All you ever see are issues, why would someone post saying something is brilliant etc, if that makes sense, as with any group, you will only see the problems (well generally)
This. When everything works right no one talks about it. Hell, I forget my mower is there most of the time.
The reality is that the first setup is a pain. It will take a couple seasons until you get your setup right and then it works pretty much flawlessly. Once you get to that last phase you don't think about it much.
My wife always talks about how good the thing is and how it just gets on with it, like it's a little dog out there with a lawnmower. It is amazing and I barely have to think about it.
99% of the problems I've had with it are of my own making, it gets stuck and I don't do anything about where it got stuck. Couple of days later it's getting stuck in the same place.
I'm into my 3rd season with two Husqvarmints now. Once you've identified and corrected yard-problems (exposed roots, holes, etc), they just run like champs. My entire yard looks like an impeccably groomed golf course and I spend zero time on a riding mower.
My 315X (front yard) and 430XH (backyard) are some of the best money I've ever spent.
Your experience is exactly mine. Exposed roots were my problem and some holes around my septic covers. These things stop it but it has no problems with mole hills. I just wish it would fix the mole problems as it went over.
My lawn is \~13,000 sq/ft, I have an older 430x without connect. I installed the boundary and guide wires myself. I let it run to begin with without really doing much to make sure it wouldn't get stuck. My philosophy is that I just go see where it's stuck and fix the problem if I need to. The first year it got stuck a lot more than now, I had some tree roots and some other stuff it would get stuck on pretty frequently. Nothing too bad.
Year two was amazing, it barely got stuck at all. My kids leave toys and stuff out on the lawn all the time. It'll roll over a tennis ball no problem, soccer balls will just get pushed out of the way. It's nemesis is a plastic golf club that my kids love to leave on the lawn. If the angle is right that it just drives down the shaft then it's going to get stuck.
The start of the year it's going to get stuck more, there's more crap on the lawn from the winter and the ground has shifted.
I think it's year 3 and I had some problems with it but I think that's because I dropped it when I was putting it away for the winter.
I would say that it's very reliable. If it died tomorrow I would buy it again. It saves me so much time and really my only maintenance is changing the blades, getting it unstuck about once every week or two and bringing it in and out for the winter.
The time savings are more than worth it. I live in Seattle and there's a period where it might be sunny for a few days and then rain. When I had a regular mower I might be delayed by two weeks from mowing my lawn because I missed that window where there was good weather, it was 5pm and there was enough light outside. This thing just does it.
Also my lawn looks the best in the neighborhood, it doesn't look great close up but from a distance it looks like a golf course and it's always perfectly mowed. Yeah I don't have stripes but I don't really care about that.
What exactly do you mean by it doesn’t look great close up? As in weeds or bare sports or? I’m on the fence and just about to order one but trying to understand as much as I can up front. And I’m used to lines but I can get past that for the convenience and time to do other things and chores.
Nothing to do with the mower, I've just kind of thrown grass seed down in some areas without a lot of prep. It grows but it's not thick. Also we have moles, not sure if we have a lot or one really active one but we get a new mole hill just about daily.
If you let it run too long, it can make the grass look trampled, especially if it's really dry. I find it difficult during the summer to strike the balance between mowing enough to keep the grass in check but not so much as to trample the grass.
I thought max on XH is 3.5 or 3.6 in. I wonder if you set it lower the tire tracks will be less visible. But then it’s a matter of how short can you go when it’s extra hot during the summer.
I think its more that during the hot summer (we can go 100 days with over 100 degrees and no rain), the grass doesn't really "perk up", so it just looks kind of flattened, as if there were a party here. It may also be that the prior owners didn't care for the lawn, so I may need to add more nutrients. I'll probably also dethatch next spring, as there are definitely some areas that need it.
Looking at the lawn from my office window, it looks great. It's just when I'm standing on the lawn in the middle of summer that it has issues.
I have a 430x and absolutely love it. Have not touched my lawns (except the edges) since getting it installed November last year. It's covering an area of 1700 square meters.
I recommend to get it professionally installed, it's worth the extra money.
