Troy-Bilt 12097 - OPERATION; Equipment Controls and Adjustments

OPERATION
KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT
READ THIS OWNER’S MANUAL AND ALL SAFETY RULES BEFORE OPERATING YOUR EQUIPMENT. Know the
location and function of all features and controls on the equipment. Save this manual for future reference.
MEETS ANSI B71.8 - 1986 SAFETY STANDARD
This machine meets voluntary safety standard B71.8 -
1986, which is sponsored by the Outdoor Power Equip¬
ment Institute, Inc., and is published by the American
National Standards Institute, Inc.
A
lllfiM
WARNING
Contact with rotating tines or other moving parts
will cause serious personal injury!
Before inspecting or servicing any part of the ma¬
chine, shut off engine, let all moving parts come to
a complete stop, disconnect the spark plug wire,
and move the wire away from the spark plug.
Figure 7: Features and controls on your equipment.
Engine On-Off Switch (A, Fig. 7)
Located on right side of handlebar, in front of the hand
grip. Move switch to ON prior to starting engine. Move
switch to OFF position to stop the engine.
Handlebar Height Adjustment (B, Fig. 7)
Three operating position heights, plus a storage position
are available. Loosen the adjustment knob, and careful¬
ly raise or lower the handlebar to the desired position—
the five teeth must mesh with the ratchet slots. Retight¬
en the adjustment knob securely. While retightening,
move handlebar up and down slightly to ensure the
ratchet teeth and slots mesh smoothly and fully.
Tilling Depth Adjustment Knob (C, Fig. 7)
Loosen this knob to allow the Wheel Bracket to move up
or down on the Height Adjustment Bar. This bracket ad¬
justs up or down to help control the tilling depth of the
tines. Move the bracket down for deeper tilling; up for
shallow tilling. It’s recommended that you initially use a
shallow tilling setting, so start with the Wheel Bracket
fairly high up. IMPORTANT: DO NOT MOVE THE
WHEEL BRACKET ANY HIGHER THAN THE TOP OF
THE ADJUSTMENT BAR. Keep in mind any adjustment
must result in your personal comfort and control.
Adjustable Tine Positions (D, Fig. 7)
The four tine sections are positioned on the tine shaft for
maximum performance under a wide variety of condi¬
tions. However, the two outer tine sections may be re¬
moved to permit narrower tilling or close cultivating; and
the two inner tine sections may be swapped to make till¬
ing passes more effective in very stony soil. Two bush¬
ings are supplied and are to be used in place of the two
outer tine sections when they are not mounted.
Carrying Handle (E, Fig. 7)
When the handlebar is folded down into the storage po¬
sition, the machine is perfectly balanced and can be car¬
ried by the carrying handle. The carrying handle also
serves as a bumper, and as a strong tie-down anchor
point when inside a vehicle.
Engine Recoil Start Rope (F, Fig. 7)
The recoil start rope is used to start the engine. It
should be pulled out slowly until resistance is felt, then
pulled rapidly. Always let the rope rewind slowly.
Engine Throttle Lever (G, Fig. 7)
This lever provides an infinite range of tine rotation
speeds. Squeeze the lever after the engine is started to
cause forward tine motion. Squeezing the lever a little at
a time gradually increases tine speed. Release the lever
to stop all tine motion. When starting the engine, this
lever must not be squeezed.
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