For the life of me, I can’t figure out why my Yarbo loses 50% of more charge overnight just sitting around. I had to unplug my dock to, ironically, charge up my lawn tractor battery the other night, and it went from 100 to 47% in 15 hours (3% per hour). If the ‘internals’ burn that much power, I have to wonder how much I’m paying for this thing when it is sitting between mowings?
As a comparison, my larger daily mowing run (3x per week) is just about 5 hours at full mowing power. For me, that seems to be my sweet spot. It gets done in one charge without getting below 20%. So that tells me that even with the mower 1.0 head going full bore, the tracks driving the robot around, etc, I use 70-75% of the battery in 5 hours. How is it possible that just running the ‘keep GPS and HaLow connected mode’ uses 3% of the battery per hour but running the entire mechanical operation only uses 15% per hour?
That battery should last weeks if all it is doing is electronic activities. My phone is doing the same things (GPS connectivity, cell network connectivity), plus all the apps running in the background, and it easily could last multiple days if I didn’t use it constantly, all with a battery that weighs a few ounces.
Is this a problem unique to me, or is a design issue?
Hi there, just to share a bit more background — the 3% per hour battery consumption can actually be normal for Yarbo. Even when it’s just sitting there, systems like the RTK module and the lighting/indicator system are still running, so they do draw power.
Also, if the temperature is low, the heating system will automatically turn on to keep the battery and camera within their required operating temperature range, and that can increase the standby usage as well.
Thanks for the explanation.
I’m wondering why would it heat the cameras if there are no scheduled tasks planned in near future? Could that be done whenever Yarbo is being used? Heating the cameras could take what? 1 minute? 2 minutes?
About battery - how that works when Yarbo is shut down?
What are the differences between these 2 scenarios?
Yarbo sits normally on Dock overnight (0 degrees celsius, 32 F) and in the morning starts a task.
Yarbo is shut down in the evening, sits on the same dock overnight (0 degrees celsius, 32 F) and in the morning I power it up and launch a task.
When it will be heating battery in 2nd scenario? During the task? Will it be even hating it?
Where I live we can get ice build up that can be 1/4 inch (6mm) or more. Turning the heater on right before a job wouldn’t be practical. It would take quite a while to fully defrost.
Maybe the heater should be a toggle the user can turn off if they want.
You should not turn the unit off and leave the battery in it in cold weather. It cannot and won’t heat the battery to maintain optimal temperature when shutdown.
Like JNS mentioned, it actively heats the cameras at freezing temps to prevent snow and ice buildup. In very snowy environments, this can often not be good enough and it still forms around the cameras, just melts a small gap between the snow layer and camera. So, some cleanup can still be necessary.
Then I have a question on how to properly store the Yarbo over the winter months?
The idea was to put it in shed (not heated) and then according to the user manual go there and every 3 months or so plug in the charger to charge it.
Would that be ok, or shall I take out the battery, put it under my bed and then every 3 months or so carry it back to Yarbo, connect it and then plug the Yarbo to the charger?
You can store your Yarbo wherever you like during the fall and winter months. However, you should store the battery indoors in a controlled and conditioned environment that is not going to get near freezing or below.
Ok, then for me it’s battery in house, yarbo in shed and every 2-3 months an activity with taking the battery to yarbo and charging it. Spending 45 EUR for a simple cable is not worth it.
I totally agree. The cable should have been included in the box. There are too many use cases where that cable is either required, or really super useful.
Additionally - I went to my Yarbo and noticed that side and back cameras are warm when I touch them, but the front cameras on the SAM module are not warm. Are they even heated? Should they be heated?