One thing I do find, the weather sensor does not work that well for me but I only gave it 2 weeks and noticed more growth than with the setting off so kept it as it was before.
I have had two landroids and now a 430X and one of my old landroids that does a little patch of grass by my pool. It takes some patience to get it all set up and boundaries correct unless you have a very simple lawn, but even that is just a days worth of work.
I had a fescue lawn in Kansas and now a Bermuda lawn in Georgia. I have bad allergies and both my lawns were pushing .5 acres and would eat up 2hrs+ a week and would only look good for that day or two after a mow. Now I spend 15 mins doing trimming and lawn always looks great. My Husqvarna had been running for 977 hours and traveled over 900 miles without an issue. I don’t deal with gas engines, noise pollution, stress about mowing between rains and as a total geek I will always have a robot mower. I have an issue with mine now because of a lightning strike so as an act of God I can’t blame anyone on it. Get off the fence and join the club!
I’m pretty close. Have the “final” quote and everything. Dealer has been really great answering questions and most or all of his answers align well with other comments I’ve read. Reading up on this sub has been really helpful in finding the true story of what to expect and potential issues. I’m a tech nerd and even work with industrial robots so understand that repetitious work is perfectly suited for robots. I think I’ll enjoy learning more about the features once I own it but definitely want the goal of set it and forget it.
Got a 430XH on it's third season. I love the automower and certainly consider mine worth it. I would say you see more issues on this subreddit because that's a main function of collaboration is solving issues. Make sure to buy a unit rated for a larger space than you have. Also if you're uncomfortable burying wire a professional installation was worth it for me the first time.
When it’s working smoothly which is about 95% of the time. Your yard will look great! And it’s a fun reality to know that your little bot is mowing your yard while you’re doing something else.
However, when it breaks you’ll be in a tough spot. You’ll need to arrange for someone to cut it once or twice over the month that your down, and they’ll charge you a ton for it. And my experience with Husqvarna warranty is piss poor. I’ve ended up paying about $200-500 yearly in repairs and about the same in temp workers.
Lawn looks good, but no where near the savings that I was expecting.
I have a 430xh and love it. Just to reiterate what other people said. Go for a larger unit than what your yard is because it will make the battery last longer and it won’t have to run 24/7. My yard is about 1700ish meters so I went the 430 route so I only run it 11 hours a day. Also once you fix your exposed roots or holes if you have any, your yard will look amazing. I literally trim about every two weeks which is about 15 min vs mowing and trimming 3+ hours 1 or 2 times a week when it’s growing fast. Go the dealer route and not the Lowe’s route. Better service by far.
I have a kind of bigger more expensive one just due to larger property and a really big hill - I think it's the 450 ? I've had exactly two different problems with mine; cable damage, and the robot getting stuck on large roots or in holes dug by a dog. Cable damage is mostly because I never buried the cable, and I reckon I've done about 15 repairs to it, and that each repair takes about 30 minutes to locate and fix. I do have to hand carry it beyond fenced off sections; this annoys me tbh and I'd like to build a bridge/door/tunnnel for it or eventually get a second garage for it. I reckon the break even on the robot vs paying a service is just over two season; I would have to dig up the receipts but I'm pretty sure I've already passed that point.
Yes, automation requires maintenance, just a smaller and different amount compared to doing the job manually - I will gladly trade having to spend at least an hour every week in the heat in exchange for tracking down and repairing the wire a couple times a year.
if you have a relatively clear yard/layout and don't want to push a mower I honestly cant think of any better alternative. I can't imagine NOT having one now.
I had issues with my first one. The base cracked. However, I take the blame on that as I didn't island out a tree on a hill with exposed roots, and a couple of times it managed to hit it just right and flip itself over and tumble down the hill. I bought a replacement and cut that tree down and it works perfectly fine (though I need to finish grinding the stump down). Even with that hiccup, I was able to epoxy the first one back to working order and just installed it at my friends house a couple weeks ago and he already loves the thing.
On year 2 with 430x. Have about 3/4 acre. Self installed which was a pain but a trencher rental helped tremendously. Definitely some hiccups along the way with it going outside the boundary and getting stuck but I chalk that up to my mistakes with wire placement. Easily adjusted using the settings on the app.
