SideDischargingtheGrass
DANGER
Withoutthegrassdeector,dischargecover,or
completegrasscatcherassemblymountedinplace,
youandothersareexposedtobladecontactand
throwndebris.Contactwithrotatingmowerblades
andthrowndebriswillcauseinjuryordeath.
•Neverremovethegrassdeectorfromthe
mowerbecausethegrassdeectorroutes
materialdowntowardtheturf.Ifthe
grassdeectoriseverdamaged,replaceit
immediately.
•Neverputyourhandsorfeetunderthemower.
•Nevertrytocleardischargeareaormower
bladesunlessyoudisengagethebladecontrol
(PTO)androtatetheignitionkeytoOff.Also
removethekeyanddisconnectthewirefrom
thesparkplug.
Themowerhasahingedgrassdeectorthatdisperses
clippingstothesideanddowntowardtheturf.
OperatingTips
•Forthebestperformance,operatetheengineat
themaximumspeed.Themowerrequiresairto
thoroughlycutgrassclippings,sodonotsetthe
height-of-cuttooloworcompletelysurroundthe
mowerinuncutgrass.Alwaysleaveonesideofthe
mowerfreefromuncutgrasstoallowtheairtobe
drawnintothemower.
•Cutthegrassslightlylongerthannormaltoensure
thatthecuttingheightofthemowerdoesnotscalp
anyunevenground.Whencuttinggrasslongerthan
6inch(15cm)tall,cutthelawntwicetoensurean
acceptableappearance.
•Itisbesttocutonlyabout1/3ofthegrassblade.
Donotcutmorethanthatunlessthegrassissparse
oritislatefallwhengrassgrowsmoreslowly.
•Alternatethemowingdirectiontokeepthegrass
standingstraight.Thisalsohelpsdisperseclippings
andenhancesdecompositionandfertilization.
•Grassgrowsatdifferentratesatdifferenttimesof
theseason.Tomaintainthesamecuttingheight,
whichisagoodpractice,mowmoreofteninearly
spring.Asthegrassgrowthrateslowsinmid
summer,mowlessfrequently.
•Toimprovethequalityofcut,useaslowerground
speed.Forbestoperationonaveragelawns,operate
theengineatfullthrottlewhilecontrollingthe
groundspeed.Youshouldoperatethetractor
between2to3.5mph(3.2to5.6km/h)while
mowing.
•Ifthegrassislongerthannormal,orifitcontains
ahighdegreeofmoisture,raisethecuttingheight
higherthanusual,cutthegrassatthatsetting,and
thencutthegrassagainatthelower,normalsetting.
•Ifyoumuststopthetractorwhilemowing,youmay
leaveaclumpofgrassclippingsonyourlawn.To
avoidthis,dothefollowing:
–Engagethebladeandmovetoapreviouslycut
area.
–Dispersetheclippingsevenlybyraisingthe
mower1or2height-of-cutsettingswhiledriving
forwardwiththebladeengaged.
•Usethewashoutporttocleanclippingsanddirt
fromtheundersideofthemoweraftereachuse.If
grassanddirtbuildupinsidethemower,thecutting
qualitywilleventuallybecomeunsatisfactory.
•Maintainasharpbladethroughouttheseason.A
sharpbladecutsgrasscleanlywithouttearingor
shreddingthegrassblades.Tearingandshredding
thegrassturnsitbrownattheedges,whichslowsits
growthandincreasesthechanceofdisease.Every
30days,checkthebladeforsharpnessandledown
anynicks.
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