7
– Always wear ear and hearing protection de
-
vices.
– Never wear scarves, shirts, necklaces, or
any hanging or flapping accessory that could
catch in the machine or in any objects or ma
-
terials in the work area.
– Tie your hair back if it is long.
2) WARNING: DANGER! Petrol is highly flam
-
mable.
– Keep the fuel in containers which have been
specifically manufactured and homologated
for such use.
– Never smoke when handling fuel;
– slowly open the tank cap to allow the pressure
inside to decrease gradually;
– Top up the tank with fuel in the open air, us
-
ing a funnel.
– add fuel before starting the engine. Never re-
move the tank cap or add fuel while the engine
is running or when the engine is hot.
– if you have spilt some fuel, do not attempt to
start the engine but move the machine away
from the area of spillage and avoid creating
any source of ignition until the fuel has evapo
-
rated and fuel vapours have dissipated.
– immediately clean up all traces of fuel spilt on
the machine or on the ground;
– never start the machine in the same place you
refilled it with fuel.
– make sure your clothing does not come into
contact with the fuel, on the contrary, change
your clothes before starting the engine.
– always put the tank and fuel container caps
back on and tighten well;
3) Replace faulty or damaged silencers.
4) Before using the machine, check its general
condition and in particular:
– the throttle trigger and the safety lever must
move freely, they must not need forcing and
should return automatically and rapidly back
to the neutral position;
– the throttle trigger must remain locked until the
safety lever is pressed;
– the engine stop switch must easily move from
one position to the other;
– the electric cables and in particular the spark
plug cable must be in perfect condition to
avoid the generation of any sparks, and the
cap must be correctly fitted on the spark plug;
– the machine handgrips and protection devic
-
es must be clean and dry and well fastened to
the machine;
– the blades must never be damaged or in poor
condition;
5) Before starting your work, make sure that all
the protection devices are correctly fitted.
C) DURING USE
1) Do not operate the engine in a confined space
where dangerous carbon monoxide fumes can
develop.
2) Work only in daylight or good artificial light.
3) Take on a firm and well-balanced position:
– where possible, avoid working on wet, slip
-
pery ground or in any case on uneven or steep
ground that does not guarantee stability for
the operator;
– avoid using unstable ladders or platforms;
– never run, but walk carefully paying attention
to the lay of the ground and any eventual ob
-
stacles;
– Always be aware of your surroundings and
stay alert for possible hazards of which you
may not be aware due to the noise of the ma
-
chine.
4) Start the engine when the machine is firmly
on the ground and hold it in place with your free
hand:
– start the engine in an area at least 3 metres
from where you refuelled;
– check that there are no persons in the vicinity
of the machine;
– do not direct the silencer and therefore the ex-
haust fumes towards inflammable materials.
5) Exercise caution when near live electric ca
-
bles.
6) Do not change the engine settings or over
-
speed the engine.
7) Check that when the machine is running at
minimum speed and ticking over, there is no
movement of the blades and, after accelerating,
the engine quickly returns to minimum speed.
8) Make sure the blades do not come into violent
contact with foreign bodies and try to prevent
any material from being hurled after trimming.
9) If the cutting mechanism strikes any for
-
eign object or the hedge trimmer starts mak
-
ing any unusual noise or vibration, shut off the
power source and allow the machine to stop.
Disconnect the spark plug wire from the spark
plug and take the following steps:
– inspect for damage;
– check for and tighten any loose parts;
– have any damaged parts replaced or repaired
with parts having equivalent specifications.
10) Stop the engine before:
– cleaning or when clearing a blockage;
– checking, carrying out maintenance or work
-
ing on the hedge trimmer;
– adjusting the working position of the cutting
device;
– leaving the machine unattended.
D) MAINTENANCE AND STORAGE
1) Keep all nuts and screws tight to be sure the
