Craftsman 247.889981 Operator's Manual page 15

USING
THE DECK HEIGHT LEVER
Toraiseor lowerthecuttingdeck, movethe deck heightleverto the
left,then placeit in the notch best suitedforyour application.
MOWING
Thefollowinginformationwill be helpfulwhenoperatingyour mower.
Planyour mowingpatternto avoiddischargeof materialstoward
roads,sidewalks,bystanders.Also, avoiddischargingmaterial
againsta wall or obstructionwhich maycause dischargedmaterialto
ricochetback towardtheoperator.
• Do not mowat fastground speeds,especiallyif a mulch kit or
grasscollectoris installed.
• Do notcut thegrass too short.Shortgrass is proneto weed
growthand yellowsquicklyin dry weather.
• Alwaysoperatethe mowerwith thethrottle/chokecontrol in the
FAST_ positionwhile mowing.
• 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 NOTattemptto mow heavybrushand weedsor extremelytall
grass.Yourmoweris designedto mowlawns,NOTclear brush.
Keepthe bladessharpand replacethe bladeswhenworn.
After strikinga foreignobject,stop the engine,disconnectthe spark
plug wireand groundagainstthe engine.Thoroughlyinspectthe
mowerfor any damage.AlwaysInspectthe bladetiming belt as
instructedin the Maintenance sectionof this manual.Repairthe
damagebeforestartingand operatingthe mower.
MULCHING
TheCraftsmanPro WideCut moweris equippedwith a mulch kit (sup-
plied with the mower),which uses specialbladesto recirculategrass
clippingsrepeatedly beneaththe cuttingdeck.The ultra-fineclippings
are thenforced backinto the lawnwherethey act asa naturalfertilizer.
Observethe followingpointsfor the best resultswhenmulching.
• Neverattemptto mulchif the lawnis damp.Wet grasstends
to stick to the undersideof thecuttingdeck preventingproper
mulchingof the clippings.
Do NOTattemptto mulch morethan1/3the total heightof the
grass.Doingsowill cause theclippingsto clump up beneaththe
deck and not be mulchedeffectively.
• Maintaina slow groundspeedto allowthe grassclippingsmore
time to effectivelybe mulched.
• Alwayskeepthe throttlecontrol leverin the FAST,_ position
whilemowing.Failingto keepthe engineat full throttleplaces
strainon the mower'sengineand does notallowthe bladesto
properlymulchthe grass clippings.
INSTALLING/REMOVING MULCH BAFFLE
Beforeinstallingor removingthe mulchbaffle,disengageblades,sto
the engineand removekeyto preventunintendedstarting.
Stoptheengineand wait for all parts to stop moving.
Installing the Mulch Baffle
1. Insertthe right-sidetab (A) of the baffleinto the bracketon the
deck. See Figure12.
2. Insertthe mulchbaffleinto thedischargeopening(B). See
Figure12.
3. Onceit's positionedin thedeck opening,pushthe baffle towards
the rear of the mower(C) to secureit in place.
See Figure12.
Figure12
Removing the Mulch Baffle
Slidethe baffleto the right(towardthe front of the mower)to disen-
gage the slot fromthe mowerdeck and then prythe left-sideof the
baffleoutward.
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