USING THE DECK HEIGHT LEVER
Toraiseor lowerthecuttingdeck,movethedeck heightlevertothe
left,thenplaceit inthenotchbestsuitedforyourapplication.
MOWING
Thefollowinginformationwillbehelpfulwhenoperatingyourmower.
Planyourmowingpatterntoavoiddischargeof materialstoward
roads,sidewalks,bystanders.Also,avoiddischargingmaterial
againstawallorobstructionwhichmaycausedischargedmaterialto
ricochetbacktowardtheoperator.
• Donotmowatfastgroundspeeds,especiallyifa mulchkitor
grasscollectorisinstalled.
• Donotcut thegrasstooshort.Shortgrassispronetoweed
growthandyellowsquicklyin dryweather.
• Alwaysoperatethemowerwiththethrottle/chokecontrolinthe
FAST_ positionwhilemowing.
• Forbestresultsitis recommendedthatthefirsttwolapsbecut
withthedischargethrowntowardsthecenter.Afterthefirsttwo
laps,reversethedirectiontothrowthedischargetotheoutside
forthebalanceofcutting.Thiswillgivea betterappearanceto the
lawn.
DoNOTattempttomowheavybrushandweedsor extremelytall
grass.Yourmowerisdesignedtomowlawns,NOTclearbrush.
Keepthebladessharpandreplacethebladeswhenworn.
Afterstrikinga foreignobject,stoptheengine,disconnectthespark
plugwireandgroundagainsttheengine.Thoroughlyinspectthe
mowerforanydamage.AlwaysInspectthebladetimingbeltas
instructedin theMaintenancesectionof thismanual.Repairthe
damagebeforestartingandoperatingthemower.
MULCHING
TheCraftsmanProWideCutmowerisequippedwitha mulchkit(sup-
pliedwiththemower),whichusesspecialbladesto recirculategrass
clippingsrepeatedlybeneaththecuttingdeck.Theultra-fineclippings
arethenforcedbackintothelawnwheretheyact asa naturalfertilizer.
Observethefollowingpointsforthebestresultswhenmulching.
• Neverattempttomulchif the lawnis damp.Wetgrasstends
tosticktotheundersideof thecuttingdeckpreventingproper
mulchingoftheclippings.
DoNOTattempttomulchmorethan1/3thetotalheightofthe
grass.Doingsowillcausetheclippingstoclumpupbeneaththe
deckandnotbemulchedeffectively.
• Maintaina slowgroundspeedtoallowthe grassclippingsmore
timetoeffectivelybe mulched.
• Alwayskeepthe throttlecontrolleverintheFAST,_ position
whilemowing.Failingtokeeptheengineatfullthrottleplaces
strainon themower'sengineanddoesnotallowthebladesto
properlymulchthegrassclippings.
INSTALLING/REMOVING MULCH BAFFLE
Beforeinstallingor removingthemulchbaffle,disengageblades,sto
theengineand removekeyto preventunintendedstarting.
Stoptheengineandwaitforall partstostopmoving.
Installing the Mulch Baffle
1. Insertthe right-sidetab(A)of thebaffleintothe bracketonthe
deck.SeeFigure11.
2. Insertthe mulchbaffleintothedischargeopening(B).See
Figure11.
3. Onceit'spositionedin thedeckopening,pushthebaffletowards
therearofthemower(C)to secureit inplace.
SeeFigure11.
Figure11
Removing the Mulch Baffle
Slidethebaffleto theright(towardthefrontofthemower)to disen-
gagetheslotfromthe mowerdeckandthenprythe left-sideofthe
baffleoutward.
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