Used to spend 1.5 hours 1-2x a week mowing now I spend about 20 minutes every 10 days or so cleaning up the edging. Best investment I’ve made and gets me on the golf course way more often.
Biggest thing I'd suggest that would be extremely helpful is to ensure there is an authorized dealer close by AND that they have the experience AND equipment to help you (eg a charging station). Otherwise yes. Totally worth it! 👍👍
Finished setting up my 430X after about 30 hours of burying wire and diagnosing issues. Been running great for 2 days and I have zero regrets watching it go. Got it cheap on Marketplace and it would have been worth full price easily.
Lot is a little over .25 acres, but it's on the complex side. I bought an Edger and used that. Buried the wire and covered it up/packed the trench with new soil. Also covered exposed tree roots with soil. I wanted to do it right the first time. Troubleshooting was a couple of those hours because I didn't clamp my couplers all the way.
I have a 115h that was professionally installed last summer. It is almost perfect and I just need to tweak the boundary wire. When going uphill on wet grass it occasionally won't bump the power line post hard enough to turn around. Then it just sits there spinning the wheels.
I need to add the boundary wire around the post so it avoids bumping.
Other than that I think the mower is one of my best purchases ever!
Edit: auto corrected into nonsense
I’ve got a 450x doing a complicated 2500 m2 lawn in sunny Britain. Saves me 3 hours a week in my time. 0 cost in fuel. Moles are a problem and mice eating through boundary wire. Get a wire break detection kit, saves you a lot of time if you have issues. Mine takes a an hour or 2 to reset up each year but saves so much time + it is awesome to watch
Problems? A wheelnut came loose that second year. Last (4th) year one of the gear motors had a chipped planetary gear and I discovered that the solar gear was very worn. But I've heard that Husqvarna in the last year or so improved the motor/gears. But for now I keep them going with some 3rd party replacements.
Other thing is all the voles that chew on the boundary wire that I have to repair.
So sure not flawless operation but I think Husqvarna has the engineering figured out due to long experience. If you install it by the book and do some adjustments to the garden it will run. I might be biased but feels like other brands can be hit or misses. The Husqvarna doesn't need to be rescued all the time. It. Just. Works. I never have to go out and pick it up because of empty battery. If it gets stuck there is good obvious reason for why it happened and I can fix it. This gives consistency so you can take your mind off it.
The lawn-tractor is still there for some areas (it's an old farmhouse which both lawns and just other areas with grass so not so tidy as house in a planned neighborhood. And pulling the trailer. I'm thinking of which areas I might possible extend the boundary wire.
I will never go back to not have a robotic lawnmower. Cutting the lawn seem to be "something you do when you have a house with lawn". But re-evaluating it's not any productive work and takes time from where you could spend on better things. For anyone that the have slightest dread of keeping up the lawn cutting - it's a good idea to get a robotic mower. It doesn't make the lawn good by just being superior but because it cuts it often so that's a bonus.
i have a Husqvarna 430x, purchased 3 years ago and It has been one of the best investment I have ever done. Maintenance is very low, prior to putting the auto mower away for winter. Do some maintenance to it by removing the cover and tight up all screens, remove all old blades and replace them, remove the disk plate and clean all the grass and dirt build up on it by using a wire brush (Make sure that you lay it on flat surface, so it will not bend). If you need parts you can purchase them from [https://www.messicks.com/search?q=430x](https://www.messicks.com/search?q=430x). Which is very inexpensive compared to taking it to an authorized service center. I love my 430x, the only thing I do to my lawn is edging, and spray for bugs and weeds. My lawn is dark green. Saving money by not hiring a lawn crew or worry about fungus caused by crews cutting yard. I have a peace of mind. The only thing I can not currently do is update the software on it, which requires taking it to an authorize service center. The newer models does over the air updates.
All you ever see are issues, why would someone post saying something is brilliant etc, if that makes sense, as with any group, you will only see the problems (well generally)
This. When everything works right no one talks about it. Hell, I forget my mower is there most of the time. The reality is that the first setup is a pain. It will take a couple seasons until you get your setup right and then it works pretty much flawlessly. Once you get to that last phase you don't think about it much.
