16
OPERATION
3. Secure rear of side discharge deflector
to lawn mower housing with knob.
• Mower is now ready for side discharg-
ing operation.
SIMPLE STEPS TO REMEMBER WHEN
CONVERTING YOUR 18" HI-VAC:
FOR MULCHING -
1. Grass catcher, discharge chute and
side discharge deflector removed.
2. Mulcher door secured to mower hous-
ing with knob.
FOR REAR BAGGING -
1. Side discharge deflector removed.
2. Grass catcher and discharge chute
installed with discharge chute secured
to lawn mower housing with knob.
FOR SIDE DISCHARGING -
1. Grass catcher and discharge chute
removed.
2. Side discharge deflector installed and
secured to mower housing with knob.
CAUTION:
Do not run your lawn
mower with out mulcher door closed; side
discharge deflector installed, or discharge
chute and ap proved grass catcher in
place. Never at tempt to op er ate the lawn
mow er with mulcher door re moved or
propped open.
TO EMPTY GRASS CATCHER
1. Remove grass catcher with clippings
from lawn mower using both front and
center of handle as shown.
2. Empty clippings from grass catcher.
3. Reinstall grass catcher on rear door.
NOTE
: Do not drag the bag when empty-
ing; it will cause unnecessary wear.
Handle
21" (53cm) HI-VAC MODELS:
Your lawn mower was shipped ready to
be used as a mulcher. To convert to rear
bagging or side discharging:
REAR BAGGING
1. Remove knob securing mulcher door
to lawn mower housing.
Hinge bracket
Discharge chute tabs
Mulcher door
Discharge
chute
Round
door
Grass
catcher
Crossbar
Mulcher door
Knob
Rear handle
Threaded
stud
2. Open mulcher door and insert tabs
of discharge chute into hinge bracket
opening and position rear of chute
over threaded stud.
21
MAX 1/3
MOWING TIPS
CAUTION:
Do not use de-thatcher
blade attachments on your mower. Such
attachments are hazardous, will damage
your mower and could void your warranty.
• For most cutting conditions and bet ter
bagging per form ance, the engine speed
should be set in the FAST po si tion.
• Under certain conditions, such as when
mowing very tall grass, raise the mower
height on the first cut to reduce pushing
effort, to avoid over heat ing the engine,
and to avoid leaving clumps of grass
clippings. Make the second cut to the
desired height.
• For extremely heavy cutting, reduce the
width of cut.
• For side discharge lawn mowers, cut in
a coun ter clock wise di rec tion, start ing
at the outside of the area to be cut, in
order to spread grass clip pings more
evenly and to put less load on the en-
gine. To keep clip pings off of walkways,
flower beds, etc., make the first cuts in a
clock wise direction.
• When using a rear discharge lawn
mower in moist, heavy grass, clumps
of cut grass may not enter the grass
catcher. Reduce ground speed (push-
ing speed) and/or run the lawn mower
over the area a second time.
• If a trail of grass clipping is left on the
right side of a rear discharge lawn mow-
er, mow in a clockwise direction with a
small overlap to collect the clippings on
the next pass.
FOR MULCHING MOWERS ONLY -
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
IMPORTANT
: For best performance,
keep mower housing free of built-up grass
and trash. See "CLEANING" in the Mainte-
nance section of this manual.
• The special mulching blade will recut
the grass clip pings many times and
reduce them in size so that as they fall
onto the lawn they will disperse into
the grass and not be noticed. Also, the
mulched grass will bio de grade quickly
to provide nu tri ents for the lawn. Always
mulch with your highest engine (blade)
speed as this will provide the best recut-
ting action of the blades.
• Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet.
Wet grass tends to form clumps and
in ter feres with the mulch ing action. The
best time to mow your lawn is the early
afternoon. At this time the grass has
dried, yet the newly cut area will not be
exposed to direct sunlight.
• For best results, adjust the lawn mower
cutting height so that the lawn mower
cuts off only the top one-third of the
grass blades. If the lawn is overgrown it
will be necessary to raise the height of
cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep
from over load ing the engine and leaving
clumps of mulched grass. For ex tremely
heavy grass, reduce your width of cut
by overlapping previously cut path and
mow slowly.
• Pores in cloth grass catchers can be-
come filled with dirt and dust with use
and the catcher will collect less grass.
To prevent this, regularly hose catcher
off with water and let dry before use.
• Certain types of grass and grass
con di tions may re quire that an area be
mulched a second time to com pletely
hide the clip pings. When doing a sec-
ond cut, mow across (per pen dic u lar) to
the first cut path.
• Change your cutting pattern from week
to week. Mow north to south one week
then change to east to west the next
week. This will help prevent matting and
graining of the lawn.
OPERATION
