Stopping The Engine; Practice Operation; Driving The Riding Mower; Cold Weather Starting - Craftsman 247,204110 Operator's Manual

3. Movethe throttle/chokecontrol l everfullyforwardintothe CHOKE I'_1
position.
flOTE: I fthe engineis warmedup, it maynot be necessary to place the
throttle/choke controlinthe CHOKE I%1position.
4. Turnthe ignitionkeyclockwise to the START _ positionandrelease it as
soonasthe enginestarts;however, d o notcrankthe enginecontinuously f or
morethan5seconds a t atime.If the enginedoesnot startwithin thistime,
turn the keyto STOP _ andwaitat least15seconds t o allowthe engine's
startermotorto cool.Tryagainafterwaiting. Ifafter afewattemptsthe
enginefailsto start,do not keeptryingto start it withthe chokeclosed as
thiswill cause floodingandmakestartingmoredifficult.
5. Asthe enginewarmsup,graduallypull the throttle/choke controllever
rearwardpastthe choke detentposition.Donot usethe chokepositionto
enrichthe fuelmixture,except a snecessary t o startthe engine.
6. Allowthe engineto runforafew minutesat midthrottle beforeputtingthe
engineunderload.
ColdWeather Starting
Whenstartingthe engineattemperatures nearor belowfreezing, e nsurethe
correct v iscosity motoroil isusedin the engineandthe batteryisfully charged.
Startthe engineasfollows:
I. Besurethe batteryis ingoodcondition.Also,awarmbatteryhasmuch
morestartingcapacity thanacoldbattery.
2. Use freshwintergradefuel. Wintergradegasoline hashighervolatilityto
improvestarting.Donot usegasoline left overfrom summer.
3. Followthe previous instructionfor Startingthe Engine.
UsingJumper Cables ToStart Engine
Batteriescontain sulfuric acidandproduceexplosivegasses. M akecertain
the area iswell ventilated,wear glovesandeye protection,and avoid
sparksor flamesnear the battery.
If the batterychargeisnot sufficientto crankthe engine,recharge the battery.Ifa
batterychargeris unavailable andthe ridingmowermustbestarted,the aidofa
booster batterywill benecessary. Connect t he booster batteryasfollows:
1. Connect the endofonecableto the disabled ridingmowerbattery'spositive
terminal; t hen connect t he otherendof thatcableto the boosterbattery's
positiveterminal.
2. Connect o neendof the othercableto the booster battery'snegative
terminal; t hen connect t he otherendof thatcableto the frameofthe
disabled ridingmower, a sfarfromthe batteryaspossible.
3. Startthedisabled riding mowerfollowingthe normalstartinginstructions
previously provided; t hendisconnect thejumpercables inthe exactreverse
orderof theirconnection.
4.
Have the ridingmower'selectrical s ystemchecked andrepaired assoonas
possible to eliminate the needforjumpstarting.
Stopping the Engine
1. Place the PTO switchinthe OFF position.
2. Movethe RHandLHdrivecontrollevers fully outwardinthe neutralposition
(parkingbrakeon).
3. Movethe throttle/choke control t o midwaybetweenthe SLOW _ and
FAST _ positions.
4. Turnthe ignitionkeyto the STOP _ positionandremove the keyfrom the
ignitionswitch.
flOTE: A lwaysremove the keyfromthe ignitionswitchto prevent a ccidental
startingor batterydischarge if the equipmentisleft unattended.
Practice Operation (initial Use)
Operating azero-turnridingmowerisnot likeoperatingaconventional type riding
ridingmower.Because a zeroturn ridingmowerismoremaneuverable, getting
usedto operating the controllevers takessomepractice.
Westronglyrecommend thatyoulocatea reasonably l arge,level a ndopen"practice
area"wherethereareno obstructions, pedestrians, or animals. Y oushouldpractice
operatingthe ridingmowerfor aminimumof 30minutes.
Carefully move-- or haveanexperienced usermove-- the ridingmowerto
the practice area.Whenperformingthe practice session, the PTO shouldnot be
engaged. W hilepracticing, o perate the ridingmowerat approximately 1 /2-3/4
throttle andat lessthanfull speed inbothforwardandreverse.
Carefully practice maneuvering t he ridingmowerandproceed to driveasdescribed
inthe followingDrivingthe RidingmowerForward section.
Drivingthe Riding mower
Avoidsuddenstarts, excessive speedandsuddenstops.
1. Adjustthe operator's s eatto the mostcomfortable positionthat allowsyou
to operatethe controls. S ee"Adjusting the Seat"the Assembly s ection.
2. Movethe RHandLHdrivecontrollevers inwardinthe neutralposition.Refer
to Figure 12.
ntrol L ever M oved InwardandinNeutral-
OOOOO OOOOO
0000 00000
0000
0000
1
L
Figure 12
NOTE: Ifthe control l evers arenot eveninthe neutral p osition, r eferto Service
andMaintenance f orinstructions t oadjustthe levers sothattheyareeven.
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