Toro 30874 - Operating Tips

OperatingTips
OperatingtheMachine
•Starttheengine.IftheAUTOIDLEfunctionis
turnedoff,runitatHALFIDLEuntilitwarmsup.
RuntheengineatHIGHIDLE,liftthecuttingunits,
disengagetheparkingbrake,presstheforward
tractionpedal,andcarefullydrivetoanopenarea.
•Practicemovingforwardandreverse,andstarting
andstoppingthemachine.T ostopthemachine,
removeyourfootfromthetractionpedalandletit
returntoNEUTRALorpressdownonthereverse
pedal.
Note:Whengoingdownhillinthemachine,you
mayneedtousethereversepedaltostop.
•Whenpossible,mowupanddownhillsratherthan
acrossthem.Havethecuttingunitsloweredwhen
goingdownahilltomaintainsteeringcontrol.Do
notattempttoturnthemachineonahill.
•Practicedrivingaroundobstacleswiththecutting
unitsupanddown.Becarefulwhendriving
betweennarrowobjectssothatyoudonotdamage
themachineorcuttingunits.
•Alwaysdriveslowlyinroughareas.
•Ifanobstacleisintheway,liftthecuttingunitsto
mowaroundit.
•Whentransportingthemachinefrom1work
areatoanother,raisethecuttingunitstothe
fullyupwardposition,shutoffthePTO,pressthe
mow/transportswitchtotheTRANSPORTposition,
andpressuptheengine-speedswitchtosetthe
enginetohigh-idlespeed.
ChangingMowingPatterns
Changemowingpatternsoftentominimizeapoor
after-cutappearancefromrepeatedlymowinginthe
samedirection.
UnderstandingCounterbalance
Thecounterbalancesystemmaintainshydraulic
backpressureonthecuttingunit-liftcylinders.This
counterbalancepressuretransferscutting-unitweight
tothemachinedrivewheelstoimprovetraction.The
counterbalancepressurehasbeensetatthefactory
toanoptimalbalanceofafter-cutappearanceand
tractioncapabilityinmostturfconditions.Decreasing
thecounterbalancesettingcanproduceamore
stablecuttingunitbutcandecreasethetraction
capability.Increasingthecounterbalancesetting
canincreasethetractioncapability,butmayresult
inapoorafter-cutappearance;refertoSettingthe
Counterbalance(page21).
ResolvingAfter-CutAppearance
RefertotheAfter-cutAppearanceTroubleshooting
Guideavailableatwww.Toro.com.
UsingProperMowingTechniques
•Tobegincutting,engagethePTO,thenapproach
themowingareaslowly.Oncethefrontcutting
unitsareoverthemowingarea,lowerthecutting
units.
•Toachievetheprofessionalstraight-linecutand
stripingthatisdesirableforsomeapplications,nd
atreeorotherobjectinthedistanceanddrive
straighttowardit.
•Assoonasthefrontcuttingunitsreachtheedgeof
themowingarea,liftthecuttingunits,andperform
ateardrop-shapedturntoquicklylineupforyour
nextpass.
•Bolt-inmulchingbafesareavailableforthe
cuttingunits.Themulchingbafesperformwell
whenyoumaintainturfonaregularschedule
toavoidremovingmorethan25mm(1inch)of
growthpercutting.Whenyoucuttoomuchgrowth
withthemulchingbafesinstalled,theafter-cut
appearancemaydeteriorateandtheobserved
powertocuttheturfincreases.Themulching
bafesalsoperformwellforshreddingleavesin
thefall.
MowingWhentheGrassIsDry
Moweitherinthelatemorningtoavoidthedew,which
causesgrassclumping,orlateafternoontoavoid
thedamagethatdirectsunlightcancauseonthe
sensitive,freshlymowedgrass.
SelectingtheProperHeight-of-Cut
SettingtoSuitConditions
Removenomorethanapproximately25mm(1inch),
or1/3ofthegrassbladewhencutting.Inexceptionally
lushanddensegrass,youmayneedtoraiseyour
height-of-cutsetting.
MowingwithSharpBlades
Asharpbladecutscleanlyandwithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassbladeslikeadullblade.T earing
andshreddingcausesthegrasstoturnbrownat
theedges,whichimpairsgrowthandincreases
susceptibilitytodiseases.Ensurethatthebladeisin
goodconditionandthatthereisafullsail.
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