We got our hands on one of the Gardena robotic lawn mowers this week, and it's been a real pleasure to review Gardena R80LI 4069 for us. Although Gardena products aren't as popular as, let's say, Husqvarna robot lawn mowers. Actually they are similar in quality and technology. Would you like to know why? Because Husqvarna owns the German garden tools maker Gardena!
- Easy to Place Boundary wire
- Cutting Height of .7" to 2" (2 to 5 cm)
- Excellent cutting results
- Not much
Quicklook:
- Mows up to 800m2
- Operates up to 16 hours/day
- Traveling speed: 35 cm/s, i.e. 45m2/h
- Autonomy: 60 minutes
- Charging time: 70 minutes
The R80Li has to be one of the most silent robot lawn mowers I've ever used. The 53 dB sound I measured on my phone is possible thanks to their Silent Drive motors.
My First Impressions
I simply love it. It's not the only Gardena product I own. Like other Gardena products, this one is too very well built and feels very premium.
How Does Gardena R80Li Work?
Just like all other robotic lawn mowers that actually get the job done, Gardena R80 too follows a random mowing pattern that ensures a fast and even mowing. This is the only pattern that gives your lawn a clean look.
Although it is random, there's still a pattern here. Using its sensors, the Gardena robotic lawn mower keeps track of the areas it already went through to avoid mowing the same spot twice, thus saving you time and battery.
Although many obstacle detection sensors power it, it unfortunately still requires boundary wires to work. However, as you can see in the picture below, these wires are designed to be invisible after the second or third mowing. So they'll be disappearing quickly even if you don't want to bury them.
As you would expect from an expensive and premium robot lawn mower, it has its own garage where it drives to when the battery runs out. Using the Gardena application, you can download on your iOS or Android phone. The device can be preprogrammed to run at certain times and days of the week. Simply set it up and forget about it. It will mow the lawn, and go back to its home to charge itself up.
What a time to be alive...
Gardena R80Li Performance and why it's excellent?
Using the boundary wires, simply set it up and mow your lawns up to a maximum of 800 square meters. It easily avoids trees, furniture, ponds, and bushed thanks to that wire.
With the guidewire, the robot mower finds its way back to the charging station as soon as the batteries run out or the mowing time ends. The remote start function allows the mower to be controlled in more remote areas of the garden.
Thanks to the guidewire, the robot mower can pass through and mow narrow passages that are at least 1.5 m wide. Passage tracks are avoided because the mower itself varies the distance to the guidewire.
