Poulan 174102 - Manual (Page 9)

OPERATION
BREAKING IN YOUR TILLER
Break-in your belts, 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 Adjust­
ments section of this manual.
TILLING HINTS
A
CAUTION: Until you are accustomed to
handling your tiller, start actual field use
with throttle in slow position (mid-way
between “FAST” and “IDLE”).
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 ortiller 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" to 6" (10-15 cm). A
tiller will also clear the soil of unwanted vegetation. The
decomposition 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.
• Soil conditions are important for propertilling. 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 tine
shaft and slowing your tilling operation.
You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row untilled
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.
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" to 3" (2.5-7.5 cm),
• 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 rov 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).