Toro 74386 - Operating Tips

OperatingTips
FastThrottleSetting
Forbestmowingandmaximumaircirculation,operatethe
engineattheFastposition.Airisrequiredtothoroughlycut
grassclippings,sodonotsettheheight-of-cutsolowasto
totallysurroundthemowerbyuncutgrass.Alwaystrytohave
onesideofthemowerfreefromuncutgrass,whichallowsair
tobedrawnintothemower.
UsingtheSmartSpeed™Control
System
TheSmartSpeed™ControlSystemlever,locatedbelowthe
operatingposition,givestheoperatorachoicetodrivethe
machineattwospeedranges,highandlow.Anoperator
canbenetfromthelowerspeedsettingwhenmaneuvering
themachineintightspacesoroperatingarounddelicate
landscapes.Thelowsettingcanalsobeusedtooperatethe
machineatahighthrottlesettingandbladespeedwhilestill
beingabletoreducegroundspeedtoincreasequalityofcut.
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutgrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethatthe
cuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpanyuneven
ground.However,thecuttingheightusedinthepastis
generallythebestonetouse.Whencuttinggrasslongerthan
sixinchestall,youmaywanttocutthelawntwicetoensure
anacceptablequalityofcut.
Cut1/3oftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.Cutting
morethanthatisnotrecommendedunlessgrassissparse,or
itislatefallwhengrassgrowsmoreslowly.
MowingDirection
Alternatemowingdirectiontokeepthegrassstanding
straight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippingswhichenhances
decompositionandfertilization.
MowatCorrectIntervals
Normally,moweveryfourdays.Butremember,grassgrows
atdifferentratesatdifferenttimes.Sotomaintainthesame
cuttingheight,whichisagoodpractice,mowmoreoftenin
earlyspring.Asthegrassgrowthrateslowsinmidsummer,
mowlessfrequently.Ifyoucannotmowforanextended
period,rstmowatahighcuttingheight;thenmowagain
twodayslateratalowerheightsetting.
AvoidCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthemower
youpreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheighttoensurethat
uneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
LongGrass
Ifthegrassiseverallowedtogrowslightlylongerthan
normal,orifitcontainsahighdegreeofmoisture,raisethe
cuttingheighthigherthanusualandcutthegrassatthis
setting.Thencutthegrassagainusingthelower,normal
setting.
WhenStopping
Ifthemachine'sforwardmotionmustbestoppedwhile
mowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydropontoyour
lawn.Toavoidthis,moveontoapreviouslycutareawiththe
bladesengagedoryoucandisengagethemowerdeckwhile
movingforward.
KeeptheUndersideoftheMowerClean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthemower
aftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinsidethemower,
cuttingqualitywilleventuallybecomeunsatisfactory.
BladeMaintenance
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseasonbecause
asharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingorshreddingthe
grassblades.Tearingandshreddingturnsgrassbrownat
theedges,whichslowsgrowthandincreasesthechanceof
disease.Checkthemowerbladesaftereachuseforsharpness,
andforanywearordamage.Filedownanynicksandsharpen
thebladesasnecessary.Ifabladeisdamagedorworn,replace
itimmediatelywithagenuineTororeplacementblade.
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