Operator's Manual

16
Rear Discharge
Occasionally, you may need to cut the lawn without the
grass bag or the recycler plug when the grass is too long
for bagging.
T o use the rear dischar ge feature, remove the recycler plug
or the grass bag (refer to Removing the Grass Bag on
page 15), and close the rear door
.
DANGER
POTENTIAL HAZARD
• Thr own objects may r esult if the r ear door does
not close completely .
WHA T CAN HAPPEN
• Thr own objects can cause serious personal
injury or death.
HOW T O A V OID THE HAZARD
• If you cannot close the r ear door because grass
clippings clog the discharge ar ea, stop the
engine, wait for all moving parts to stop, and
r emove the grass clippings (with a stick, not
your hand) until the door closes completely .
Operating T ips
General Tips
• Review the safety instructions and read this manual
carefully before operating the lawn mower .
• Clear the area of sticks, stones, wire, branches, and
other debris which could be picked up or hit by the
blade and become thrown objects.
• Keep everyone, especially children and pets, away
from the area of operation.
• A void striking trees, walls, curbs, or other solid
objects. Never deliberately mow over any object.
• If the lawn mower strikes an object or starts to vibrate,
immediately stop the engine, disconnect the wire from
the spark plug, and examine the lawn mower for
damage.
• Maintain a sharp blade throughout the cutting season.
Periodically file down nicks on the blade.
• Replace the blade when necessary with an original
T oro replacement blade.
• Only mow dry grass or leaves. W et grass and leaves
tend to clump on the yard and may cause the lawn
mower to plug or the engine to stall.
WARNING
POTENTIAL HAZARD
• W et grass or leaves can cause you to slip and
contact the blade.
WHA T CAN HAPPEN
• Blade contact can seriously injure you.
HOW T O A V OID THE HAZARD
• Mow only in dry conditions.
• Clean clippings or leaves from the underside of the
lawn mower deck after each mowing. See Cleaning
the Underside of the Lawn Mower Housing on
page 19.
• Keep the engine in good running condition.
WARNING
POTENTIAL HAZARD
• Operating a lawn mower with its engine
running at a speed gr eater than the factory
setting can cause an unsafe operating condition.
WHA T CAN HAPPEN
• The lawn mower could thr ow a part of the
blade or engine into the operator ’ s or
bystander’ s ar ea and cause serious personal
injury or death.
HOW T O A V OID THE HAZARD
• Do not change the engine speed setting.
• If you suspect the engine speed is faster than
normal, contact your Authorized Service
Dealer.
• Clean the air filter frequently . Recycling stirs up more
clippings and dust which clogs the air filter and
reduces engine performance.
• T o achieve the best recycling action, set the lawn
mower cutting height so the lawn mower cuts no more
than a third of the grass blade or a maximum of
one-inch- (25 mm) long clippings. If you try to recycle
more or if the grass is very lush, the recycling action
will be poor . Under these conditions, use the rear
dischar ge or grass catcher . A few days later , install the
recycle plug in your lawn mower to resume recycling.
Cutting Grass
• In the summer heat, cut the grass at the D , E , or F (52,
63, or 75 mm) cutting height settings. Only cut of f
about a third of the grass blade. Do not cut below the
D (52 mm) setting unless the grass is sparse or it is late
autumn when the grass growth begins to slow down.