Robotic garden mowers are not any small buy. Many are 1000’s of {dollars}/kilos and whereas robot vacuum cleaners have come down in value through the years, with quite a lot of price range choices obtainable, the identical cannot actually be mentioned for robotic garden mowers.
There is a breadth of selection obtainable, nonetheless, a lot of which comes from Swedish firm Husqvarna. It has been doing robot lawn mowers for over 25 years. The corporate launched its first – and the world’s first industrial one – in 1995, so it is protected to say it is had some apply. The Husqvarna portfolio is broad, however you do not essentially want one in all its high fashions. The Automower Aspire R4 sits on the backside of the vary and it is good. Right here, we’re speaking concerning the Automower 305 which is a slight step up from the Aspire R4. Is it value it, and must you purchase it?
Husqvarna
Husqvarna Automower 305
Really useful
The Husqvarna Automower 305 is an outstanding robotic garden mower. It is not as sensible as a few of its competitors, however by way of efficiency the Automower 305 brings its A-game, together with an amazing design and being straightforward to make use of (as soon as you have obtained the setup out of the best way).
- Very good efficiency
- Beautiful and strong design
- Easy to make use of
- Intensive setup
- No app management as customary
- No Alexa, Google or IFTTT help
Tough setup
The Husqvarna Automower 305 requires you to put in a boundary wire across the perimeter of your backyard for setup, so it would not go for the faster GPS mapping technique you will discover on others, just like the Segway Navimow H1500E.
Which means that its arrange shouldn’t be the quickest course of, although you possibly can choose to pay for set up and Husqvarna will do all of it for you. If you happen to do it your self, you possibly can anticipate it to take a number of hours, relying on how a lot area there may be to cowl in your backyard. Mine is round 100sqm, and it took me round three hours to finish. A member of the family of mine has the identical robotic mower nonetheless, they usually paid for set up, which solely took round an hour for a a lot larger (and extra sophisticated) area, so it’s value contemplating that further funding.
If you happen to select to do it your self nonetheless, you will want to position the boundary wire across the total perimeter of your backyard, in addition to round any obstacles like a tree or climbing body. There is a very useful video on Husqvarna’s YouTube channel that can information you thru the method. Each couple of centimetres, you will have to knock in one of many plastic pegs into the bottom, except you select to dig a mini trench, which I would suggest. If you happen to go for the previous, anticipate to have to repair the boundary wire a few occasions within the first couple of weeks – although that is fast and simple fortunately.
Together with the boundary wire across the perimeter, you additionally have to arrange a information wire that runs both by the centre of your backyard or a transparent path. That is designed to assist the Automower 305 get again to its charging base. As soon as you have carried out all of that, the remainder of the setup is comparatively straightforward. It is carried out on the keypad that you’re going to discover beneath the highest part of the Automower, which pops up whenever you hit the Cease button. It is potential to attach the Automower 305 to the Automower Join app, although that is one thing you pay for as an additional slightly than it coming with the mower by default.
Substantial design
The Husqvarna Automower 305 has an amazing design. It’s extra substantial than the smaller and extra discreet Automower Aspire R4, nevertheless it shares similarities, together with a gray and orange color scheme. It seems fabulous on the garden, with a stunning symmetry that is actually slightly pleasing to the attention.
On the entrance, there is a Husqvarna brand positioned proudly within the centre with the charging pins above it, whereas in direction of the rear of the highest, you will see the big Cease button I discussed, and the flap that pops up when that button is pressed to disclose the keypad, 2.8-inch monochrome graphical show and blade dial – extra on these in a second.
The Husqvarna Automower 305 has what can solely actually be described as broad shoulders on the again, below which you will discover a big wheel both facet with respectable tread, delivering good grip. Each the wheels have a Husqvarna brand within the centre, which is a pleasant contact, whereas on the entrance, there are two smaller wheels that assist information the Automower 305 round your backyard. There is a Husqvarna brand on the rear too for good measure, whereas beneath you will discover the blades protected by a round disc.
Returning then to the keypad and show. These are weatherproof (IPX5) so whereas the hatch protects them, the keypad will survive if it will get moist – so do not panic. The keys want some strain utilized for them to register every press – it isn’t as responsive as you is likely to be used to from a touchscreen – however the show could be very straightforward to navigate, has a major variety of options and retains all the things quite simple. Every time the hatch is popped, you will have to enter the four-digit pin code you set throughout setup to entry options. It is a type of theft safety, although this is not as substantial as what is obtainable on the Segway Navimow H1500E.
Above the keyboard is a big dial for adjusting the blades and subsequently how lengthy or brief you need your grass to be reduce. Flip all of it the best way to the left and the grass can be trimmed shorter, whereas to the precise, will probably be longer. There are extra grass peak choices than the cheaper Automower Aspire R4 – eight as an alternative of 4 – and it is also simpler to regulate than the Aspire R4 too. It isn’t as straightforward because the Segway Navimow H1500E that lets you alter the grass chopping peak by way of an app, nevertheless it’s nonetheless very a lot most well-liked in comparison with adjusting the blades manually. I had my Automower 305 set to a few as I discovered that decrease than this resulted in a few nicks to the boundary wire that required fixing every time, so I selected a bit of longer over the fixed repairs.
Sensible options
The Husqvarna Automower 305 is packed to the brim with options, although it is not as sensible because the Automower Aspire R4. For starters, whilst you can add app connectivity to the Automower 305, you possibly can’t join it to the likes of Google Home or Amazon Alexa. It additionally cannot be linked to IFTTT – which stands for If This Then That. It permits issues like connecting the Automower 305 to your Google Calendar, so it would not mow if it sees there’s a backyard social gathering taking place for instance.
