MTD Series 600 Operator's Manual page 18

WARNING
To help avoid blade
contact or a thrown
object injury, keep
-bystanders, helpers,
children and pets at
least 75 feet from the
machine while it is in
operation. Stop ma-
chine if anyone enters
the area.
/
Plan your mowing pat-
tern to avoid discharge
of materials toward
roads, sidewalks, by=
standers and the like.
Also, avoid discharging
material against a wall
or obstruction which
may cause discharged
material to ricochet
back toward the
operator.
Setting The Cruise Control
1. Placethe shiftleverin the FORWARD position,
thenslowlydepressthedrive pedaluntil the desired
speedis achieved.
2. Lightlydepressthe cruisecontrolbutton.
3. Whilecontinuingto hold the cruisebutton in, lift your
foot from thedrive pedal(youshouldfeelthe cruise
latchengage).
Onceengaged,the cruisecontrolbutton and thedrive
pedalwill lock in the "down"position,and the tractorwill
maintainthe sameforward speed.
NOTE:Cruisecontrolcan notbe engagedat the
tractor'sfastestgroundspeed. If the operatorshould
attemptto do so, the tractorwill automatically decelerate
to the fastestoptimal mowinggroundspeed.
Disengagethecruise controlusingone of the following
methods:
1. Depressthe brakepedalto disengagethecruise
controland stop the tractor.
2. Lightlydepressthe drivepedal.
Tochangeto the reversedirectionwhenoperatingwith
cruisecontrol,depressthe brakepedal to disengagethe
cruisecontroland bringthe tractorto a completestop.
Thenplacethe shift leverin the REVERSE positionand
depressthe drive pedal.
Engaging the Blades
Engagingthe PTO(Blade Engage)transferspowerto
thecutting deckor other(separatelyavailable)attach-
ments.Toengagethe blades,proceedas follows:
1. Movethe throttlecontrolleverto the FAST(rabbit)
position.
Models with Manual PTO
2. a. Graspthe PTO(BladeEngage)leverand pivot
it all the wayforwardinto theengaged(ON)
position.
Models with Electric PTO
b. Pull the PTO(BladeEngage)knoboutwardinto
the engaged(ON) position.
3. Keepthe throttleleverin the FAST(rabbit)position
for the mostefficientuseof the cuttingdeck or other
(separatelyavailable)attachments
IMPORTANT: T heengine (on modelswith a manual
PTO)or electric PTOclutch(on modelswith an electric
PTO)will automatically shut off if the PTOis engaged
with the shift leverin positionfor reversetravelwith the
ignitionkeyin the NORMALMOWINGposition.Referto
SafetyInterlockSwitchesearlier in this section.
Using the Deck Lift Lever
Toraisethe cuttingdeck,movethe deck lift leverto the
left, thenplaceit in the notch best suitedforyour applica-
tion. Referto SettingThe CuttingHeightearlierin this
section.
Mowing
WARNING: Tohelp avoid blade contact or
a thrown object injury, keep bystanders,
helpers, children and pets at least 75feet
from the machine while it is in operation.
Stop machine if anyone enters the area.
Thefollowinginformationwill be helpfulwhenusingthe
cuttingdeckwith yourtractor:
_ ARNING: Plan your mowing pattern to
avoid discharge of materials toward roads,
sidewalks, bystanders and the like. Also,
avoid discharging material against a wall or
obstruction which may cause discharged
material to ricochet back toward the
operator.
Do not mowat high groundspeed,especiallyif a
mulchkit or grass collectoris installed.
• For best resultsit is recommended that the firsttwo
lapsbe cut with the dischargethrowntowardsthe
center.Afterthe first two laps, reversethedirectionto
throwthe dischargeto the outsidefor the balanceof
cutting.This will givea betterappearanceto the lawn.
Do notcut thegrass too short.Shortgrass invites
weedgrowthand yellowsquicklyin dry weather.
• Mowingshouldalwaysbe done with theengineat full
throttle.
• Underheavierconditionsit may be necessaryto go
back overthecut areaa secondtime to get a clean
cut.
Do NOTattemptto mow heavybrushand weedsand
extremelytall grass.Yourtractoris designedto mow
lawns,NOTclearbrush.
• Keepthe bladessharpand replacethe bladeswhen
worn. Referto Cutting Blades in the Maintaining
Your Lawn Tractor sectionof this manualfor proper
bladesharpeninginstructions.
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