Engaging blades... what throttle do you use?

[kbuicker]

Hey fellas, I used to stick to the theory, when you engage the blades, slow the throttle so your clutch has a better chance of engaging the blades.... but with my newer mower, it seems more of a rough engagement when I slow the throttle and engage the blades. It's almost like it wants a faster throttle engagement?

What do you do? Either way, there's still that nasty 'screeeetch' when engaged.. hate that.

 

[Jaiberd]

I have always throttled down prior to blade engagement. Most manuals mention to do that. Not sure if it really makes a difference or not.

 

[CobyRupert]

Throttle down.
That's a gas engine right? With some (cold) gas engines, you need to give it a quick flip of choke at the same time you're engaging blades so engine has the torque to get them spinning.

 

[sidecarist]

My Hustler ZT mower wants about 1/4-1/3 throttle. It seems like at idle the clutch slips for a bit, but raising the revs as the manual states works better. I think the clutch may have centrifugal weights to help engagement. The higher speed will help it engage better.

That said, I would not engage the blades at anything higher than 1/3 throttle...