1 review for GARDENA 15002-41 SILENO City – Automatic Robotic Lawn Mower, with Bluetooth app and Boundary Wire, one of The quietest in its Class, for lawns up to 5400 Sq Ft, Made in Europe, Grey

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Hairy Potter (verified owner) – 15.07.2021

   Fifteen years ago, I successfully installed a Robomower 500 on my own, finding the process straightforward. Recently, I owned a rival model, which was professionally installed, and I can confirm that the setup for this mower is comparable to both. As such, self-installation is a feasible choice for most individuals. Reusing the identical wires from my previous mower, save for their color, was possible since both systems featured a similar design of boundary and guide wires. This review will be divided into three sections: Installation , Features, and Operation. INSTALLATION: Before embarking on any installation, its crucial to contact the 811 service in your area to locate and mark all underground utility lines. This step is essential, regardless of whether you plan to install it yourself . Other preparatory tasks include filling holes in the lawn and removing branches, toys and other debris that may interfere with the lawn mower. Pre-planning the installation route to determine the location of boundaries and guide lines is also necessary. Installation involves selecting a charging station location, laying the perimeter boundary wire and central guide wire, connecting them to the charging station, and providing power to the station. The guide wire installation can be done independently or by hiring a professional service, as numerous robots mower manufacturers utilize a similar wiring system. For a DIY installation, you can either lay the wire on top of the grass or rent a cable installation machine from a home improvement store. Burying the wire is more ideal, like my current installation Same way. When laying electrical wires on grass, keep them as close to the ground as possible to avoid being cut or damaged by lawnmowers. Before mowing, the grass in the area where the wires are laid should be kept as short as possible so that the wires can stay close to the ground. Eventually, grass will grow and cover the wires, making them virtually invisible. The included template provides a reference for distances between boundary lines and lawn edges, fences, gardens, houses and more. Since the mower will not stop until it crosses the boundary line, it should not be installed within the recommended distance. No need to worry about trees, swings, or utility boxes in your yard; the mower will stop and change direction when it hits them. After completing the wire installation and plugging in the power to the charging station, place the lawn mower into the charging station to charge. During charging, you can set basic operating parameters such as language, country, date, time and PIN code. Once fully charged, the system is calibrated to determine the corridor width and then runs along the guide line to the connection point with the boundary line. If the calibration is successful, the mower will start working. FEATURES: A notable feature of this mower is the ability to set a daily mowing schedule, specifying start and end times. The manual provides a reference for operating times based on lawn area. My lawn is about 4000 square feet, so I set it up to run 10 hours a day, from 3am to 1pm. Avoid hot afternoons and let it work mainly at night and in the morning. As fall approaches I will adjust to later dates. Operational settings can be made via the mower’s menu or the Gardena app. I didn’t download the app because it only works via Bluetooth and has limited range. I prefer programming directly on the mower. Configurable options include adjusting the schedule, enabling SensorControl, selecting a security level, setting lawn cover and corridor cutting functions, setting the distance it drives over boundary lines, and more. I thought the PIN could only be set on the lawnmower. SensorControl allows the lawn mower to determine run time based on how fast the grass is growing. If you set it for 8 hours and it determines it only needs 6 hours to complete the trim, it will stop after 6 hours. But even if it takes more than 8 hours, it will stop within the set 8 hours. When turning on SensorControl, it is recommended to increase the setting time so that it can have longer running time when needed. The only security measure for this lawnmower is the PIN code. If stolen, it will be inoperable without a PIN, but this will not help in recovering the device. I’m not sure, but if reported to Gardena, it may be possible to recover the stolen lawnmower if it is taken to the dealer to recover the PIN. The Lawn Cover feature allows you to allocate a percentage of your mowing time to specific areas of your yard, which is helpful if you want your front yard to be mowed more often than your back yard. Corridor cutting function is suitable for mowing narrow passages. The mowing height can be adjusted from 0.8 to 2.0. If you want your grass to stay above 2, then this mower may not be for you. For me, 2 is just the right height. OPERATION: The mower has been working almost every day for a week since installation. Although it works in the rain, I choose not to do it most of the time on rainy days. Currently, there are no traces left on my lawn. Having experience with robotic lawn mowers, I knew what to expect, and this mower performed exactly as expected. My lawn is always cut to a consistent length and the entire area looks neat and tidy. Sidewalks, fences, and grass near homes are left unmowed because such systems are designed not to get too close to these obstructions to avoid damage. I only occasionally need to mow these areas with a lawnmower. The mower is so quiet that you can barely hear it running unless you get close, and even then the sound is not noticeable