By April at the latest, when the last cold days are over, nature comes to life and the lawn season begins, the time has come for the robot lawn mower. However, before mowing for the first time and at the end of the mowing season, garden owners should maintain and care for their robot lawn mower in the same way as they would a bicycle or car. The effort is low. We show how the maintenance and cleaning of the robot lawn mower works and what needs to be considered. In addition, we provide valuable tips for caring for the robotic lawnmower.
-21%Robot mower for lawns up to 500 m² ensures a perfectly manicured lawn, copes with inclines of up to 25%, cutting height 20-50 mm, working width 16 cmRobotic lawnmower maintenance & care – the charging station
It is the linchpin of the robotic lawnmower and supplies the robotic lawnmower's battery with power. But what happens in late autumn or winter when the gardening season comes to an end? The answer ist quite easy. The charging station is very robust and can usually remain in the garden all year round. Boundary wire and battery station do not have to be dismantled at the end of the year and reassembled in spring.
Our 3 top tips for maintenance, care and servicing of the charging station
Before and after the end of the mowing season, the cable contact points and the battery charging contacts of the charging station should also be lightly greased.
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and repairs – test the battery
The battery supplies the robotic lawnmower with power. It is therefore important to check its charge level at the beginning and end of the mowing season. With the widespread GARDENA (smart) SILENO city robot lawn mower, the battery charge level should be between 1,200 mAh and 1,600 mAh when the battery is fully charged. Many robots allow the battery charge level to be queried on the display of the device or via a smartphone app if it is a smart robotic lawnmower model.
A battery loses capacity over time. The recommended operating voltage that a battery should have in order to enable the robotic lawnmower to work efficiently should be found in the manual or asked by the manufacturer. We recommend around 75 percent as a guideline. If the capacity falls below this value after a full charge, we recommend replacing the battery.
Maintenance of the robotic lawnmower battery at the beginning of the gardening season: If the robotic lawnmower is properly maintained, the robotic lawnmower battery will still have residual charge current from the winter charge in the spring. We recommend completely draining the battery and then fully recharging it in the charging station. Draining the robot battery can be achieved by letting the robotic lawnmower mow a separate lawn from which it does not come back to the charging station by itself. It then mows the separate mowing zone until the battery is empty. If you don't have a separate lawn area, you can also mask off the charging contacts of the charging station. If the battery is empty, fully charge the robotic lawnmower and check the battery charge level using the "75 percent rule" as described above.
Maintenance of the robotic lawnmower battery at the end of the gardening season: Before the robotic lawnmower is winterized, fully charge the robotic lawnmower battery in the charging station. During the winter months, the battery automatically loses charge due to the cold.
Important: Do not keep the robotic lawnmower under tension during the idle winter months. Every battery likes to be drained as completely as possible and only then to be fully charged again. This not only applies to robot lawn mowers, but also to portable Bluetooth speakers, robot vacuums or other battery-powered devices.
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and care - checking the sensors
If the robotic lawnmower is used again in spring and the battery is fully charged and the battery level checked, owners should carry out a functional test of the sensors. This is particularly important with regard to avoiding accidents involving children or animals.
The following checks should be carried out during initial commissioning:
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and cleaning – take care of the blades
Most robot lawn mowers from our robot lawn mower test, such as the GARDENA SILENO devices or the Worx Landroid robots, work with a blade system that consists of a rotating disc with three blades attached to the edge. The Stiftung Warentest test winner Bosch Indego S+ 400 even has four knives. These robotic lawnmower blades become blunt over time and should therefore be replaced regularly. Dull blades shred the grass, damaging the health of the lawn.
In contrast to the traditionally built-in bar knives, which are often used in conventional petrol lawnmowers, the knives for robotic lawnmowers are available at low prices. A knife set always consists of three blades, the replacement packs usually contain three sets (9 blades) and cost between 15 and 20 euros depending on the brand.
Depending on the size of the garden, the blades should be replaced once or twice per gardening season, or at the latest when the tips of the stalks look torn off instead of cut off.
At the end of the gardening season, before winter storage, the blades should be removed from the robotic lawnmower with a screwdriver and oiled with a drop of machine oil.
Caution: When working on the robotic lawnmower blades, always wear protective gloves and never loosen the blades with a cordless screwdriver. Due to the high rotation speed of the cordless screwdriver, it can happen that the blades come loose in an uncontrolled manner and injure the user!
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and cleaning – the wheels and other moving parts
Dirt often accumulates on the underside of the robotic lawnmower when blades of grass or other particles stick to the housing. The wheels are particularly affected, which is why the robot lawn mower should be cleaned more often before, after and during the mowing season.
Rough cleaning of a GARDENA device can be done very easily with a garden hose, as the housing is splash-proof. With a Worx model or robotic lawnmower from other manufacturers, the device should be cleaned with a damp cloth and a soft brush. It is important that the robotic lawnmower blades are removed before cleaning work in order to minimize the risk of injury.
While cleaning with a brush and cloth, turn the wheels and do not use force. After work, rub any residual water dry with a clean cloth. Lubricate moving parts with machine oil after cleaning, a few drops are sufficient.
Tip: Use a toothbrush for small in-between areas and fine work.
Robotic lawnmower cleaning and maintenance – maintain the robotic lawnmower housing
The same applies to the robotic lawnmower housing as to the maintenance and care of the wheels and moving parts. To additionally protect the housing from the weather, robot owners can treat and polish the chassis with car care wax.
As with the charging station, the charging plates of the robotic lawnmower should also be checked regularly for corrosion. If the sheet metal shows signs of rust, remove it with fine sandpaper and then grease the contacts a little.
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and care - install updates
Most robotic lawnmowers have a firmware or operating system that is responsible for the various functions of the robot, which the user can set on the robotic lawnmower. Brand manufacturers offer regular updates here that expand the range of functions, simplify user guidance or fix errors. With smart networked devices, the update sometimes takes place automatically. For models that are not connected to the Internet, the firmware updates must be installed manually. This is then done via USB interface. Users must download the latest firmware version from the Internet and transfer it to a USB stick, or connect the robot to a computer using a USB cable. From there, the latest firmware version can then be transferred to the robotic lawnmower.
We recommend checking the websites of the manufacturers of robotic lawnmowers that do not receive automatic firmware updates for new versions at least at the beginning and end of the mowing season.
Tip: Make it a routine to check your robotic lawnmower's manufacturer's website for firmware updates before beginning robot maintenance.
Robotic lawnmower maintenance and care - the robotic lawnmower winter quarters
Unlike the charging station, the robotic lawnmower cannot be left outdoors all year round. Users should therefore move their robot lawn mower to the winter quarters at the end of the mowing season, when all the other points in our article have been processed.
The place where the robotic lawnmower should spend the cold, wet months should be dry and frost-free. Cellars, garages, garden tool sheds or, of course, storage rooms in the house are suitable.
Worx Landroid M500 (WR141E)-31% Automatically mows gardens with a lawn area of up to 500 square meters, giving you more time to relax
Tips to do your electrical installa...
Companies in the Pinneberg district...
Maintal is becoming a smart city th...
New subway workshop and wash bay in...