Operation
Note:Determinetheleftandrightsidesofthe
machinefromthenormaloperatingposition.
BeforeOperation
BeforeOperationSafety
GeneralSafety
•Donotallowchildrenoruntrainedpeopleto
operateorservicethemachine.Localregulations
mayrestricttheageoftheoperator.Theowner
isresponsiblefortrainingalloperatorsand
mechanics.
•Becomefamiliarwiththesafeoperationofthe
equipment,operatorcontrols,andsafetysigns.
•Alwaysshutoffthemachine,removetheignition
key(ifequipped),waitforallmovingpartstostop,
andallowthemachinetocoolbeforeadjusting,
servicing,cleaning,orstoringit.
•Knowhowtostopthemachineandshutoffthe
enginequickly.
•Checkthatoperator-presencecontrols,safety
switches,andsafetyprotectivedevicesare
attachedandfunctioningproperly.Donotoperate
themachineunlesstheyarefunctioningproperly.
•Inspecttheareawhereyouwillusethemachine,
andremoveallobjectsthatcouldinterferewith
theoperationofthemachineorthatthemachine
couldthrow.
•Evaluatetheterraintodeterminewhataccessories
andattachmentsareneededtoproperlyand
safelyperformthejob.
•Beforeusing,alwaysvisuallyinspecttoseethat
theblades,bladeboltsandmowerdeckarenot
wornordamaged.Replacewornordamaged
bladesandboltsinsetstopreservebalance.
FuelSafety
•Useextremecareinhandlingfuel.Itisammable
anditsvaporsareexplosive.
•Extinguishallcigarettes,cigars,pipes,andother
sourcesofignition.
•Useonlyanapprovedfuelcontainer.
•Donotremovethefuelcaporaddfueltothetank
whiletheengineisrunningorhot.
•Donotaddordrainfuelinanenclosedspace.
•Donotstorethemachineorfuelcontainerwhere
thereisanopename,spark,orpilotlight,such
asonawaterheaterorotherappliance.
•Ifyouspillfuel,donotattempttostarttheengine;
avoidcreatingasourceofignitionuntilthefuel
vaporshavedissipated.
•Donotllcontainersinsideavehicleoronatruck
ortrailerbedwithaplasticliner.Alwaysplace
containersontheground,awayfromthevehicle
beforeî‚¿lling.
•Removeequipmentfromthetruckortrailerand
refuelitontheground.Ifthisisnotpossible,refuel
suchequipmentwithaportablecontainerrather
thanfromafuel-dispensernozzle.
•Keepthenozzleincontactwiththerimofthefuel
tankorcontaineroperatingatalltimesuntilfueling
iscomplete.
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
Useafuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachineto
providethefollowingbeneî‚¿ts:
•Keepsfuelfreshlongerwhenusedasdirectedby
thefuel-stabilizermanufacturer
•Cleanstheenginewhileitruns
•Eliminatesgum-likevarnishbuildupinthefuel
system,whichcauseshardstarting
Important:Donotusefueladditives
containingmethanolorethanol.
Addthecorrectamountoffuelstabilizer/conditioner
tothefuel.
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