If the store would put up that battery cover so we could buy one, I’d have a working solar fan about three days after I received it.
Subtle hint, @Yarbo-Marketing .
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Or maybe someone can design a 3d printable replacement
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Not so subtle endorsement of the idea! Lets see it!
However, it might be faster just to print our own. Not sure how many extra units they have laying around for warranty.
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In the process of printing up my prototype now. Intention is to glue reflectix down across the top and then the side pieces clip in around the battery cover holes on the side. May have to make some adjustments after the real thing comes out … only so much you can do with a tape measure. The shorter side on the right is to fit around the HaLow antenna and the front/back slots should give some room for the stop switch and orange safety light.
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Love it!
@Wes @ken.w.gregory I would be cautious with the reflectix as it may bounce the GPS signals and make things somewhat worse. Some white non-reflective material might be just as good.
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Yea I thought about that too. Ken indicated he didn’t see any issues and I haven’t gotten it all on and working yet to test. The other alternative is to ground the reflectix or use another insulator on the same design - easily put on and off.
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So far I haven’t noticed any changes in GPS behavior. It might be better to use a foamboard or something though. It’s easy to take on and off, but I will say I’ve found it useless to use it only while charging… I think the only reason it helps is because it keeps the solar heating down while it’s out mowing giving it more headroom when it does charge. The better solution would be another RV style weather sealed fan that vents the heat off the battery - would be a nice thing out-of-the-box as a Yarbo solution, but even if could buy another cover to modify that’d be nice.
I looked at possibly 3D printing an alternative cover. There’s some complex curvature to the cover to make it match so it’d take awhile to really get the measurements right.
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App 3.15.4 is now reporting the battery temp error. The error appears at 48 C, but it keeps charging until it hits it the 51 C hard cutoff. I’m still on 3.8.18 firmware.
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That’s progress.
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Well, looks like it’s half fixed. I drove off to swap the discs today. When I told it recharge from the controller, it returned to the dock to report the misaligned error. The battery was hot and I knew it.
So… If charging is in progress and it overheats, the correct error will display. If it returns to the dock already too hot to charge, the same misaligned error is reported.
Someone with the new firmware will need to confirm this behavior since I still don’t have it. I’m going to hold judgement until it’s confirmed.
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They just need to send everyone a Lifepo4 battery that fits. It’s not that it overheats from mowing or charging, the battery is in a black metal case inside a black case. Once ambient temp gets to 90F and yarbo is in the sun where it has to be by design to receive gps the battery inside will reach 120F very quickly. It would overheat if you just parked it in the sun for about 30min.
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I respectfully disagree that the battery will overheat just sitting in the hot sun. My Yarbo is in the Florida sun all day long and does not overheat until it has charged for a while. I checked the battery temp today while it was mowing and the battery temp ranged between 100 and 110 degrees F. Just saying …
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Mine was overheated at 10 am after mowing. Ambient was 88F It was only mowing a little as it was the 2nd mow, always have to mow twice even on slowest speed so it wasn’t working hard. It said misaligned when it went to charger, alignment was perfect, checked and battery was overtemp, remains in that stat til a few hours after dark.
You should Put a thermometer in that black box By the battery with a min max you’ll see how hot it gets. Better yet take the battery out and park it in the sun with the thermometer in it for a day, I promise it will reach 120F if ambient is 90F or above in Florida. Maybe you got lucky and the temp sensor in your battery is higher than mine or yours is faulty.
You may be correct. I just received the new firmware and app updates and my app displays “battery overheated” at 118 degrees F and the charging ceases at 123 degrees F. It stopped charging today at about 60% but not while mowing. Good luck. I can feel your frustration.
Ken
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I think everyone should take the battery out and put a min max thermometer in the battery compartment on a sunny day with yarbo in the sun so Yarbo can know what their battery should be able to handle since they didn’t do proper real world testing. They’ll probably make you buy the “pro batter” after they figure it out. Lol
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So I have a question: When you get the battery overheat alert, does it persist and need to be cleared in some way? Or is it supposed to go away on its own?
Here’s what happened last night: Yarbo was out mowing in the dark (VERY AWESOME!) It was someplace in the high 70s, (it was a pretty big cut, and required a recharge in the middle, which is why it finished in the dark.) As it got to the end of the cut I got the battery overheat alert. But after Yarbo went back to the charger, it actually started charging (according to the charge indicator.) But the overheat alert said it wouldn’t charge? But it was.
When I got up this morning, Yarbo was fully charged, but the overheat alert was still up. I tried restarting Yarbo, but it remained. Eventually, I disconnected the battery, which ended up clearing it.
So my question: is this an expected behavior? Or is there some action, short of pulling the battery, which I’m supposed to perform?
@alindsaycohen - From Yarbo in a FB Post, may help answer this:
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for detailing your experience — you’re absolutely right to monitor this closely.
Yes, the battery temperature is displayed in Celsius, and 51°C (124°F) is above the safe charging threshold. Yarbo’s battery is designed with a temperature protection mechanism: once it exceeds 50°C, wireless charging will be automatically suspended to prevent any risk of damage. Charging won’t resume until the temperature drops to a safe range — currently below 45°C — and manual restart may be required in some cases.
As for the slow cooldown, you’re not alone — in shaded but still warm outdoor conditions, passive cooling can be quite gradual, especially with ambient temperatures in the 90s°F. The issue tends to worsen if the unit has been running or if sunlight hits surrounding surfaces, radiating heat.
Here’s what we recommend:
Avoid charging during peak heat hours, ideally between 11 AM and 3 PM.
If possible, move the docking station to a cooler or more shaded area with natural airflow.
A firmware update is in the works to automatically resume charging once the temperature drops and to add a notification feature so users are better informed when this protection kicks in.
This is a known concern in hot weather, and we are actively working on improvements to Yarbo’s thermal management system.
If the issue persists or worsens, feel free to reach out via support@yarbo.com, or let us know here and we can create a ticket for further diagnostics. We’re here to help!
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If you put a wet towel over the battery cove the evaporation should cool it down.
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My yarbo continues to charge and will not cut off. I got a reading of 56 on the battery. Would of continued. I stopped it and drove it off charger base. Mine does not seem to cut itself off.
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