Re: [mowbot] cutting motor details

Lawrence Lile (lilel nospam at toastmaster.com)
Tue, 4 May 1999 08:30:47 -0500

OOOOH Arizona - where water conservation is an Art. Here in Missouri, the
main concern in water management is what to do with it all. Getting water
OFF the yard is a big problem. It's rained almost every day these last two
weeks and my grass is 9" tall! Two weeks ago it was 1" tall. Here, it
doesn't matter how often you mow, the grass still grows fine, WAY too fine.
Once I pump the water out of my basement.......

I'm planning on about a 40 watt power budget, and a 5 or 10 watt solar
panel. The beast will have to charge 5-10 times as many hours as it mows.
I won't worry about all this in stage 1 right now I'm just trying for grass
cutting and movement. But in stage 2 I'll need to do some battery
management. I've got my hands on some gel cells out of an old UPS. Gel
cells, I am told, are simpler to charge than nicads.

-----Original Message-----
From: david steinke <dsteink nospam at dakotacom.net>
To: mowbot nospam at ro.nu <mowbot nospam at ro.nu>
Date: Monday, May 03, 1999 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: [mowbot] cutting motor details

>I thought of the nibbler/nipper, where I can keep my current draw down
>below my solar panel output (12 watts), and only cut in the sun with a
>random pattern. I have made provisions for it (extra side bumper
>sensors, etc), but am worried about the constant cutting of the grass.
>Here in Arizona they say it is better to cut 1/4" off the grass 4 times
>a week than 1" off once a week. I have a hard time accepting that since
>you are oozing out moisture every time you cut. I have to water the lawn
>within 24 hours of cutting to prevent it from browning. Anyboday a grass
>expert?
>
>David Steinke