Breaking in Your Tiller, Tilling Hints | McCulloch MHDF800 guide

OPERATION

NOTE: If at a high altitude (3000 feet) or in cold temperatures (below 32°F), the carburetor fuel mixture may need to be adjusted for best engine performance. See "TO ADJUST CARBURETOR" in the Service and Adjustments section of this manual.

NOTE: If engine does not start, see troubleshooting points.

• Soil conditions are important for proper tilling. Tines will

not readily penetrate dry, hard soil which may contribute

to excessive bounce and difficult handling of your tiller.

Hard soil should be moistened before tilling; however,

extremely wet soil will “ball-up” or clump during tilling.

Wait until the soil is less wet in order to achieve the

best results. When tilling in the fall, remove vines and

long grass to prevent them from wrapping around the

CHOKE

CONTROL

RECOIL STARTER HANDLE

SPARK PLUG

THROTTLE

CONTROL

FIG. 8

tine shaft and slowing your tilling operation.

• You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row un-

tilled between passes. Then go back between tilled

rows. (See Fig. 9) There are two reasons for doing

this. First, wide turns are much easier to negotiate than

about-faces. Second, the tiller won’t be pulling itself,

and you, toward the row next to it.

• Set depth stake and wheel height for shallow tilling

when working extremely hard soil or sod. Then work

across the first cuts at normal depth.

BREAKING IN YOUR TILLER

Break-in your belt(s), pulleys and tine control before you actually begin tilling.

•Start engine, tip tines off ground by pressing handles down and engage tine control to start tine rotation. Allow tines to rotate for five minutes.

•Check tine operation and adjust if necessary. See “TINE OPERATION CHECK” in the Service and Adjustments section of this manual.

TILLING HINTS

CAUTION: Until you are accustomed to handling your tiller, start actual field use with throttle in slow position.

To help tiller move forward, lift up the handles slightly (thus lifting depth stake out of ground). To slow down the tiller, press down on handles.

If you are straining or tiller is shaking, the wheels and depth stake are not set properly in the soil being tilled. The proper setting of the wheels and depth stake is through trial and error and depends upon the soil condition. (The harder or wetter the ground, the slower the engine and tine speed needed. Under these poor conditions, at fast speed the tiller will run and jump over the ground).

A properly adjusted tiller will dig with little effort from the operator.

•Tilling is digging into, turning over, and breaking up packed soil before planting. Loose, unpacked soil helps root growth. Best tilling depth is 4"-6". A tiller will also clearthesoilofunwantedvegetation.Thedecomposition of this vegetable matter enriches the soil. Depending on the climate (rainfall and wind), it may be advisable to till the soil at the end of the growing season to further condition the soil.

Fig. 9

CULTIVATING

Cultivating is destroying the weeds between rows to pre- vent them from robbing nourishment and moisture from the plants. At the same time, breaking up the upper layer of soil crust will help retain moisture in the soil. Best digging depth is 1"-3".

•You will probably not need to use the depth stake. Begin by tipping the depth stake forward until it is held by the stake spring.

•Cultivate up and down the rows at a speed which will allow tines to uproot weeds and leave the ground in rough condition, promoting no further growth of weeds and grass (See Fig. 10).

Fig. 10