Craftsman 247.288890 Operator's Manual page 16

Mowing
Tohelpavoidbladecontact o r athrown objectinjury, k eepbystanders, helpers,
I children andpetsat least75feetfromthe machine whileit isinoperation. S top
[ machine if anyone entersthe area.
Thefollowinginformationwill behelpfulwhen usingthe cuttingdeckwith your
tractor:
Planyourmowingpatternto avoiddischarge o f materials towardroads,
sidewalks, b ystanders a ndthe like.Also, a voiddischarging materialagainst a wall
or obstruction whichmaycause discharged material t o ricochetback towardthe
operator.
Donot mowat highgroundspeed, e specially if amulchkit orgrasscollector
isinstalled.
Forbestresultsit isrecommended t hat the first two lapsbecutwith the
discharge t hrown towards the center. A fterthe first two laps,reverse the
directionto throwthe discharge to the outside forthe balance ofcutting.
Thiswill givea betterappearance t o the lawn.
Donot cutthe grass too short.Shortgrass invites weedgrowthandyellows
quicklyindry weather.
Mowingshouldalwaysbedonewith the engineat full throttle.
Under heavier c onditionsit maybe necessary to go backoverthe cut areaa
second time to get acleancut.
DoNOT attemptto mowheavybrushandweeds andextremely tallgrass.
Your t ractorisdesigned to mowlawns,NOT clearbrush.
Keep the blades sharpandreplace the bladeswhenworn.Referto Cutting
Blades inthe Service andMaintenence s ectionof thismanual f orproper
bladesharpening instructions.
MovingTheTractorManually
Yourtractor'stransmission i sequipped with a hydrostatic reliefvalveforoccasions
when it isnecessary t o movethe tractormanually. A ctivating thisvalveforces
the fluid in thetransmission to bypass i ts normal r oute,allowingthe reartiresto
"freewheel."Toengage the hydrostatic reliefvalve,proceed asfollows:
1. Locate the hydrostatic bypass r odinthe rearof the tractor.SeeFigure 11.
2. Pullthe hydrostatic bypass rodoutward,thendown to lockit intoplace.
NOTE: Thetransmission w ill NOT engage whenthe hydrostatic bypass rodispulled
out. Return the rodto itsnormalpositionpriorto operatingthe tractor.
IM PO RTANT: Never a ttemptto movethe tractormanuallywithoutfirst
engaging the hydrostatic reliefvalve.Doing sowill resultinserious damage to the
tractor'stransmission.
Figure 11
Headlights
ThelampsareON whenever t he tractor'sengineisrunning.
Thelampsturn OFF whenthe ignitionkeyismovedto the STOP
position.
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