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Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

offthegrid.dev

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Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#51

Post by scarby2 »

Nextgrid wrote: post #37
stevehawk wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2) people don't enter the area That's harder than it should be. No amount of asking my neighbors has kept their kids out of my fenced lawn to retrieve their soccer balls. Which is actually an issue because one of my dogs is not particularly friendly. I'd gladly kick the ball back over if they just knocked on the door. We're not a neighbor-hate-neighbor situation, we actually get along quite well, but kids will be k…

Asking isn't enough, but proper fences should both make it impossible to get in without significant effort and also do a good job at containing the machine should it try to run away. It's up to you to run the numbers whether the cost of securing the area is less than what you spend (in terms of time/inconvenience/etc) manually mowing the lawn.

Coming from the UK I'm always amazed that many (suburban) Americans don't have 6-8 ft fences surrounding their back yard.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#52

Post by kayodelycaon »

dangus wrote: post #25

I wonder if OP considered any alternatives to a manicured monocultured lawn?

I'd replace my entire lawn with some short plant that never needs trimming if I could get away with it. The problem is I'm in an urban area and everyone else with a yard has grass.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#53

Post by matt_attack »

akovaski wrote: post #45
schemescape wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much does something like that cost?

Following one of the dealer links, looks like it is about $60,000 for a new one. https://www.bobcatofyork.com/default.asp?page=xInventoryDeta...

The cost varies by cut width (44" is quite a bit cheaper) but yeah, it's very commercial oriented. It's intended for people who need to mow difficult slopes day in and day out.

I'm not aware of really anything capable intended for homeowners besides a good ol' push mower.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#54

Post by Maxion »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #49
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be sure to keep your wisdom in mind next time I have to reset the way too conservatively sized circuit breaker integral to the contractor that runs in my fume extractors. Damn near anything can kill you. Context matters. In most cases a consumer lawnmower should probably have a deadman switch. Plenty of people have been hurt or killed over the years by poorly thought out fail "safes". It's easy to make low effor…

This is really pedantic. The rule is any system that risks serious harm to a person in the course of normal operation should be fail-safe, not fail-dangerous. Examples include stuff with blades, hammers, or swinging arms moving at high speed or with great force.

Yep there's a reason why all lawn mowers have a dead-man switch.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#55

Post by z9znz »

Cool project, but why mow it all in the first place? Do yourself and absolutely nature a favor and let it grow. We need every patch of natural land we can get, as biodiversity and insect populations are continually decreasing.

Mow some patches for the humans (because standing in a buggy tall field is just no bueno), but leave the rest for nature. Rent or borrow some goats or sheep if you really want it kept lower; at least you'll end up with richer soil that way.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#57

Post by throwaway0a5e »

z9znz wrote: post #55

Cool project, but why mow it all in the first place? Do yourself and absolutely nature a favor and let it grow. We need every patch of natural land we can get, as biodiversity and insect populations are continually decreasing. Mow some patches for the humans (because standing in a buggy tall field is just no bueno), but leave the rest for nature. Rent or borrow some goats or sheep if you really want it kept lower; at…

>but why mow it all in the first place?

Because providing convenient habitat for grass dwelling rodents adjacent to your home will result in some fraction of them trying to move in.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#59

Post by samatman »

z9znz wrote: post #55

Cool project, but why mow it all in the first place? Do yourself and absolutely nature a favor and let it grow. We need every patch of natural land we can get, as biodiversity and insect populations are continually decreasing. Mow some patches for the humans (because standing in a buggy tall field is just no bueno), but leave the rest for nature. Rent or borrow some goats or sheep if you really want it kept lower; at…

Personally, I don't want to be fined by the city. It's a poor reason but a sufficient one.

I maintain a lot of habitat in the back, but the front has to stay high and tight. My neighbors prefer it as well, you can change a culture but should think carefully before defying it.

Re: Remotely Controlled Lawn Tractor

#60

Post by Syonyk »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #47
WaitWaitWha wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes; any system that can kill you should be using dead-man's switch, requiring no positive input to halt, but positive input to continue.

I'll be sure to keep your wisdom in mind next time I have to reset the way too conservatively sized circuit breaker integral to the contractor that runs in my fume extractors. Damn near anything can kill you. Context matters. In most cases a consumer lawnmower should probably have a deadman switch. Plenty of people have been hurt or killed over the years by poorly thought out fail "safes". It's easy to make low effor…

> * I'll be sure to keep your wisdom in mind next time I have to reset the way too conservatively sized circuit breaker integral to the contractor that runs in my fume extractors.*

You might enjoy the NEC section on fire pump systems. It's a complete flip from the rest of NEC, requiring design around "Keep the fire pumps running at all costs, even if you're in the process of melting down the windings." Separate wiring conduits, handling full locked rotor current indefinitely, etc.

The logic, reasonably enough, is that if the fire pumps are running, you probably have way, way bigger problems that will be made worse if your fire pump system trips off to protect the wiring.

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