Operation - MTD YardWorks Series 400 Operator's Manual

OPERATION

Before Starting
Ser vice the en gine with gas o line and oil as in structed
in the sep a rate en gine man ual packed in your
mower. Read in struc tions care fully.
WARNING: Never fill fuel tank in doors, with en -
gine run ning or un til the en gine has been al -
lowed to cool for at least two min utes af ter run -
ning.
To Start En gine
At tach spark plug wire to spark plug.
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equipped with a rub ber boot over the end of the
spark plug wire, make cer tain the metal loop on the
end of the spark plug wire (in side the rub ber boot) is
fas tened se curely over the metal tip on the spark
plug. See Fig ure 10.
If your unit is equipped with a primer, prime en gine
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as in structed in the sep a rate en gine man ual packed
with your unit.
Stand ing be hind the unit, de press the blade con trol
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han dle and hold it against the up per han dle as
shown in Fig ure 11.
Grasp the starter han dle as shown and pull slowly
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un til re sis tance is felt, then pull rap idly to start en gine
and avoid kick back. Re turn it slowly to the rope
guide. See Fig ure 11.
The blade con trol han dle must be de pressed in or der
to op er ate the unit. Re lease the blade con trol han dle
to stop the en gine and blade.
WARN ING: THIS CON TROL MECH A NISM IS
A SAFETY DE VICE. NEVER AT TEMPT TO BY -
PASS ITS OP ER A TIONS.
To Stop Engine :
Re lease the blade con trol han dle to stop the en gine
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and blade.
WARNING: The blade con tin ues to ro tate for a
few sec onds af ter the en gine is shut off.
Dis con nect and ground the spark plug wire as in -
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structed in the sep a rate en gine man ual to pre vent
ac ci den tal start ing while equip ment is un at tended.
Using Your Mulcher (Optional)
Mulching mow ers use a spe cially de signed blade to
chop the grass clip pings ex tra fine and then blow
them back down into the lawn. The small clip pings
de com pose quickly be com ing a nat u ral fer til izer that
re turns much of the needed nu tri ents to the soil.
Con tin u ous mulch ing means con tin u ous free nat u ral
fer til iza tion, no messy clip pings to worry about ever
again and the end re sult for you is a much greener
health ier lawn.
WARNING: Your mower is de signed to cut nor -
mal res i den tial grass of a height no more than
10". Do not at tempt to mow through un usu ally
tall, dry grass (e.g., pas ture) or piles of dry
Metal
Loop
on Spark
Plug Wire
Fig ure 10
If unit is
Fig ure 11
leaves. De bris may build up on the mower deck
or con tact the en gine ex haust pre sent ing a po -
ten tial fire haz ard.
For The Best Results When Mulching:
Clear lawn of de bris. Be sure that the lawn is clear of
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stones, sticks, wire or other for eign ob jects which could
dam age the lawnmower. Such ob jects could be ac ci -
den tally thrown out by the mower in any di rec tion and
cause se ri ous per sonal in jury to the op er a tor and oth ers
as well as dam age to prop erty and sur round ing ob jects.
Do not cut wet grass. For ef fec tive mulch ing do not cut
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wet grass be cause it tends to stick to the un der side of
the deck pre vent ing proper mulch ing of the grass clip -
pings.
Cut no more than 1/3 the length of the grass. The
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rec om mended cut for mulch ing is 1/3 the length of the
grass. Ground speed will need to be ad justed so the
clip pings can be dis persed evenly into the lawn. For es -
pe cially heavy cut ting in thick grass it may be nec es sary
to use one of the slow est speeds in or der to get a clean
well mulched cut. When mulch ing long grass you may
have to cut the lawn in two passes, low er ing the blade
an other 1/3 of the length for the sec ond cut and per -
haps cut ting in a dif fer ent pat tern than was used the first
time. Over lap ping the cut a lit tle on each pass will also
help to clean up any stray clip pings left on the lawn.
The mower should al ways be op er ated at full throt tle to
get the best cut and al low it to do the most ef fec tive job
of mulch ing.
Clean un der side of deck. Be cer tain to clean the un -
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der side of the cut ting deck af ter each use to avoid a
build-up of grass, which would pre vent proper mulch ing.
Mulch ing Leaves. The mulch ing of leaves can also be
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ben e fi cial to your lawn. When mulch ing leaves make
sure they are dry and are not lay ing too thick on the
lawn. Do not wait for all the leaves to be off the trees
be fore you mulch.
8
Con trol Han dle
Starter
Handle
Rubber Boot
Blade