🔍 Did you know? Despite their robustness, a certain amount of breakdowns of professional robot mowers could be due to bad winterizing. Appropriate winter maintenance could extend the service life of your equipment and save money on avoidable repairs.
Winterize your professional robot mower is not simply an option – it is an essential investment for the protection of your equipment. As leader in robot mowing solutions for sport fields and large areas, Belrobotics shares its expertise on optimal winterizing of your equipment, which they gained over the course of 15 years.
“On a golf course where it is really demanding, the best practice is two or three maintenances a week for the robot. Checks are performed to make sure all the blades are present and sharp, they are replaced if necessary and they are cleaned thouroughly. The results are unmatched – there is no comparison.” – Nicolas, Technical expert at Belrobotics
📅 When should your robot mower winterize?
The timing of the winterizing is critical and depends on various environmental factors and techniques:
- Temperature: The default programming of our robot mowers is to automatically stop functioning at temperatures below 10°C. Professionals, especially greenkeepers, adjust the threshold to 4-5°C to maximize the period of use.
- Ground conditions: Depending on the nature of your grounds (sandy, clayey) and its drainage, some robots operate for longer times than others. Well drained grounds generally make it possible to operate longer.
- Growth rate of the grass: The decrease of the growth rate of the grass is a key indicator for planning winterizing.
🔧 A step-by-step guide for successful winterizing
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Preparation of the battery
The preparation of the battery is an essential step that needs special attention. It is actually important to completely charge the battery before winterizing and to switch the general switch to off for the machine to go into automatic sleep mode.
A correctly charged battery can last the entire winter without degrading, but a badly charged battery can suffer irreversible damages. If the charge descends below a certain threshold, it risks to be beyond repair which would lead to the need to replace the battery.
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Deep clean
A deep clean is essential to prevent oxidation and long-term damage:
✅ To do:
- Carefully clean the build-up of grass and debris
- Use a soft brush and compressed air
- Pay special attention to zones sensitive to oxidation
❌ Not to do:
- Clean with high pressure
- Use aggressive chemical agents
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Optimal storage conditions
The optimal storing conditions 📦 are the following:
- Temperature: > 5°C
- Humidity < 65%
- Ventilation: moderate
- Pest control should not be underestimated
🔌 Management of the charging station
Our recommendations vary depending on your region and its climate:
- North Europe: compulsory disassembly
- Temperate Europe: reinforced protection
- South Europe: standard maintenance
The charging station needs special attention, especially during winter and when the climate is harsher.
- Keep the power supply active to enable the transformer to generate a bit of protective heat.
- A ventilated crate can offer additional protection against bad weather while maintaining adequate air circulation.
- Don’t forget to regularly check the state of the contact points to prevent oxidation on this critical part.
💡Additional advice for a successful winterizing
Follow the best practices
Feedback from our clients on golf courses and sports fields prove the importance of regular maintenance. This involves special attention to critical components such as blades and cutting heads. It is particularly important to perform checks after extreme meteorological conditions, to guarantee good functioning of the equipment.
The facilities with the best performances perform daily inspections and regular cleaning (2-3 times a week) of their robots. This constant attention allows fast identification of potential problems and increases the service life of the robots and guarantees maximum performance.
Belrobotics’ expertise for a successful winterizing
At Belrobotics, our team of certified technicians perform a complete maintenance on our clients’ robots. This thorough process, which takes 4 to 6 hours, guarantees an optimal performance and extends the service life of your equipment.
During this process, our technicians will:
- Disassemble and clean the robot entirely
- Grease the motors carefully, which is essential after an intense season
- Inspect the rotating pieces and the mechanic and electric parts
- Launch and document a series of security and performance tests
Do you manage a sports field, a golf course or a large ground?
Discover how our professional robot mowing solutions can optimize the maintenance of your areas:
- Request a demonstration on site
- Meet our experts
- Discover our references in your sector