Now, no Google Assistant, Alexa or IFTTT support is not a problem by way of this robotic garden mower’s efficiency – it would not influence it in any respect the truth is. However, in case you’re on the lookout for sensible house integrations like these, then the Aspire R4 is likely to be a greater choice for you.
I do suppose you will need to word that simply because you possibly can’t ask Alexa to begin mowing your garden although, that does not imply the Automower 305 is not sensible. There are a number of sensors on board, together with a carry sensor, tilt sensor and an alarm, and you will additionally discover options like a climate timer, Frost Guard and Spiral Slicing. When turned on, Spiral Slicing kicks in when longer grass is detected, chopping it quicker utilizing a spiral chopping mechanism, whereas Frost Guard will use temperature sensors within the Automower 305 to ensure mowing would not begin if the temperature is beneath 5-degrees Celsius.
There is no object detection on board so the Automower 305 will not see an individual or an animal earlier than it hits it, nor the rest in your garden like toys or the hose. It does nonetheless have Spot Slicing and you may add a Secondary Space too, for instance a entrance garden alongside a again garden. You can even schedule on the Automower 305 and that is maybe crucial characteristic as that is the one that permits this robotic garden mower to run like clockwork. You set the schedule on the keyboard and show, and you may just about neglect about it after that.
Strong efficiency
There are some options I miss on the Automower 305 in comparison with the Aspire R4 robotic garden mower – notably the power to remotely begin it from the Automower Join app, however I’ve completely no complaints by way of its general efficiency. The app management is nice because it means you need not go outdoors to manually verify the mower for any errors, or as I mentioned, manually begin it, nevertheless it’s a comfort characteristic slightly than a mandatory one.
In truth, after the primary week of the Automower 305 being put in, I’ve not had a single situation and I’ve needed to repair reduce boundary wires considerably fewer occasions than I needed to with the Husqvarna Automower Aspire R4. That is not essentially the garden mower’s fault – it is extra doubtless the form of the backyard (the Aspire R4 is on the entrance garden), unevenness and quite a lot of different contributing components, however the level is, the Automower 305 is a type of robots you actually can go away to do the job with none human enter actually as soon as it’s arrange.
It has carried out an outstanding job of preserving my grass trying immaculate, and it is pretty and quiet too. I’ve a path on the sting of my backyard that has giant porcelain slabs embedded into the bottom with grass in between every slab. After I reviewed the Segway Navimow H1500E, it wasn’t in a position to navigate the grass in between. The angles between the decking, path and raised flower mattress had been a bit of an excessive amount of to deal with and the Navimow’s wheels would slip on the tiles. The Automower 305 had no points in any respect with that setup, nonetheless. It might probably’t get proper into the corners of the backyard the place I’ve raised flower beds because it wants area to show, nevertheless it does a superb job of the place it might probably get to, and it cuts the grass in between the porcelain tiles too, which I can not inform you how a lot I respect.
My again backyard the place the Automower 305 is positioned is round 100m2, and Husqvarna claims the Automower 305 is able to managing an space of 600m2 and inclines as much as 40 per cent. I discussed a member of the family had this mannequin put in in Sweden concurrently I put in it in my backyard, they usually have a slope of 25 per cent, which the Automower 305 handles with none points. Their backyard can also be round 300m2 and once more, I’ve watched it in motion and I can say the identical as I can for my very own backyard – it is excellent.
If you have not paid for the Automower Join app, you will have to set the schedule for the Automower on the show of the gadget itself. It is easy to take action don’t be concerned, and you may as well arrange Frost Guard and Spiral Slicing together with all the opposite options I discussed beforehand. I’ve the Automower 305’s schedule set to begin at 08:00AM each morning and run until round 11:00AM. It then does an additional mow on the weekends round 16:00PM. Just like the Husqvarna Automower Aspire R4, it would not mow for your entire time. The schedule is an indicator of when the mower will go away its base robotically with out guide intervention. The Automower 305 runs for between 60 and 70 minutes one cost, after which it returns to its charging base and recharges. Recharging is a bit of faster than the Aspire R4, recharging in round an hour, and whether it is totally charged and there may be nonetheless time inside the schedule time to depart its base, it’ll.
Not like robotic vacuum cleaners, the Automower 305 will not reduce your grass in a scientific order. It would not begin in the identical place each time, and it would not return to the place it left off both. Regardless of what I suppose is a scarcity of smarts right here although, your total grass will all the time look unbelievable below the Automower 305’s watch, so it might probably reduce it nonetheless it likes as a result of nonetheless that is, it does it brilliantly.
Verdict
The Husqvarna Automower 305 is an outstanding robotic garden mower. It is not as sensible as a few of its competitors – the Segway Navimow H1500E has extra bells and whistles – and the cheaper Automower Aspire R4 not solely comes with app management as customary however has smarter options by way of sensible house integration on board too.
When it comes to efficiency nonetheless, the Automower 305 brings its A-game. You won’t have the ability to management is remotely (except you pay further) and also you won’t have the ability to ask Alexa to begin it, however as soon as the schedule is ready on this robotic garden mower, it’ll maintain your grass trying completely excellent with barely any intervention from you publish setup.
The Husqvarna Automower 305 affords an amazing design, implausible efficiency, and it is the rationale I can now perceive why you’d contemplate investing in a robotic garden mower. There is a fuss-free, and genuinely wonderful expertise right here that makes this mannequin value each dime.
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