Mowing Tips; Mulching Mowing Tips - Poulan Pro PD185H42STA Owner's Manual

OPERATION
• Move motion control lever to full forward position and
hold for five (5) seconds. Move lever to full reverse
position and hold for five (5) seconds. Repeat this
procedure three (3) times.
NOTE: During this procedure there will be no movement
of drive wheels. The air is being removed from hydraulic
drive system.
• Move motion controllever to neutral (N) position.Shut-
off engine and set parking brake.
• Engage transmission by placing freewheel control in
driving position(See "TO TRANSPORT" in this section
of manual).
• Sitting in the tractor seat, start engine.After the engine
is running, move throttle control to half (1/2) speed.
With motioncontrol lever in neutral (N) position,slowly
disengage clutch/brake pedal.
• Slowly move motion control lever forward, after the
tractor moves approximately five (5) feet, slowly move
motion control lever to reverse position.After the trac-
tor moves approximately five (5) feet return the mo-
tion control lever to the neutral (N) position. Repeat
this procedure with the motion control lever three (3)
times.
• Your transmission is now purged and now ready for
normal operation.
MOWING TIPS
• Mower should be properly leveledfor best mowingper-
formance. See "TO LEVEL MOWER HOUSING" in the
Service and Adjustments section of this manual.
• The left hand side of mower should be used for trim-
ming.
• Drive so that clippings are discharged onto the area
that has been cut. Have the cut area to the right of the
machine. This will result in a more even distributionof
clippings and more uniform cutting.
• Whan mowinglargeareas, startbyturningtothe rightso
that clippingswill discharge away from shrubs,fences,
driveways, etc. After one or two rounds, mow in the
opposite direction making left handturns untilfinished
(See Fig. 11).
f
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1 •
FIG. 11
If grass is extremely tall, it should be mowed twice to
reduce load and possible fire hazard from dried clip-
pings, Make first cut relatively high; the second to the
desired height.
• Do not mow grass when it is wet. Wet grass will plug
mower and leave undesirable clumps. Allow grass to
dry before mowing.
• Always operate engine at full throttle when mow-
ing to assure better mowing performance and proper
discharge of material. Regulate ground speed by se-
lecting a low enough gear to give the mower cutting
performance as well as the quality of cut desired.
• When operating attachments, select a ground speed
that will suit the terrain and give best performance of
the attachment being used.
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
IMPORTANT: FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, KEEP MOWER
HOUSING FREE OF BUILT-UP GRASS AND TRASH. CLEAN
AFTER EACHUSE.
• 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 notbe noticed. Also, the mulched grass will biode-
grade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn. Always
mulch with your highest engine (blade) speed as this
will providethe best recutting action of the blades.
• Avoidcuttingyour lawn when it is wet. Wet grass tends
toform clumpsand interferes with the mulchingaction.
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 mower cutting height so
that the mower cuts off only the top one-third of the
grass blades (See Fig. 12). For extremely heavy mulch-
ing, reduce your width of cut on each pass and mow
slowly.
MAX 1/3
FIG. 12
• Certain typesof grass and grass conditions may require
that an area be mulched a second time to completely
hide the clippings. When doing a second cut, mow
across (perpendicular) to the first cut path.
• Change yourcutting pattern from week to week. Mow
northto southone week then change to east to west the
next week. This will help prevent matting and graining
of the lawn.
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