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Craftsman 944.362640 Owner's Manual page 8

Rotary lawn mower

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TO START ENGINE
NOTE: Due to protective coatings on the
engine, a small amount of smoke may be
present during the initial use of the prod-
uct and should be considered normal.
1. To start a cold engine, push primer
three (3) times before trying to start.
Use a fi rm push. This step is not
usually necessary when starting an
engine which has already run for a few
minutes.
2. Hold operator presence control bar
down to the han dle and pull starter
handle quickly. Do not allow starter
rope to snap back.
TO STOP ENGINE
• To stop engine, release operator pres-
ence con trol bar.
NOTE: In cooler weather it may be
necessary to repeat priming steps. In
warmer weather over priming may cause
fl ooding and engine will not start. If you
do fl ood engine, wait a few minutes before
attempting to start and do not repeat
priming steps.
MOWING TIPS
• Under certain conditions, such as very
tall grass, it may be nec es sary to raise
the height of cut to reduce pushing
effort and to keep from overloading the
engine and leaving clumps of grass clip-
pings. It may also be necessary to re-
duce ground speed and/or run the lawn
mower over the area a sec ond time.
• For extremely heavy cutting, re duce the
width of cut by over lap ping previously
cut path and mow slowly.
• For better grass bagging and most cut-
ting conditions, the engine speed should
be set in the FAST po si tion.
• Pores in cloth grass catchers can be-
come fi lled with dirt and dust with use
and catchers will collect less grass. To
prevent this, reg u lar ly 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 fl ow and extend engine life.
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
IMPORTANT: For best performance,
keep mower housing free of built-up
grass and trash. See "CLEANING" in the
Maintenance section of this manual.
• The special mulching blade will recut
the grass clip pings many times and
reduce 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 will bio de grade quickly
to provide nu tri ents for the lawn. Always
mulch with your highest engine (blade)
speed as this will provide the best recut-
ting action of the blades.
• Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet.
Wet grass tends to form clumps and
in ter feres with the mulch ing action. The
best time to mow your lawn is the early
afternoon. At this time the grass has
dried and the newly cut area will not be
exposed to the direct sun.
• For best results, adjust the lawn mower
cutting height so that the lawn mower
cuts off only the top one-third of the
grass blades. If the lawn is over grown it
will be necessary to raise the height of
cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep
from over load ing the engine and leaving
clumps of mulched grass. For ex tremely
heavy grass, reduce your width of cut
by overlapping previously cut path and
mow slowly.
MAX 1/3
• Certain types of grass and grass
con di tions may re quire that an area be
mulched a second time to com pletely
hide the clip pings. When doing a sec-
ond cut, mow across or per pen dic u lar to
the fi rst 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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