Toro 74914 - Operating Tips

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.
KeeptheUndersideoftheMower
Clean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthe
moweraftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinside
themower,cuttingqualitywilleventuallybecome
unsatisfactory.
BladeMaintenance
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseason
becauseasharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassblades.Tearingandshreddingturns
grassbrownattheedges,whichslowsgrowthand
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