Robotic Lawnmower

I answered some above, but here's the rest:

"I wonder if the robotic would mow the zoysia.:"
I don't see why not, but if the grass is really thick, you may have to recharge the battery more often, which just means you might have to mow every day or every other day. It only takes overnight to do it. Sounds like a pain, but you're talking about five minutes total of walking it out or in (and with the newer models, no time!)
 
"How long have you had yours?"
 About two years.

 "Any complaints? ".
 no, we love ours, set up was probably the biggest pain. We did upgrade our battery because our unit was old to begin with, and bought an extra set of blades so we could have one set sharp all the time.

Thanks!  I took the two names you mentioned and read reviews on Amazon.  Overall, it got abut 4 starts.  Most people were happy with it.  It does sound like a lot of work setting it up.  I would have to bury the wire, which would be the most work. 
 
Yeah, zosia is very thick.  They say with a regular mower, that it really needs to be done once a week.  So, I guess it would be more frequent with the imow.
 
Yeah - that pushing the blades over when they are too long -- I don't like the very loud sound of mowers, so I decided to buy an old fashioned push mower.  Didn't work most of the time b/c I never got out there freqently enough.  It did push the weeds down, but didn't cut them.  It would have worked if I were out there about every 5 days - but I couldn't remember to do that.  So, I would wait, and it would be pointless!  So, frequency was key, and I suppose it would be as well with the imow.
 
Hmmm, I guess you keep your dogs inside when it's mowing.  I can hear the barking now! 
 
I think that's a great idea.  The new prices are about 1k and 1.5k.  So, getting a reconditioned one or off ebay sounds like a good idea.  I suppose a lot of people buy them, and don't set the yard up right, get frustrated, and sell it.  I know one guy on the amazon site said it took him the better of 3 days to set it up --- and he wasn't buring the wire, but using the plastic stakes.      So, I think this would be the biggest drawback for me.  Setting it up, and knowing I had to bury the wire, and it taking up so much time to do it.        But, if I knew it would work for me, then I suppose that would be worth it.  Oh, this same reviewer also mentioned getting a copy of the setup instructions to make sure it would work in your own particular yard.  I realize hills past a certain degree wouldn't work.  I suppose the other thing is he mentioned it not working well in a "straight" narrow area.   
 
Well, thanks for letting me know how you like it.  It is something to think about.  I appreciate your sharing your experience with it. And, if I do decide on one, then I would find out from the manufacturer about zoysia.  That would be the smart thing to do.  (I'm getting a wee bit ahead of myself since I don't even have the zoysia down yet).  But, since I have to re-do my yard in the near future, then that would be a good time to bury the wire for it.   
 
Do dogs that dig ever out-grow that desire? [&:]  I would hate to see that wire pulled up and chewed on!!!!!
 
Lynn

Here's the pictures of iMow at Halloween. We removed the blades and put a scarecrow dressed in a witches costume and broom on it, then set it off to go around the yard. It was really cool!

That's a neat idea.  Imagine it at dusk, or with just the yard lights on it at night.  Pretty cool.  I bet the trick or treaters really liked it (although come to think of it, you probably didn't have it own that night b/c somebody would probably try and "ride" it.).  

We actually didn't bury the wire. We put it down with the pegs, in the front yard, before we had Gracie, when it was just Tookey, who isn't a digger. It only took one summer before the grass grew so thickly over the wire that you couldn't see it anymore, and now in most places the dirt has buried it. We hadn't done the backyard until post-Gracie, and she's the one who dug it up. She only did it in a couple of places, then seemed to lose interest in it, so we're hoping that by next year it will be covered enough not to attract her attention at all! DH belongs to a yahoo group that discusses robotic mowers, I'll get the link if you're still interested.

Oh yes, we had it running all during trick or treat, but it was such a pleasant night, DH or I were out on the porch all night. Mostly the dads wanted to talk about the lawnmower! What you mentioned about the push-type mower flattening down the grass is pretty close to what happens, although not quite as bad. We have one of those as well. And quiet, oh my gosh iMow is SO quiet there's times I think it has stopped and go out to check on it! The narrow areas would be a problem, says it needs about an 8 foot wide area, so that it can go back and forth and turn around. If you have a lot of obstacles in your yard, like trees, planting islands, etc., that takes more time, because you have to either section the yard off around those, or run the wire right up and around the object, then back over top of itself so that it goes around it. It takes more time to do this, so you get less mowing time. We have a couple of trees and a large play area in the backyard, and it takes it longer to do all that manuevering that the front, where there's nothing to stop it. As for barking, Tookey did initially, but as I said in the iron thread, he takes no c**p from appliances and ignores it now. Gracie will actually run up and try and bite the rubber bumper, so we try and keep her in as much as we can when it's running.

Yes, thank you, I would like the link.  It's an expensive enough product, that I would like to hear other people talking about it.

Gracie, girl, you must be a "herder", and just doing your job.  I guess the rubber bumper is the "ankle' of the machine. LOL.
 
edited:  Oh, I didn't mean to imply that I wasn't placing alot of weight by what you said -- I do, and I have appreciated your comments.  I just meant that I would like to know of any common problems others might be having.  Well, really, you've pretty much convinced me it's a good product.  I suppose the big thing is the cost, and so I would like to know more about it.  That's alot of moola, and I want to be informed before I put out those big bucks.
 
Oh, and I'm glad you were able to use it that night.  I bet alot of dad's walked away with something else on their wish lists after seeing that!

Here's my only question.  When the Imow encounters a snake does it run screaming like I do, or does it just quietly mulch the darned thing and not tell me it even saw one?

Glenda,
 
Too funny!!
 
You need a mongoose and some goats to eat the grass!

Here's the link to the robotic mower yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RoboMower/

Glenda, haven't seen any snakes, but iMow rolls right over anything in it's path that small. If it's large enough for it to bump into, it'll beep and back up, so if I hear a beep and look out and see a snake, that lawnmower's on it's own!

Considering mowing is about the only exercise I get in spring/summer []...I think I'll pass for the sake of my figure, lmao.
Interesting tho. Thanks for the pics/info!