Operation – Poulan Pro PPFT55 FRONT TINE TILLER User Manual

Page 9

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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 Ad just ments

sec tion of this manual.

TILLING HINTS

CAUTION: Until you are accustomed

to handling your tiller, start ac tu al 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 con di tion. (The harder or

wetter the ground, the slower the engine and tine speed

needed. Under these poor con di tions, 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

clear the soil of unwanted vege ta tion. The de com po si tion

of this vegetable mat ter en rich es the soil. De pend ing

on the climate (rain fall and wind), it may be advisable

to till the soil at the end of the growing season to further

condition the soil.

•

Soil conditions are important for proper tilling. Tines will

not readily penetrate dry, hard soil which may con trib ute

to excessive bounce and difficult handling of your tiller.

Hard soil should be mois tened 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

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. Sec ond, 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.

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 con di tion, promoting no fur ther growth of weeds

and grass (See Fig. 10).

FIG. 10

OPERATION

FIG. 8

RECOIL STARTER

HANDLE

SPARK PLUG

CHOKE

CONTROL

THROTTLE

CONTROL

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.