Tillingand Cultivating - Troy-Bilt 12097 Owner's Manual

Section4: Operation
A
C
Figure 9: "A" - all four tine gangs in standardpattem; "B" - two outer gangs removed for narrow tilling; "C" - the two inner gangs have
been swappedfor stonytilling conditions.
Allow the engine to warm up for several
seconds. If engine either fails to start or
to continue running, push in primer bulb
two (2) times. Grasp starter rope and
pull with a rapid, full stroke, up to ten
(10) times.
TROUBLESHOOTING: P ush the primer
bulb in two (2) more times. Using a rapid
full stroke, pull out the starting rope up to
ten (10) times. If engine still does not
start, wait 15 minutes. Do not prime
engine further. Graspstart rope and pull
with a rapid, full stroke up to ten (10)
times.
TILLINGAND CULTIVATING
Keep away from rotatingtines. Rotating
tines will causeserious personalinjury.
Use your machine to break up sod, pre-
pare seedbedsand for cultivating in gar-
dens and flower beds. It is easy to op-
erate, but it is important that you start out
slowly and read this Section thoroughly
before putting it to use. Let the machine
do most of the work. Thetines will pull
the machine forward, letting you adjust
forward speed by pressing down or lifting
the handlebars.
1. Roll the machine to the work area.
2. Adjust the tilling depth to the desired
position (see Pre-Start Preparation, pre-
vious page).
3. Start the engine (see Stopping and
Starting the Engine,previous page).
Stand behind the handlebar and push
down on the bar to raise the tines off the
ground. Squeezethe Throttle/Tines
Lever- the engine should speed up and
the tines start rotating. Releasethe
Throttle/Tines Lever to return to idle, the
tines should stop rotating or they may
rotate very slowly. Lowering them back
to the ground should stop any rotation.
NOTE: If tines continue to rotate when
engine is idling, either the idle speed is
too high or the centrifugal clutch is mal-
functioning. If this occurs, contact the
Factoryor your local authorized dealer.
4. Squeezethe Throttle/Tines Leverto
start the tines rotating. Lower the tines to
begin tilling. Firmlyhold the handlebar to
prevent the machine from moving for-
ward too quickly and to allow enough
time for the tines to dig deeply enough.
Adjust engine speed to suit the tilling
conditions. Rememberthat the rotating
tines help to pull the machine forward.
Use slower speeds and a shallow depth
setting when learning to use the unit and
whenever you are tilling on hard, rough or
uneven ground.
5. Do not try to till too deeply in the first
pass through sod or very hard ground. If
the machine jumps or bucks, use a shal-
lower depth setting and reduce the engine
speed. With eachsuccessive pass, till
more deeply.
6. Apply downward pressure on the han-
dlebars for shallower tilling. Lilt the han-
dlebars to dig more deeply. If the ma-
chine stays and tills in one spot, try
swinging the handlebarsfrom side to side
to start moving forward again.
7. Foreasier tilling, water very hard soil a
few days before tilling. Avoid working
soggy or wet soil. Wait a day or two after
heavy rain for the ground to dry.
Cultivating
1. Cultivating is shallow tilling that dis-
rupts weeds and aeratesthe upper crust
of soil.
2. Do not till deeper than 1"-2"to avoid
injuringnearby plant roots. Cultivate
often,so that weeds do not grow large
and cause needlesstangling in the tines.
3. With careful planning, you can space
the seed rows far enough apart to allow
sufficient room for the machine to culti-
vate alter the plants have grown.
AdjustingTine Patterns
Dependingupon the tilling project, you
havea choice of three tine patterns:
Wide (Standard)Tine Pattern - As
shipped from the factory, the unit is set
up for general tilling and cultivating. This
10"wide tine pattern (the maximum tilling
width) uses all four tine sections
(A, Figure9). See TineRemovalandln-
stallation in Section 5 for detailed informa-
tion on how to set up this tine pattern.
Narrow Tine Pattern- Fora narrow,
4-1/2" tilling width, remove the outside
tine section on the left- and right-sides
(B, Figure9). See TineRemovaland In-
stallation in Section 5 for detailed informa-
tion on how to set up this tine pattern.
StonySoil Tine Pattern - When tilling
deeply in stony soil, stones may become
jammed betweenthe inner tines and the
machine hood. This pattern swaps the
two inner tines to minimizejamming (c,
Figure9). See Tinet?emovaland Installa-
tion in Section 5 for detailed information
on how to set up this tine pattern.