Mowing Tips; Mulching Mowing Tips - Craftsman 917.387580 Owner's Manual

MOWING TIPS
A CAUTmON:Do not use de-thatcher
bladeattachmentson your mower.Such
attachmentsare hazardous,will damage
your mowerand could void your warranty.
,_ Under certain conditions,such as very
tall grass, it may be necessaryto raise
the height of cut to reduce pushing
effort and to keepfrom overloadingthe
engine and leavingclumps of grassclip-
pings. It may also be necessaryto re-
duce groundspeed and/or run the lawn
mowerover the area a second time.
For extremelyheavycutting, reducethe
width of cut by overlappingpreviously
cut path and mow slowly.
For better grass bagging and most cut-
ting conditions,the enginespeed should
be set in the FASTposition.
For side dischargelawn mowers,cutting
in a counter-clockwisedirection,start-
ing at the outside of the area to be cut,
spreads grassclippings more evenly
and puts less load on the engine.To
keepclippings off of walkways,flower
beds, etc., makethe first cuts in a clock-
wise direction.
Pores in cloth grasscatcherscan be-
come filled with dirt and dust with use
and catcherswill collect less grass.To
preventthis, regularlyhosecatcher off
with water and let dry beforeusing.
Keeptop of engine aroundstarter clear
and clean of grass clippings and chaff.
This will help engine air flow and extend
engine life.
MULCHmNGMOWmNG TIPS
mMPORTANT: For best performance,
keepmowerhousingfree of built-up
grass and trash.See "CLEANING"in the
Maintenancesection of this manual.
,_The special mulchingbladewill recut
the grassclippings many times and
reducethem in size so that as they fall
onto the lawn they will disperseinto
the grassand not be noticed. Also, the
mulchedgrasswill biodegradequickly
to provide nutrientsfor the lawn. Always
mulchwith your highestengine (blade)
speed as this will providethe best recut-
ting action of the blades.
Avoidcutting your lawnwhen it is wet.
Wet grasstends to form clumps and
interfereswith the mulchingaction. The
best time to mowyour lawn is the early
afternoon. At this time the grass has
dried,yet the newlycut area will not be
exposedto direct sunlight.
For best results, adjustthe lawn mower
cutting heightso that the lawn mower
cuts off onlythe top one-thirdof the
grass blades. If the lawn is overgrownit
will be necessaryto raisethe height of
cut to reduce pushingeffort and to keep
from overloadingthe engine and leaving
clumps of mulchedgrass.Forextremely
heavygrass, reduceyour width of cut
by overlappingpreviouslycut path and
mowslowly.
Certain types of grass and grass
conditions may requirethat an area be
mulcheda second time to completely
hide the clippings. When doing a sec-
ondcut, mowacross (perpendicular)to
the first cut path.
Changeyour cutting patternfrom week
to week. Mow north to south one week
then changeto east to west the next
week. This will help preventmatting and
grainingof the lawn.
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