Operating The Pto; Using The Mower - Craftsman 247.25003 Operator's Manual

OPERATING THE PTO
1. Operatethe PTOclutchasfollows:
2. Movethe throttlecontrol leverto approximately the midthrottle
position.
3. Pull the PTOswitchupwardto the ENGAGED position.
4. Advancethe throttleleverto the FAST_ position.
NOTE:The operatormustremainin the riding mowerseat at all times.
If theoperatorshouldleavethe seatwithoutturningoff the power
take-offswitch,the ridingmower'senginewill shutoff.
NOTE:The PTOcannotbe operatedwhenthe riding moweris driving
in the reversedirection.The PTOwill disengagewhen bothdrive
controlleversare movedto the reverseposition,and will re-engage
whenone (or both)controllever(s)is movedto the neutralor forward
position.
USING THE MOWER DECK
Makecertainthe area to be mowedis free of debris,sticks, stones,
wireor otherobjectsthat can be thrown bythe rotatingblades.
NOTE:Do notengagethe mowerdeck whenloweredin grass.
Premature wearand possiblefailureof the 'V" beltand PTOclutch
will result.Fullyraisethe deck or moveto a non-grassyarea before
engagingthe mowerdeck.
1. Mowacrossslopes,notup and down. If mowinga slope,startat
bottomand workupwardto ensureturnsare madeuphill.
2. On the first pass picka pointon the oppositeside of the areato
be mowed.
3. Engagethe PTOand movethe throttlecontrolto the FAST
position.
4. Lowerthe mowerdeck to the desiredheightsettingusingthe
deck lift handle.
5. Slowlyand evenlypushthe RH and LH drivecontrollevers
forwardto movethe riding mowerforward,and keepthe riding
mowerheadeddirectlytowardthe alignmentpoint.
NOTE:The speedof the ridingmowerwill affectthe quality of the
mowercut. Mowingat full speedwilladverselyaffect thecut quality.
Controltheground speedwith the controllevers.
6. Whenapproaching the otherend of the strip,slow downor stop
beforeturning.A U-turnis recommended unlessa zeroturn is
required.
7. Align themowerwith an edge of the mowedstrip and overlap
approximately 3".
8. Directthe ridingmoweron each subsequentstrip to alignwith a
previouslycut strip.
9. To preventruttingor groovingof the turf, ifpossible,changethe
directionthat the stripsare mowedby approximately 450forthe
nextand each subsequentmowing.
Becareful whencrossinggravelpaths or driveways.Disengagethe
PTOand raisethe deck to the highestpositionbeforecrossing.
NOTE:Whenstoppingthe riding mowerfor any reasonwhileon a
grass surface,always:
• Placethe shift leverin neutral,
• Engagethe parkingbrake8,
• Shutengineoff and removethe key.
• Doingso will minimizethe possibilityof havingyour lawn
"browned"by hotexhaustfromyour ridingmower'srunning
engine.
CHECKING THE SAFETY INTERLOCK CIRCUITS
Periodically checkthe safetyinterlockcircuitsto ensurethey are
workingproperly.If a safetycircuitis not workingas designed,call
1-800-659-5917 to scheduletractorinspectionservicefrom Sears
Parts& Repair. to havethe ridingmowerinspected.DO NOToperate
the riding mowerif any safetycircuitis not functioningproperly.To
checkthe safetycircuits,proceedas follows:
1. Sittingin the ridingmowerseat with bothdrivecontrollevers
openedfully outward,DISENGAGE the parkingbrake_ and
momentarily turnthe ignitionswitchto the START_ position.
The engineshouldnotcrank.
2. ENGAGEtheparkingbrake0 and pullthe PTOswitchupward
to the ENGAGED position.Momentarily turnthe ignitionswitchto
the START_ position;the engineshouldnotcrank.
3. Pushthe PTOswitchdownwardto the DISENGAGED position
and ENGAGEthe parkingbrake0. Start theengineand move
one of thedrivecontrol leversfrom the fully outwardneutral
position.The engineshouldstop running.Repeatthe procedure
with the oppositecontrollever.
4. Movebothcontrolleversfully outwardin the neutralpositionand
DISENGAGE the parkingbrake0; then lift upwardfrom the
operator'sseat.The engineshouldstop.
5. With both controlleversfully outwardin the neutralpositionand
the parkingbrakeENGAGED, E NGAGE the PTO.Lift upward
from the operator'sseat;the engineshouldstop.
6. Startthe riding mower,DISENGAGE the parkingbrake0, and
movethe control leversinwardto the neutraloperatingposition.
ENGAGEthe PTOand move bothcontrolleverslowlyintothe
slow reverseposition;the PTOshoulddisengageand the mower
deck shouldstop untilone or bothof the controlleversis moved
to the neutralor forwardposition.
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