Craftsman 917.273180 manual Mulching Mowing Tips

MOWING TIPS

•Mower should be properly leveled for

best mowing performance. See "TO

LEVEL MOWER HOUSING" in the Service and Adjustments section of this

MULCHING MOWING TIPS

IMPORTANT: For best performance, keep mower housing free of built-upgrass and trash. Clean after each use,

•The special mulchingblade will recut

	manual.			the grass clippings many times and
•	The left hand side of mower should be			reduce them in size so that as they fall
	used for trimming.			onto the lawn they will disperse into
•	Drive so that clippings are discharged			the grass and not be noticed. Also, the
	onto the area that has already been cut.			mulched grass will biodegrade quickly
	Have the cut area to the right of the trac-			to provide nutrients for the lawn. Always
	tor. This will result in a more even distri-			mulch with your highest engine (blade)
	bution of clippings and more uniform			speed as this will provide the best recut-
	cutting.			ting action of the blades,
•	When mowing large areas,		start by	Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet,
	turning to the right so that clippings will			Wet grass tends to form clumps and
	discharge	away from shrubs, fences,		interferes with the mulching action. The
	driveways,	etc. After one or two rounds,		best time to mow your lawn is the early
	mow in the opposite direction making			afternoon. At this time the grass has
	left hand turns until finished.			dried, the newly cut area will not be
	f			exposed to direct sunlight.
	1	.Ip		For best results, adjust the mower
				cutting height so that the mower cuts
				off only the top one-third of the grass
	t			blades. For extremely heavy grass, re-
				duce your width of cut on each pass and
		II	J mow slowly.

•If grass is extremely tall, it should be mowed twice to reduce load and pos- sible fire hazard from dried clippings. Make first cut relatively high; the second to the desired height.

•Do not mow grass when it is wet. Wet grass will plug mower and leave undesirable clumps. Allow grass to dry before mowing.

•Always operate engine at full throttle when mowing to assure better mow-

ing performance and proper discharge of material. Regulate ground speed by

selecting a low enough gear to give the mower cutting performance as well as the quality of cut desired.

•When operating attachments, select a ground speed that will suit the terrain and give best perform_,nce of the at- tachment being used.

•Certain types of grass and grass conditions may require that an area be mulched a second time to completely hide the clippings. When doing a sec- ond cut, mow across (perpendicular) 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.

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