Craftsman EZ3 917.258863 Owner's Manual page 15

OPERATmON
TO START ENGINE (See Fig. 7)
When startingtheengine for thefirsttimeor iftheenginehasrun
outoffuel, i twilltake extracrankingtimeto movefuelfromthetank
to theengine°
• Siton seatinoperating position, depressclutch!brake p edal
and set parkingbrake°
o Placegear shift lever in neutral(N) position.
o Move attachment clutchto"DISENGAGED" position.
• Movethrottle controltofast position
° PullchokecontroI o ut for a coldenginestart attempt. Fora
warm engine start attempt the chokecontrolmay not be
needed.
Note: Before starting, read the warm and cold starting proce-
dures below.
• Insert key into ignitionand turn key clockwise to "START"
positionand releasekeyassoon asenginestarts. Donotrun
starter continuously for more than fifteen seconds per
minute. If the engine does not start after several attempts,
push choke control in, wait a few minutes and try again. If
engine stilldoes notstart,pull the choke controlout and retry.
WARM WEATHER STARTING (50° F and above)
° When engine starts, slowIy push choke control in until the
engine begins to mn smoothly. If the engine starts to run
roughly, pullthe choke control out slightlyfor a few seconds
and then continue to push the control in slowly_
• The attachments and ground drivecan now be used. If the
enginedoes not accepttheload, restartthe engine and allow
itto warm up for one minute using the choke as described
above.
COLD WEATHER STARTING (50° F and below)
o When engine starts, slowly push choke control in until the
engine begins to runsmoothly_Continue to push thechoke
control in small steps allowing the engine to accept small
changes in speed and load, untilthe choke control isfully in.
If the engine starts to run roughly, pull the choke control out
slightly for a few seconds and then continue to push the
controlinslowly.This mayrequire anenginewarrn-up period
from several secondsto severalminutes, depending on the
temperature.
• The attachments can be used during the engine warm-up
period and may require the choke control be putled out
slightly°
NOTE: Ifat a high altitude (above3000 feet) or in cold tempera-
tures (below 32 F) the carburetor fuel mixture may need to
beadjustedfor bestengine performanceoSee"TOADJUST
CARBURE-I'OR" inthe Service and Adjustments section of
this manual.
MOWING TIPS
o Tire chains cannot be used when the mower housing is
attached to tractor.
• Mower should be properly leveled for best mowing perfor-
mance. See "TO LEVEL MOWER HOUSING" in the
Service and Adjustments section of this manual.
o The left hand side of mower shouldbe used for trimming.
° Drive so thatclippings are discharged onto the area that has
been cut. Have the cut area tothe rightofthe machine. This
wilt result in a more even distribution of clippings and more
uniform cutting.
,rlH"l"ln,,'lL _ I 'J,l,II
• When mowinglarge areas, start bytuming tothe right so that
clippings will discharge away from shrubs, fences, drive-
ways, etc. After one or two rounds, mow in the opposite
direction making lefthand turns untilfinished(See F3g.10)_
• ifgrass isextremelytall, itshould be mowed twiceto reduce
load and possiblefire hazard from dried clippings. Make first
cut relatively high; the second to the desired height.
o Do not mowgrasswhen itiswet. Wet grass wiIlplug mower
and leave undesirable clumps. Allow grass to dry before
movang.
o Alwaysoperateengine atfullthrottlewhen mowingto assure
better mowing performance and proper discharge of mate_
daL Regulate ground speed by selectinga Iowenoughgear
to give the mower cutting performance as well as the quality
of cut desired.
= When operatingattachments,select agroundspeedthatwill
suit the terrainand give best performance of the attachment
being used.
FIG. 10
MULCHING MOWING TIPS
IMPORTANT; FOR BEST PERFORMANCE, KEEP
MOWER HOUSING FREE OF BUILT-UP GRASS AND
TRASH. CLEAN AFTER EACH USE.
o The special mulching blade will recut the grass clip-
pings many times and reduce them in size so that as
they fall onto the lawn they will disperse into the grass
and not be noticed. Also, the mulched grass will
biodegrade quickly to provide nutrients for the lawn.
Always mulch with your highest engine (blade) speed
as this will provide the best recutting action of the
blades°
o Avoid cutting your lawn when itis wet. Wet grass tends
to form clumps and interferes with the mulching action°
The best time to mow your lawn is the early afternoon.
At this time the grass has dried and the newly cut area
will not be exposed to the direct sun.
o For best results, adjustthe rnowercutting height so that
the mower cuts off only the top one-third of the grass
blades (See Fig. 11). For extremely heavy mulching,
reduce yourwidth of cut on each pass and mow slowly.
° Certain types of grass and grass conditlons may re-
quire that an area be mulched a second time to com-
pletely hide the clippings° When doing a second cut,
mow across or perpendicular to the first cut path.
• Change your cutting pattern from weekto week. Mow
north to south one week then change to east to west the
next week. This will help prevent matting and graining
of the lawn.
15
FIG. 11