Craftsman 917.388690 Owner's Manual page 9

MOWING'rIPS
• Under
certain conditions, such as very
tall gross, it may be necessary to raise
the height of cut 1o 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 ovedapping previously
cut path and mow stow|y.
• For better grass bagging and most
cutting conditions, the engine speed
should be set in the fast position.
• When using a rear discharge lawn
mower in moist, heavy grass, clumps of
cut grass may not enter the grass
catcher. Reduce ground speed
(pushing speed) and/or run the lawn
mower over the area a second time.
• If a trail of clippings is left on the right
side of a rear discharge mower, mow in
a clockwise direction with a small
ovedap to collect the clippings on the
next pass.
• Pores in cloth grass catchers can
become filled with dirt and dust with use
and catchers will collect less grass. To
provent 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 MOWlNGTIPS
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 mulchingblade wil recat the
grassclippings many times end reduce
them in size so that as theyfal ontothe
lawn they willdisperseinto the grass and
not be noticed.Also,the mulchedgrasswill
biodegradequicklyto pr_de nutrients for
the lawn. Always mulchwithyour Nghest
engine (blade) speed as this will provide
the best recutiing actionof the blades.
• Avoidcutting your lawnwhen it is wet. Wet
grasstendsto form dumps and interferes
with the mulchingaction.The best time to
mew your lawnis the eadyettemoon. At
thistime the grasshas driedand the newly
cut area wil not be exp<_;edto the direct
sun.
• For best results, a djust _ lawn mower
cutting height so that the lawn mower cuts
off onlythe top one-third of the grass
blades. If the lawn is overgrown it wgl be
necessary to raise the height of cut to
reduce puchk_geffortand to keep from
overloading the engine and leaving
clumps of mulched grass. For extremely
heavy mulching, reduce your width of cut,
rr_N slowly and raisethe rear of the lawn
mower one wheel a_uster set_nghigher
than _e fronL
• Certaintypes of grass end grass condk
tions m ay require that an areabe mulched
a secondtime tocompletely hide the
clippings. W hen doing a second cut, mow
acrossor perpondcularto the tirst cut path.
• Change yourcutiJng patternfromweak to
week. Mc_w P_rthto eau_ one weak then
changeto east to west the nextweek. "INs
wighelp preventmattingand grainingof
the lawn.
Max 1/3
9