Maintenance Service, Mower Cutting Blades

j.After you have mastered operating the mower, use the second foot pedal to lower the mowing deck to the cutting position and pull on the electric blade clutch switch to start the blades rotating.

k.Practice mowing in straight passes. When you feel confident, slowly practice mowing around obstacles such as trees.

5.Parking the Mower:

a.Push off the electric blade clutch switch.

b.Use the upper foot pedal to raise the mowing deck to the transport position.

c.Drive the mower to the cleanup or storage area.

d.Move the throttle to slow.

e.Place the steering levers in the neutral posi- tion.

f.Set the parking brake.

g.Turn off the ignition switch and take the key from the switch.

h.Close the fuel shutoff valves.

E.Mower Cutting Blades

The blades normally “factory installed” on a mower afford the best grass cutting performance on the majority of grasses and mowing conditions; however, there will be occasions whereby the grass type, stage of grass growth, soil conditions, and weather conditions will require different cutting blade types. Since the mower decks are designed so that over-lap of the cutting blades generally exceed 1.5”, there is no need for orientation of one cutting blade to an adjacent blade (I.E., the blades do not need to be “timed” nor synchronized).

Hi-lift- These are generally the best cutting blades for most grasses and mowing conditions. These blades will provide extra “lift” for the thinner leaf grasses, will handle lush grasses, and will provide maximum grass and debris discharge. These blades are generally required for material collection systems. More horsepower is required for these blades when compared to others, and they generally produce the highest noise levels.

Medium-lift- These blades require less horsepower than the hi-lift, and they generally work well in wider leaf grasses and some mulch applications.

Low-lift- These blades require less horsepower than hi- lift and medium-lift blades, and they generally work best with wide leaf grasses, sparse grass growth, and sandy soil conditions. They generally produce the lowest noise levels. Bahia blades are configured without offset, and with a maximum amount of sharpened cutting edge.

Mulch- These blades are generally designed for use in cutting decks equipped with mulch baffles. The shape of the blade generally produces higher turbulence in order that the grass can be repeatedly cut and re-cut into smaller pieces. These blades generally require more horsepower than other blades. Mulch blades work best when the grasses are cut at the highest levels, minimal

lengths of grasses are removed, and grass conditions are generally dry.

MAINTENANCE AND

SERVICE

WARNING:

Disconnect the spark plug wires or remove the key from the ignition to prevent the engine from accidentally starting before performing any main- tenance on this mower.

A. Cleaning your Deck

Use the Deck Wash System to rinse grass clippings from the deck’s underside and prevent the buildup of corrosive chemicals. Complete the following steps after each mowing:

IMPORTANT: Make certain the machine’s dis- charge chute is directed away from people, children, animals, and your house, garage, parked cars, etc.

a.Drive the machine to a level, clear spot on your lawn, near enough to a water faucet (spigot) for your garden hose to reach.

b.Make sure that the PTO (mower deck blade engage) control is in the “OFF” position.

c.Move shift lever or speed control into the “Neutral” position.

d.Set the parking brake, and turn the ignition key to the “STOP” position to stop the engine.

e.Thread hose coupler (packaged with this manual) onto the end of your garden hose. See Figure 6. Attach the hose coupler to the water port on your mower deck’s surface. See Figure 6. Turn the water on.

f.While sitting in the machine operator’s posi- tion, re-start the engine and place throttle lever in the Fast (rabbit) position.

g.Move the PTO control to the “ON” position.

h.Remain in the machine operator’s position, and with the mower deck engaged for a mini- mum of two minutes per wash out, start with the trim (operator’s left) side, and allow the underside of the cutting deck to thoroughly rinse.

i.Move the PTO control to the “OFF” position.

j.Turn the engine off.

k.Turn the water off, and detach the hose cou- pler from the water port on your mower deck.