Just bought an HRX217HYA yesterday and have yet to put fuel in it. First thing I did was remove the strainer which is very simple (just remove the three bolts holding the pull start/engine cover on and the fuel tank comes right out as it's attached to the engine cover) and installed the pictured filter. Got the filter at Advanced Auto Parts for $5 and bought a little extra 1/4" fuel line in order to provide enough room to install the filter as it's a little large. I positioned the filter on the outside of the control cables as the cables will prevent the plastic filter from contacting the engine or sitting close to the hot cooling fins which as we all know, could result in something akin to a mower BBQ!
The filter does sit outside of the engine cover but I'm not too worried about it snagging. Time will tell but I think this set up works for me as the filter will be easy to change in the future.
Any other tips others can share? Believe it or not, this is my first push/self propelled mower as I just sold my rider in anticipation of moving into my new home with less grass area.
Edit - Filter in picture if positioned the wrong way for fuel flow. I've since flipped the filter.