Operation
EN-13
Mulching Tips
General Tips
Follow these instructions whether cutting grass or
leaves for the best cutting results and lawn
appearance:
•
Maintain a sharp blade throughout the cutting
season. Periodically file down nicks on blade.
•
Only mow dry grass or leaves. Wet grass and
leaves tend to clump on yard and may cause
mower to plug or engine to stall. They may also
be slippery to walk on and could cause you to
slip and fall.
POTENTIAL HAZARD
•
Wet grass or leaves can cause you to slip
and contact blade.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN
•
Blade contact can seriously injure you.
HOW TO AVOID THE HAZARD
•
Mow only in dry conditions.
•
Set engine speed to fastest position. Maximum
horsepower provides best cutting results.
•
Clean clippings or leaves from underside of
mower deck after each mowing.
•
Keep engine in good running condition. Cutting
and recutting requires more horsepower.
•
Clean air filter more frequently. Cutting and
recutting stirs up more clippings and dust which
clogs the air filter and reduces engine
performance.
Cutting Grass
•
Grass grows at different rates at different times
of the year. In the heat of summer, it is generally
best to cut grass at the 2, 2.5 or 3 inch
height-of-cut settings. Only about
!
/
3
of the
grass blade should be cut off. Cutting below the
2 inch setting is not recommended unless grass
is sparse or it is late fall when grass growth
begins to slow down.
•
When cutting grass over six inches tall, you may
want to first mow using the highest height-of-cut
setting and a slower walking speed; then mow
again at a lower setting for best lawn appearance.
If grass is too long and leaves clumps on top of
lawn, mower may plug and cause engine to stall.
•
Alternate mowing direction. This helps disperse
clippings over 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 height-of-cut setting on your mower.
•
Cut grass more frequently.
•
Overlap cutting swaths instead of cutting a full
swath with each pass.
Cutting Leaves
•
When cutting is complete, always be sure that
50% of the lawn shows through the cut leaf
cover. This may require one or more passes over
the leaves.
•
Walk at a slower mowing speed if leaves are not
being cut up finely enough to be hidden down in
the grass.
•
If you cut up a lot of oak leaves, you might want
to add lime to your grass in the spring. Lime
reduces the acidity of oak leaves.
