11
WARNING
POTENTIAL HAZARD
•
Wet grass or leaves can cause you to slip and
contact the blade.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN
•
Blade contact can seriously injure you.
HOW TO AVOID THE HAZARD
•
Mow only in dry conditions.
•
Clean clippings or leaves from the underside of the
lawn mower deck after each mowing. See Cleaning the
Lawn Mower Housing on page 13.
•
Keep the engine in good running condition.
WARNING
POTENTIAL HAZARD
•
Operating a lawn mower with its engine
running at a speed greater than the factory
setting can cause an unsafe operating condition.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN
•
The lawn mower could throw a part of the
blade or engine into the operator’s or
bystander’s area and cause serious personal
injury or death.
HOW TO AVOID THE HAZARD
•
Do not change the engine speed setting.
•
If you suspect the engine speed is faster than
normal, contact your Authorized Service
Dealer.
•
Clean the air filter frequently. Mulching stirs up more
clippings and dust which clogs the air filter and
reduces engine performance.
•
To achieve the best mulching action, set the lawn
mower cutting height so that the lawn mower cuts no
more than a third of the grass stem or a maximum of
one-inch (25 mm) long clippings. If you try to mulch
more or if the grass is very lush, the mulching action
will be poor. Under these conditions, use the side
discharge or grass catcher. A few days later, install the
mulch plate on your lawn mower to resume mulching.
Cutting Grass
•
In the summer heat, cut the grass at the 2, 2-1/2, or
3-inch (51, 64, or 76 mm) cutting height-settings. Only
cut off about one-third of the grass blade. Do not cut
below the two-inch setting unless the grass is sparse or
it is late autumn when the grass growth begins to slow
down.
•
When cutting grass over six inches tall, first mow
using the highest cutting height setting and walking
slower; then mow again at a lower setting for best
lawn appearance. If the grass is too long and leaves
clumps on top of the lawn, the lawn mower may plug
up and cause the engine to stall.
•
Alternate the mowing direction. This helps disperse
the clippings over the lawn for even fertilization.
If the finished cut lawn appearance is unsatisfactory, try
one or more of the following:
•
Sharpen the blade.
•
Walk at a slower pace while mowing.
•
Raise the cutting height on your lawn mower.
•
Cut the grass more frequently.
•
Overlap the cutting swaths instead of cutting a full
swath with each pass.
•
Set the cutting height on the front wheels one notch
lower than the rear wheels.
Cutting Leaves
•
After cutting the lawn, make sure that half of the lawn
shows through the cut leaf cover. You may need to
make one or more passes over the leaves.
•
For light leaf coverage, set all the wheels at the same
cutting height.
•
If there are more than 5 inches (12.7 cm) of leaves on
the lawn, set the front wheels one or two notches
higher than the rear wheels. This makes it easier to
feed the leaves under the lawn mower deck.
•
Slow down your mowing speed if the lawn mower
does not cut the leaves finely enough.
•
If you mow over oak leaves, you can add lime to the
grass in the spring to reduce the acidity of the leaves.