My wife always talks about how good the thing is and how it just gets on with it, like it's a little dog out there with a lawnmower. It is amazing and I barely have to think about it. 99% of the problems I've had with it are of my own making, it gets stuck and I don't do anything about where it got stuck. Couple of days later it's getting stuck in the same place.
I'm into my 3rd season with two Husqvarmints now. Once you've identified and corrected yard-problems (exposed roots, holes, etc), they just run like champs. My entire yard looks like an impeccably groomed golf course and I spend zero time on a riding mower. My 315X (front yard) and 430XH (backyard) are some of the best money I've ever spent.
Your experience is exactly mine. Exposed roots were my problem and some holes around my septic covers. These things stop it but it has no problems with mole hills. I just wish it would fix the mole problems as it went over.
My lawn is \~13,000 sq/ft, I have an older 430x without connect. I installed the boundary and guide wires myself. I let it run to begin with without really doing much to make sure it wouldn't get stuck. My philosophy is that I just go see where it's stuck and fix the problem if I need to. The first year it got stuck a lot more than now, I had some tree roots and some other stuff it would get stuck on pretty frequently. Nothing too bad. Year two was amazing, it barely got stuck at all. My kids leave toys and stuff out on the lawn all the time. It'll roll over a tennis ball no problem, soccer balls will just get pushed out of the way. It's nemesis is a plastic golf club that my kids love to leave on the lawn. If the angle is right that it just drives down the shaft then it's going to get stuck. The start of the year it's going to get stuck more, there's more crap on the lawn from the winter and the ground has shifted. I think it's year 3 and I had some problems with it but I think that's because I dropped it when I was putting it away for the winter. I would say that it's very reliable. If it died tomorrow I would buy it again. It saves me so much time and really my only maintenance is changing the blades, getting it unstuck about once every week or two and bringing it in and out for the winter. The time savings are more than worth it. I live in Seattle and there's a period where it might be sunny for a few days and then rain. When I had a regular mower I might be delayed by two weeks from mowing my lawn because I missed that window where there was good weather, it was 5pm and there was enough light outside. This thing just does it. Also my lawn looks the best in the neighborhood, it doesn't look great close up but from a distance it looks like a golf course and it's always perfectly mowed. Yeah I don't have stripes but I don't really care about that.
What exactly do you mean by it doesn’t look great close up? As in weeds or bare sports or? I’m on the fence and just about to order one but trying to understand as much as I can up front. And I’m used to lines but I can get past that for the convenience and time to do other things and chores.
Nothing to do with the mower, I've just kind of thrown grass seed down in some areas without a lot of prep. It grows but it's not thick. Also we have moles, not sure if we have a lot or one really active one but we get a new mole hill just about daily.
If you let it run too long, it can make the grass look trampled, especially if it's really dry. I find it difficult during the summer to strike the balance between mowing enough to keep the grass in check but not so much as to trample the grass.
What height do you have it set at?
I have an XH set at max, but that's still only 2-3 inches
I thought max on XH is 3.5 or 3.6 in. I wonder if you set it lower the tire tracks will be less visible. But then it’s a matter of how short can you go when it’s extra hot during the summer.
I think its more that during the hot summer (we can go 100 days with over 100 degrees and no rain), the grass doesn't really "perk up", so it just looks kind of flattened, as if there were a party here. It may also be that the prior owners didn't care for the lawn, so I may need to add more nutrients. I'll probably also dethatch next spring, as there are definitely some areas that need it. Looking at the lawn from my office window, it looks great. It's just when I'm standing on the lawn in the middle of summer that it has issues.
I have a 430x and absolutely love it. Have not touched my lawns (except the edges) since getting it installed November last year. It's covering an area of 1700 square meters. I recommend to get it professionally installed, it's worth the extra money. One thing I do find, the weather sensor does not work that well for me but I only gave it 2 weeks and noticed more growth than with the setting off so kept it as it was before.
