20 Useful Accessories Every Robotic Mower Owner Should Have

As has already been written in many articles, robotic mowers are little wonders of technology that can greatly simplify yardwork. However, problems can sometimes arise which require intervention or help from the owner in order to get the job done successfully.

We wondered which gadgets and accessories could make the life of every robotic mower owner easier. After all, as with most high-priced consumer goods, you want them to do their job as thoroughly as they can, so you can spend as little time as possible personally maintaining your yard.

When you hear the words “robotic mower accessories,” the first products that come to mind are probably several hundred feet of cable, and additional cable connectors, hooks, spare batteries and spare blades. The classic accessories are definitely useful when it comes to installing the robotic mower, but this article is less about these standard accessories, and more about introducing you to some of the most useful products that every robotic mower owner should own or at least be familiar with.

Robotic Mower Garage

In my opinion, the robotic mower garage is the most sensible product for every robotic mower. Because, as the name suggests, a robotic mower garage is a storage place where the mower and the charging station are safe from most weather conditions. The charging station can be permanently located inside the garage, and thus the robotic mower will drive back into the garage after the work is done.

The additional shield protects the robotic mower from moisture when it is resting or charging, which in the long run helps avoid problems in the electronic components. The garage also protects the robotic mower from UV radiation and heat, which can cause the mower’s plastic outer body to age faster and become brittle. In addition, the heat has a negative effect on the life of the built-in battery and can shorten it considerably.

Voltmeter

One of the most annoying problems when using a robotic mower is a broken cable. Fortunately, the cable break is one of the few technical defects that you can manage yourself without much technical understanding. However, depending on the size of the lawn, this can become a longer and above-all tedious search for a needle in the haystack. How on earth are you going to find where the cable break is?

Conventional products from the manufacturers are often offered, but the price can be several hundred dollars. Fortunately, there is a much cheaper solution that only costs a few dollars: A battery operated medium wave radio.

The voltmeter works similarly to the products from the original manufacturers and emits an acoustic signal. This sound should differ in pitch once the defective point has been reached.

Biodegradable Hooks

Biodegradable hooks for securing the cales to the ground are the type of accessories that are best to have during installation. Because if the yard is changed later on, it is always desirable to have as few foreign bodies in the yard as possible. Although the conventional plastic hooks are not very long, they can be very annoying when digging. Especially with a large lawn area, there can be over a hundred hooks.

The big advantage compared to the normal plastic hooks is that these hooks are completely broken down after several years and therefore do not leave any unwanted objects behind. The boundary wire should be completely grown into the lawn by this time and therefore the hooks are no longer needed.

Maintenance and Cleaning Set

This handy maintenance and cleaning set from Husqvarna is ideal for getting the robotic mower back into shape before the winter. The set consists of a plastic maintenance spray, two cleaning brushes, a sanding pad and a screwdriver.

Many users may not need this product because they may already have most of the products at home but especially for newcomers this set is a wise investment.

Carrying Bag

Husqvarna has for some time now been offering a special carrier bag for various Automower models. This is especially useful if you want to operate different lawns with the same robotic mower and transport the robot as safely as possible.

It is not absolutely necessary but especially with longer transport routes the bag will prove it’s worth the money relatively quickly. Depending on the model, robotic mowers can weigh several pounds and many of the models are not very easily transported.

Another advantage of the carrier bags is that they prevent grass residue or dirt that is still on the underside of the robotic mower from being left behind everywhere.

Remote Control / Smartphone App

One of the probably most entertaining and interesting gadgets I found during my search was the remote control for robotic mowers. Robomow’s analog remote control can be paired with some of our own models. This makes it possible to control the robotic mower similarly to a toy car. This is not only entertaining, but can be very handy if you want to manually mow a spot that was previously overlooked by the robot.

Many other manufacturers take a different approach by offering apps for their robots. Some of them also have the possibility to control the remote control with the app, similar to the analog remote control. This is of course only one of the many functions that make the smartphone app a good idea.

More recent robotic mowers often have the ability to set many of the important functions via a smartphone app. The range of functions varies greatly from company to company.

If you are interested in this topic you can find everything else in our article about Robotic Mower Smartphone Apps.

GPS Tracker

GPS stands for “Global Positioning System” and is used to determine the position of your robot using satellites. There are two main areas of application for GPS-supported robotic mowers.

The navigation on the lawn and
the tracking and anti-theft protection.

Using GPS-supported navigation, the robotic mower records the area to be mowed and then automatically recognises whether the area in question has not been mowed for a long time. This means that the entire lawn is cut more evenly, as the robotic mower automatically approaches and mows the area that has not been cut for a longer time.

GPS tracking, on the other hand, is more about the exchange of location information between the robotic mower and the user. It is therefore possible to determine the location of the robotic mower with the help of a smartphone. The latter can be easily retrofitted to most robots and should be purchased as additional security.

Further information about GPS navigation and tracking can be found in the following article.

Adhesive Bumpers

Due to their design, robotic mowers need sensors to move around the yard. This is mainly done using the boundary wire, but due to obstacles in the yard, robot mowers may often need a shock sensor. This signals the collision, whereupon the robotic mower searches for a new direction of travel.

Unfortunately, these collisions often cause unsightly scratches on the shell.

Originally intended for vehicles, the bumpers can also be easily attached to robotic mowers. The bumpers are glued to the hull of the robotic mower and dampen the robotic mower as soon as it drives against objects such as trees or walls. Thanks to this gadget, the body will have fewer scratches and therefore you will have something of a visually appealing robotic mower for much longer.

