Operator's Manual

Operation
Note:Determinetheleftandrightsidesofthe
machinefromthenormaloperatingposition.
BeforeOperation
BeforeOperationSafety
GeneralSafety
•Becomefamiliarwiththesafeoperationofthe
equipment,operatorcontrols,andsafetysigns.
•Checkthatallguardsandsafetydevices,suchas
deectorsand/orgrasscatcher,areinplaceand
workingproperly.
•Alwaysinspectthemachinetoensurethatthe
blades,bladebolts,andcuttingassemblyarenot
wornordamaged.
•Inspecttheareawhereyouwillusethemachine,
andremoveallobjectsthatcouldinterferewith
theoperationofthemachineorthatthemachine
couldthrow.
•Adjustingthecuttingheightmaybringyouinto
contactwiththemovingblade,causingserious
injury.
–Shutofftheengine,removetheignitionkey
(electric-startmodelonly),andwaitforall
movingpartstostop.
–Donotputyourngersunderthehousing
whenadjustingthecuttingheight.
FuelSafety
•Fuelisextremelyammableandhighlyexplosive.
Areorexplosionfromfuelcanburnyouand
othersandcandamageproperty.
–Topreventastaticchargefromignitingthefuel,
placethecontainerand/ormachinedirectlyon
thegroundbeforelling,notinavehicleoron
anobject.
–Fillthefueltankoutdoors,inanopenarea,
whentheengineiscold.Wipeupanyfuelthat
spills.
–Donothandlefuelwhensmokingoraroundan
openameorsparks.
–Donotremovethefuelcaporaddfueltothe
tankwhiletheengineisrunningorhot.
–Ifyouspillfuel,donotattempttostartthe
engine.Avoidcreatingasourceofignitionuntil
thefuelvaporshavedissipated.
–Storefuelinanapprovedcontainerandkeep
itoutofthereachofchildren.
•Fuelisharmfulorfatalifswallowed.Long-term
exposuretovaporscancauseseriousinjuryand
illness.
–Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
–Keepyourhandsandfaceawayfromthe
nozzleandthefuel-tankopening.
–Keepfuelawayfromyoureyesandskin.
FillingtheFuelTank
DANGER
Gasolineisextremelyammableand
explosive.Areorexplosionfromgasoline
canburnyouandothers.
•Topreventastaticchargefromigniting
thegasoline,placethecontainerand/or
machinedirectlyonthegroundbefore
lling,notinavehicleoronanobject.
•Fillthetankoutdoorswhentheengineis
cold.Wipeupspills.
•Donothandlegasolinewhensmokingor
aroundanopenameorsparks.
•Storegasolineinanapprovedfuel
container,outofthereachofchildren.
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh(lessthan
30daysold),unleadedgasolinewithanoctane
ratingof87orhigher((R+M)/2ratingmethod).
•Oxygenatedfuelwithupto10%ethanolor15%
MTBEbyvolumeisacceptable.
•Ethanol:Gasolinewithupto10%ethanol
(gasohol)or15%MTBE(methyltertiarybutyl
ether)byvolumeisacceptable.Ethanoland
MTBEarenotthesame.Gasolinewith15%
ethanol(E15)byvolumeisnotapprovedforuse.
Neverusegasolinethatcontainsmorethan
10%ethanolbyvolume,suchasE15(contains
15%ethanol),E20(contains20%ethanol),orE85
(containsupto85%ethanol).Usingunapproved
gasolinemaycauseperformanceproblemsand/or
enginedamagewhichmaynotbecoveredunder
warranty.
•Donotusegasolinecontainingmethanol.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorinfuel
containersoverthewinterunlessyouuseafuel
stabilizer.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
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