Toro 74822 - Mowing Tips and Blade Care

ToOperatetheMachine
Movethebypasstothepositionforpushingthe
machine(Figure30)toengagethewheelmotors.
UsingtheSideDischarge
Themowerhasahingedgrassdeectorthatdisperses
clippingstothesideanddowntowardtheturf.
Withoutagrassdeector,dischargecover,or
completegrasscatcherassemblymountedin
place,youandothersareexposedtoblade
contactandthrowndebris.Contactwith
rotatingmowerblade(s)andthrowndebriswill
causeinjuryordeath.
•Neverremovethegrassdeectorfrom
themowerbecausethegrassdeector
routesmaterialdowntowardtheturf.Ifthe
grassdeectoriseverdamaged,replaceit
immediately.
•Neverputyourhandsorfeetunderthe
mower.
•Nevertrytoclearthedischargeareaor
mowerbladesunlessyoumovetheblade
controlswitch(PTO)totheoffposition,
rotatetheignitionkeytooffandremovethe
key.
•Makesurethegrassdeectorisinthedown
position.
OperatingTips
FastThrottleSetting
Forbestmowingandmaximumaircirculation,operate
theengineatthefastthrottleposition.Airisrequired
tothoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsetthe
height-of-cutsolowastototallysurroundthemower
byuncutgrass.Alwaystrytohaveonesideofthe
mowerfreefromuncutgrass,whichallowsairtobe
drawnintothemower.
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutgrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethe
cuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpanyuneven
ground.However,thecuttingheightusedinthepastis
generallythebestonetouse.Whencuttinggrasslonger
thansixinchestall,youmaywanttocutthelawntwice
toensureanacceptablequalityofcut.
Cut1/3oftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.
Cuttingmorethanthatisnotrecommendedunless
grassissparse,oritislatefallwhengrassgrowsmore
slowly.
MowingDirection
Alternatemowingdirectiontokeepthegrassstanding
straight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippingswhich
enhancesdecompositionandfertilization.
MowatCorrectIntervals
Normally,moweveryfourdays.Butremember,
grassgrowsatdifferentratesatdifferenttimes.So
tomaintainthesamecuttingheight,whichisagood
practice,mowmoreofteninearlyspring.Asthegrass
growthrateslowsinmidsummer,mowlessfrequently.
Ifyoucannotmowforanextendedperiod,rstmow
atahighcuttingheight;thenmowagaintwodayslater
atalowerheightsetting.
CuttingSpeed
Toimprovecutquality,useaslowergroundspeedin
certainconditions.
AvoidCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthe
moweryoupreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheightto
ensurethatuneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
LongGrass
Ifthegrassiseverallowedtogrowslightlylongerthan
normal,orifitcontainsahighdegreeofmoisture,raise
thecuttingheighthigherthanusualandcutthegrassat
thissetting.Thencutthegrassagainusingthelower,
normalsetting.
WhenStopping
Ifthemachine’sforwardmotionmustbestoppedwhile
mowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydropontoyour
lawn.Toavoidthis,moveontoapreviouslycutarea
withthebladesengaged.
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