Sears 987.889 Owner's Manual page 18

OPERATION
AdjustMower CuttingHeight
The cutting height can be adjust-
ed from 1 to 4 inches by rotating
the Cutting Height Control lever (A,
Figure 3-11).
Choose cutting heights accord-
ing to grass conditions and terrain.
In heavy or tall grass, it is usually
better to make the first cut at a
higher setting and then make a
second cut at the desired setting.
When mowing in rough terrain, a
higher setting is recommended as
it will minimize the chances of the
blade striking the ground or hidden
obstructions.
1. Release all mower controls
before adjusting cutting height.
2. Turn Cutting Height Control
lever clockwise to raise cutting
height or counterclockwise to lower
• cutting height. A decal and pointer
(not illustrated) on the right side of
the mower deck show cutting
height settings ranging from A
(highest) to G (lowest). Note that
actual cutting heights will vary
according to the grass and soil
conditions.
CAUTION
To avoid personal injury, do
not adjust cutting height
while wheels or blades are
turning. Release all handle-
bar controls and wait for all
motion to stop before adjust-
ing cuttingheight.
Test Blade-Brake-Clutch
ControlSystem
The mower is equipped with a
blade-brake-clutch which is de-
signed to stop the mower blades
within throe (3) seconds after ro-
lease .of the Operator Presence
Control or the Blade Drive Control.
Never tamper with, or attempt to
defeat the purpose of this safety
device.
The-control system is a mechani-
cal device which is subject to wear.
Thereforo, test the operation of the
blade_brake-clutch control system
befor_ each use of the mower. Re-
fer to "Blade Brake Control Test" at
the end of this Section.
Select Mulchingor
Side-Discharge Mowing
Your combination mower allows
you to select either mulching or
side-discharging of the grass clip-
pings. To use the mulching fea-
turo, insert the mulcher cover.
Remove the cover if side dis-
charge mowing is desired. Refer
to "Mulching Cover" on Page 15
for installation instructions.
Figure 3-12: Mulcher cover.
DANGER
Beforeinstalling or removing
mulchingcover, stop engine,
wait for parts to stop moving,
and disconnect spark plug
wire.
MOVING THEMOWER
WITHOUT ENGINE POWER
The mower can be manually
pushed or pulled by putting the
Gear Select Lever (C, Figure 3-13)
in N (neutral) and pressing and
holding the Operator Presence
Control (A, Figure 3-13) down
against the handlebar grip.
To stop the wheels at anytime,
release the Operator Presence
Control.
Figure 3-11: Cutting Height Control
lever.
18