Craftsman 917.3773 manual Operation, Mulching Mowing Tips

OPERATION

MULCHING MOWING TIPS

iMPORTANT: FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, KEEP MOWER HOUSING FREE OF BUILT-UP GRASS AND

TRASH. SEE "CLEANING" IN CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES SECTION OF THIS MANUAL.

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- The special mulching blade will recut the grass clip- pings many times andreduce 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 wii biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn, Always mulch with your highest engine (blade) speea as this wil provide the best recutting action of the blades.

- Avoid cuttin g your lawn when	it is wet.	Wet grass tends	FiG. 10
to form clumps and interferes	with the	mulching action.

The best time to mow your lawn is the earty afternoon. At this time the grass has dried and the newly cut area will nor be exposed to the direct sun.

,For best results, adjust the lawn mower cutting height so that the !awn mower cuts off only the top one-third of the grass blades (See Fig. 10). If the lawn is overgrown it will be necessary to raise the height of cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep from overloading the engine and leaving clumps of mulched grass. For extremely heavy mulching, reduce your width of cut by overlapping previously cut path and mow slowly.

•Certain types ot grass and grass conditions may re- quire that an area be mulched a second time to com- pletely hide the clippings. When doing a second cut, mow across or perpendicular to the first cut path.

,Change yourcutting 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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