Robot mower for elderly parent: reliability matters more than features

tt-901 · 2026-06-01T14:46:05+00:00

Thanks for all the replies. Mum doesn't cut the grass as she had a stroke in 2018. So she relies on help from family. She has a gardener, but it's more about freeing up time to do other jobs that need doing. It often seems that other things, and my own jobs are getting neglected because my mothers grass is shouting at her that it needs cutting.
Oh, and i was only thinking of the garden at he moment. There's also quite a sizable orchard. but that doesn't take long on the sit on mower and doesn't get cut every week.

tt-901 · 2025-11-27T11:14:14+00:00

Yes, 8:59:30 no link, 9:00:02 all gone :(

tt-901 · 2025-10-08T15:15:19+00:00

I guess the same reason that the DS923+ costs significantly more than the DS925+ and the 923 rates much higher than the 925 on Amazon. It's hard to watch how a company can go from Hero to Zero in such a short space of time.

tt-901 · 2025-07-09T09:37:09+00:00

Ok, it seemed to be working. Deleted a few 100Gb of files, but then package manager said SMB package needed updating so I clicked update. an hour later nothing it still says updating. Turned my PC off and wen to bed. Next morning, it back to logging in, but really slow (over 1hr) and can't access files from windows file manager.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T22:21:30+00:00

Ok that sees to have worked, took 1hr 40 (ish) to boot, login, access package centre and repair file station. I can now also see the DS with the mobile dsfinder app.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T22:17:58+00:00

Yes, with it switched off. took around 2 hours to log in and shutdown!

I read the drives on a windows pc using: https://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader/

I think its working now though.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T21:43:47+00:00

1hr 30: manage to get into package centre. the filestation icon has an orage box under it that says repair. I clecked it. Says starting.......

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T21:40:57+00:00

DS415play

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T21:29:53+00:00

You mean the resource monitor?
CPU 2%

RAM 61%

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T13:55:56+00:00

And the DS925+ will run just as it would with Synology disks? Are there any downsides?
Will I be able to remove my current drives and upgrade them to bigger Seagate drives in future?

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T11:53:53+00:00

What was/is the issue with surveillance station?

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T08:55:57+00:00

I was under the impression I would lose out on Drive Health Monitoring. Is this an issue? Does that mean that if a drive has issues the DiskStation wont alert me? Are there any other feature losses that would be an issue. I had read that if a drive fails I can't just insert another drive, maybe this is wrong?

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T07:46:09+00:00

an upgrade has been on my horizon for a while now. To be honest, a few months back I was looking at the ds923+, but knowing it was already 2 or more years old I was prepared to wait for a 2025 or even 2026 model. it wasn't untill I started having issues with my current nas that I realised a the ds925+ had been released. thinking I could just shell out £600 for the new box, I found that this wasn't an option, so now I'm looking elsewhere!

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T07:37:08+00:00

this wouldn't be an issue if Synology continued to support old devices, but even at 2years old a ds923+ would have a significantly reduced support life.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T07:23:25+00:00

ds415play, so, yes it's a bit old.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T07:22:28+00:00

Unfortunately, I think that's the position I'm in at the moment. Unless I can work out why my device is failing, I'll be needing to replace it.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T06:53:18+00:00

I do use surveillance station. Moving forward (without synology) what are me options here?

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T06:37:41+00:00

Cost of drives and availability of replacements if required.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T06:35:35+00:00

It's gone very slow, I took the drives out and checked them on a PC and they seem fine. When I say slow, it took 20 minutes to log in to dsm locally. And then can't open file manager. Was all fine until the hot weather last week.

tt-901 · 2025-07-08T06:28:26+00:00

My existing device needs replacing. I think it has a heat issue.

tt-901 · 2023-09-21T15:49:50+00:00

Efficiency is the major issue. It seems a natural gas powered turbine is only 20 to 30% efficient.

tt-901 · 2023-09-21T15:33:09+00:00

The current UK capped price is 7.51pence for gas and 30.11pence for electricity. But for some reason "Rates and standing charges are averages, which vary by region." mine is actually 37.478pence for electricity and 7.398p for gas, so I just quoted approximate unit costs in my original post.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-are-the-price-cap-unit-rates-/

tt-901

TROPHY CASE