Toro 74997 - Operating Tips for Mowing; Maintaining the Blade

OperatingTips
UsingtheFastThrottleSetting
Forbestmowingandmaximumaircirculation,operate
theengineattheFASTthrottleposition.Airisrequiredto
thoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsettheheightof
cutsolowastototallysurroundthemowerinuncutgrass.
Alwaystrytohave1sideofthemowerfreefromuncutgrass,
whichallowsairtobedrawnintothemower.
CuttingaLawnfortheFirstTime
Cutthegrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensurethat
thecuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalpanyuneven
ground.However,thecuttingheightyouhaveusedinthe
pastisgenerallythebesttouse.Whencuttinggrasslonger
than15cm(6inches)tall,youmaywanttocutthelawntwice
toensureanacceptablequalityofcut.
CuttingaThirdoftheGrassBlade
Itisbesttocutonlyaboutathirdofthegrassblade.Cutting
morethanthatisnotrecommendedunlessgrassissparse,or
itislatefallwhengrassgrowsmoreslowly.
AlternatingtheMowingDirection
Alternatethemowingdirectiontokeepthegrassstanding
straight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippings,whichenhances
decompositionandfertilization.
MowingatCorrectIntervals
Normally,mowevery4days.However,grassgrowsat
differentratesatdifferenttimes.Tomaintainthesamecutting
height,whichisagoodpractice,mowmoreofteninearly
spring.Asthegrassgrowthrateslowsinmid-summer,mow
lessfrequently.Ifyoucannotmowforanextendedperiod,
rstmowatahighcuttingheight;thenmowagain2days
lateratalowerheightsetting.
AdjustingtheCuttingSpeed
Toimprovecutquality,useaslowergroundspeedincertain
conditions.
AvoidingCuttingTooLow
Ifthecuttingwidthofthemoweriswiderthanthemower
thatyoupreviouslyused,raisethecuttingheighttoensure
thatuneventurfisnotcuttooshort.
CuttingLongGrass
Ifthegrassiseverallowedtogrowslightlylongerthan
normal,orifitcontainsahighdegreeofmoisture,raisethe
cuttingheighthigherthanusualandcutthegrassatthis
setting.Thencutthegrassagainusingthelower,normal
setting.
Stopping
Ifyoumuststoptheforwardmotionofthemachinewhile
mowing,aclumpofgrassclippingsmaydropontoyourlawn.
Toavoidthis,moveontoapreviouslycutareawiththeblades
engaged.
KeepingtheUndersideoftheMower
Clean
Cleanclippingsanddirtfromtheundersideofthemower
aftereachuse.Ifgrassanddirtbuildupinsidethemower,the
cuttingqualityeventuallybecomesunsatisfactory.
MaintainingtheBlade
Maintainasharpbladethroughoutthecuttingseason,because
asharpbladecutscleanlywithouttearingorshreddingthe
grassblades.Tearingandshreddingturnsgrassbrownat
theedges,whichslowsgrowthandincreasesthechanceof
disease.Checkthecutterbladesdailyforsharpnessandfor
anywearordamage.Filedownanynicksandsharpenthe
bladesasnecessary.Ifabladeisdamagedorworn,replaceit
immediatelywithagenuineTororeplacementblade.
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