Craftsman 247.388240 - Manual (Page 17)

STORAGE
Prepare your lawn mower for storage at the end of the
season or if the unit will not be used for 30 days or
more. Store the mower in a clean, dry area.
Mower
• Clean underside of the mower following
instructions in the Maintenance section of this
manual.
• Inspect and reptace/sharpen blade, if required.
Refer to the Maintenance section of this manual
for blade care instructions.
• 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 20. 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.
• Move the hairpin clips to the outer hole in the
weld pins on the handle mounting brackets.
• Spread the sides of the lower handle, and push
it forward and down.
Upper^^ndle
Figure 20
NOTE: When folding the handle for storage or
transportation, 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
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.
• Drain carburetor by removing bowi drain screw
which is located below the carburetor. See
Figure 21.
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
• Use fresh fuel next season.
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.
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