A robotic mower is an expensive piece of cutting-edge electronic technology, so naturally you may be concerned regarding what will happen to the mower if you leave it outside in the rain.
Thankfully robotic mowers go about their work in rain and other adverse weather without any problems. For most designs of robot the chassis and control panel are 100% waterproof and you can choose whether to activate rain sensors which will instruct the bot to run for cover when the showers start.
In this short article we take a look at the rain sensors of robot mowers and the question of the merits of getting your mower out and about in wet weather.
Robotic mowers can work in the rain because they are well waterproofed
Robotic mowers are electrical machines which depend on delicate electronic circuitry to be able to perform their automated mowing functions, and keep your lawn at just the right height.
Water and electronics are a terrible combination, and even a small infestation of moisture will cause rapid corrosion that makes the robot useless.
To guard against this risk robomowers are manufactured with high specification waterproofed chassis and electronic housings conforming to a specific code of Ingress Protection (IP rating) of IPX4 or greater.
IPX4 implies the mower is protected against the ingress of moisture from sustained splashing by water.
Many are IPX5, or indeed fully waterproof that withstand the assault of being hosed down themselves.
Robotic mowers can detect rain and either continue mowing.
They’re able to do this because they keep rain sensors on their body that measure humidity and sweeping rain.
These rain sensors are merely a simple switching device activated by the rain on their bodies and sending an output electric signal that the mower can respond to, and they are very similar technology to the rain sensors detecting rain on a windshield.
Once the frequency and number of raindrops on its sensors pass what it has learned, it will either continue with its task as instructed or head on back home.
Rain sensors are an advantageous feature on robotic mowers
Rain sensors have several benefits, especially if you are concerned about the potential for rain to damage your robotic lawnmower.
These include:
Ensuring your autonomous lawnmower never gets significantly wet or damaged
For many owners the price of a robotic lawnmower is such that they simply won’t take the chance and leave it out in the rain.
A hasty return to base at the first sign of bad weather will shelter it from risk of lightning and falling branches.
Forget checking the forecast, simply programme your robot with the cutting schedule of your choice and it will stick to it, pausing for rain and retuning to mow when things are drying out.
The rain sensor function also saves you making a mess of mud and rain muck build-up when mowing in wet weather.
Mowing in the rain does not always get the right results
Having activated rain sensors onboard your robotic mower protects you from some problems you may encounter if your mower is out for long periods of days with rain falling.
Using your robotic mower over a long period during persistent rain can result in irregular cutting patterns over your lawns as wet mulch is spat out, being smaller cuts than your mower would have typically made during dry spells.
Because robotic mowers mulch the grass as they drive in a random pattern, during wet weather the mower sometimes ends cutting damp blades unevenly such that you can end up with cut grass blades of different lengths which will need mowing again in dry weather.
In general, robotic mowers only take off a few millimeters from the ends of grass and that does not look irregular, however, in damp weather, with the blades being partly matted the cutting edges become altered.
To mow or not to mow (in the rain) is up to you
Because the robotic mower is so programmable, mowing in the rain depends solely on you. Without activating rain sensors, every robotic mower will simply keep on mowing during the rain.
A robot mower cutting grass in the rain keeps it on schedule and makes sure that the grass is cut on a regular basis.
Because mowers cut randomly, leaving your mower to run in all weather conditions means that it saves on the time and effort of mowing over areas that the mower had not previously gone over before stopping for rain.
If the weather is bad enough, you’ll need to do something. Lightning strikes and even strong storms may well be fatal to the mower and even to its charging station. High winds can blow away the mower or cause falling objects such as branches to do damage.
If things get dicey out, you will have to manually tell your smart device to stop mowing and go back to the charging station should the weather worsen. Taking a chance on leaving the mower out will cost you the price for repairing any structural damage.
Have you thought about protecting your mower and charging station from rain?
You can keep your mower and its charging station from the worst of the weather by choosing a garage shelter that puts up barriers on the side of the mower and provides overhang protection.
A robotic mower garage will also come in handy if your smart devices don’t have rain sensors as this will overall protect your mower physically from all kinds of extreme weather.
This all-weather protection also protects the mower chassis from extreme UV exposure which can age and damage the chassis of the robotic mower.
Manufacturers make them from a range of materials from metals, plastic, and canvas, and there is quick and easy installation around the charging station.
Make sure you check what brand and model of mower the shelter protects before you purchase.
Rounding up
When considering the sky-high prices and bewildering tech found in many robotic mowers, it’s easy to forget that they’re more rugged than you think.
Robotic lawnmower manufacturers design their bots to operate autonomously and to have a built-in decision-making algorithm that can execute a programmed response to rain.
As the owner of one of these diligent little helpers, it’s up to you whether your mower stays out in a rain shower or not, and you may always construct a robotic mower shelter if you prefer.