to the demand of powering the wheels and blade. Adding a vacuum takes quite a bit of power and so would extra grinding wheels. That would drop battery time a lot and it would be constantly going back to charge more than mowing. 3. You can't have striped if it cuts continuously because the wheels would wear down the grass and leave wheel tracks from continuously running in the same pattern over and over not allowing the grass to recover. Unlike manual mowing that people do once a week where the grass has time to heal. 4. Some have alarms when immediately picked up, others will send an alarm to a phone app if it breaches the perimeter wire. I believe they all require pin codes to reactivate after it's been picked up. 5. Again.. requires more power, decreases already limited battery time. That level of sensor would likely be too sensitive and cause more interruptions than any good it would accomplish. 6. Most have phone apps these days for full control of it's schedule and operation.
So I just found out robot lawn mowers were a thing. I always wanted a own a home but the thought of mowing my lawn annoyed me. This gives me hope for the future.
I still don't really get why the wire was placed so far in from the edge. You would still edge with the whipper snipper, but you wouldn't need to cut the vertical growth. Then your weekly chore would be 10 min instead, and you'd avoid the 2 height look esp towards Thurs Fri before trimming. One advantage you mainly skipped over is that regular trimming and self mulching is so much healthier both from a lack of fertiliser and also from reduced stress on the grass vs an infrequent mow when it is longer. Finally, I saw a setting on the screen about multiple start locations. Is that for different yards? Would that work (tho it wouldn't be able to return and self-charge)? Or is it for a single but larger yard using the same wire or something? Would love more info on that. Thanks :)
Yeah it looked super green that day too. There are certainly some reason to use a regular lawn mower. It also look good because the yard had a full week of growth which probably helped it a bit.
My driveway splits my front lawn. It seems that the robot mower needs constant human supervision. I think that I am going wait a few more years until they come out with upgraded mowers because am not looking to spend $1,000 for a mower I have to always keep an eye on and cannot cross the driveway to cut the other side.
I have 2.2 acres, uneven, many fences. I think I need the tech to advance a bit more before I get to lounge and crack some beers while it mows. Excited for the future though
None of the robotic mowers of this level support extremely large yards. But they are making much bigger mowers for that purpose and some that even run on solar power.
One thing that I like lines that you get when you actually mow, that and the fact that when you mow and bag, you pick up most of your leaves. I don't see that happening with Miimo. Can you do any setting on the Miimo to get any kind of lines on the yard?
Probably not, and the lines would look strange since the mimo is so narrow. Ps just leave your yard clippings in your yard. They help keep it lush in the long run and lawn clippings actually make up a lot of unnecessary waste
It won't work out because of how frequently it cuts and moving over the same lines repeatedly would eventually gouge a distinctive wheel pattern. Unlike doing it with a push mower every week or so where the grass has time to heal.
How efficient did you find the cutting? Did it manage to hit every sq-ft of lawn at least every 2nd mowing. Is there any kind of tracking app that shows where it mowed like some of the rumbas? Could the mower travel over the concrete if it was level with the grass?
Great questions! It was extremely efficient. Everything was always cut. The only time I saw a patch was after letting it grow out for a week and then turning Miimo on for only one day there were a few small patches. After the next day they were gone. No tracking app, it just roams on its own but does a great job. It possibly q could travel but it might hurt the blades going over the concrete.
Ok… I've been trying to get the thing to work in Automatic mode for half an hour and the thing refuses to start. It works in manual mode, though. Time is set, battery is full. I don't get it. Can anybody help?
It won't work out because of how frequently it cuts and moving over the same lines repeatedly would eventually gouge a distinctive wheel pattern. Unlike doing it with a push mower every week or so where the grass has time to heal.
If you care about the environment you should just leave lawn clippings be. They contribute to the health of the lawn in the long run, eliminate fertilizer use, and don't contribute to unnecessary waste
RECOMMENDATION: Turn the volume down and marvel at how ineffective this product is compared to traditional mowers. Watch how Miimo travels across leaves and doesn't touch them, it barely moves them at all! You'll assume Brett is about to deliver a negative thumbs-down review... Now turn the volume back up and watch again. What I see in this video doesn't tally with what I hear; I've never been so confused. Brett is incredibly enthusiastic about this machine...he describes his lawn as "super-nice" and "really great". It's neither. It's covered in leaves; it looks shabby. Brett saved 5 minutes with the Miimo but didn't add in the time he spends raking leaves. I love gadgets when they work but this doesn't. If you have a perfectly flat lawn, that's free from drain covers or other ground level obstructions, is a mile from the nearest tree and are happy to wake and find it's been stolen - THIS IS FOR YOU. Sorry Brett, I really don't get why you are quite so enthusiastic about the product.
They shut off immediately upon picking it up and requires a pin code to reactivate. The pin cannot be changed, not even with a factory reset or battery removal. So, it's basically useless if stolen, but most thieves aren't going to likely know that meaning they may steal it anyway and than toss it in a dumpster when they find out they can't use it. Some have an immediate alarm that goes off while others will alert a phone app if it goes out of the perimeter boundary wire.
@@peterhoz Right, which is another reason they would end up tossing it in a dumpster. Either way, the device would still be gone so, the reality is... the device has no real theft protection.
@@mikescott7123 nope, with the automower there is a guide wire it can use to go through passage ways and find the charging base. It has gotten stuck on a few chairs and kids toys that were left out though.
Wow I love tech, but I just can’t justify this. I would need two for my half acre cause I have a fence between the front and back yards that I use for my dog, so at $5000+ it would take 5 years of maintenance free, headache free, worry free miimo to even come close to my professional mowers who mow, trim and blow every week for $25 bucks.
Depends on the yard. Something simple, flat, no obstacles, you may get away with limited mowing because it won't have to change directions constantly. Most yards aren't that simple. The Stihl IMow says a 1 acre yard takes about 40 hours a week.
This is Miimo robot vs. traditional lawnmower review. Hence superlatives only, pretty predictable. I hoped to find Miimo vs. competition review. That would have been more engaging.
I think that lawn robot looks stupid. Also it's not that hard to open and close gate. For the memo to go from the front yard to the back yard. I wouldn't spend another $1,000 to have another memo lawn robot in the back yard.
