Operation
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutgrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethat
thecuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpany
unevenground.However,thecuttingheightusedin
thepastisgenerallythebestonetouse.Whencutting
grasslongerthansixinchestall,youmaywanttocut
thelawntwicetoensureanacceptablequalityofcut.
Cut1/3oftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.
Cuttingmorethanthatisnotrecommendedunless
grassissparse,oritislatefallwhengrassgrowsmore
slowly.
MowingDirection
Alternatemowingdirectiontokeepthegrassstanding
straight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippingswhich
enhancesdecompositionandfertilization.
MowatCorrectIntervals
Normally,moweveryfourdays.Butremember,
grassgrowsatdifferentratesatdifferenttimes.
Sotomaintainthesamecuttingheight,whichisa
goodpractice,mowmoreofteninearlyspring.As
thegrassgrowthrateslowsinmidsummer,mow
lessfrequently.Ifyoucannotmowforanextended
period,rstmowatahighcuttingheight;thenmow
againtwodayslateratalowerheightsetting.
CuttingSpeed
Toimprovecutquality,useaslowergroundspeed.
AvoidCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthe
moweryoupreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheight
toensurethatuneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
LongGrass
Ifthegrassiseverallowedtogrowslightlylonger
thannormal,orifitcontainsahighdegreeof
moisture,raisethecuttingheighthigherthanusual
andcutthegrassatthissetting.Thencutthegrass
againusingthelower,normalsetting.
WhenStopping
Ifthemachine’sforwardmotionmustbestopped
whilemowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydrop
ontoyourlawn.Toavoidthis,moveontoapreviously
cutareawiththebladesengaged.
KeeptheUndersideoftheMower
Clean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthe
moweraftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinside
themower,cuttingqualitywilleventuallybecome
unsatisfactory.
BladeMaintenance
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseason
becauseasharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassblades.Tearingandshredding
turnsgrassbrownattheedges,whichslowsgrowth
andincreasesthechanceofdisease.Checkthe
cutterbladesdailyforsharpness,andforanywearor
damage.Filedownanynicksandsharpentheblades
asnecessary.Ifabladeisdamagedorworn,replace
itimmediatelywithagenuineExmarkreplacement
blade.OnlyExmarkbladesaretobeusedwiththis
unit.Nootherbladesareapproved.
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