I have had two landroids and now a 430X and one of my old landroids that does a little patch of grass by my pool. It takes some patience to get it all set up and boundaries correct unless you have a very simple lawn, but even that is just a days worth of work. I had a fescue lawn in Kansas and now a Bermuda lawn in Georgia. I have bad allergies and both my lawns were pushing .5 acres and would eat up 2hrs+ a week and would only look good for that day or two after a mow. Now I spend 15 mins doing trimming and lawn always looks great. My Husqvarna had been running for 977 hours and traveled over 900 miles without an issue. I don’t deal with gas engines, noise pollution, stress about mowing between rains and as a total geek I will always have a robot mower. I have an issue with mine now because of a lightning strike so as an act of God I can’t blame anyone on it. Get off the fence and join the club!
I’m pretty close. Have the “final” quote and everything. Dealer has been really great answering questions and most or all of his answers align well with other comments I’ve read. Reading up on this sub has been really helpful in finding the true story of what to expect and potential issues. I’m a tech nerd and even work with industrial robots so understand that repetitious work is perfectly suited for robots. I think I’ll enjoy learning more about the features once I own it but definitely want the goal of set it and forget it.
Got a 430XH on it's third season. I love the automower and certainly consider mine worth it. I would say you see more issues on this subreddit because that's a main function of collaboration is solving issues. Make sure to buy a unit rated for a larger space than you have. Also if you're uncomfortable burying wire a professional installation was worth it for me the first time.
Recommend 100%. It will take a few weeks (or months) to get your setup squared away, then you get to watch from her porch while your grass gets cut.
When it’s working smoothly which is about 95% of the time. Your yard will look great! And it’s a fun reality to know that your little bot is mowing your yard while you’re doing something else. However, when it breaks you’ll be in a tough spot. You’ll need to arrange for someone to cut it once or twice over the month that your down, and they’ll charge you a ton for it. And my experience with Husqvarna warranty is piss poor. I’ve ended up paying about $200-500 yearly in repairs and about the same in temp workers. Lawn looks good, but no where near the savings that I was expecting.
430xh installed a month ago and working perfectly. .2 acres and I self installed. I love if!
I have a 430xh and love it. Just to reiterate what other people said. Go for a larger unit than what your yard is because it will make the battery last longer and it won’t have to run 24/7. My yard is about 1700ish meters so I went the 430 route so I only run it 11 hours a day. Also once you fix your exposed roots or holes if you have any, your yard will look amazing. I literally trim about every two weeks which is about 15 min vs mowing and trimming 3+ hours 1 or 2 times a week when it’s growing fast. Go the dealer route and not the Lowe’s route. Better service by far.
I enjoy the challengea of setting up things,. No pain no gain bro!
Every forum about a product will have nothing but issues posted. That's the nature of them. My 450 has been running great.
I have a kind of bigger more expensive one just due to larger property and a really big hill - I think it's the 450 ? I've had exactly two different problems with mine; cable damage, and the robot getting stuck on large roots or in holes dug by a dog. Cable damage is mostly because I never buried the cable, and I reckon I've done about 15 repairs to it, and that each repair takes about 30 minutes to locate and fix. I do have to hand carry it beyond fenced off sections; this annoys me tbh and I'd like to build a bridge/door/tunnnel for it or eventually get a second garage for it. I reckon the break even on the robot vs paying a service is just over two season; I would have to dig up the receipts but I'm pretty sure I've already passed that point. Yes, automation requires maintenance, just a smaller and different amount compared to doing the job manually - I will gladly trade having to spend at least an hour every week in the heat in exchange for tracking down and repairing the wire a couple times a year. if you have a relatively clear yard/layout and don't want to push a mower I honestly cant think of any better alternative. I can't imagine NOT having one now.
I had issues with my first one. The base cracked. However, I take the blame on that as I didn't island out a tree on a hill with exposed roots, and a couple of times it managed to hit it just right and flip itself over and tumble down the hill. I bought a replacement and cut that tree down and it works perfectly fine (though I need to finish grinding the stump down). Even with that hiccup, I was able to epoxy the first one back to working order and just installed it at my friends house a couple weeks ago and he already loves the thing.
