Where winters are cold, a robot mower comes inside for the off-season. Each maker has its own storage instructions in the manual, and those come first. This is the general routine most of them follow.
When to stop
Grass slows down as soil temperatures drop. Once you’re only mowing every week or two, and before the first hard freeze or snow, run a last cut and bring the mower in.
Clean it
- Turn the mower off fully. Some models have a main power switch or a deep-sleep setting in the app.
- Wear gloves and brush clippings out of the underside, the blade disc and the wheels. Dried grass is much harder to shift in spring.
- Wipe the charging contacts on the mower and on the station.
- Check the blades. Spring is a good time to fit new ones, so note what you’ll need now.
Look after the battery
The manual will say what charge level to store the battery at. Keep the mower somewhere frost-free and dry, like a garage or basement, and away from heaters.
The base station and boundary
- Unplug the power supply, and check the manual on whether the station should stay outside or come in.
- A boundary wire stays in the ground over winter. Just note where it runs before snow hides any loose sections.
- For RTK models with a yard antenna, check the manual on whether to leave it mounted.
In spring
- Charge the mower fully before the first run.
- Install any firmware updates the app offers.
- Walk the lawn and clear winter debris.
- If the first growth is tall, mow it once by hand before the robot takes over.