Mulching The Clippings; Bagging The Clippings; Installing The Grass Bag - Toro 20997 Operator's Manual

Not Using the Grass Bag
1. Move the mower onto a paved surface in a
non-windy area.
2. Set all 4 wheels to the 3-1/4 inch (83 mm) cut setting.
3. Take a half sheet of newspaper and crumple it into
a ball small enough to go under the mower housing
(about 3 inches or 76 mm in diameter).
4. Place the newspaper ball about 5 inches (13 cm) in
front of the mower.
5. Start the engine.
6. Engage the blade.
7. Release the blade control bar.
8. Immediately push the mower over the newspaper
ball.
9. Stop the engine and wait for all moving parts to stop.
10. Go to the front of the mower and check the
newspaper ball.
Note: If the newspaper ball did not go under the
mower, repeat steps 4 through 10.
11. If the newspaper is unravelled or shredded, the
blade did not stop properly, which could result in an
unsafe operating condition. Contact an Authorized
Service Dealer.

Mulching the Clippings

Your mower comes from the factory ready to mulch the
grass and leaf clippings back into the lawn.
If the grass bag is on the mower, remove it (refer to
Removing the Grass Bag) before mulching the clippings.
If the side discharge chute is on the mower, remove it
and lock the side discharge door (refer to Removing the
Side Discharge Chute) before mulching the clippings.
Important: The mower has a safety switch that
prevents you from starting the mower unless you
first install the mulch plug securely on the mower
(Figure 20).
1. Top of mulch plug lever in switch channel

Bagging the Clippings

Use the grass bag when you want to collect grass and
leaf clippings from the lawn.
If the side discharge chute is on the mower, remove it
and lock the side discharge door (refer to Removing the
Side Discharge Chute) before bagging the clippings.
WARNING
The blade is sharp; contacting the blade can result
in serious personal injury.
Stop the engine and wait for all moving parts to stop
before leaving the operating position.

Installing the Grass Bag

1. Remove the mulch plug (Figure 21).
11
Figure 20
Figure 21