Craftsman 247.28905 Operator's Manual page 17

Do notmow on inclineswith a slopein excessof 15 degrees(a rise
of approximately 2-1/2feet every 10feet). Thetractorcouldoverturn
and causeseriousinjury.
• Mow up and downslopes,NEVERacross.
Exerciseextremecautionwhenchangingdirectionon slopes.
Watchfor holes, ruts,bumps,rocks,or otherhiddenobjects.
Uneventerraincouldoverturnthemachine.Tallgrasscan hide
obstacles.
Avoidturns whendrivingon a slope. If a turn mustbe made,turn
downthe slope.Turningup a slopegreatlyincreasesthechance
of a roll over.
Avoidstoppingwhendrivingup a slope. If it is necessaryto stop
whiledrivingup a slope,start up smoothlyand carefullyto reduce
the possibilityof flippingthe tractoroverbackward.
ENGAGING THE BLADES
Engagingthe PTO(Blade Engage)transferspowerto the cuttingdeck
or other (separatelyavailable)attachments.Toengagethe blades,
proceedas follows:
1. Movethe throttle/choke control leverto the FAST(rabbit)position.
2. Graspthe PTO(BladeEngage)leverand pivot it all the way
forwardintothe engaged(ON)position.
3. Keepthe throttleleverin the FAST(rabbit)positionforthe most
efficientuseof thecuttingdeck or other(separatelyavailable)
attachments.
iMPORTANT: Inthe ReverseCautionModetheenginewill auto-
maticallyshut off ifthe PTOisengagedwith the speedcontrol lever
in positionfor reversetravelwith the ignition keyin the NORMAL
MOWINGposition.
USING THE DECK LIFT LEVER
Toraisethe cuttingdeck,movethe deck lift levertothe left,then place
itin the notchbest suitedfor yourapplication.Referto SettingThe
CuttingHeightearlierinthis section.
MOWING
Tohelp avoidbladecontactor a thrownobject injury,keepbystand-
ers, helpers,childrenand pets at least 75 feet fromthe machine
whileit is in operation.Stop machineif anyoneentersthearea.
for the balanceof cutting.This will givea betterappearanceto the
lawn.
• Donot cut the grasstoo short. Shortgrassinvitesweedgrowth
and yellowsquicklyin dry weather.
• Mowingshouldalwaysbe done with the engineat full throttle.
• Underheavierconditionsit maybe necessaryto go backoverthe
cut areaa secondtime to get a cleancut.
• Do NOTattemptto mowheavy brushandweeds and extremely
tall grass.Yourtractorisdesignedto mow lawns,NOTclear
brush.
• Keepthe bladessharpand replacethe bladeswhenworn. Refer
to CuttingBladesin the Serviceand Maintenence sectionof this
manualfor properbladesharpeninginstructions.
MOVING THE TRACTOR MANUALLY
Yourtractor'stransmissionis equippedwith a hydrostaticreliefvalve
for occasionswhen it isnecessaryto movethetractormanually.
Activatingthis valve forcesthe fluid in thetransmissionto bypassits
normalroute,allowingthe rear tires to "freewheel." T o engagethe
hydrostaticreliefvalve,proceedas follows:
1. Locatethe hydrostaticbypassrod in the rearof the tractor.See
Fig. 10.
2. Pullthe hydrostaticbypassrod outward,thendownand to the left,
to lock itin place.
NOTE: Thetransmissionwill NOTengagewhenthe hydrostatic
bypassrod ispulledout. Returnthe rodto itsnormalpositionprior to
operatingthe tractor.
iMPORTANT: Neverattemptto movethe tractormanuallywithout
first engagingthe hydrostaticreliefvalve.Doingso will resultin serious
damageto thetractor'stransmission.
Thefollowinginformationwill be helpfulwhenusingthe cuttingdeck
with yourtractor:
Planyour mowingpatternto avoiddischargeof materialstoward
roads,sidewalks,bystandersand the like.Also, avoiddischarging
materialagainsta wallor obstructionwhich maycausedischarged
materialto ricochetbacktowardthe operator.
Figure 10
Do not mowat high groundspeed,especiallyif a mulch kit or
grasscollectoris installed.
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
HEADLIGHTS
• The lampsare ONwheneverthe tractor'sengineis running.
• The lampsturn OFFwhenthe ignitionkey is movedto the STOP
position.
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