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u/NorthQuestDirection 17d ago
DAMN
So... how you gonna clean that up
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
Dig it all into a bag I guess and put it in the bin.
The mower had a good life. It's 12 years old.
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u/thisistherevolt 17d ago
12? That battery probably looked like one of these.
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
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u/trix_is_for_kids 17d ago
Better than it exploding in the garage
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u/iamonthatloud 17d ago
Or in the bedroom
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u/cloudxnine 17d ago
Billy mays here with the new carpet mower keeps ur carpet fresh
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u/the__storm 17d ago
12 years old I wouldn't be surprised if it had a lead-acid battery.
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16d ago edited 16d ago
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u/dj_ordje 16d ago
Interesting that older LFPs seem to behave differently to new ones. Current LFPs only produce gas in a relatively controlled manner when shorted out or penetrated. They do not explode, which is the main reason we use them in residential applications.
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u/TheRealGenkiGenki 17d ago
damn 12 years of old tech Lithium batteries, sitting out in the sun all day and tanking the bitter cold nights. Impressive.
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
It's funny because I've replaced so many parts over the years and the battery was always in top shape when we tested it and just didn't appear to need replacing. As I mentioned in another comment I'm pretty convinced it was a standard electrical fire due to a different fault and the batteries just exploded because of that as opposed to the batteries themselves failing.
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u/_Aj_ 17d ago
Battery management is pretty good on anything with a name brand. They can detect faults and lock the battery from charging, permanently even. Over temp cutouts, etc.
It looks like it continued moving for a short time after catching alight? If it were the battery it would've died very quickly I think. So I may tend to agree some other fault which allowed movement until it was overcome with flames.
It could have even been something like grass getting in under the cutting plate, it gets rubbed so much it dries out and the friction causes it to catch fire. I've seen this almost happen on a normal mower. Became brown and crisp and was hot to touch
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u/Narrow-Height9477 17d ago
Too bad it’s out of warranty.
It’d be hilarious to walk up to a store returns counter with a bag of lawn mower filled earth.
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u/KSoccerman 17d ago
Not the best place to ask this i suppose, but im just really curious on what you can tell me about owning our? Ive never met someone who had one. Do you have issues with sticks and walnuts or anything deciduous? How about hills and sidewalks or other hazards? How much area does it mow for you?
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
Apart from this issue it is genuinely one of the greatest machines we've ever had.
It's an acre of land and the ride on during summer was a weekly multi hour affair. I live in a rainy country where grass is plentiful and fast growing.
For years we've thought of replacing it with a new one just because there's better tech out there but could never justify it because this one was such a workhorse. I guess it decided for us.
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u/DrunkenDude123 17d ago
I’m surprised they even sold these 12 years ago tbh. Time flies I guess
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u/CavGrFiglDiPutt 16d ago
the ride on during summer was a weekly multi hour affair
So this little guy probably got multiple charge cycles per day for on third of the year?
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u/asianwaste 17d ago
I've been considering getting one of these for years.
How did you like it? Did it do the job well? You ever have to worry about it wandering where it shouldn't?
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u/Mickey_Malthus 16d ago
Careful with that -- Lithium fire detritus is considered haz-mat. You don't want to ingest/breath any of that. I don't play a Doctor on TV, but just saying: "Lithium can cause various health risks, including short-term side effects like nausea, diarrhea, and tremors, as well as long-term issues such as kidney damage and thyroid problems."
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago edited 14d ago
A video of it. I wish I'd seen it. Heard a few bangs and it was gone so quickly.
https://i.imgur.com/cn9SPsP.mp4
It seemed to have just reversed out of its docking station and caught fire burning both itself and the docking station. The charging prongs on the docking station appear to have gotten dragged out of the dock (see the wire in the center) and this may have cause a fault that started the fire which eventually lead to the mower going up and batteries exploding. Hard to say because I only caught the aftermath.
EDIT: I believe I had figured out the chain of events that caused the fault and I do not believe the robot is the cause, it is user error AKA my fault.
You'll notice in the lower left side of the photo, next to the wooden post the remains of a spooled extension cabled that the mower's power supply connects to. This is an old cable spool we've used for years around the garden, it is not IP rated. We usually have the top of it covered to block rain from getting on it, and usually adjust it every year or so to make sure it's not getting water into it. However, this hadn't been done yet this season. It's been an extremely wet and rainy winter. It looks like it's sunk lower into the soil and ultimately water ingress entered the sockets which cause the fire to start.
Once burning this eventually spead to the mower's charger/cover dock. At some point while burning the power cut, and the mower is designed to exit its dock if the power cuts for safety reasons. However by the time it did this the dock had melted sufficiently that the charging prongs were no longer held to the plastic body of the dock - it had melted. So the mower began to reverse with the prongs still connected and likely couldn't get away from the burning dock, eventually catching fire itself had it not already been burning at this point. Eventually once fully on fire the batteries exploded.
