Craftsman 247.28905 Operator's Manual page 17

• Avoidstoppingwhendrivingup a slope. If it is necessaryto stop
whiledrivingup a slope,start up smoothlyand carefullyto reduce
the possibilityof flippingthe tractoroverbackward.
ENGAGING THE BLADES
Engagingthe PTO(Blade Engage)transferspowerto the cuttingdeck
or other (separatelyavailable)attachments.Toengagethe blades,
proceedas follows:
1. Movethe throttle/choke control leverto the FAST(rabbit)position.
2. Graspthe PTO(BladeEngage)leverand pivot it all the way
forwardintothe engaged(ON)position.
3. Keepthe throttleleverin the FAST(rabbit)positionforthe most
efficientuseof thecuttingdeck or other(separatelyavailable)
attachments.
iMPORTANT: Inthe ReverseCautionModetheenginewill auto-
maticallyshut off ifthe PTOisengagedwith the speedcontrol lever
in positionfor reversetravelwith the ignition keyin the NORMAL
MOWINGposition.
USING THE DECK LIFT LEVER
Toraisethe cuttingdeck,movethe deck lift levertothe left,then place
itin the notchbest suitedfor yourapplication.Referto SettingThe
CuttingHeightearlierinthis section.
MOWING
Tohelp avoidbladecontactor a thrownobject injury,keepbystand-
ers, helpers,childrenand pets at least 75 feet fromthe machine
whileit is in operation.Stop machineif anyoneentersthearea.
Thefollowinginformationwill be helpfulwhenusingthe cuttingdeck
with yourtractor:
Planyour mowingpatternto avoiddischargeof materialstoward
roads,sidewalks,bystandersand the like.Also, avoiddischarging
materialagainsta wallor obstructionwhich maycausedischarged
materialto ricochetbacktowardthe operator.
• Do not mowat high groundspeed,especiallyif a mulch kit or
grasscollectoris installed.
• For best resultsit is recommended that the firsttwo laps be cut
with the dischargethrowntowardsthe center.Afterthe first two
laps, reversethe directionto throwthe dischargeto the outside
for the balanceof cutting.This will givea betterappearanceto the
lawn.
• Do notcut thegrass too short.Shortgrass invitesweedgrowth
and yellowsquicklyin dry weather.
• Mowingshouldalwaysbe done withthe engineat full throttle.
• Underheavierconditionsit may be necessaryto go back overthe
cut area a secondtime to geta cleancut.
• Do NOTattemptto mow heavybrushand weedsand extremely
tall grass.Yourtractoris designedto mowlawns,NOTclear
brush.
• Keepthe bladessharpand replacethe bladeswhenworn.Refer
to CuttingBladesin the Serviceand Maintenence sectionof this
manualfor properblade sharpeninginstructions.
17
MOVING THE TRACTOR MANUALLY
Yourtractor'stransmissionis equippedwith a hydrostaticreliefvalve
for occasionswhen it is necessaryto movethetractormanually.
Activatingthis valve forcesthe fluid in thetransmissionto bypassits
normalroute,allowingthe rear tires to "freewheel." T o engagethe
hydrostaticreliefvalve,proceedas follows:
1. Locatethe hydrostaticbypassrod in the rearof the tractor.See
Fig. 10.
Figure 10
2. Pullthe hydrostaticbypassrod outward,thendownand to the left,
to lock it in place.
NOTE: Thetransmissionwill NOTengagewhenthe hydrostatic
bypassrod is pulledout. Returnthe rodto its normalpositionprior to
operatingthe tractor.
iMPORTANT: Neverattemptto movethe tractormanuallywithout
first engagingthe hydrostaticreliefvalve.Doingso will resultin serious
damageto thetractor'stransmission.
HEADLIGHTS
• The lampsare ONwheneverthe tractor'sengineis running.
• The lampsturn OFFwhenthe ignition key ismovedto the STOP
position.