Craftsman 247.29931 Operator's Manual page 16

newlyworkedsoil set fora day or two beforemakinga final, deep
tillingpass.
Choosing the Correct Wheel & Tine Speeds
Withexperience,youwill findthe tillingdepthand tilling speed
combinationthat is best for yourgarden.Setthe enginethrottleleverat
a speedto givethe engineadequatepowerand yet allowit to operate
at the slowestpossiblespeeduntilyou haveachievedthe maximum
tillingdepthyoudesire. Fasterenginespeedsmay be desirable
whenmakingfinalpassesthroughthe seedbedor whencultivating.
Selectionof the correctenginespeed,in relationto the tillingdepth,
willensurea sufficientpowerlevelto do the job withoutcausingthe
engineto labor.
Suggested Tilling Patterns
• Whenpreparinga seedbed,go overthe samepathtwice in the
first row,thenoverlapone-halfthetiller width on the rest of the
passes.See Figure13.
• Whenfinishedin one direction,makea second passat a right
angle,See Figure14.Overlapeach passfor the best results(in
very hardground,itmay take threeor four passesto thoroughly
pulverizethe soil.)
• If the garden sizewill not permitlengthwiseand then crosswise
Do notoperatethe tilleron a slopetoo steepfor safe operation.Till
slowlyand be sureyou havegood footing.Neverpermitthetiller to
freewheeldownslopes.Failureto followthis warningcouldresult in
[persona njury.
tilling,then overlapthefirst passesbyone-halfa tillerwidth,fol-
lowedby successive passesat one-quarterwidth.See Figure15.
Tilling on a Slope
1. Till onlyon moderateslopes,neveron steep groundwherethe
footingisdifficult.
2. Tillingup and downslopes isrecommended overterracing.Tilling
verticallyon a slopeallowsmaximumplantingarea and also
leavesroomfor cultivating.
NOTE:Whentilling on slopes,be surethe correctoil levelismain-
tainedin the engine(checkevery one-halfhour of operation).The
incline of the slopewillcause theoil to slant awayfrom itsnormal
leveland this can starveengine partsof requiredlubrication.Keepthe
motoroil levelat thefull pointat all times.
Tilling Up and Down a Slope
1. Tokeepsoil erosionto a minimum,be sureto add enoughorganic
matterto thesol so that it hasgood moistureholding textureand
try to avoidleavingfootprintsor wheel marks.
2. Whentillingvertically,try to makethe first pass uphillas the tiller
digs moredeeplygoing uphillthan it doesdownhill.In soft soilor
weeds,you mayhaveto lift the handlebarsslightlywhilegoingup-
hill.Whengoing downhill,overlapthe first pass byaboutone-half
thewidth of the tiller.
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Figure13
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Figure14
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16
Figure15