So, parents are getting on and the garden is too much. Surprisingly hard to get someone to get the grass. There's options of robomower that would work on the ground but there's no real option for power.
I think a solar panel and "power bank" charger thing might work especially if we chop the area into two and have two mows on separate days.
Something like this.
https://uk.vtoman.com/products/jump-2200w-1548wh-200w-solar-generator
There is a simple option to site the panels and store the generator which makes plugging in a mower base station quite simple.
Or is there an easy trickle charge option
Is this a completely silly idea? Yes I know it'll be pricey and the unreliable gardener is cheaper but...
I have a robomower (A Gardena something that is known as Sir Lawnsalot). I have no idea how much power it draws, but the cable that defines the cut area needs to be power ed. I don't know how much that draws.
1.5k+UKP for the mower and a basic install plus the power bank. Running a 20m cable in a duct to the station is probably a cheaper choice
In the sunshine today a 200w 16 busbar (I think) solar panel has been charging my DJI power 1000 battery.
I have been adding around 400w a day with the panel given the shade in the morning and from mid afternoon.
I have changed my panel location from this on the ladders, to on my roof. So tomorrow I may get a bit more power 🤔
The 142w was from the roof.
On the roof.
A DJI mini 1000 for £450 and 1 rigid 200w solar panel for £70-100 should be able to charge up the robot mower. It will probably be a low power sub 100w charger?
You might need to buy an xt60? extension lead but they are reasonably cheap.
That slate roof is making my teeth itch 😬
Friends of ours have a Mammotion (Jason Mamower) which has been good so we got one for the M-I-L (Ramowerna). It doesn't need a wire (you put a beacon up) and it can be programmed to drive between different areas (out of the back garden, up the drive to do the front lawn. You might be able to site it by the power and programme it to transit itself to the grass. It returns to base when it needs to snooze/charge. The app let's you choose which way to stripe the lawn, where to avoid and you can draw pictures.
That slate roof is making my teeth itch 😬
It was even worse when I moved in!
The slates were all over the place. I did a reasonable job repositioning them, then i stuck a skylight in.
Next repair will be a full solar roof.
I think it would need to be programmed to do one piece of grass on different days, could probably get two cuts per week. No ability to run a mains cable it's a flat in an old large house and given dad's dementia there's no guarantee he wouldn't play with the socket. (He keeps deleting a banking app even though there's a sticker on the iPad saying not to)
Need to look where I could place a kennel for base station and charger.
Is a robot mower, a solar panel, a powerbank and all the hassle that goes with setting it up and you being “on call” when something goes wrong really the solution here?
Round here there seem to be plenty of people who will cut grass and hedges. Perhaps not the sort to put stripes in your lawn, but to come every two weeks and keep on top of it.
Which would upset his dementia the most - a person who comes and he might even have a conversation with or a robot he doesn’t understand?
Yeah it's swings and roundabouts.
I live 10mins away but would need to buy a mower to do it myself. Folk to cut the grass are surprisingly hard to find. Reliable ones even more so (I taught some of them and I wouldn't trust them around someone with dementia)
He doesn't really go out and was never a the type to chat.
Really just trying to remove another job from mum without being really obvious that I'm removing that job.
Only issue with the solar and powerbank, yes it will work, but my powerbank will power down after a couple of hours, so will switch off the 12v or 240v if it's not being 'used' - e.g. if the mower is fully charged, the bank will power off and not power back up until you switch it on.
May be much cheaper to buy a mower and pop round once every couple of weeks. That's what we had to do when the gardener let us down for MIL.
Only issue with the solar and powerbank, yes it will work, but my powerbank will power down after a couple of hours, so will switch off the 12v or 240v if it's not being 'used' - e.g. if the mower is fully charged, the bank will power off and not power back up until you switch it on.
Good point.
The DJI I own can be set up so that it shouldn't power off at all. There would be a constant drain from the inverter being on all the time and maybe that would reduce the lifespan of the power station? 
Ah wonder if there a work round.
Our bluetti doesn't do that so perhaps just don't buy a poorly implemented power bank.
Also There's a number of robo mowers that have removable batteries you can charge off the unit and it'll just mow outwards from a central spot on the grass till it gets to the edge.
If there is a drain, then mine won't power off. Just depends upon what's using it, but it's worth bearing this in mind with 'old folks' - it will be yet another 'thing' to have to go round for if it's not working.
You say it's hard to find someone reliable, have you tried a post on the local Facebook group to see if there a local kid that wants a few quid every week.
Perfect job for a teenager.
Not many teenagers will be supplying their own equipment.
I know it sounds dickish but yes, I've been through many "how can I do this" ideas.
This was another option. Which might just get a necessary job done
I've had a good guy retire, a fireman get promoted, three gardeners be unreliable, a charity gardening group be variable in cost and quality of the job, when it's done badly a neighbour that shares part of the area moans. I've tried myself but its not really feasible (for several reasons some of which are more reasonable and some of which are a little selfish).
Much cheaper than a fully finished powerstation thing would be a 12v LiFePo4 battery, connected to a solar panel via solar charge controller. Ecoworthy do some with XT60 outputs. Currently on deal on Ebay. Less than £150 for a 100wh 12V jobbie.
There is a simple option to site the panels and store the generator which makes plugging in a mower base station quite simple.
Or is there an easy trickle charge option
Is this a completely silly idea? Yes I know it'll be pricey and the unreliable gardener is cheaper but...
You may or may not have seen my thread about battery powered 'normal' mowers a day or three back. I started the thread stating that a robot mower would not cut it for me. I've now persuaded myself that actually it may work. Only snag is the household director of finance (who coincidentally does not do the mowing but is first to moan if it is looking rough) has deemed that they are more money than we can justify what with her having just been made redundant....Did I mention I do the mowing and a 6 day working week - she, not so much.
I digress. Point being I've been doing research, as you do when considering a new toy vital piece of equipment.
Were you aware that some of these little robot bundles of manicured joy can take themselves to the garden from their parking zone? As in, they can wake up, trundle down a predefined path to get to the garden then turn on the blades and get to work. That can be a long way - like a couple of hundred metres or more. I saw a video where the guy had built it some little ramps to help it get down some steps on its 'commute'. Assuming your parents property is not one of these places where the garden is the other side of the road, is there not a location where you could put an outside socket on the house and have it live there then trundle itself off to work as and when? You might have to go for a slightly more expensive model of robot but it may well come in less than solar panels and batteries and inverters.
Or...not so good a solution....if the garden is not so massive it needs a big heavy robot...charge at the house and one of your parents carry it to the lawn and press go a couple of times a week. Or put it in a barrow/sack trolley if they are not up to carrying a 10kg bit of kit. I think that's a thing. The one I've been looking at you can program in 10 different gardens and (in theory) take it to a friend's or family member's garden and get it to do theirs's too.
Unfortunately it is a big mill owners house that has been split into flats. I am investigating power down to a level but the grass is a good few meters from the building, I'm happy to build a trench for ducting but it will be 20+m
