Slope Operation; Children; Towing - Craftsman 247.290000 Operator's Manual

Check overhead clearances carefully before driving under low hanging tree
branches, wires, door openings etc., where the operator may be struck or
pulled from the machine, which could result inserious injury.
Disengage all a ttachment clutches and d epress the brake pedal completely
before attempting tostart engine.
Your machine is designed tocut normal residential grass of a height no more
than 1 0". Do n ot attempt tomow through unusually tall, dry grass (e.g.,
pasture) or plies ofdry leaves. Dry g rass orleaves may contact the e ngine
exhaust and/or build u p on the mower deck presenting apotential fire
hazard.
Use only accessories and a ttachments approved for t his machine by the
machine manufacturer. Read, understand and f ollow a ll i nstructions
provided with the approved accessory or attachment. For alist o f a pproved
accessories and a ttachments, call 1-800-659-5917.
Data indicates that operators, age 6 0 years and a bove, are involved ina
large percentage ofriding mower-related injuries. These operators should
evaluate their ability tooperate the riding mower safely enough toprotect
themselves and o thers from serious injury.
Ifsituations occur which are not covered inthis m anual, use c are and g ood
judgment.
SLOPE OPERATION
Slopes a reamajorfactorrelatedto lossof control a ndtip-overaccidents whichcan
resultinsevere injuryor death.All slopes require extracaution.Ifyoucannotback
upthe slopeor if youfeeluneasy on it, do not mowit.
Foryoursafety, u sethe SlopeGuide included aspartof thismanual t o measure
slopes before operatingthis machine on aslopedor hilly area.If the slopeisgreater
than12degrees asshownonthe Slope Guide, d onot operate this machine onthat
areaor serious injury couldresult.
Do;
Mowupanddownslopes, n ot across. E xercise e xtreme cautionwhen
changing directiononslopes.
Watch for holes, r uts,bumps,rocks, o r otherhiddenobjects. U neven terrain
couldoverturnthe machine. T allgrass canhideobstacles.
Useslowspeed. C hoose a lowenough speed settingsothat youwill not have
to stopor shiftwhileonthe slope.Tiresmaylose tractionon slopes even
thoughthe brakes arefunctioningproperly. A lwayskeepmachineingear
whengoingdownslopes to takeadvantage of enginebrakingaction.
Followthe manufacturer's r ecommendations for wheelweightsor
counterweights t o improvestability.
Useextracarewith grass catchers o r otherattachments. T hese canchange
the stabilityof the machine.
Keep all movement o nthe slopes slowandgradual.Donot makesudden
changes i nspeed or direction.Rapid engagement or brakingcouldcause
the front of the machine to lift andrapidlyflip overbackwards w hichcould
cause serious injury.
Avoidstartingor stoppingona slope.Iftires losetraction, d isengage the
blade(s) a ndproceed slowlystraightdownthe slope.
Do Not:
Donot turn on slopes unless necessary; then,turn slowlyandgradually
downhill,if possible.
Donot mow neardrop-offs,ditchesor embankments. Themowercould
suddenly turn overira wheelisoverthe edgeofacliff, ditch,or if anedge
caves in.
Donot try to stabilize the machine byputting yourfoot onthe ground.
Donot usea grass catcher o n steepslopes.
Donot mowon wetgrass.Reduced t ractioncouldcause sliding.
Donot attemptto coastdownhill.Over-speeding maycause the operator to
lose controlofthe machine resultinginserious injuryor death.
Donot tow heavypull behindattachments (e.g.loadeddumpcart,lawn
roller,etc.)onslopes greaterthan5 degrees. Whengoingdown hill, the
extraweighttendsto pushthe tractorandmaycause youto loosecontrol
(e.g. t ractormayspeed up,brakingandsteeringabilityarereduced,
attachment m ayjack-knife andcause tractorto overturn).
CHILDREN
Tragic a ccidents canoccurif the operator is notalertto the presence o fchildren.
Children areoftenattractedto the machine andthe mowingactivity.They do not
understand the dangers. Neverassume thatchildrenwill remainwhereyoulastsaw
them.
Keep childrenout of the mowingareaandin watchfulcareof aresponsible
adultotherthanthe operator.
Bealertandturn machine off if achildentersthe area.
Before andwhilebacking, l ookbehindanddown forsmallchildren.
Never c arrychildren,evenwith the blade(s) s hutoff. Theymayfall off andbe
seriously injuredor interferewith safemachine operation.
Use extremecarewhenapproaching blindcorners, d oorways, s hrubs, t rees
or otherobjectsthat mayblockyourvisionofa childwho mayrunintothe
machine.
Toavoidback-over a ccidents, a lwaysdisengage t he cuttingblade(s) b efore
shiftinginto Reverse. Ifequipped, t he"Reverse Caution Mode"(blades
operatewhilemachine ridesinreverse)shouldnot be usedwhenchildrenor
othersarearound.
Keep c hildren a way fromhotorrunning engines. They can suffer b urns from
a hotmuffler.
Remove k eywhenmachine is unattended to prevent u nauthorized
operation.
Neverallowchildrenunder14yearsofageto operatethismachine. C hildren 14and
overshouldreadandunderstand the instructions andsafeoperationpractices in
thismanual a ndonthe machine andshouldbetrainedandsupervised byan adult.
TOWING
Towonlywith a machine thathasa hitchdesigned for towing.Donotattach
towedequipment e xcept a t the hitchpoint.
Follow the manufacturers r ecommendation f orweightlimitsfortowed
equipmentandtowing onslopes.
Never a llowchildrenor othersinor ontowedequipment.
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