Toro 74740 - Operating Tips

OperatingTips
UsingtheFastThrottleSetting
Forbestmowingandmaximumaircirculation,operate
theengineattheFastthrottleposition.Airisrequired
tothoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsetthe
height-of-cutsolowastototallysurroundthemower
byuncutgrass.Alwaystrytohaveonesideofthe
mowerfreefromuncutgrass,whichallowsairtobe
drawnintothemower.
UsingtheSmartSpeed™Control
System
TheSmartSpeed™Control-Systemlever,located
belowtheoperatingposition,givestheoperatora
choicetodrivethemachineat3speedranges—trim,
mow,andtow.Anoperatorcanbenetfromthetrim
speedsettingwhenmaneuveringthemachineintight
spacesoroperatingarounddelicatelandscapes.The
trimsettingcanalsobeusedtooperatethemachine
atahighthrottlesettingandbladespeed,whilestill
beingabletoreducethegroundspeedtoincrease
thequalityofcut.
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutgrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethat
thecuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpany
unevenground.However,thecuttingheightusedin
thepastisgenerallythebestonetouse.Whencutting
grasslongerthansixinchestall,youmaywanttocut
thelawntwicetoensureanacceptablequalityofcut.
Cutting1/3oftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.
Cuttingmorethanthatisnotrecommendedunless
grassissparse,oritislatefallwhengrassgrows
moreslowly.
AlternatingtheMowingDirection
Alternatethemowingdirectiontokeepthegrass
standingstraight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippings
whichenhancesdecompositionandfertilization.
MowingatCorrectIntervals
Normally,mowevery4days.But,remember,grass
growsatdifferentratesatdifferenttimes.Soto
maintainthesamecuttingheight,whichisagood
practice,andmowmoreofteninearlyspring.Asthe
grassgrowthrateslowsinmidsummer,mowless
frequently.Ifyoucannotmowforanextendedperiod,
rstmowatahighcuttingheight,thenmowagain2
dayslateratalowerheightsetting.
AvoidingCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthe
moweryoupreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheightto
ensurethatuneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
CuttingLongGrass
Ifthegrassiseverallowedtogrowslightlylongerthan
normal,orifitcontainsahighdegreeofmoisture,
raisethecuttingheighthigherthanusualandcutthe
grassatthissetting.Thencutthegrassagainusing
thelower,normalsetting.
StoppingtheMachine
Ifthemachine'sforwardmotionmustbestoppedwhile
mowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydroponto
yourlawn.T oavoidthis,moveontoapreviouslycut
areawiththebladesengagedoryoucandisengage
themowerdeckwhilemovingforward.
KeepingtheUndersideofthe
MowerClean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthe
moweraftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinside
themower,cuttingqualitywilleventuallybecome
unsatisfactory.
MaintainingtheBlade(s)
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseason
becauseasharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassblades.T earingandshredding
turnsgrassbrownattheedges,whichslowsgrowth
andincreasesthechanceofdisease.Checkthe
mowerbladesaftereachuseforsharpness,and
foranywearordamage.Filedownanynicksand
sharpenthebladesasnecessary.Ifabladeis
damagedorworn,replaceitimmediatelywitha
genuineT ororeplacementblade.
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