Several robotic mowers have now driven through our garden. Self-built ones, like the Ardumower, very simple mowers like the Yardforce SA 650 ECO, and now the AL-KO Robolinho 1300 W.
The Ardumower needs a lot of attention, updates, and automatic charging isn’t really its thing either. On the other hand, it mows with GPS-RTK without a perimeter wire. But the robotic mower isn’t my hobby - I want to save time for my real hobbies with it. Moreover, such a device must make life easier and also be partner-compatible.
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I actually didn’t want to use the Yardforce SA 650 ECO with a perimeter wire, as it was supposed to become an OpenMower , also without a perimeter wire but with GPS-RTK. Out of curiosity, I still laid the perimeter wire because I wanted to know how it performs with it, and that was more than sobering.
It’s loud and only rarely mows the entire lawn area. Some spots it never reaches, even though they are in the middle of the lawn. This is because it always turns at the same angle at the perimeter wire and thus simply doesn’t reach various areas. Furthermore, it doesn’t drive straight lines, but sharp curves. The clamps for the perimeter wire at the charging station rust after a few weeks, etc. etc.
After only 3 months, the motor of the cutting deck was also defective. This made me refrain from converting it to an OpenMower, as the Yardforce is probably not the most reliable platform for it. Of course, the Yardforce SA 650 SA was undersized for the 500 sqm lawn area anyway. After the conversion to OpenMower, however, this probably wouldn’t have been a problem, as it would then no longer have mowed according to the chaos principle. Better keep your hands off this Yardforce series!
The requirements for the new robotic mower were:
- 500 sqm area to be mowed
- App control via WiFi
- Some kind of accessible interface for Home Assistant
- under 1,000 €
- Good reviews and tests
For the 500 sqm lawn area, you sensibly need a robotic mower that is specified by the manufacturer for twice the area. With its area capacity of 1,300 m2 according to the manufacturer, it should be more than suitable.
Especially when it comes to app control via WiFi and interface, many manufacturers are quickly out of the running. What remains is the Austrian AL-KO Robolinho, which was available for 750 € at the beginning of the year. Bingo! The AL-KO Robolinho has even been a test winner several times, albeit not at Stiftung Warentest, but at other magazines. I don’t put much stock in that.
Today, at the end of February 2024, it’s relatively warm and dry here in Upper Franconia. So it was time for a first test run. The perimeter wire from the Yardforce was still laid. So I set up the docking station of the AL-KO Robolinho provisionally and connected it. I had already connected the AL-KO Intouch app shortly after delivery and it makes a good impression. We have complete WiFi coverage in the garden and the mower was always reachable during the following short test. There’s even an app for the iWatch and WearOS.
The AL-KO first goes through a calibration and drives along the entire perimeter wire, which worked on the first attempt and could be completed.
Of course, there wasn’t much to mow yet and I only let it run for a few minutes. Nevertheless, I was already able to gather some experiences with the AL-KO Robolinho 1300 W:
- It mows pleasantly quietly. The Yardforce, in comparison, was a real racket.
- The obstacle detection is sensitive and only requires slight resistance for the Robolinho to stop and turn around.
- It drives straight lines
- It turns differently at the perimeter wire each time and, during the short test period, already reached all corners of the quite irregular garden
- The app works and I was also able to send the mower back to the charging station with it, which it also finds reliably.
- The connection with the corresponding skill via Alexa also works.
- The warranty can be extended from 2 to 4 years with a simple registration in the app.
The connection to Home Assistant requires some tinkering, because here the token of the app must first be read out via a backdoor. However, you need the app in version v3.4.2 or lower for this. The current version no longer allows reading out the token. Jon Kristian has built a Home Assistant integration for the AL-KO that you can install via HACS HACSHome Assistant Community Store – unofficial marketplace for integrations, add-ons and custom dashboards from the community .
I don’t understand why manufacturers don’t make this accessible in a simple way. It would be a powerful sales argument.
So, AL-KO: Open up the interface and you’ll have a lot of Home Assistant users as potential customers on your side!
At least AL-KO is already at the point where there is an Alexa and IFTTT connection. They are apparently willing and capable in principle.
Now it goes back into winter quarters, along with the charging station. We’ll certainly have heavy frost and snow again here. From mid-April, it should be in permanent use. Then there will be further empirical values and tests with the AL-KO Robolinho 1300 W. It doesn’t always have to be Husqvarna and Gardena.
Hi! I'm Markus – the Fricklr. ⚡ Electrical engineer, 🎵 musician (bass, guitar, keys) and professionally 'something with the internet' 🌐 for over 30 years – nowadays with AI too 🤖 – a 55-year-old generalist from Bavaria, Germany.
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