Hey everyone, I’m thinking about getting a robotic lawn mower for my garden and would love some advice.
My lawn is about 250 m², so I’m looking for something in the 250–300 m² range.
Ideally, it should be reliable, low-maintenance, and handle slightly uneven terrain.
If you’ve got one and love it (or regret buying it), please share your experience and any tips on brands or models to go for, or avoid!
Thanks in advance!
I haven't got experience but keep looking at these wondering if it's worth getting one. They feel like they should have benefited from the progress robot vacs have made but still cost a lot for a machine that haphazardly moves about in the confines of a wire you put in. At this point in time I can't justify the price tag to technology ratio.
My friend bought a Husqvarna around 3.5 years ago. The shop he bought it from set it up. Yes it also had teething/learning problems but he swears by it. I also see St George hospital here in Christchurch have one running on their property.
Does your friend happen to use cheapies with a username ABCDEFG lmaooo xD
No unfortunately
Lol ahahha
We have a Worx Landroid and love it. Similar sized back yard to yours. We could justify the price when comparing to paying someone else to do the lawn and/or mowing it ourselves every week. Yes, it runs around haphazardly but because it's doing it every day you don't really notice it; the lawn just all-round stays shorter. But because it's going all the time, the battery wears out quick. Get one that can do twice the size of your lawn. And make sure to bring it inside for the winter.
The biggest downside of the cheaper ones is the boundary wire. They can be so easy to accidentally chop with a spade, or they just wear out and corrode over time if you have any nicks in the plastic coating. We spent a bit extra to get some heavy-duty copper wire (normally used for dog collar boundary) that helped with that.
We're now looking at changing to one that doesn't have a boundary wire as we've got some grass paths that would be a pain to wire up. Maybe the eufy or navibot ones.
Are any as good as a good robo vac yet? I want to set up areas of mow and no mow to avoid vegetable gardens and new trees
A little article from the local rag. A few schools around here are apparently part of a larger trial to test these mowers. While it's a husky, the article doesn't mention the specific model that this one is. https://www.valleyprofile.co.nz/2025/06/17/a-caretaker-with-…
https://dreame.co.nz/products/dreame-robotic-mower-a1?srslti…
We got this for $2500.
Teething issues but easier set up than all the others (no wires, no antenna).
Does a decent job. We had planned to spend more on a Luba but thought we would try this and it has been pretty good. :)
@jonnochen Hey mate
I am planning to get A1 too. How satisfied are you with it? I am tossing between Dreame A1 or Yuka Mini 800
Since the purchase have you got any issues with A1?
Don't get the ones with a boundary wire. If it has GPS the accuracy of NZ's GPS coordinates is going to vastly improve for all systems that can be upgraded to handle it https://www.linz.govt.nz/products-services/geodetic/southpan. Most systems now can also use not only GPS but also GLONASS/Galileo satellites so you get more satellite coverage and better positioning.
I've done lot of research on this and so far has narrowed down to below
Dreame A1( on special at $2498)
Eufy E15( on special at $2497 dowm from $3499)
Mammotion Yuka Mini 800($2300- no special on this unit yet)
Waiting for either of these units to go on further discounts
Looking to buy one this Black Friday, anyone have access to consumer.org's Robot lawn mowers can share the reviews here? Cheers
@doubledippps according to Consumer.org they rate Navimow i105 the top candidate with a score of 93 followed by a score of 89 to Dreame A1
I have been doing lots of research for these myself and I am going to pull a trigger for Dreame A1 Pro(which is a successor model of Dreame A1 that was launched this year). Its currently on special at Harvey Norman for $2499 down from $3499
Cheers mate! Can you share me the link of the A1 Pro on Harvey Norman? I followed the link from Google but it take to to a page showed "Oops! We can't find that page."
@doubledippps You are correct; it appears the item is currently out of stock hence I reckon they removed it from their website. I observed its availability as recently as yesterday evening. I recall being informed that a new shipment of these lawnmowers is anticipated around the second or third week of December. Therefore, I recommend contacting Harvey Norman to inquire about placing a backorder for this product. The Harvey Norman SKU code for the Dreame A1 Pro is MLLA7210.
It shows out of stock on the Dreame NZ website too: https://dreame.co.nz/products/dreame-roboticmower-a1-pro?
However, it's available in Oz: https://dreame.com.au/products/dreame-roboticmower-a1-pro? but no NZ shipping option.
Like many things it is cheaper over the Tasman even allowing for exchange rate differences.
@bigcheese Spot on, mate! I chatted with Harvey Norman yesterday when I placed my order. They mentioned Dreame expects their container with a fresh stock of A1 Pro to arrive in the first or second week of December. 🚢 So, I'll have to hold tight until then to snag my A1 Pro, but with a discount of almost a grand, I'm totally fine with the wait!
We've run a Husqvarna 415x for 2.5 years on a hilly ~700m2 section. It's been really good but not without its teething problems. The experience has felt a lot like a lawn mower company trying to do robotics/app development.