Use and Care Manual
FuelSafety
•Fuelisextremelyammableandhighlyexplosive.
Areorexplosionfromfuelcanburnyouand
othersandcandamageproperty.
–Topreventastaticchargefromignitingthefuel,
placethecontainerand/ormachinedirectlyon
thegroundbeforelling,notinavehicleoron
anobject.
–Fillthefueltankoutdoorsonlevelground,in
anopenarea,andwhentheengineiscold.
Wipeupanyfuelthatspills.
–Donothandlefuelwhensmokingoraroundan
openameorsparks.
–Donotremovethefuelcaporaddfueltothe
tankwhiletheengineisrunningorhot.
–Ifyouspillfuel,donotattempttostartthe
engine.Avoidcreatingasourceofignitionuntil
thefuelvaporshavedissipated.
–Storefuelinanapprovedcontainerandkeep
itoutofthereachofchildren.
•Fuelisharmfulorfatalifswallowed.Long-term
exposuretovaporscancauseseriousinjuryand
illness.
–Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
–Keepyourhandsandfaceawayfromthe
nozzleandthefuel-tankopening.
–Keepfuelawayfromyoureyesandskin.
•Donotstorethemachineorfuelcontainerwhere
thereisanopename,spark,orpilotlight,such
asonawaterheateroronotherappliances.
•Donotllcontainersinsideavehicleoronatruck
ortrailerbedwithaplasticliner.Alwaysplace
containersonthegroundandawayfromyour
vehiclebeforelling.
•Removetheequipmentfromthetruckortrailer
andrefuelitwhileitisontheground.Ifthisisnot
possible,thenrefuelfromaportablecontainer
ratherthanfromafuel-dispensernozzle.
•Donotoperatethemachinewithouttheentire
exhaustsysteminplaceandinproperworking
condition.
•Keepthefuel-dispensernozzleincontactwith
therimofthefueltankorcontaineropeningat
alltimesuntilfuelingiscomplete.Donotusea
nozzlelock-opendevice.
•Ifyouspillfuelonyourclothing,changeyour
clothingimmediately.
•Donotoverllthefueltank.Replacethefuelcap
andtightenitsecurely.
•Cleangrassanddebrisfromthecuttingunit,
mufer,drives,grasscatcher,andengine
compartmenttohelppreventres.Cleanupoilor
fuelspills.
AddingFuel
RecommendedFuel
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh(lessthan
30daysold),unleadedgasolinewithanoctane
ratingof87orhigher((R+M)/2ratingmethod).
•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.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorfuel
containersoverthewinterunlessyouuseafuel
stabilizer.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
UsingStabilizer/Conditioner
Usefuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachinetokeep
thefuelfreshlongerwhenusedasdirectedbythe
fuel-stabilizermanufacturer.
Important:Donotusefueladditivescontaining
methanolorethanol.
Addtheamountoffuelstabilizer/conditionertofresh
fuelasdirectedbythefuel-stabilizermanufacturer.
FillingtheFuelTank
1.Parkthemachineonalevelsurface.
2.Movethemotion-controlleversoutwardtothe
PARKposition.
3.Shutofftheengineandremovethekey.
4.Cleanaroundthefuel-tankcap.
5.Fillthefueltanktothebottomofthellerneck
(Figure8).
Note:Donotllthefueltankcompletelyfull.
Theemptyspaceinthetankallowsthefuelto
expand.
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