•Thoroughlyinspecttheareawhereyouwillusethe
machine,andremovealldoormats,sleds,boards,
wires,andotherforeignobjects.
•Ifashield,safetydevice,ordecalisdamaged,
illegible,ormissing,repairorreplaceitbefore
beginningoperation.Alsotightenanyloose
fasteners.
DANGER
Fuelisextremelyammableandexplosive.A
reorexplosionfromfuelcanburnyouand
others.
•Topreventastaticchargefromignitingthe
fuel,placethecontainerand/ormachineon
thegroundbeforelling,notinavehicle
oronanobject.
•Fillthetankoutdoorswhentheengineis
cold.Wipeupspills.
•Donothandlefuelwhensmokingor
aroundanopenameorsparks.
•Storefuelinanapprovedfuelcontainer,
outofthereachofchildren.
•Donottipthemachineeitherforward
orbackwardwithfuelinthefueltank;
otherwise,fuelmayleakoutofthe
machine.
FillingtheFuelTank
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh(lessthan
30daysold),unleadedgasolinewithanoctane
ratingof87orhigher((R+M)/2ratingmethod).
•Oxygenatedfuelwithupto10%ethanolor15%
MTBEbyvolumeisacceptable.
•Donotuseethanolblendsofgasoline(such
asE15orE85)withmorethan10%ethanolby
volume.Performanceproblemsand/orengine
damagemayresultwhichmaynotbecovered
underwarranty.
•Donotusegasolinecontainingmethanol.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorfuel
containersoverthewinterunlessyouuseafuel
stabilizer.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
Donotllabovethebottomofthefueltankneck
(Figure20).
g216203
Figure20
Note:Forbestresults,purchaseonlythequantity
offuelthatyouexpecttousein30days.Otherwise,
youmayaddfuelstabilizertonewlypurchasedfuelto
keepitfreshforupto6months.
DuringOperation
DuringOperationSafety
•Shutofftheenginebeforeuncloggingthe
machineandalwaysuseastickorthe
snow-cleanouttool(ifprovided).
•Arotatingaugercaninjurehandsorfeet.Stay
behindthehandlesandawayfromthedischarge
openingwhileoperatingthemachine.Keepyour
face,hands,feet,andanyotherpartofyour
bodyorclothingawayfrommovingorrotating
parts.
•Neverdirectthedischargetowardpeopleorareas
wherepropertydamagecanoccur.
•Exercisecautiontoavoidslippingorfalling.
Alwaysbesureofyourfooting,andkeeparm
holdonthehandles.Walk;neverrun.
•Exerciseextremecautionwhenoperatingon
slopes.
•Neveroperatethemachinewithoutgoodvisibility
orlight.
•Donotoperatethemachinewhileill,tired,or
undertheinuenceofalcoholordrugs.
•Lookbehindandusecarewhenbackingupwith
themachine.
•Whennotactivelyclearingsnow,disengagepower
totheauger.
•Exerciseextremecautionwhenoperatingonor
crossinggraveldrives,walks,orroads.Stayalert
forhiddenhazardsortrafc.
•Neverattempttomakeanyadjustmentswhilethe
engineisrunning.
•Afterstrikingaforeignobject,shutofftheengine,
removetheignitionkey(electric-startmodels
only),thoroughlyinspectthemachineforany
damage,andrepairthedamagebeforestarting
andoperatingthemachine.
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