Sealant Spray

Especially after an extensive cleaning of the robotic mower, one would like this condition to last as long as possible. For this purpose vehicles are often treated with sealing spray after cleaning. This spray forms a protective film and prevents dirt and grime from sticking to the robot.

Advantageously, the spray can be used on paint, plastic or metal and is therefore perfectly suitable for every robotic mower. The sealant lasts up to three months and is very easy to apply. To do this, spread the spray on the freshly cleaned robotic mower and then spray it off with a hose.

Fruit Collector/Nut Collector

Every homeowner with several fruit or nut trees knows the work that such trees entail. This is particularly unfavorable when the robotic mower has to do its job. Although the robots have sensors that prevent them from driving over larger objects, nuts, fruit or even your dog’s tennis balls, for example, are often run over and then mowed along with the grass. This leads to the blades of the robotic mower dulling quickly and therefore needing to be replaced more often, but in the worst cases it can also lead to engine damage if smaller objects get wedged on the underside and the blades jam.

With the fruit or nut collector you can easily clear the entire yard of all objects that are between 1 inch and 2 inches in size within a very short time. All you have to do is to run the collector over the objects and empty it as soon as it is full.

Apple Guard

A very interesting gadget is the apple guard. It is mounted on the front side of the robotic mower and works similar to a cow catcher on a train. By preventing objects from being run over by the robotic mower, significantly fewer objects end up under the blades, which will prevent unnecessary wear of the blades. Thanks to the easy installation and the relatively low purchase price it is a highly recommended investment.

Rake and Leaf Blower

Both rakes and leaf blowers are yard tools that probably are not an absolute novelty for most yard owners. For decades, these tools have been among the tried and tested yard tools when it comes to efficiently removing leaves and small branches.

Fallen branches and leaves also get underneath the blades and become shredded. Although this is not necessarily harmful, the blades must be replaced more regularly due to increased stress.

From a certain lawn size onwards, working with a rake becomes a time-consuming and strenuous job. Therefore, leaf blowers are perfectly suited to pile up and remove excess leaves on larger lawns, while a rake is perfectly sufficient on small areas.

Wheel Brushes

Even with other gadgets and tools, it is unfortunately not possible to prevent wet leaves from sticking to the wheels in autumn, Which can worsen the traction of the robotic mower. However, the manufacturers of these vehicles are already aware of this and therefore many manufacturers such as Husqvarna already offer wheel brush sets for their robotic mower models. These are then simply mounted next to the wheels and effectively remove grass and leaf debris from the wheels while driving.

Anti-adhesion Spray

As the name suggests, the anti-adhesion spray prevents the grass clippings from sticking to the bottom of the robotic mower and drying out. The application of this material is very simple:

Spray the non-stick spray on the previously cleaned mower deck housing and let it soak in for several minutes. After only a few minutes the robotic mower is then ready for use and can again go along its route

To clean the mower housing, it is then usually sufficient to spray the underside with a sprayer. This is also very advantageous, as the anti-stick spray also serves as corrosion protection. If using water so near to electronics makes you uncomfortable, you can also use a wet cloth instead.

Offroad Kit

Particularly on lawns that are not completely level, robotic mowers can have problems coping with slopes when the lawn or leaves are wet.

The Offroad Kit provides additional ground traction on sloping lawns and ensures that the robotic mower delivers the expected performance.

Husqvarna promises the kit will improve work performance on areas with higher gradients by up to 5 percent. Unfortunately, only Husqvarna currently offers the off-road kit for their models. But other manufacturers will certainly follow suit soon.

The set includes two off-road tires and a set of wheel brushes.

Winter Protection Box

While the robotic mower runs from Spring to Autumn, it is time to hibernate it safely in winter. Therefore the robotic mower is usually stored in a dry and preferably not too cool place.

Ideally, the charging station should also be safely stowed away. To do this, however, you must first disconnect all cable connections at the rear of the charging station. In order to protect the cable connections and wires safely from dirt and weather, some manufacturers offer a winter protection box in which the connections can be safely stored over the winter months.

Storage Bag

The practical storage bag is a simple and effective way to safely store the robotic mower during the colder months. The storage bag has enough storage space to accommodate both the robotic mower and the charging station. There are also several pockets for other accessories like cables, blades or connectors.

The bag is particularly useful for storing the robotic mower and all necessary common accessories compactly and safely in one place.

Wall Brackets

As an alternative to the storage bag, many manufacturers also offer a wall bracket for stowing the robotic mower. This is especially practical if you have little storage space and still want to store your mower adequately and safely over the winter months.

Headlights

One of the most interesting gadgets for the robotic mower is probably the LED headlight illumination. This is offered by some Husqvarna models, among others, and with a little technical understanding can be mounted relatively easily on the prefabricated brackets in the framing. The necessary power is supplied to the headlight by means of a plug connection, which is attached to the circuit board.

Thanks to the lighting, even in poor visibility conditions, you can always see where the robotic mower is driving, so you don’t have to worry about it running over your feet in the dark.

Slide Plate

Our last must-have robotic mower gadget is the sliding plate. The sliding plate is a small metal cover, which is mounted over the turntable and the blades. This prevents dirt or mulch residues from sticking to the turntable and the blades. Because of this, the underside of the robotic mower will be much easier and faster to clean.

The plate also helps with slightly uneven lawns, such as smaller hills, as the underside is relatively level and therefore helps the mower glide over the hill.

The Conclusion

As with many gadgets and accessories, there are some products that make more sense than others.

I personally especially like the garage, the nut collector, the off-road kit, and the headlights. These gadgets offer a real added value and help either your robotic mower or you with the annoying and inevitable work that often occurs.