Craftsman 247.887330 manual Using the Mower, Mulching or SIDE-DISCHARGE Mowing, Stopping the Mower

Lookbehindthe mowerbeforeandduringreverseoperation.Stop the mowerbladesbeforeoperatingin reverse.

USING THE MOWER

IMPORTANT:Alwaysreleasethe drivecontrolbeforechanging speeds.Referto "Knowyour Mower"sectionfor mowercontroldetails.

Besure lawnis clearof stones,sticks,wire,orotherobjectswhich coulddamagelawnmoweror engine.Suchobjectscouldbeaccidently thrownby themowerin anydirectionandcauseseriouspersonalinjury to the operatorandothers.Forbestresults,do not cutwetgrassand nevercut off morethan one-thirdof the totallengthof the grass.

1.Oncethe engineis running,slowlysqueezethe drivecontrol againstthe upperhandleto propeltheunit. Toactivatethe cutting blades,squeezethe bladecontrolagainstthe upperhandle.

2.Tochangegears,releasethe drivecontrolleverandmovethe gearshiftleverto the desiredsetting.Whenfirst practicingwith the mower,put the leverin No. 1position.Selectforwardspeeds accordingto mowingconditionsand terrain.Useslowerspeeds on roughterrainor whengrassis heavyor thick.The forward speedcanbe increasedon smoothterrainor if the grasscoveris light. Allowthewheelsto stopcompletelybeforeshiftingfromone speedintoanother.

IMPORTANT:Beawarethatwhenengagingthedrive control leverwiththe gearshift leverin3rd or4th gear,the powerand torquegeneratedmaycausethe unitto lurchforward.Toavoid

this,slowlysqueezethe drivecontrolleveragainstthe upper handle.

. Tostopthe blades,releasethe bladecontrol.To stopthe drive controlto the wheels,releasethe drivecontrol.

MULCHING OR SIDE-DISCHARGE MOWING

Youcanuse the mowereitheras a mulchingmoweror as a side- dischargemower.To usethe mulchingfeature,insertthe mulchplug as describedbelow.Removethe mulchplugto side-dischargegrass clippings.

The mulchplugis designedto keepthe dischargechuteraisedup while mowing.Whenthe plugis removed,the dischargechutewill loweritselffor side-dischargemowing.

Beforeinstallingor removingmulchplug,stopengine,waitfor parts to stopmoving,anddisconnectsparkplugwire.

To installor removemulchplug:

1.Stoptheengineandwaitfor all partsto stopmoving.

2.Disconnectthe sparkplugwirefromthe sparkplug.

STOPPING THE MOWER

. Releasebladeanddrivecontrolto stopwheelsanddeckblades.

2.Movethrottle/chokecontrolleverdownto slow(turtle) position.Wheneverpossible,graduallyreduceenginespeed beforestoppingengine.

3.Movethrottle/chokecontrolleverallthe waydownto stop position.

4.Disconnectsparkplugwirefromsparkplugandgroundagainst the engine.

MOVING THE MOWER WITHOUT

ENGINE POWER

Figure8

3.To installthe mulchplug,insertthe right-sidetab (A)of the plug intothe bracketonthe deck, Figure8.

4.Insertthe coverintothe dischargeopening(B), Figure8.

5.Afterthe mulchplughas beenplacedinto thedeckopening,push the plugtowardsthe rearof the mower(C) tofit the plugproperly intothe opening,Figure8.

6.To removethe plug,slidethe coverto the right(frontof mower)to

disengagethe slotfromthe mowerdeckandthen prythe left-side of the coverout andoff.

Themowercan bemanuallypushedor pulledby placingthe gearshift Keephandsandfeetawayfromthedischargeopeningof the cutting leverinto N (neutral)positionandpressingthe drivecontrolagainstthe deck.

handlebargrip.

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