Autonomous mowers are becoming more mainstream, with the likes of Husqvarna pushing the concept. If you’re tempted but want to stick with a more familiar agri name, then John Deere offers the Tango E5, now in its second generation.
Having moved from a house where a walk-behind mower was more than sufficient, to one where the lawn was now taking half a day to mow, the hunt was on for a more efficient use of
time. The obvious choice would have been to opt for a ride-on, on which in years to come the kids could hone their driving skills. But for less money, and ultimately less hassle, a robot or autonomous mower could do the job, freeing up time here and now to spend with the family. However, one rather fundamental question remained: would a robot be able to
keep on top of around 2,300m² of quick growing grass? A couple of phone calls later and John Deere stepped up to the mark, loaning us a Tango E5 Series II, which we’ve been trialling for the past eight months.
The Tango is made in Gummersbach, Germany, as a result of John Deere’s purchase of mower maker Sabo several years ago; indeed it is still sold in Germany as a Sabo product. Also interestingly, the Tango isn’t offered in North America. Irish JD dealer Templetuohy Farm Machinery handled the install and has several units now working in Tipperary.
First job is to decide where the charge station is going: it needs a suitable power supply and to be reasonably flat. As this area is going to see a lot of traffic, it needs to be dry as well. Indeed, some users place the charge station to the side of the lawn and then lay artificial grass down where the mower drives in and out of the station. Once the location has been determined, the
perimeter wire can be installed. This is best done with a cable-laying machine, though for shorter runs and corners it is possible to use the supplied plastic pegs to hold the wire in place on the lawn surface; the grass will quickly cover the wire, as long as it’s taut. Our Tango also had to pass over a concrete driveway between two lawns. Here two grooves were cut with a con-saw and the wire placed in. The mower also has to navigate a short gravelled area, with which, again, it hasn’t had an issue.
With the wire installed it is then a matter of setting up the mower…..
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