Mowing Tips - Craftsman 917.388895 Owner's Manual

MOWING TIPS
CAUTION: Do not use de-thatcher
bladeattachmentson your mower.Such
attachmentsare hazardous,will damage
your mowerand could void your warranty.
• Under certainconditions,such as very
tall grass, it may be necessaryto raise
the heightof cut to reducepushing
effort andto keepfrom overloadingthe
engineand leavingclumpsof grass clip-
pings. It may alsobe necessaryto re-
ducegroundspeed and/orrun the lawn
mowerover the areaa second time.
• For extremelyheavycutting,reducethe
width of cut by overlappingpreviously
cut path and mow slowly.
• For better grassbagging andmost cut-
ting conditions,the enginespeed should
be set in the FASTposition.
• When usinga rear dischargelawn
mowerin moist,heavygrass, clumps
of cut grass may not enter the grass
catcher.Reducegroundspeed (pushing
speed)and/orrun the lawn mowerover
the area a second time.
• If a trail of clippingsis lefton the right
sideof a reardischargemower,mow in
a clockwisedirectionwith a smallover-
lap to collectthe clippingson the next
pass.
• Pores in cloth grass catcherscan be-
comefilled with dirt anddust with use
and catcherswill collectless grass. To
preventthis, regularlyhosecatcheroff
with water and let dry beforeusing.
• Keeptop of enginearoundstarterclear
and clean of grass clippingsand chaff.
This will help engineair flow and extend
enginelife.
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 clippings 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 biodegrade quickly
to provide nutrients 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
interferes with the mulching action. The
best time to mow your lawn is the early
afternoon. At this time the grass has
dried, yet the newly cut area will not be
exposed to direct sunlight.
• 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 overgrown it
will be necessary to raise the height of
cut to reduce pushing effort and to keep
from overloading the engine and leaving
clumps of mulched grass. For extremely
heavy grass, reduce your width of cut
by overlapping previously cut path and
mow slowly.
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• Certain types of grass and grass
conditions may require that an area be
mulched a second time to completely
hide the clippings. When doing a sec-
ond cut, mow across (perpendicular) to
the first 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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