Hi everyone,
Despite being tired, I decided to try mowing my lawn (10 ares) with Yarbo. I modified the settings for the mowing area once again, changing the obstacle mode to “gentle contact” and turning off slope detection, as this had caused me problems before. I set a 20 cm safety margin from the lawn’s edges. I turned off my old mower and got to work.
I placed Yarbo on the charging station and waited for the strong GPS signal to start mowing.
I hoped it would work better than last weekend. I’m only there on weekends.
The Yarbo found its way straight to the mowing area. It started at the edge, as desired, which was a good sign. It stays more than 20 cm from the edge, so I’ll still need to trim the edges, but that’s better than mowing over my wife’s plants or decorative objects, as before. However, it doesn’t mow right angles. Oh well, I’ll have to mow those areas myself. Then comes the 35° slope, just like last time. Going up, it skids and leaves ruts, which will make my wife happy. Thankfully, it manages to climb back up after I restart it. Once at the top, however, the right angle is truncated. It’s far from the edge it’s supposed to follow. On top of that, it slips. It finishes its first round and starts the second, which should be easier. However, the expected 10 cm overlap is not respected.
The GPS signal is strong because it is in an open area. In short, it finishes the second lap. Next, it mows the contours as desired. It does so while maintaining an adequate margin. I’ll settle for that.
With the trees in the way, it does not follow the route, so it does not mow. The obstacle contour seems problematic for Yarbo on my land. So, I’ll do it myself. Now it’s time for interior mowing. Yarbo goes to the starting point he defined. He crosses the field and begins mowing. He passes close to the bushes, and I’m worried about the antennas at branch height. I should have set up a “no-go zone,” but I wanted to optimize my work afterwards. I hold the branches back as it passes, and it makes it through without damaging the antennas. It finishes its second length and reaches an area that is difficult to mow because it is small and has a lot of trees. At this point, I’m amazed at how well it handles obstacles, so I let it continue. However, this area, my test area, is not done well at all, so I will have to finish it manually.
I decided to finish mowing, but then it stopped and said, “Charging fail.” I restarted mowing the area, sent it to charge, and it stopped again.
At that point, I said to myself, “I’m not going to do the work by hand,” so I sent my trusty Robi (HUSQVARNA) to finish the job.
That concludes my experience with the YARBO mower.
I received it at the end of December. I waited for the weather to improve before installing the data center, which entailed 120° clearance. Then, I waited for the trees to grow enough foliage so that I could place the charging station in a suitable, out-of-sight location, as I am not on site during the week. Since then, I have spent every weekend, weather permitting, trying to understand how the Yarbo mower works. Despite my best efforts, I have come to the conclusion that Yarbo will not replace my Robi (Husqvarna) mower, which is much simpler and does the job without my intervention.
Now, I’m wondering what I’m going to do with Yarbo, since its main function is not fulfilled. Furthermore, I have the blower. I’ve read about the problems some people have had, and I’m glad I haven’t used it yet, so at least it’s still new.
I’m going to see if Yarbo will take the equipment back. If that’s difficult, I’ll invoke my legal rights. If anyone in France is interested, I’ll make an offer. However, be aware that for Yarbo to work properly, you need a simple, rectangular-shaped lawn like the ones in America. It seems to work there, but only if you babysit it.
It’s a shame because I believed in this project. However, I’m not retired and only have weekends to work on it. Of course, I have a family too.