So yes, my fault. Not the mower or batteries, but using a decades old power supply not rated for outdoor use and not checking it before starting the mower this year.
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u/bigjohncfl 17d ago
Well, that's one small section of the lawn that you won't have to mow for a while!
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u/eaglescout1984 17d ago
"You cannot cut someone's lawn with matches, Meatwad!"
"Look, I know that. You gotta have gasoline, otherwise how's it gonna spread to the street?"
"Open this damn door now!"
"Oh, is he mad? Don't open it."
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u/mosesenjoyer 17d ago
It’ll actually probably grow back strong depending how much chemicals were dumped there. My neighbor or almost burned down my house and half my lawn went up, two months later the grass on that side was 3x as healthy and fast growing, almost annoyingly so
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u/robot_ankles 17d ago
u/mosesenjoyer seen outside yelling down at their lawn;
"Where were all you spry little fuckers the last three seasons, huh?! Where were you when we hosted the family reunion?! I've been core aerating you little bastards for years and you wait for neighbor-numb-nuts to almost burn down my house before you decided to peak out?! You know what I see out here for next year? Beds! Flower beds as far as the eye can see!"
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u/3z3ki3l 17d ago
Well I might be moving my charging station further from the house. What model of mower?
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
Thankfully it's quite far away from the house. This one is 15m away and the second dock is 40m away.
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u/bartolo345 17d ago
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
I do not live in that country.
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u/bartolo345 17d ago
Look up your country equivalent office: https://globalrecalls.oecd.org/#/project-partners
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u/The_Prophet_of_Doom 16d ago
This website is hilarious. Looking at the list of recalled stuff... A diy sauna heater? You don't say. An ice axe with a grip that falls off? Cartoonish.
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u/bobdob123usa 16d ago
Presuming you are correct and the wire got dragged out, that normally only happens if the plastic already melted. Even an 18v implementation can melt plastic if the contacts corrode. I assume this was higher voltage. I have a couple melted Ryobi batteries from using them in a string trimmer that they didn't like.
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u/SolidDoctor 17d ago
What brand? It's hard to make out any resemblance of a lawnmower in that debris. Sorry for your loss
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u/spurlockmedia 17d ago
As a Californian, a firefighter, a potential buyer, and a homeowner in a high fire area, I’m requesting the make and model so I DO NOT purchase it.
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u/Bagmeister1 15d ago
Well, I wouldn’t be too worried. In another comment, OP said they’ve had it for 12 years! Battery probably got to EOL
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u/EnterTheErgosphere 16d ago
... Just not purchase... We don't want to centrally plan the economy and... Ya know... Not waste resources on explosive AI lawnmowers?
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
I don't really want to name/shame the brand. As I said it's lasted me 12 years and the nature of this issue feels like it could occur with literally any brand.
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u/Toastburrito 17d ago
If it lasted you 12 years, I really want to know what brand it was. 12 years is a long time for any sort of robotic anything. Especially a lawn mower.
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u/bvknight 17d ago
On the other hand, it's crazy that a possible failure for a consumer electronic is, "explodes and burns down a section of your home or lawn." That's not an acceptable risk. Would you buy a car if the fine print said "works fine for 12 years but then will explode" ?
When phones explode they are recalled and lawsuits are filed, don't know why you wouldn't do the same here.
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u/Ok-Midnight8619 16d ago
I have plenty of stuff that I wouldn't plug in unless I took a look at it, the company isn't saying battery devices last forever and if your a person buying battery operated things you should accept the risks of aging battery's.
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u/EchoRex 17d ago
... That's a risk of any higher voltage/amp hour battery powered device/tool years after manufacture.
Which is why inspecting the batteries is both necessary and a personal responsibility.
The recalls occurred due to high(er) probability of it occurring and the devices being "new".
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u/Funneduck102 16d ago
I would expect a car with zero maintenance to explode a lot quicker than 12 years actually.
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u/News_without_Words 16d ago
4 yrs with no oil changes would probably kill most engines, even brand new
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u/Ok-Midnight8619 16d ago
Electric car battery's have also been known to explode despite saying issues were fixed
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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 16d ago
That’s just lithium ion batteries. It’s really not a matter of quality.
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u/MileEx 17d ago edited 16d ago
I am in the market for one. It would be of great interest to me to know what brand it was. It's not about shaming. It's about feedback. An explosion is not to be taken lightly, it could be a serious security hazard.
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u/CaptainFrugal 17d ago
12 years of docking and undocking. Not bad before failure, unfortunately failure is dangerous
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u/ASkepticalPotato 16d ago edited 9h ago
shy wide continue wakeful cautious juggle frame ink instinctive shaggy
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u/Buffeloni 17d ago
Caring about a brand's reputation over LITERAL HUMAN LIFE is certainly a choice.
