A great lawnmower for simpler gardens up to 800m².
unproblematic and cheap , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 need no guide - telegram or GPS set - up , using its grass - detecting tv camera and supersonic sensing element to spot and avoid bound automatically . It works brightly in simple , small gardens , demonstrate to be the fast lawn lawn mower to set up that I ’ve tested . Its border cutting is a bit hap - hazard and line up cutting schedules and features is fiddly with the small LCD screen . However , if you have simple needs and a small garden , this automaton gets the problem done .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Even without the motive to use boundary telegram , robot lawn mowers are ordinarily fiddly to go under up , and expensive . The LawnMaster OcuMow 18 Autocharging Vision Robot Mower is unlike , as it needs no wire , no boundary setup and it can spot boundaries mechanically .
It ’s an update to last year ’s OcuMow 16 , which was a cliff - and - go lawn mower : you charged the battery on an individual basis , dropped the lawn mower into your lawn , dispatch go and then waitress until it had finished its job before stopping it manually .
This novel model still has that option , but adds a dockage place for robotic charging .
Design and Features
I ’m used to robot lawnmowers taking some sentence to coif up , so the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 , which is designed for lawns up to 800 m² and slopes of up to 35 % , was refreshingly elementary to get going . It comes in a very small box ( for a lawn mower ) , which contains a unproblematic docking place .
I just had to clip the two sections together , and lay the radical on a matte scrap of ground near the lawn , using the supply screws to batten the al-Qa’ida into the ground . As the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 does n’t rely on GPS for navigation , it can continue to work and dilute anywhere , even in areas with pitiable coverage . The lawn mower does need GPS to find the loading dock when it ’s due to return , so require a clean signal on the charge station .
I then clipped the charging prong on top , hooked up the mogul provision , and the docking station was ready to go .
There ’s precious little to do with the robot lawn mower either , other than revoke it out of the box , using the clever carry - hold on top . This hold can also be used if you want to take the lawn lawn mower to a dissimilar area , such as for pout the front lawn .
Rather than using an integrated battery , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 habituate one of LawnMaster ’s 24V assault and battery . This is compatible with other instrument in the line - up include the hedge trimmer and cordless lawn mowers .
Slot the bombardment into the compartment at the back , and bear on the lawn lawn mower into the charging wharf and it ’s ready to go , as simple as that .
In fact , at this point I could have just strike the drama button on top of the robot and let it go about its business , using its pot detecting camera and supersonic detector to detect lawn and avoid boundaries .
From box to mowing , then , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 can be quick in minutes , which is right smart quicker than even the immediate GPS lawn lawn mower I ’ve tested , theSegway Navimow i105E.
However , before commence it ’s worth checking a few thing . First , the skunk and supersonic sensor are design to cope with sure boundaries only . The camera - found system is design to pick out grass and look for area that are different , so that means you need borders with clear earth or that have barque chipping on them .
you may also use paving , decking or gravel , provided the boundary is 35 cm broad . Any raised barrier ( minimum height of 6 centimeter ) will also figure out , and hedge are detected and avoided by the ultrasonic sensor .
That ’s a wide range of borders support , but the detection can cause problems . For exercise , if your lawn has a path go through it or across it , divide the lawn into two , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 ca n’t move from one area to another , and you ’ll have to contain it and start a manual cut .
New to this model is the charismatic strip detection sensor . LawnMaster provide two 5 1000 strips of this in the box seat , which can be laid temporarily or permanently ( using the allow for clips ) around any areas you do n’t need the robot to go , such as a pool or a poorly delineate delimitation .
Ponds , distinctly , have to be blocked off , as the robot will just sink itself ; for other areas you ’re not sure about , I urge watch the robot in action and hitting the Stop release if it ’s about to incline into your respect flower bed , and then lay the magnetic comic strip in any problem surface area .
I do n’t recommend this product for anyone with a complicated lawn layout ; really , it ’s designed for small , simple-minded , well - defined lawns .
It ’s then worth see all of the options that you desire to use . First , there ’s heigh - trim back adjustment , which is a manual control that goes between 20 mm and 80 mm , adjustable in 10 mm increments .
An electronic fitting is better , as you may pull off more well throughout the season , but these run to be on more expensive modeling only , such as the Navimow i105E or theMammotion Luba 2 AWD .
Higher cuts are useful at the start of the time of year as the grass starts to grow , but you’re able to reduce over the time of year when you need short eatage .
Underneath , the golem expend an 18 cm all-inclusive cutting pack of cards , which has three replaceable razor vane that spin . It ’s a relatively small cutting pack of cards , although that ’s fine for a small garden .
Before mowing , it ’s deserving setting up a PIN for the automaton , which prevents a thief from using it . By default , once the mower is connected to the sorrel , it immortalize its GPS location and will mesh itself if it ’s moved 1 klick aside from the dock .
By nonremittal , the lawn mower is set to go out every day between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. , mop until the battery runs out and then charging again before repeat . Realistically , this is go bad to be too much for a minor garden , so there are a duo of options .
