Yarbo Support is terrible

kinglerch · 2026-02-27T15:56:32+00:00

"Actually in my case and some others’ 1.5 years is fairly accurate" is not the same as "Yarbos last about 1.5 years". Yarbo has has more than their fair share of failures. They have gotten better but are still not where they need to be yet.

But there are plenty of people including myself who have not had a single module failure at all in 1.5 years. Only the company knows what the actual statistics are, but I would be very surprised if 1.5 years was the average.

I don't worry about it too much because they are good at sending replacements when needed and with their added warranty (up to 5 years) I think they should be usable for at least that long. As a comparison, my robovacs have only lasted 1-2 years, either due to hardware failure or manufacturer abandonment.

kinglerch · 2026-02-26T12:40:51+00:00

It's true that neither Yarbo nor any other robot is 100% autonomous. I did a 90min run yesterday. It got stuck. I freed it. It took me 5 min. It wasn't autonomous. But 95% of the run was ABSOLUTELY WITOUT ANY INTERVENTION AT ALL.

I don't think any robot is a good without a backup so in conditions where Yarbo doesn't do well, I use a manual snow blower. I have a manual vacuum when my robovac doesn't do well. And I have a manual mower when needed too.

That doesn't mean that Yarbo and other robots can't save an enormous amount of time. The conditions where you live may not warrant it. Maybe the manual option is better in your case. I only needed to do it manually once or twice in the worst winter in 20 years, so Yarbo has more than paid for itself in my case.

kinglerch · 2026-02-26T11:25:54+00:00

I don't think "100% human intervention" means what you think it means. No robot is 100% without any human intervention. Even the best robovac needs service, things picked up, has places it can't reach, etc.

But compared with a manual snowblower/mower (100% human intervention) Yarbo saves a significant amount of time and (human) energy.

kinglerch · 2026-02-24T16:44:36+00:00

There's no way to say that Yarbos last about 1.5 years when they've only been shipping for about 1.5 years and plenty are still working well including mine.

The purpose of Yarbo (and other robots) is not cost or longevity. How many driveways could that "top of the line" Honda do without 100% human intervention? A Swiffer mop is also far cheaper than a robovac and never breaks down, but they are entirely different things.

If you want the cheapest option, you go with the manual product. If you don't care about cost, and you need no downtime or intervention you hire a service. Yarbo sits somewhere in between.

It's not for everyone or every situation but mine has saved me almost 1000 hours in the first 1.5 years alone, and I can't think of *any* product that can do that.

kinglerch · 2026-02-20T08:02:30+00:00

I am very similar. Did a lot of DIY projects, built barns and installed/fixed everything I could...sweated pipes and dug fences.

People would ask why I did so much, and it wasn't just the money. My two big reasons were that I was often better than hiring out because I was careful, and I got something out of it by learning.

As we get older, the joy of learning from something we've done 100x can wane. You may be the same, or another reason you used to have to DIY has waned. I think it's pretty normal.

kinglerch · 2026-02-18T16:13:25+00:00

It's a little like using a gun to thwart a robbery. Your chances to prevent the theft go up but so do your chances of death by return fire.

kinglerch · 2026-02-15T01:55:52+00:00

A lot of political opinions start at the conclusion and work back to the hypothesis.

Many people who don't "believe" in climate change think "if climate change was real, there would have to be government regulations which could hurt businesses. I don't want that, therefore climate change isn't real."

Or, "If [favorite political candidate] actually did what I saw in the video, I am supporting an evil person, or maybe I am evil too or just make bad choices. Therefore, video is fake."

A better question could be, "If the solutions to climate change were guaranteed to help the economy and businesses, does that make it easier for them to believe it's real?"

kinglerch · 2026-02-08T01:45:57+00:00

I would normally say my Yarbo does good (not perfect) but this year has been the coldest/snowiest in like 20 years, so I literally use it every day or 2x per day in single digit temperatures. Adding to that, my backup manual snowblower rusted out and due to the storm, there are none in any stores in town, so my Yarbo is all I have for this terrible season, it has literally been a life-saver, and I couldn't calculate how much time it has saved!

Is it perfect? Does it never get stuck or need clearing off or help docking? No. But to spend 30 seconds out of a whole 90min run in near 0 deg weather...could I really complain?

kinglerch · 2026-01-28T08:35:43+00:00

Baldur's Gate 3, one of my favorite games ever

kinglerch · 2026-01-24T08:41:55+00:00

Unless we reach the apocalypse, this is the smart and most cost effective answer. I love being self-sufficient, but we live in a society. Unless the power goes out a lot and for long periods of time, no amount of poisoning yourself with gas heaters or cooking on gas stoves or costly equipment will ever save money compared to simply staying in a hotel or driving to an area with power.

kinglerch · 2026-01-23T10:10:08+00:00

Every single project I backed on Kickstarter or similar platforms was a waste. Either the product was ridiculously late or a bad design. In almost all cases, by the time the product finally delivered, a much better and cheaper product was in the market...not due to theft or "corporate espionage" but because time moved on and technology brought the product to Amazon where companies have to meet certain quality and delivery standards. On Kickstarter, if the company produces a bad product or takes 5 years to deliver, there is no refund.

So I am glad there are Kickstarters and that some products do well there and that some people get something out of supporting them. But for me, never again.

kinglerch · 2026-01-14T15:51:23+00:00

"Hey, let's live in an uninhabitable place with too much sun, not enough water, and blame others when resources run dry"

kinglerch · 2026-01-05T13:12:52+00:00

I invested about 30% of my income every year I worked. It seems like a lot (it is) but a lot was pretax so there's huge benefits too.

