Craftsman 247.288843 Operator's Manual page 107

DoNOThold the key in the START positionfor longerthan ten seconds
at a time. Doingsomay causedamageto your engine's electric
starter.
6. Afterthe enginestarts,deactivate the chokecontrol a ndplace the throttle
control i n the FAST p osition.
NOTE: DoNOT leave the chokecontrol o n whileoperatingthetractor.Doingsowill
resultin a"rich"fuel mixtureandcause the engineto runpoorly.
Stopping the Engine
If you strike a foreign object, stop the engine, disconnectthe spark
plug wire(s) and ground against the engine. Thoroughlyinspect the
machine for any damage. Repair the damage before restarting and
operating
2.
3.
If the blades areengaged, p lace the PTO (Blade Engage) l everinthe
disengaged (OFF) position.
Turnthe ignitionkeycounterclockwise to the STOP p osition.
Remove t he keyfrom the ignitionswitchto prevent u nintended starting.
DrivingTheTractor
Avoidsuddenstarts, excessive speedandsuddenstops.
Donot leavethe seatof the tractor without first placingthe PTO (Blade
Engage) l everin the disengaged(OFF) p osition, depressingthe brakepedal
andengaging the parkingbrake.If leavingthe tractor unattended,also
turn the ignition keyoffand remove the key.
Alwayslook down and behind beforeandwhile backingup to avoida back-
overaccident.
1. Depress t he brakepedalto release the parkingbrakeandthenlet the pedal
up.
2. Movethe throttle leverinto the FAST ( rabbit)position.
3. Place the shift leverineitherthe FORWARD or REVERSE position.
IMPORTAN_ D oNOT usethe shift leverto change the directionof travelwhenthe
tractorisin motion.Always usethe brakepedalto bringthe tractorto acomplete
stopbeforeshifting.
4. Gradually beginto applypressure t o the drivepedal.Thefurther downthe
pedalis pushed, t he fasterthe tractorwill travelinthe desired direction
based on the positionof the shift lever.
5. Thelawntractorisbroughtto astopbyreleasing the drivepedalandthen
depressing the brakepedal.
Beforeleavingthe operator'spositionfor any reason, d isengagethe blades,
placethe shift lever in neutral, engagethe parking brake,shut engine off
and remove the key.
Whenstopping the tractor for any reasonwhile on a grasssurface,
always:
Place the shift leverinneutral,
I.
2.
3.
Engage the parkingbrake,
Shutengineoffand remove the key.Doing sowill minimizethe possibility
of havingyourlawn"browned"byhot exhaust f romyourtractor'srunning
engine.
15