Mowing robots are taking all the work out of mowing grass – or are they? I was given a Viking I-Mow to test, set up by a technician from Origo, importers of Viking grass equipment in Ireland.
The process of setting up the mower involves laying wires around the perimeter of your lawn and getting a power supply to the docking station. Once set up, the I-Mow can be programmed to run for a certain number of hours each day, skipping days if required. There is also a rain sensor on it, which can be set to tell the machine to head for home if it starts to rain.
The I-Mow has the capability to mow for 40 hours per week and cover a 4,000 sq metre (approximately one acre) lawn with ease. For the test, we set up a smaller area with some acute corners and a good open space in the middle, setting it to run for a couple of hours every day. Watching the little robot heading off on its own can be a little unnerving for the first few minutes.
The I-Mow MI 632p has the widest cutting width in the range and can cut 28cm (11in) with each pass. Cutting height is adjustable from 20mm to 60mm, giving a good range of length. Once on the move, the robot travels in a straight line until it runs into the perimeter, where it turns around and heads back to the other end of the plot. This works very well on a rectangular plot, but when the mower gets into a corner, it can get caught for longer than needed.
We intentionally put an acute corner into our test plot and the I-Mow took five or six turns to extricate itself and get back into more open country. This mower has the ability to work on a 45% gradient, which is very impressive, as I reckon that would be difficult to walk, let alone push or ride a mower, up and down. The finish that the I-Mow gives is very good, as it is only clipping small amounts with each pass. The test lawn was pre-mowed before the robot, as a full winter growth would not have been fair on the mulching blade on the little machine.
Verdict
For certain lawns, robot mowers make complete sense; fairly square lawns that are all in one chunk will work best, but with some inventive boundary marking, any shape of lawn could be mowed. We found that the I-Mow did great work and left the lawn beautifully manicured.
• Cutting width: 28cm (11 inches)• Cutting height: 20mm to 60mm• Maximum area to cut: 4,000 square metres (approximately one acre)• Price (ex installation): €2,807 incl VAT
Mowing robots are taking all the work out of mowing grass – or are they? I was given a Viking I-Mow to test, set up by a technician from Origo, importers of Viking grass equipment in Ireland.
The process of setting up the mower involves laying wires around the perimeter of your lawn and getting a power supply to the docking station. Once set up, the I-Mow can be programmed to run for a certain number of hours each day, skipping days if required. There is also a rain sensor on it, which can be set to tell the machine to head for home if it starts to rain.
The I-Mow has the capability to mow for 40 hours per week and cover a 4,000 sq metre (approximately one acre) lawn with ease. For the test, we set up a smaller area with some acute corners and a good open space in the middle, setting it to run for a couple of hours every day. Watching the little robot heading off on its own can be a little unnerving for the first few minutes.
The I-Mow MI 632p has the widest cutting width in the range and can cut 28cm (11in) with each pass. Cutting height is adjustable from 20mm to 60mm, giving a good range of length. Once on the move, the robot travels in a straight line until it runs into the perimeter, where it turns around and heads back to the other end of the plot. This works very well on a rectangular plot, but when the mower gets into a corner, it can get caught for longer than needed.
We intentionally put an acute corner into our test plot and the I-Mow took five or six turns to extricate itself and get back into more open country. This mower has the ability to work on a 45% gradient, which is very impressive, as I reckon that would be difficult to walk, let alone push or ride a mower, up and down. The finish that the I-Mow gives is very good, as it is only clipping small amounts with each pass. The test lawn was pre-mowed before the robot, as a full winter growth would not have been fair on the mulching blade on the little machine.
Verdict
For certain lawns, robot mowers make complete sense; fairly square lawns that are all in one chunk will work best, but with some inventive boundary marking, any shape of lawn could be mowed. We found that the I-Mow did great work and left the lawn beautifully manicured.
• Cutting width: 28cm (11 inches)• Cutting height: 20mm to 60mm• Maximum area to cut: 4,000 square metres (approximately one acre)• Price (ex installation): €2,807 incl VAT 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: