This is a response to a post in the forum rules thread. It's extremely hard to stay on topic when so many topics are coming up.
prb238outperformed the batteries that I have had on all laptops I have used over the past few years. And, with the robot you are utilizing the battery more rigorously with a constant depletion/charge going on multiple times per day.
That is because normal laptop use cooks (overcharges) the battery. If you took your battery out every time you kept your laptop plugged in, it would last a lot longer. The constant depletion/charging is what keeps them healthy.
prb238But it doesnt really help anyone else - in fact all it does is get other people in a negative frame of mind
I have to disagree here. If this information would have been available prior to my purchase, I believe I would have purchased another brand. Don't get me wrong, Vishal at KA does a great job keeping the bots up and running under warranty. KA's customer service has been some of the best I have ever seen. But, like I have said, I would rather a company have crappy customer service, and no need for me to call them (no issues or bad parts) than a company have awesome customer service but I have to call them every other month.
Again, having a 2 year warranty is nice. But, like me, when the 2 year warranty runs out, I can't afford $300 per wheel motor or $400 per blade motor every year to keep the bot running. Or, maybe I should rephrase that. I CHOOSE not to afford it because I feel I spent enough money up front, that I should have received a high enough quality product that doesn't require it. And, that if it was expected, it should be listed in the product description.
Isn't a major selling point for a bot over a lawn service is that it eventually pays for itself? From what I can tell, at this point, a lawn service doesn't seem like a bad idea. Not only does it not have a huge hit on my bank account up front, but I have the option to cancel it at any time and I don't feel like I was screwed. I was paying for a service and I knew it when I went into the deal.
I was quoted $25/week for a lawn service to cut my lawn. Living in Chicago, my lawn mowing season is about mid March to mid November. Knowing that it will snow in October, but probably not stay, so it would still need mowed. When I started looking into robotic lawn mowers, here is the math I used.
Lawn Service = ~$1150 / year
Lawnbott LB3200 = $3,200 + 4 hours installation time.
So, in 3 years, the bot will have paid for itself and it would be all gravy from there. Because, nowhere in my research, did I read that I should expect to spend $400+ per year in parts + a few hours "managing" the yard to keep the bot from getting stuck after the ground thaws. I don't believe there is a review out there that even mentions the real maintenance involved, such as stripping the wheel gear "boxes" down to clean/re-grease every year.
So, if you step back, and look at what the rant is really about.. It's lack of (truthful) information. It's lack of real world customers opinions. Every review I have read has been by someone selling the product. And not only does it need to be real world customers opinions, but it needs to be a customer that has had the bot for 3+ years. Even I was gung-ho on saying these bots were the greatest things since sliced bread... That is, till it started falling apart. If "Oscar the lawnbott" was here, I would publicly apologize for questioning his opinion as much as I did because my bot just wasn't working as hard as his. From my point of view, he was a "future" teller for me and I just didn't listen. Maybe I should re-look over the survey to see when everyone "got into the game". The introduction of the LB3500 was a huge eye opener for me.
