Toro 74637 - Operating Tips for Mowing; Mowing Techniques and Strategies; Blade Maintenance and Mower Cleaning

OperatingTips
UsingtheFastThrottleSetting
Forbestmowingandmaximumaircirculation,operate
theengineattheFastthrottleposition.Airisrequiredto
thoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsettheheight-of-cut
solowastototallysurroundthemowerbyuncutgrass.
Alwaystrytohaveonesideofthemowerfreefromuncut
grass,whichallowsairtobedrawnintothemower.
UsingtheSmartSpeed™Control
System
TheSmartSpeed™Control-Systemlever,locatedbelow
theoperatingposition,givestheoperatorachoicetodrive
themachineat2speedranges—highandlow.Anoperator
canbenetfromthelowerspeedsettingwhenmaneuvering
themachineintightspacesoroperatingarounddelicate
landscapes.Thelowsettingcanalsooperatethemachineata
highthrottlesettingandbladespeed,whilestillbeingableto
reducethegroundspeedtoincreasethequalityofcut.
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutgrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethatthe
cuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpanyuneven
ground.However,thecuttingheightusedinthepastis
generallythebestonetouse.Whencuttinggrasslongerthan
sixinchestall,youmaywanttocutthelawntwicetoensure
anacceptablequalityofcut.
Cutting1/3oftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.Cutting
morethanthatisnotrecommendedunlessgrassissparse,or
itislatefallwhengrassgrowsmoreslowly.
AlternatingtheMowingDirection
Alternatethemowingdirectiontokeepthegrassstanding
straight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippingswhichenhances
decompositionandfertilization.
MowingatCorrectIntervals
Normally,mowevery4days.But,remember,grassgrowsat
differentratesatdifferenttimes.Sotomaintainthesame
cuttingheight,whichisagoodpractice,andmowmoreoften
inearlyspring.Asthegrassgrowthrateslowsinmidsummer,
mowlessfrequently.Ifyoucannotmowforanextended
period,rstmowatahighcuttingheight,thenmowagain2
dayslateratalowerheightsetting.
AvoidingCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthemower
youpreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheighttoensurethat
uneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
CuttingLongGrass
Ifthegrassisallowedtogrowslightlylongerthannormal,
orifitcontainsahighdegreeofmoisture,raisethecutting
heighthigherthanusualandcutthegrassatthissetting.Then
cutthegrassagainusingthelower,normalsetting.
StoppingtheMachine
Ifyoumuststoptheforwardmotionofthemachinewhile
mowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydropontoyour
lawn.Toavoidthis,moveontoapreviouslycutareawiththe
bladesengagedoryoucandisengagethemowerdeckwhile
movingforward.
KeepingtheUndersideoftheMower
Clean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthemower
aftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinsidethemower,
cuttingqualitywilleventuallybecomeunsatisfactory.
MaintainingtheBlade(s)
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseasonbecause
asharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingorshreddingthe
grassblades.Tearingandshreddingturnsgrassbrownat
theedges,whichslowsgrowthandincreasesthechanceof
disease.Checkthemowerbladesaftereachuseforsharpness,
andforanywearordamage.Filedownanynicksandsharpen
thebladesasnecessary.Ifabladeisdamagedorworn,replace
itimmediatelywithagenuineTororeplacementblade.
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