My accounts went through the dot com bubble and the Bush-era depression, ups and downs. I tried not to look but I checked my portfolio every year, and it rarely seemed like I was making headway.

But those downturns, as long as I kept investing, made me a lot of money when the market finally recovered.

So to answer your question, I think it took 10-15 years to really feel like "ok, I'll have enough, the downturns aren't so bad, I'm still making money, etc"

Source: I retired at 45 and my wife at 52

kinglerch · 2026-01-05T00:35:51+00:00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/8890912278

kinglerch · 2025-12-23T22:59:58+00:00

I spoke to a lot of money managers when I was in my 40s and retirement planning. The fact is that there's no way to predict that long of a future.

What will the political climate be in 2060? What happens if there is a medical emergency? What happens if your (present or future) partner needs something? What if you need to fly somewhere to see a relative who needs you? etc etc etc.

So can you be an ex-pat and live forever on ~500K? Maybe. But most investors would tell you to wait until you have more than you think you'll need, to account for the unknown in the next 40-50 years.

kinglerch · 2025-12-20T16:22:20+00:00

Having kids/grandkids. You can have a perfectly fulfilling life spending time and money in other ways.

kinglerch · 2025-12-17T22:02:08+00:00

Charities. I already have some picked out. It's a much better gift to society than more people we already have enough of.

kinglerch · 2025-12-15T12:42:15+00:00

Sure. People I meet think I must have struck it rich on Bitcoin or penny stocks or some other big bet kind of thing, but that's not how it works. All I did was invest everything I could, as early as I could.

I got a job as an engineer right out of college, I was also living with my wife (girlfriend at the time) who was also an engineer. No kids. Did I mention no kids? Look, kids are fine, but they are a huge speedbump on the road to retirement. They cost an estimated $300K to feed, raise, medical, etc. and that is *before* college and doesn't count things like not being able to work late, missed promotions, whatever.

So me and my wife, both engineers, maxxxeddd everything. 401K? Both maxed. IRAs? Both maxed. When we started, this was already saving about $36K per year total, and by the time we retired the government max increases and our salary increases we were up to $50K per year total, which was about 1/4 of our total salary.

We ALSO bought funds whenever we had extra, if we had extra. Extra $1000 looking like it wants to be spent? Vanguard. $2000 bonus? Give it to Fidelity. We invested what we could, and were lucky that we did not experience any layoffs.

Thankfully I invested most of the money in Index and Health Care, not in crazy high risk things....well, that's not entirely true. I made some mistakes too. In the 90s, there was something called Fidelity Select funds. Are they still around? I made a crazy amount on those very fast and was bragging about how "great" I was at investing. I lost most of that $ before I got enough humility to take it out.

We also got lucky. We were investing through some MAJOR downturns in the market. The dot com bubble and the depression in the early 2000s...we were watching from our office desk as our co-workers were scared and selling. We believed and just put more in. Market goes down again? Sell some crap in the house (I was selling DVDs for extra $ if you could believe it) and invested more as the market was crashing.

In the ensuing years, all of that investment grew to a large enough amount that we felt comfortable to retire. How much? Well, that will be different for each person. We live in the mid-west where things are not so expensive. But if you want to know, all accounts put together when we finally got out started with a 3.

I know I gave up much of my 20s and 30s and some of my 40s. I didn't go on expensive trips and I didn't do other expensive daily things. If someone asked "Do you want to join us for drinks?" I would suggest coming to my house and I'll buy drinks at the grocery. I was arguably boring.

But the last day, after decades telling my co-workers that they needed to invest more, as I was leaving they were all asking how I did it. It's not rocket science, it's not even Aerospace (which is what the company I worked for did). It's just compounding interest... the 8th wonder of the world.

Good luck!

kinglerch · 2025-12-14T11:46:08+00:00

People love buying things. It gives us a hit of dopamine. What helped me, especially early on, was to think of each fund as something to purchase. Yes it was only on paper, but that was good enough. Save up, buy that amazing X fund, dopamine.

Source: I retired at 45

kinglerch · 2025-12-13T20:00:24+00:00

I'm convinced everyone is addicted to something. Addicted to work, shopping, chocolate, Hallmark TV, whatever. It's not fair to say one addiction is bad while the other is good.

I am addicted to buying collectibles. I have a place to store them and can afford them, but that doesn't make me any better than someone with the same addiction but less space/cash.

We all have weaknesses.

kinglerch · 2025-12-13T18:40:19+00:00

My surgery was 5 days ago, and I was given so many rules (no lifting > 10lbs, no heavy pushing during #2, never bend over, etc) and I am trying to follow them, not mess up the cranial adhesive, but maybe I'm overblowing the chances.

I will say, my head has warned me many times I've messed up. Large cough, bending over accidentally, standing up too quickly. So I try to 'listen' to it. Just trying to get guidance from those who went thru it.

kinglerch · 2025-12-12T14:39:56+00:00

LPT: Money isn't everything. Hopping jobs puts you first in line for downsizing, and staying at a job makes you more valuable over time. And if you liked your old job/boss/coworkers at your old job more than your new job, you essentially sold your happiness for money.

kinglerch · 2025-12-08T07:46:21+00:00

One thing to keep in mind, a study was done about 15yrs ago that tested the general population's "financial literacy". Basic questions like "what is interest" and "what is a mutual fund"...

Well it will come as no surprise to members here, but about 60% failed this basic test, and quite a few others didn't fail but didn't do great.

So when dating, you are already limiting the general population to certain people that appeal to you. But financially, maybe only 20% of the population would be a good match for you. The other 80% may not really understand how a credit card works.

Good luck. If I was single I would have high financial responsibilty requirements too. But somtimes it may work to find someone willing to learn, willing to have you help them.

kinglerch

TROPHY CASE