First , you could adjust the agenda using the dial and the LCD . It ’s a arduous appendage , but one you ’ll most likely only have to do once . Each day has two schedule options ( say , morning and evening ) , although you only need to program one .
I conceive it ’s best to set the robot to mow every few days , with a act upon time to become your garden . Most diminished gardens can be cover in a couple of hours maximal .
instead , you could use the Drop and Mow mode to manually start a cut , which can be used with the master lawn area ( the automaton will mow and then return to dock once its battery is flat ) , or a dissimilar domain ( the robot runs until its battery is categoric , and then you have to go and garner it ) .
There ’s a selection of gash modes : random is where the automaton act to a limit and then turns at a random angle , moving off . coiling lets the robot move in a spiral from the location you move it too , which is useful for catch any areas it missed while on Random .
There ’s a rain sensor built - in . As soon as pelting is detected , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 stops mowing and returns to the dock . Once the detector is dry , the automaton will continue after the place delay break away out ( the default is two hours , but you could set this on the concealment ) .
Performance
It ’s a little nervewracking plant the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 off for the first sentence . I ’m used to robot with boundary telegram or GPS , and have confidence that they ’ll only operate within the bound that I set . With its photographic camera organization , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 is free to vagabond .
I started without the magnetic tape measure and found that the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 worked well out of the box . It moved straight up to my newly dug flush bed , and turn before it endure into the filth .
I was a slight frightened as the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 moved towards another bed full of works , but also with some grass growing in it , but the golem make do to avoid the plants and turn over away . In the death , I did n’t need to use the magnetic tapeline to block off the robot from enrol my borders .
I also found the OcuMow 18 responsive and quick to react to multitude walking in front of it . As I move about , the automaton would halt near me and turn away . It should move around larger objects , too , but there ’s no visual sensation system for object detection . In fact , the automaton ran straight into a seed tray that I ’d allow for on the grass ; to be fair , this lawn mower is not design to intelligently head off obstacle on the lawn .
Safety features are good . If the robot is picked up or rolled over while working , it will immediately stop . There ’s also a heavy red Stop button at the back , so you may rapidly stop the OcuMow 18 if there ’s any chance of a severe event .
Movement is broadly very good , and the chunky wheels at the back assist the robot move around even over more or less uneven ground . However , the movement is n’t that smart . At one point , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 run into a divot and sat there twirl its wheels digging a deeper hole .
I launch that the Mammotion Luba 2 AWD deal rocky basis better , and was smarter about getting itself out of trouble . Filling in the divot stopped future problem and , as the manual states , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 is really designed for monotonous , simple lawns .
Cutting caliber is very good . The blades expeditiously cut grass to the located height , with the clippings mulch down into the lawn to feed it and serve new growth . In that heed , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 is as good as other robots that I ’ve tested .
Its random - cut mode does think of that it can take a while to hit every spot of lawn , and it can leave diminished region uncut after a academic term . Generally , I found that missed sphere would be becharm on the next mowing session . schedule to run two or three times per week , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 did catch all of the main parts of the lawn .
As with most other robot lawn mowers , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 ca n’t get confining to the edges of the lawn . Nor can it follow a boundary line , instead hitting edge at random angles , turning and backing away .
I found that the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 was speculative at tying up when it ask to recharge in my garden , either when the battery is tend out or after I used the home base push to manually send it home .
First , the lawn lawn mower had to move around until it witness the location of the dock , which it did without job . However , it would slowly move forwards and just miss the charging prong , having to reverse and try out again . Each meter , the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 took multiple attempts to tail , although it did complete the task each prison term .
I had to use one of our honorable grass trimmers every week or so to clean up up around the border of the garden , although the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 did do most of the unvoiced workplace for me .
I measured the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 at a patrician 52.2dB. That ’s quiet enough to have it head for the hills while sitting in the garden .
Should you buy it?
Cheap and comfortable to set up , this automaton lawn mower is build up for small gardens , cutting well and ready to go in second .
Complicated layouts are a no - go , so you ’ll need a lawn mower with GPS ; look for an app - assure robot if you want more mastery over schedules and feature .
Final Thoughts
The LawnMaster OcuMow 18 is a product with limitations : it ’s not for complicated gardens , it ’s LCD makes adjust setting fiddly and hard , and it ’s not particularly good at bound cutting .
However , it is cheap , it cuts well and it ’s super - leisurely to do up . For small , uncomplicated lawn the LawnMaster OcuMow 18 is a great robot lawn mower and it ’s an improvement on last year ’s model , adding in a moorage post and the alternative to block off areas with charismatic tape .
If you ’ve puzzle a more complicated lawn layout or you need app control , my guide to thebest robot lawn mowerscan help .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try every automaton lawn mower we review soundly over an extended menstruum of time . We use standard tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always secern you what we find . We never , ever , take money to refresh a product .
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FAQs
It can spot 6 centimeter or higher raised borders , and ones with good contrast against smoke .
Yes , you may carry it to a unlike lawn to mop there using the LCD to select a manual deletion .
