Craftsman 917.3875 owner manual Mowing Tips, Mulching Mowingtips

MOWING TIPS

•Under certain conditions, such as very tall grass, it may be necessary to raise the height of cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep from ovedoading the engine and leaving clumps of grass clippings. It may also be necessary to reduce ground speed and/or run the lawn mower over the area a second time.

•For extremely heavy cutting, reduce the width of cut by overlapping previously cut path and mow slowly.

•For better grass bagging and most cutting conditions, the engine speed should be set in the fast position.

•For side discharge lawn mowers, cutting in a counter-clockwise direction, starting at the outside of the area to be cut, spreads grass clippings more evenly and puts less load on the engine. To keep clippings off of walkways, flower beds, etc., make the flint cuts in a clockwise direction.

•Pores in cloth grass catchers can "become filled with dirt and dust with

use end catchers will collect less grass. To prevent this, regularly hose catcher off with water and let dry before using,

•Keep top of engine around starter clear and clean of grass clippings and chaff. This will help engine air flow and extend engine life.

MULCHING MOWINGTIPS

IMPORTANT: For best performance, keep mower housing free of built-up grass and trash. See "Cleaning" in MAINTENANCE section of this manua

•The special mulching blade will reel the grass clippings many times and reduce them in size so that as they f onto the lawn they will disperse into grass and not be noticed. Also, the mulched grass will biodegrade quic to provide nutdents for the lawn. Always mulch with your highest eng (blade) speed as this will provide th, best recurring action of the blades.

•Avoid cutting your lawn when it is w_ Wet grass tends to form clumps and interferes with the mulching action, " best time to mow your lawn is the e_ afternoon. At this time the grass has dried and the newly cut area will no1 exposed to the direct sun.

•For best results, adjust the lawn mo' cutting height so that the lawn mowq cuts off only the top one-third of the grass blades. If the lawn is overgrov will be necessary to raise the height cut to reduce pushing effort and to kq from overloading the engine and leaving clumps of mulched grass. F¢ extremely heavy mulching, reduce y width of cut by overlapping previous cut path and mow slowly.

•Certain types of grass and grass conditions may require that an area mulched a second time to completel hide the clippings. When doing a second cut, mow across or peq3end; lar to the first cut path.

•Change your cutting pattem from w( to week. Mow north to south one we then change to east to west the next week. This will help prevent matting and graining of the lawn.

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