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4
Safety Rules & Information
SAFE WEARING APPAREL
1. Always wear safety goggles to protect your eyes
from flying debris when operating the chipper/shred-
der. One pair of safety goggles has been provided
with the unit for your immediate use. All others in
and around the immediate area must also wear
approved safety glasses to protect their eyes from
flying debris.
2. Wear hearing protection when the chipper/ shredder
is to be used for prolonged periods of time, or when-
ever noise reaches an uncomfortable level.
3. When wearing work gloves, only wear properly fitted
leather work gloves to protect your hands from cuts
and scratches caused by tree limbs and branches.
Never wear gloves with pull-ties or straps, as these
could get entangled with branches and draw your
hands into the chipper cone or shredder hopper cut-
ting areas.
4. Never wear loose fitting clothing, hanging jewelry,
ties, scarves, or other items that could get caught on
tree limbs, branches, or moving parts, and draw your
body parts into the cutting areas of the chipper cone
and shredder hopper.
5. Always tie up long hair and prevent it from hanging
down, where it could become tangled in branches or
get caught in rotating parts and pull you into the cut-
ting areas.
6. Even if you are wearing heavy-duty leather work
gloves, never, ever place your hands in the chipper
cone or shredder hopper while the unit is running. If
you must reach in to clear a jam or free up branches,
shut the unit off, disconnect and secure the spark
plug wire at the spark plug, and carefully remove or
clear the jammed material.
OPERATING SAFETY
1. Always obey the size limitations for tree limbs and
branches stated in the Waste Materials Guide por-
tion of this manual.
2. Never leave the machine running unattended.
Always turn off the engine, wait for the rotor to come
to a complete stop, and disconnect and secure the
spark plug wire before leaving the area. Always
move the unit to a safe storage area when not in
use.
3. Always maintain secure footing and solid balance
while starting or operating the chipper/shredder.
Never lean directly over the machine.
4. Always stand to the side of the chipper cone when
feeding tree limbs and branches into the unit, as
tree limbs, branches, and harder woods may whip
around while being chipped.
5. Always keep hands out of the chipper cone and
shredder hopper when feeding materials. