Craftsman 247.29933 Operator's Manual page 16

Choosing the Correct Whee( & Tine Speeds
With experience, y ou will findthe tillingdepthand tilling speed
combinationthat isbest for yourgarden.Set theengine throttlelever at
a speedtogive the engineadequatepowerand yet allowit tooperate
at the slowestpossiblespeeduntilyou haveachievedthe maximum
tillingdepthyoudesire. Fasterenginespeedsmay be desirable
whenmakingfinalpassesthroughthe seedbedor when cultivating.
Selectionof the correctenginespeed,in relationto the tillingdepth,
will ensurea sufficientpowerlevelto do thejob withoutcausingthe
engineto labor.
Suggested Tilling Patterns
• Whenpreparinga seedbed,go overthesame pathtwice inthe
first row,thenoverlapone-halfthe tillerwidth on the rest of the
passes.See Figure13.
• Whenfinishedinone direction,makea secondpass at a right
angle,See Figure14.Overlapeach passfor the best results(in
very hard ground,itmay take threeor four passesto thoroughly
pulverizethe soil.)
• If thegarden sizewill not permitlengthwiseand then crosswise
tilling,then overlapthe firstpassesby one-halfa tillerwidth,fol-
lowedby successive passesat one-quarterwidth.See Figure15.
Donot operatethe tilleron a slopetoo steepfor safe operation.Till
slowlyand be sureyou havegood footing.Neverpermit thetiller to
freewheeldown slopes.Failureto follow this warningcouldresult in
persona(injury.
Tilling on a Slope
1. Ti((onlyon moderateslopes,neveron steep groundwherethe
footingisdifficult.
2. Tillingup and downslopes isrecommended overterracing.Tilling
verticallyon a slopeallowsmaximumplantingarea and also
leavesroomforcultivating.
NOTE:Whentilling on slopes,be surethe correctoi( levelismain-
tainedinthe engine (checkeveryone-halfhour of operation).The
incline of the slopewi((cause the oil to slant awayfrom itsnormal
leveland this can starveengineparts of requiredlubrication.Keepthe
motoroil levelat thefull pointat all times.
Tilling Up and Down a Slope
1. Tokeepsoil erosionto a minimum,be sureto add enoughorganic
matterto the soilso that it hasgood moistureholding textureand
try to avoidleaving footprintsor wheelmarks.
2. Whentillingvertically,try to makethe first pass uphillas the tiller
digs moredeeplygoing uphillthan itdoesdownhill.In soft soilor
weeds,you may haveto lift the handlebarsslightlywhile goingup-
hill.Whengoing downhill,overlapthe first pass byaboutone-half
the widthof the tiller.
Figure13
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Figure14
16
Figure15