MTD 760, 779 Lawn Mower User Manual


 
19
4
Operating
Your Lawn
Tractor
WARNING
Plan your mowing pat-
tern to avoid discharge
of materials toward
roads, sidewalks, by-
standers and the like.
Also, avoid discharging
material against a wall
or obstruction which
may cause discharged
material to ricochet
back toward the
operator.
Figure 13
Do NOT attempt to mow heavy brush and weeds and
extremely tall grass. Your tractor is designed to mow
lawns, NOT clear brush.
Keep the blades sharp and replace the blades when
worn. Refer to Cutting Blades on page 25 of this
manual for proper blade sharpening instructions.
Mulching (If Equipped)
Select models come equipped with a mulch kit which
incorporates special blades, already standard on the
tractor, in a process of recirculating grass clippings
repeatedly beneath the cutting deck. The ultra-fine
clippings are then forced back into the lawn where they
act as a natural fertilizer.
Observe the following points for the best results when
mulching:
Never attempt to mulch if the lawn is damp. Wet grass
tends to stick to the underside of the cutting deck
preventing proper mulching of the clippings.
Do NOT attempt to mulch more than 1/3 the total
height of the grass or approximately 1-1/2 inches.
Doing so will cause the clippings to clump up beneath
the deck and not be mulched effectively.
Maintain a slow ground speed to allow the grass
clippings more time to effectively be mulched.
Always position the throttle control lever in the FAST
(rabbit) position and allow it to remain there while
mowing. Failing to keep the engine at full throttle
places strain on the tractor’s engine and does not
allow the blades to properly mulch grass.
NOTE: It is not necessary to remove the discharge chute
to operate the mower with the mulch kit installed.
To operate the cutting deck without mulching, simply
remove the mulch plug by unthreading the plastic wing
nut which fastens it to the cutting deck. This will allow the
clippings to discharge out the side. See Figure 13.
Headlights
On some models, the lamps are ON whenever the
tractor’s engine is running. On other models, the
lamps are ON whenever the ignition key is moved out
of the STOP position.
On all models, the lamps turn OFF when the ignition
key is moved to the STOP position.