The hydraulic lift works fine. To set how low the deck will lower, it has a large knob facing forward beneath the front of the seat. I managed to turn it all the way up (clockwise) but couldn't budge it counter-clockwise to lower. A friend of mine as strong as an ape manage to rotate the knob after 2-3 attempts. The best I can tell, the knob doesn't push / pull in order to rotate it. I assumed the knob was a simple one-handed operation. Can't find any literature on it other than the owner's manual which simple refers to rotating it. My FiL died yesterday so I went over there to make the yard nice for visitors. Heck of a lawn mower (his) aside from that one issue. Any ideas? Thanks.