Driving On Slopes; Using The Deck Lift Lever - Craftsman 247.28902 Operator's Manual

DRIVING ON SLOPES
Refer totheSLOPE GAUGE intheImportant S afeOperation Practices
sectionofthemanual t o helpdetermine slopes whereyoumayoperate
thetractorsafely.
• Mowup anddownslopes,NEVER across.
• Exercise extremecaution whenchanging direction on slopes.
• Watch forholes,ruts,bumps,rocks, o r otherhiddenobjects.
Uneven terraincouldoverturn themachine. Tallgrasscanhide
obstacles.
• Avoidturnswhendrivingon a slope.If a turnmust b e made,turn
downtheslope.Turning upa slopegreatlyincreases thechance
ofa rollover.
• Avoidstopping whendrivingupa slope.If it is necessary to stop
whiledrivingupa slope,startup smoothly andcarefully to reduce
thepossibility offlippingthetractoroverbackward.
ENGAGING THE BLADES
Engaging thePTO(BladeEngage) t ransfers powertothecuttingdeck
or other(separately a vailable) a ttachments. Toengage theblades,
proceed asfollows:
1. Move thethrottle/choke controlleverto theFAST (rabbit)position.
2. GraspthePTO(BladeEngage) l everandpivotitall theway
forward intotheengaged (ON)position.
3. Keep thethrottleleverin the FAST (rabbit)position forthemost
efficientuseofthecuttingdeckor other(separately a vailable)
attachments.
NOTE:Theenginewillautomatically s hutoff ifthePTO(Blade
Engage) i sengaged withthe shiftleverin position for reverse travel
withtheignitionkeyin theNORMAL MOWING position.
MULCHING
A mulch kit is available as a n attachment. Mulching is a process of
recirculating grass clippings repeatedly beneath the cutting deck.
The ultra-fine clippings are then forced back into the lawn where
they act as a natural fertilizer.
A mulchkit canbepurchased throughtheretaillocation in whichyou
purchased thistractor.Formoreinformation,simply contact Sears
at 1-800-4-MY-HOME®.
USING THE DECK LIFT LEVER
Toraisethecuttingdeck,movethedecklift levertothe left,thenplace
itin the notchbestsuitedforyourapplication. RefertoSettingThe
Cutting Heightearlier in this Operation section.
MOWING
Tohelpavoidbladecontactor a thrown o bjectinjury,keepbystand-
ers, helpers, c hildren and petsat least75feetfromthemachine
whileit is in operation. S topmachine if anyone entersthearea.
Thefollowing information w illbehelpful w hen usingthecuttingdeck
with yourtractor:
Planyourmowing pattern to avoiddischarge of materials toward
roads,sidewalks, bystanders a ndthelike.Also,avoiddischarging
material againsta wallor obstruction whichmaycausedischarged
material to ricochet b acktoward theoperator.
• Donotmowat highgroundspeed, e specially if a mulchkitor
grasscollector i s installed.
• Forbestresultsit is recommended thatthefirsttwolapsbecut
withthedischarge throwntowards thecenter.Afterthe firsttwo
laps,reverse thedirection to throwthedischarge to theoutside
forthebalanceofcutting. T hiswillgivea betterappearance t othe
lawn.
• Donotcut thegrass too short.Shortgrassinvitesweedgrowth
andyellows quicklyin dryweather.
• Mowing shouldalways be donewiththeengineatfullthrottle.
• Underheavierconditions it maybenecessary togo backoverthe
cutareaa secondtimeto geta cleancut.
• DoNOTattempt t o mowheavybrushandweedsandextremely
tallgrass.Yourtractoris designed to mowlawns,NOT clear
brush.
• Keepthebladessharpandreplacetheblades whenworn.Refer
to CuttingBladesin theService sectionofthis manual f orproper
bladesharpening i nstructions.
HEADLIGHTS
• Thelamps areONwhenever thetractor's engineisrunning.
• Thelamps turnOFFwhen theignitionkeyismovedtotheSTOP
position,
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