NOTE: The blade control han dle must
be de pressed in or der to op erate the
unit. Re lease the blade con trol han dle
to stop the en gine and blade.
TO STOP ENGINE
• Release the blade con trol han dle to stop the
engine and blade.
• Disconnect the spark plug wire as in structed
in the sep arate en gine man ual to pre vent ac -
ci den tal start ing while equip ment is
un at tended.
WARNING: The blade con tin ues to
rotate for a few seconds af ter the
engine is shut off.
WARNING: If you strike a for eign ob -
ject, stop the en gine. Remove wire
from spark plug, thor oughly in spect
the mower for any dam age, and re pair
the dam age be fore re starting and op -
er at ing the mower. Ex ten sive vi bra tion
of the mower during op eration is an
in di ca tion of dam age. The unit should
be promptly in spected and repaired.
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 compose
quickly be com ing a nat u ral fer til izer that re-
turns much of the needed nu trients 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 idential grass of a
height no more than 10". Do not at -
tempt to mow through un
usually
tall, dry grass (e.g., pas ture) or
piles of dry leaves. De bris may
build up on the mower deck or con-
tact the en gine ex haust pre senting
a po tential fire haz ard.
FOR THE BEST RESULTS WHEN
MULCHING:
• Clear lawn of de bris. Be sure that the lawn
is clear of stones, sticks, wire or other for -
eign ob jects which could dam age the
lawnmower. Such ob jects could be acciden-
tally thrown out by the mower in any
di rec tion and cause se ri ous per sonal in jury
to the op erator and oth ers as well as dam -
age to prop erty and sur rounding ob jects.
• Do not cut wet grass. For ef fective mulch-
ing do not cut wet grass be cause it tends to
stick to the un derside of the deck pre venting
proper mulch ing of the grass clip pings.
• Cut no more than 1/3 the length of the
grass. The rec ommended 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
necessary to use one of the slowest 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, lowering the
blade an other 1/3 of the length for the sec -
ond cut and per haps cut ting in a different
pattern than was used the first time. Over-
lapping 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
allow it to do the most ef fective job of mulch-
ing.
• Clean un derside of deck. Be cer tain to
clean the un derside of the cut ting deck af ter
each use to avoid a build-up of grass, which
would pre vent proper mulch ing.
• Mulching Leaves. The mulch ing of leaves
can also be ben eficial to your lawn. When
mulching 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.
• It is rec ommended keep ing drive ways and
sidewalks on the op erators right while mov -
ing. Continue mowing us ing this pattern,
having the left side of your lawnmower next
to the un cut grass. Mulching with the cut ting
area of the mower on the lawn avoids grass
clip pings in un de sir able ar eas.
DECK
The un derside of the mower deck should be
cleaned af ter each use to prevent a buildup of
grass clip pings, leaves, dirt or other mat ter. If
this de bris is al lowed to ac cumulate, it will in vite
rust and cor rosion, and may pre vent proper
mulch ing.
The deck may be cleaned by tilt ing the mower
and scraping clean with a suit able tool (make
certain the spark plug wire is dis connected).
NOTE: We do not recommend the use
of pres sure wash ers or gar den hose to
clean your unit. These may cause dam -
age to elec tric components, spindles,
pulleys, bearings, or the en gine. The
use of wa ter will result in short ened life
and re duce ser vice abil ity.
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