Craftsman 247.388250 - Manual (Page 17)

STORAGE
Prepare your lawn mower for storage at the end of the
season or if the unit wiii not be used for 30 days or
more. Store the mower in a ciean, dry area.
Mower
• Clean the mower thorougly.
• Inspect and replace/sharpen blade, if required.
• Lubricate mower following the lubrication chart
on page 14 of this manual.
You can fold your mower’s handle for convenient
storage as shown in Figure 19. Follow the steps
below to fold the handle.
• Remove the starter rope from the rope guide.
• Loosen the two hand knobs on the sides of the
handle, and let the upper handle fold down to
the rear.
• Remove carriage bolt and wing nut from each
handle bracket,
• Spread the sides of the lower handle, and push
it
fonA/ard and down.
Figure 19
NOTE: When folding the handle, be careful not to
bend or kink the cable.
Engine
IMPORTANT: It is important to prevent gum deposits
from forming in essential fuel system parts such as
carburetor, fuel filter, fuel hose, or tank during
storage. Also, experience indicates that alcohol
blended fuels (called gasohol or using ethanol or
methanol) can attract moisture which leads to
separation and formation of acids during storage.
Acidic gas can damage the fuel system of an engine
while in storage.
Drain fuel system & carburetor
A
WARNING: Drain fuel into approved
container outdoors away from open flame.
Be sure engine is cool. Do not smoke.
• Drain the fuel tank. Start the engine and let it
run until the fuel lines and carburetor are empty.
• Loosen the bowl drain screw a few turns. The
bowl drain screw is located below the
carburetor. See Figure 20. Do not remove the
screw completely. Drain the carburetor
Note: Do not drain carburetor if using fuel stabilizer.
WARNING: Never use engine or carburetor
cleaner products in the fuel tank or
permanent damage may occur.
A
Figure 20
Use fuel stabilizer
NOTE: Fuel stabilizer is an acceptable alternative in
minimizing the formation of fuel gum deposits during
storage.
• Add stabilizer to gasoline in fuel tank or storage
container. Always follow the mix ratio found on
stabilizer container.
• Run engine at least 10 minutes after adding
stabilizer to allow the stabilizer to reach the
carburetor.
• Do not drain the gas tank and carburetor if
using fuel stabilizer. Drain all the oil from the
crankcase (This should be done after the
engine has been operated and is still warm)
and refill the crankcase with fresh oil.
Oil cylinder bore
After you have drained the fuel tank, protect the inside
of the engine as follows:
•
Remove spark plug, pour approximately one
ounce (30 ml) of engine oil into spark plug hole,
and crank slowly to distribute oil.
A WARNING: Avoid spray from spark plug
hole when cranking the engine slowly.
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