Winterizing a robot mower, by climate zone
Storage in Georgia and storage in Alberta are not the same job. What to do, and when, depending on where you actually live.
Most winterizing advice online is written for the United Kingdom, where the ground rarely freezes hard and the off-season is short. It does not survive a prairie winter. Here is what actually matters, sorted by how cold it gets where you are.
Mild winters — USDA zones 8 to 10
Florida, the Gulf Coast, coastal California. The mower can often stay out. Clean the deck, replace the blades, and drop the mowing frequency rather than stopping. Warm-season grasses keep growing.
Cold winters — USDA zones 5 to 7
Most of the American Midwest and Northeast. Bring the machine indoors. Charge to somewhere between 40 and 60 per cent before storing — a lithium pack left full or empty for four months ages badly. Store above freezing if you can, and check the charge once around February.
Hard winters — Canada and USDA zones 3 to 4
Six or seven months of storage rather than three. Everything above applies, with two additions. Bring the charging station in as well, not just the mower: the contacts corrode over a long winter outdoors. And do not trust a garage that drops below −20 °C — an unheated garage on the prairies regularly does.
What to do in spring
Fit new blades before the first cut, not after. Raise the cutting height for the first two weeks, then bring it down. If the machine uses RTK, re-check the antenna position — a winter of snow load moves things.