We’ve heard questions like: “I live in the city and I just got a little tiny quarter acre for me and my dog Max. Do you have something for that?”
Or even, “My girlfriend Brenda’s got one and I think they’re the neatest things. Do you have anything for half an acre to an acre?”
Many people often wonder. How many acres are too many when it comes to robotic mowing?
But to be honest, they’re asking the wrong question.
It isn’t just about the size of your yard because you know that size doesn’t always matter. We’re talking about complexity.
What does that mean? It means looking at the obstacles, slopes, and other things of this nature that determine the right mower for your lawn.
Let’s delve deeper, because the type of lawn you have determines which mower can mow it.
Lawn type 1: Simple, straight-forward lawn
This is the most basic lawn. Maybe a quarter of an acre. There aren’t any real obstacles. You’ve just got a flat, basic rectangle.
No need to get something overly fancy.
The WORX Landroid is a great choice for this lawn. It’s not too expensive with lots of great features. It’s a great value when you don’t need the workhorse some other lawns require. This one is so simple, you don’t even need a guide wire.
The Ambrogio Next Line would also be a good choice, the Twenty series specifically. There are lots of great features, and you have a good breadth of different size increments for acreage coverage.
LAWN TYPE 2: Small but complex
The challenge is going up. Maybe there are some garden beds. Perhaps some tree roots or crossings. We’re talking about things where the typical randomized mowing pattern might struggle a bit.
The game changes. Now you need a mower with a guide wire which you lay down so your mower can track it through the yard. This can help it out of remote places and also guide it back to the charging station.
The good news is that even with obstacles, you still have choices.
You can start simple. The Gardena Sileno line will offer a reliable mower that’s kind of a baseline. But even your baseline model has bluetooth for App control.
Then there’s the Husqvarna 115. This model allows you to use a 4G connect card.
Or upgrade all the way to the Husqvarna 415. This has a higher end feature called Aim Mapping which generates a picture of your work area in your app to show how it’s working. And you can have more control by defining zones.
The choice is yours. They all can mow this type of lawn. It just comes down to features.
LAWN TYPE 3: Medium & easy
Now we’re talking about the bread and butter of the automower industry. This is as American as apple pie. The typical, average yard. Think, medium size, half an acre lawn.
There are many options to choose from. There’s the WORX Landroid, the Robomow RK2000 or 4000, depending on your needs, and the Husqvarna 430 or 450.
Let’s look at the Robomow RK2000. This is a sturdy machine with lots of great features, which makes using it intuitive to use. Plus, it has rear wheels for traction and front wheels for stability, so it doesn’t get stuck quite as much as some other robotic mowers.
So, if you’re got a medium sized lawn, you’re going to have an easy time finding a capable mower.
lawn type 4: medium & difficult
Next, we have the Husqvarna 430X, which is ideal for a medium and not-so-easy yard. The guide wires help it easily traverse from the front to back yards and still make it to the charging station.
Plus, it has collision sensors to actively detect objects. It may cost a little more, but it’s filled with features that improve efficiency like a bigger battery. This is the mower that our very own Martin has for his home lawn and it does wonderfully for him. Overall it is one of our highest selling models!
lawn type 5: EXPANSIVE AND OPEN (commercial properties, farm land)
Once you get out of the city areas, lawns get bigger. A lot of Automower owners fall into this category. You’re no longer talking about half an acre. Many of these lawns can be quite large.
Think of a wide open plot. Maybe it’s two to five acres.
Wireless robotic mowers make the most sense in these applications. The important thing is to install a reference station. Because these systems are wireless, you just drop your GPS pins, and you’re good to go. And you’ll want a mower with a larger battery. That way, it can spend more time away from the charging station and out there mowing.
The good news is that there are mowers that are built for this challenge. Think of the Husqvarna 500 series. They don’t have all the bells and whistles, but these are built for fleet management. Still, if you have a 5 acre lawn, you’re going to need a few running to get the whole area.
But you might still consider a wired option if you have a large, but complex lawn. For example, if you have lots of tree coverage or lots of buildings, or maybe you’re down in a valley where you can’t get that 160 degree view from a reference station–you need the ability to hard wire it.
The Husqvarna 550 comes in wired or wireless and offers a great feature called Club Solutions. It lets you program the mowers to tag team and manage it all in tandem.
And don’t forget about the Husqvarna CEORA. This is for sports turf professionals, and you can put this to work for up to 18 acres. Check out how the Columbus Clippers are using their very own CEORA to manage their field.
Can a robotic mower mow that?
The answer is that each lawn is different. It has its own complexities and size requirements.
So by now you should know that it’s not a question of if a robotic mower can mow that. It’s a question of which mower has the right build and features.
Solutions are available. But first, you need to know what you’re working with. And from there, finding the right mower should be easy. Contact us today to find the perfect robotic mower for your situation.
