Winterising and Maintenance: 5 Steps to Double the Lifespan of Your Robot Mower

The advertised lifespan of a robot mower is typically 8 to 12 years. The real lifespan of poorly winterised models is closer to 4 to 5 years. The gap comes almost entirely from the same mistakes repeated each autumn: battery stored at the wrong charge level, blades not replaced, moisture infiltrating the connectors, charging station left outside unprotected through the winter.

A correct winterisation protocol takes under two hours per year. What you save in spare parts, premature battery replacement, and extended operating life represents several hundred pounds over the full ownership period.

Step 1: End-of-Season Cleaning

Before storing the robot, a thorough clean of all contact zones is necessary. Wet grass accumulations under the chassis create moisture retention areas that corrode the blade mounting screws and weathering seals over the winter months.

Use a stiff-bristled brush to remove compacted debris from under the chassis, particularly around the blades and cutting deck. Low-pressure water is acceptable, but avoid pressure washers: they force water into seals and degrade electrical connectors.

The charging station connectors deserve specific attention. An electrical contact spray applied to the charging terminals prevents winter oxidation, which otherwise shows up as intermittent charging problems when restarting in spring.

Step 2: Blades — Do Not Wait Until Spring

The temptation is to replace blades in spring, at the start of the season. This is the wrong approach. Blunt blades stored over winter tend to rust slightly on their edges, which accelerates deterioration in storage and produces poor cuts during the first sessions back on a lawn restarting from dormancy.

Replace blades at the end of the season, before storage. You store a robot ready to run, and you avoid the first 3 to 5 hours of mowing with degraded blades on freshly awakened turf.

For gardens with small branches or tough-stemmed grasses, titanium blades last 2 to 3 times longer than standard steel blades while maintaining a better edge in difficult conditions. The additional cost is recovered from the second season onwards.

Step 3: The Battery — The Most Critical Point

Lithium-ion chemistry does not tolerate storage at full charge or at complete discharge. The ideal storage range is between 40% and 60% of total capacity.

Most manufacturers provide a storage mode accessible through the app that automatically brings the battery to the optimal level. On models without a dedicated storage mode, end the last session of the season normally, allow the robot to charge partially to around 50%, then put it away.

Storing a battery at 100% charge for 4 to 5 winter months degrades capacity irreversibly. The typical loss after a poorly stored winter is 10 to 15% of nominal capacity, which translates directly into shorter sessions from the first year afterwards and accelerated ageing over subsequent winters.

Step 4: Protecting the Charging Station

The charging station is often left outside year-round. For models with a standard plastic station, prolonged winter exposure (repeated freeze-thaw cycles, persistent moisture) degrades the connectors and can crack the housing after 2 to 3 winters without protection.

A model-specific winter cover protects the station for under £30. Some models (Husqvarna, Gardena) offer wall-mount kits that allow the station to be brought into a garage or outbuilding for storage, as well as protecting it from summer UV.

If your station is staked to the ground, remove it for winter. Mark the exact position with a stake or ground marker for precise repositioning in spring: the station must be replaced in the same orientation for the robot's return-to-dock logic to function correctly.

Step 5: Spring Restart

In spring, before launching the first session, verify that the navigation map is still valid. If garden work has changed the perimeter, or if obstacles have been added or removed over the winter, run a partial remapping session before resuming full operation.

On Vision robots, check the cameras: a film of condensation or dust on the lens degrades obstacle detection quality. A dry microfibre cloth is sufficient to clean the optics.

The first mow of the season should be done on dry grass, with freshly installed blades, and at a cutting height slightly higher than normal to avoid stressing turf that is restarting from dormancy.