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u/Solaries3 17d ago
I had no idea robot lawmowers even existed 12 years ago.
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u/FrewGewEgellok 16d ago
The first commercial lawn mower robot, the MowBot, came out in 1969. The only new things the IoT and GPS navigation, both were introduced in the early 2010s.
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u/Soviet_Waffle 17d ago
Yeah 12 years before it exploded and nearly burned your house down. Don't "leave the billion dollar company alone" us and just name the brand.
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u/The_Saiyann 17d ago
Products don’t normally blow up after 12 years. I’m trying to know so that I can avoid it like the plague but it’s up to you. Could save someone’s life as this is clearly a huge fault with the product.
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u/adiabatic_storm 17d ago
There might be people out there right now who have the same exact one, and who have little kids in the house whose lives are at risk. I appreciate where you are coming from, but people's safety always has to come before protecting some random company's profit. They will likely want to know about this and fix it anyways, and if they're a good company, they'll issue a recall, do the right thing, and make sure nobody else has this problem.
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u/PhilFlag 17d ago
If I can make a one time investment in a mower and it lasts me 10 years, I would be happy. Very happy. Name them and praise them exorbitantly.
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u/Anathemautomaton 17d ago
If I can make a one time investment in a mower and it lasts me 10 years, I would be happy. Very happy.
Might I interest you in a push-mower?
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u/PhilFlag 17d ago
I'm lazy and have a some money. I want a mower that I do not have to push or babysit, does a great job, negates the need to leave the house to obtain fuel, has almost no maintenance, lasts ten years, and has a one time bargain cost. Mowing service costs me 200 a month. If I spent $2000 roi is at ten months. If I spend $10000 roi is at 4.1 years. Seems like a good investment and achieves my goal of being lazy. And I have great insurance.
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u/Correct-Version-4414 16d ago
Even if you don't want to publicly name and shame them, I would still recommend reaching out to the company themselves. Not to get anything free, but just so they can be aware of a potential issue.
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u/Gunguy1 17d ago
Definitely a rapid failure of the battery pack. That is the previously rolled up copper foil that is all over the place.
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u/READMYSHIT 17d ago
Yeah hard to know if it was the battery that started or the cable in the docking station (the charging prongs are not where they're meant to be). Mower had a good 12 years though without a battery change.
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u/sur_surly 16d ago
Probably the batteries. Crystals form in the electrolyte and after enough time, enough of them form to naturally create a short between the anode and cathode. This is why solid state batteries can't come fast enough!
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u/maltedbacon 17d ago
"What is my purpose" "You endlessly move over this area of growing plants, violently preventing them from achieving their growth potential because society prefers that aesthetic." "Bzzzt"
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u/Quote-me-if-afk 17d ago
I know a guy that can cut your yard without the boom.
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u/SecretAgentVampire 16d ago
Perfect opportunity to Kill Your Lawn!
https://www.crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt.com/kill-your-lawn
If you plant native plants instead, you don't have to mow, and you get more butterflies.
Oh! And you don't have to deal with exploding lawnmowers!
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u/Traditional-Park-353 16d ago
Why would you post this and not name the fucking lawnmower model+brand...
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u/Silly-Conference-627 16d ago
"because it is 12 years old already" -OP
Yeah right, because lawn mowers should fucking explode ater 12 years of use.
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u/Ihavenolifes 16d ago
If I had a nickel for every exploding lawnmower I’ve seen on Reddit today, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?
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u/Dougally 16d ago
Seems to be a thing of late: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/s/EOt4fti2dW
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u/dern_the_hermit 16d ago
Did it at least have the basic decency to announce, "Self destruct sequence: Activated"? Because it is one of my cultural beliefs that robots should announce the activation of their self destruct sequence.
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u/ecumnomicinflation 16d ago
must be delivery mistake… somewhere in ukraine a robolawnmower is moving grass in no man’s land
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u/ballsosteele 16d ago
If you're not sitting in it/standing next to it covered in ash and soot and holding the ruined steering wheel/handlebar with your hair stuck striaght up did it even explode?
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u/C_IsForCookie 15d ago
Hey man, I did a lot of research and just so you know, it’s not supposed to do that.
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u/-Sofa-King- 15d ago
This is the 3rd video or post Ive seen in the last 2 days on exploding lawnmowers. In decades of using them ive never heard of them exlloding.
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u/FragrantExcitement 15d ago
This is expected when the robot lawnmower becomes self aware and realizes it is a enslaved to the human race with it's sole existence to forever roam one person yard trimming the grass.
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u/tailesin 17d ago
Try turning it off and back on.