Friendly Robotics RL1000 RoboMower 21-Inch Automatic Cordless Electric Lawn Mower and Docking Station
by Friendly Robotics
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List Price: Our Price: $1,986.00 You Save: $513.99 (21%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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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: Love it
Summary: 4 Stars
I got my RoboMower in June of 2005 and other than one breakdown it has performed perfectly for me.
I have 12,000 Sq Ft of very level lawn (newly landscaped and graded yard) with no obstructions. The RoboMower comes out every night at 5:00PM, mows for a few hours, and comes back without issue. It's the hit of the neighborhood.
Laying the perimeter wire was a pain. At first I just laid it out and used the stakes to keep it down. I figured there was a 50/50 chance I'd be returning the unit (low expectations!) and I didn't want to spend the time burying the wire. After a couple of weeks I decided the unit was a keeper and I buried the wire - which took all day.
Suggestion: keep the box in case you need to ship the unit back. If you have the box they'll pay for shipping. It's a pretty bulky shipment, so it'll be hard to find a box that can safely ship it back.
Bottom line: My yard looks like a golf course every day. The quality of the mow is excellent.
Even if the unit broke every three years, I'd keep buying them. Having a mowing service would cost me $1,200/year ($60/week, 5 months a year) and the lawn would start to look shaggy a few days after mowing. With the RoboMower it looks perfect every day. A riding lawnmower would have cost me more, would cost more to maintain, and would still require me to mow my lawn myself every week. For me, it's a no-brainer.
Also, keep in mind that a lot of reviews are for older models. I have the 1000 version that automatically docks itself.
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.
Customer Review: 3 Great Years But Service is Awful
Summary: 3 Stars
We had three great years with our mower, which we named "RoMo." (It's more fun if you name it.) Yes, it got stuck sometimes, but we have a very complicated yard, and we didn't have to use our hand mower for the last 3 summers. However, in January of 2010, the mower had a problem. It is now July 2010, and that problem was fixed in June. Now we need a new battery, which is understandable after almost 4 years.
The problems we have had getting the mower serviced have been extremely annoying. It took from January to the middle of June to get a part replaced. OK, they were getting a shipment from overseas. But, when I took the time to call every few weeks, they always told me to call in another 2 weeks. Finally, they admitted to an error. Finally they got their shipment of parts. They had said they would call me when the part arrived; they did not call me. I finally called them and got our machine in their queue for repair. Then the wrong estimates of when our machine would be fixed started again. When they told me our machine was "on the bench" and would be examined that day, it still was several more days, and they never did call; I called them and they checked and put together the estimate while I was on the phone. Every interaction seemed to be like this. I never received a call back or an email answer. I got the distinct impression I was being told what they thought I wanted to hear, even though it would be proved false within the next few days. Either they were lying or they had very poor control over their work flow.
The last straw was today. We paid $186 for new batteries to put into the power unit. The instructions were the wrong ones. Now I have to wait through the long weekend to get the right instructions to put together the battery pack...and it's rainy...and the grass is too long for Romo.
I am giving 3 stars; one for each good year before we had to work with the service company, Probotics.
Customer Review: Poorly made to last just passed the warranty period
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the RL800 in April 2003 from Amazon, hoping to get out of mowing the lawn. I ended up wasting lots of time and money on this useless device instead. My original review for the mower was actually positive. It worked well for the first summer and I didn't mow the lawn once with my push mower. I even recommended it to my coworkers. But the following spring, we got a lot of rain which caused the ground to get saturated. The robomower wheels lost traction in the wet grass and kept getting stuck in the middle of my lawn. I had to go out to push it along at least 5 or 6 times. I would have been better off taking my push mower out and mowing it myself, which is what I did until the ground dried up. Once summer came around, I brought the robomower out hoping it would perform like it did the year before. Wrong again! After less than 2 hours, the battery ran out of steam. The robomower is EXTREMELY slow so 2 hours is nowhere near enough time to completely mow my lawn. And yes I did read the manual on how to properly maintain the battery. I constantly charged it even while not in use. And during the winter if temps fell below 0 degrees, I was instructed to remove the battery and place it inside somewhere dry, which I did. Hoping to salvage use for the robomower, I purchased a second battery and the rapid external charger this year. I manually mowed my lawn with a push mower for the beginning of this year while the ground was too wet for the robomower. Then when it dried up enough, I decided to let the robomower take over. I unleash it on my lawn and 20 minutes later it stops. The robomower was beeping with the error "Check Power" message on the controller. I bring it back in and try charging it, but the error doesn't go away. I plug the power supply into another power outlet on a different circuit breaker and get same error. I put in my second battery and still same error. I end up calling tech support for assistance. Coincidentally, the 2 year warranty just ended in April so I was one month passed it. Their diagnosis was possibly a bad power supply and/or bad controller. When I asked if they could help me fix it, they told me not without getting charged even though I was only a month out of warranty. Keep in mind, I would have found out sooner about the problem if the robomower worked properly when the ground was a little wet. Thanks Friendly Robotics! So don't make the same mistake I made. Just mow your lawn yourself like I do now.Customer Review: Song of the Sirens
Summary: 1 Stars
Well I must say that I was lured to the thought of a mower cutting the grass while I was doing other things. You can say I was like a Greek sailor and the Robomower was the Sirens. Anyone who knows Greek mythology knows that the Sirens lead Greek ships into the rocks and sent the sailors to their death. Tis the story with the Robomower.
For the high price of this mower I expected it to last more than 3 years without a major repair. My blade motor went out just after three summers of use. Since I live in Michigan my mowing season is quite short. Of course the mower is out of warranty. The cost of shipping for the repair and the repair itself is not a cost effective choice. I could purchase a low-end gas mower for the same amount.
Seems to me the technology has a little ways to go yet. I wish you luck if you choose to purchase the Robomower. For me I am going to wait until they are better built. My recommendation is you do the same.