MTD 214-412-000 - Manual (Page 12)

TO START ENGINE
^ WARNING ^
BE SURE NO ONE IS STANDING IN
FRONT OF THE TILLER WHILE THE
ENGINE IS RUNNING OR BEING
STARTED.
1. Place the gear shift lever in “NEUTRAL” (N)
position. See figure 14.
2. Place the tine engagement lever ii the
disengaged position. See figure 22.
3. Place the wheel engagement lever in the
disengaged position. See figure 23.
4. Place the throttle control lever in “S' ART”
position.
5. Move choke lever down to choke engin i. See
figure 17.
NOTE
A warm engine may not require
choking.
6. Stand at side of tiller. Grasp the starter t andle
and pull out rapidly. Return it slowly :o the
engine. Repeat as necessary.
7. After engine starts, move choke lever gradual­
ly to “OFF” position.
Refer to engine manual for additional engine Infor­
mation.
TO STOP ENGINE
1. Move throttle control to “OFF” positior.
2. Disconnect spark plug wire and ground 1 o pre­
vent accidentally starting while equipment is
unattended.
HOW TO USE YOUR
TILLER
I WARNING ^
When operating the tiller for the
first time, use the depth bar setting
that gives 1 inch of tilling depth
(second slot from the bottom).
Refer to figure 25. Use first speed
only.
Your tiller has a variable speed pulley which
allows you to change gears, First (1) through Fifth
(5), without stopping. The gear shift le>er is
located on the top center of handle panel. There
are Five (5) forward speeds. Neutral (N and
Reverse (R).
A. Forward speeds: First and second speeds are
generally used for tilling sod or soil which has
not been tilled before. Third and fourth speeds
are usually used for fine tilling or cultivating.
The fifth speed is for pulverizing soil or for
transporting the tiller. The soil conditions in
your area will determine the speed you will
want to use.
IMPORTANT
Do not shift gears unless the engine
is running. If the engine should stall
while in gear, you must proceed as
follows;
1. ) Disconnect and ground the spark plug wire
against the engine.
2. ) Move tine and wheel engagement levers to
the disengaged position.
3. ) Pull the recoil starter rope, and at the same
time pull back on gear shift lever. Pull the
rope out as many times as it takes to move
the gear shift lever into neutrai (N) position.
Do Not force shift lever back into neutral at
any time.
4. ) Move the gear shift lever through the for­
ward speeds, neutral and reverse. Readjust
control rod if necessary.
B. Neutral (N): The neutral detent on the handle
panel is used when starting and stopping the
tiller and going from a forward speed to
reverse.
C. Reverse (R) Gear; The reverse gear is a dead-
man type. If you put the tiller into reverse to
back up or to unclog the tines, and you let go
of gear shift lever, the reverse motion will stop.
Reverse will only work when you pull the gear
shift lever back and hold it in that position.
Raise the handles and lift the tines out of the
ground before putting the tiller in reverse gear.
A CAUTION
Placing the tiller in reverse with the
tines in the ground will cause pre­
mature wear of the reversing disc.
TILLING
Tilling depth is controiled by the depth bar which
can be adjusted to five different settings. See
figure 25. Adjust the side shields as shown in
figure 25 as you adjust the depth bar. Be certain
spark plug wire is disconnected and grounded
against the engine.
1. When using the tiller for the first time, use the
second adjustment slot from the bottom (1 " of
tilling depth). See figure 25.
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