Starting - Craftsman 3One 917.372823 Owner's Manual

OPERATmON
BEFORE STARTING ENGtNF_.
OIL (See Fig. 10)
Your lawn mower is shipped without oil in the engine.
• Besure mower is level and area around oil flit is clean..
, Remove engine oil capwidipstick and fill to the full line
on the dipstick..
o Use 20 Ozs.. o f oil. For type andgrade of oil to use, see
"ENGINE" in Customer Responsibilities Section of this
manual,,
° Pour oil slowly. Do not over fill.
. Check oil teve before each use. Add oil if needed. Fill
to full line on dipstick..
• To readproper level_tighten engine oil cap each time.
- Reinstall engine 0II Cap and tighten.
- After the first two (2) hours of mowing, change the oil,
and every 25 hours thereafter. You may need to
change the oil more often under dusty, dirty conditions.
GAS (See Fig, 10)
° Fil! gasoline tank w th fresh, Clean, unleaded gasoline
DO NOT USE PREMIUM GASOLINE. BE CAREFUL
NOT TO OVER FILL TANK.
o
WARNING: Experience indicates that alcohol blended
fuels (called gasohol or using ethanol or methanol) can
attracf moisture which leads to separation and formation of .
acidsduring storage. Acidic gas can damage the fuel
system of an engine while in storage, To avoid engine
problems, the fuel system should be emptied before stor:
age of 30 days or longer.. Drain tlie fuel tank, start the
engine and let it run until fuel lines and carburetor are
empty. Use.fresh fuel next season. See Storage Instruc-
tions for additional information.. Never use engine or
carburetor cleaner products in fuel tank or permanent
damage may occun
TO START ENGtN E
° To start a cold engine, push primer five (5) times before
trying to start. Use a firm push.. This step is not usually
necessary when starting an engine which has already
run for a few minutes.
o Push engine speed control lever to fast (_) positiom
. Hold operator presence control bardown to the handle
and pull starter handle quickly.. DO NOT allow starter
rope' to snap back.
° To STOP engine, release operator presence control
bar,
NOTE: In cooler weather ff may be necessary to repeat
priming steps. In warmer weather over priming may cause
flooding and efigine will not start,, If you do flood engine wait
a few minutes before attempting to start and DO NOT
repeat priming stepb "
MOWING TIPS
° Under certain conditions, such as ve rytall grass, it may
be necessary to raise the height of cut to reduce
pushing effort and to keep from overloading the engine
and leaving c umps of grass Clippings
• For extremely heavy cutting, reduce the width of cut
and raise the reai" of the lawn mower housing one (1) "
wheeladjuster Setting higher than the front for better
discharge Of.grass,.
o For better grass bagging and most cutting conditions,
theenginespeedshould besetinthe fast (,_) position °
,, When using a rear discharge lawn mower in moist,
heavy grass, clumps of cut grass may not enter the 10
, Jl,, ,, i . v,
GASOLINE RLLER cAP
FIG. 10
OIL CAP
WfOIPSTICK
MAX 1/'3
FIG, 11
grass catcher.. Reduce ground speed (pushing speed)
and/or run the lawn mower over.the area a second time.
If a trail of clippings is left an the right side of a rear
discharge mower, mow in a clockwise direction with a
small overlap to collect t_e clippings on the next pass.
Pores in cloth grass catchers can become filled with dirt
and dust with use and Catct_erswill collect less grass,
To prevent this, regularly hose catcher off with water
and let dr:/before using
• Keep top of engine around starter clear and clean of
grass clippings and chaff. This will help engine air flow
and extend engihe life.:
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
IMPORTANT: FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, KEEP
MOWER HOUSING FREE OF BUILT-UP GRASS AND
TRASH° SEE "CLEANING" IN CUSTOMER
RESPONSIBILITIES SECTION OF THIS MANUAL.
o The special mulching blade will recut the grass Clip-
pings many times and reduce them in size so that as
they fall onto the lawn they WIt disperse into the grass
and not be noticed., Also, the mulched grass will
biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn.
Always mulch with your highest engine (blade) speed
as this will provide the best recutting action of the
blades.
Avoid cutting your lawn when it is wet.. Wet grass tends
to form clumps and interferes with the mulching action.
The best time to mow your lawn is the early afternoon..
At this time the.grass has dried and the newly cut area
will not be exposed to the direct sun..
For best results, adjust the lawn mower cutting height
so that the lawnmower cuts off only the top one4hird
of the grass blades (See Fig. 11)o If the lawn. is
overgrown itWill be necessary to raise the height of cut
to reduce pushing effort and to keep from overloading
the engine and leaving clumps of mulched grass. For
extremely heavy mulching, reduce your width of cut by
overlapping previously cut path and mow siowly
Certain _pes of grass and grass conditions may
require that an area be mulched a second time to
completely hide the clippings_ When doing a second
cut, mow across or perpendicular to the first cut path.
Change your cutting pattern from week to week. Mow
norti_ to south one week then change to'east to west
the next week.. This wifl help prevent matting and
graining of the lawn.