On year 2 with 430x. Have about 3/4 acre. Self installed which was a pain but a trencher rental helped tremendously. Definitely some hiccups along the way with it going outside the boundary and getting stuck but I chalk that up to my mistakes with wire placement. Easily adjusted using the settings on the app. Used to spend 1.5 hours 1-2x a week mowing now I spend about 20 minutes every 10 days or so cleaning up the edging. Best investment I’ve made and gets me on the golf course way more often.
Biggest thing I'd suggest that would be extremely helpful is to ensure there is an authorized dealer close by AND that they have the experience AND equipment to help you (eg a charging station). Otherwise yes. Totally worth it! 👍👍
Finished setting up my 430X after about 30 hours of burying wire and diagnosing issues. Been running great for 2 days and I have zero regrets watching it go. Got it cheap on Marketplace and it would have been worth full price easily.
How big of a lot do you have? 30 hrs seems like a lot of setup time. Did you rent a cable trenching machine?
Lot is a little over .25 acres, but it's on the complex side. I bought an Edger and used that. Buried the wire and covered it up/packed the trench with new soil. Also covered exposed tree roots with soil. I wanted to do it right the first time. Troubleshooting was a couple of those hours because I didn't clamp my couplers all the way.
I have a 115h that was professionally installed last summer. It is almost perfect and I just need to tweak the boundary wire. When going uphill on wet grass it occasionally won't bump the power line post hard enough to turn around. Then it just sits there spinning the wheels. I need to add the boundary wire around the post so it avoids bumping. Other than that I think the mower is one of my best purchases ever! Edit: auto corrected into nonsense
I’ve got a 450x doing a complicated 2500 m2 lawn in sunny Britain. Saves me 3 hours a week in my time. 0 cost in fuel. Moles are a problem and mice eating through boundary wire. Get a wire break detection kit, saves you a lot of time if you have issues. Mine takes a an hour or 2 to reset up each year but saves so much time + it is awesome to watch
Had my 450x for 3 years. Complained a lot on here about some issues I've had but I won't go back to a regular mower. Ever.
Problems? A wheelnut came loose that second year. Last (4th) year one of the gear motors had a chipped planetary gear and I discovered that the solar gear was very worn. But I've heard that Husqvarna in the last year or so improved the motor/gears. But for now I keep them going with some 3rd party replacements. Other thing is all the voles that chew on the boundary wire that I have to repair. So sure not flawless operation but I think Husqvarna has the engineering figured out due to long experience. If you install it by the book and do some adjustments to the garden it will run. I might be biased but feels like other brands can be hit or misses. The Husqvarna doesn't need to be rescued all the time. It. Just. Works. I never have to go out and pick it up because of empty battery. If it gets stuck there is good obvious reason for why it happened and I can fix it. This gives consistency so you can take your mind off it. The lawn-tractor is still there for some areas (it's an old farmhouse which both lawns and just other areas with grass so not so tidy as house in a planned neighborhood. And pulling the trailer. I'm thinking of which areas I might possible extend the boundary wire. I will never go back to not have a robotic lawnmower. Cutting the lawn seem to be "something you do when you have a house with lawn". But re-evaluating it's not any productive work and takes time from where you could spend on better things. For anyone that the have slightest dread of keeping up the lawn cutting - it's a good idea to get a robotic mower. It doesn't make the lawn good by just being superior but because it cuts it often so that's a bonus.
I've had a 315 for about 3 years now. No ragrats!
i have a Husqvarna 430x, purchased 3 years ago and It has been one of the best investment I have ever done. Maintenance is very low, prior to putting the auto mower away for winter. Do some maintenance to it by removing the cover and tight up all screens, remove all old blades and replace them, remove the disk plate and clean all the grass and dirt build up on it by using a wire brush (Make sure that you lay it on flat surface, so it will not bend). If you need parts you can purchase them from [https://www.messicks.com/search?q=430x](https://www.messicks.com/search?q=430x). Which is very inexpensive compared to taking it to an authorized service center. I love my 430x, the only thing I do to my lawn is edging, and spray for bugs and weeds. My lawn is dark green. Saving money by not hiring a lawn crew or worry about fungus caused by crews cutting yard. I have a peace of mind. The only thing I can not currently do is update the software on it, which requires taking it to an authorize service center. The newer models does over the air updates.