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I just got in a pair of robotic mowers and I was wondering if there was anything I should know before I scrap the decks and blades and put the rest in the shred. They had a pair of 12v batteries, each, but other than the possibility of a few mid/low grade boards, I don't see much more potential for even metal value, let alone resale. Am I missing somethung? The local small engine guys don't see many of these and I don't know if I should even bother asking if they will buy.
I scrap them without battery.....and that's it. Tried to sell one...nobody wants them.
these sell for between 2 and 5 thousand dollars new, there HAS to be some resale value there.
That was my thought, too, but the batts alone cost between $30-100, each, and then you're putting them back inside a dirty, plastic mower almost a decade old. With new models still coming out, it's hard to say who would be interested in laying out that much when a more modern version can cost less than a grand (per eBay, anyhow).Quote:
Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste
The only parts I've seen for sale are the battery (again, just dead lead), adapters (mine didn't come with them), and the blades, which seem to hold their value because they are used by the newer mowers. My blades are old and dulled but might clean up OK.
I will look again at the mowers but I expect they are obsolete, at best. People around here tend to use reel mowers, weed whips, and goats to keep their grass in check.
I was under the impression you meant something like this....
https://www.google.com/search?q=neut...JkkDOwUocAM%3A
My bad
Nope. My mowers are the Robomower (formerly Friendly Robotics) RL500. I don't see any of the Neuton mowers but I see a lot of their battery packs. Funny thing, most of them aren't even fully discharged.
A few years ago I go tired of mowing the lawn and I was looking into getting one of these but the cost was too much , Would have been cool to sit on the porch and drink iced teas while it did all the work.
Update: I tore into one of them and found some neat stuff, though the jury is out as to whether or not it was worth it. There are five Johnson Electric motors (one for each of the three blades and a driver apiece for both wheels) of an uncertain voltage. It's a 24v system but the motors don't show any markings indicating electrical specs. Each motor is about the size of a 6v battery. Unfortunately, I don't think I can get the blades or their motors out, intact. They fit into the deck using a 360° ratcheting screw for which the manufacturer produces a unitasking tool to remove them and that's not a thing I am going to buy. I will spend another few minutes trying to remove them carefully but it seems likely I will have to cut away the plastic mower deck. Total weight of motors should be exactly 7.5#, though they are in excellent shape and may have better resale value. Further research into the aftermarket value of these mowers shows a very small but dedicated DIY following, similar to model plane enthusiasts.
There is also a good-sized and and seemingly high grade motherboard, about a pound of wire, odometer boards, sensors, a couple of iron blobs for front-end ballast, and lots of POM gears. The shell is durable polypropylene, resin coded for easy recycling. Finally, beneath the front and back bumper covers, there is a two-foot strip of non-mag stainless, wired in circuit, which I believe is used as the primary sensor surface (hypothesis: When the bumper contacts an object, it compresses against the steel, causing a drop in current due to physical resistance, which the mower interprets as a sign to turn away from the object and continue in another direction).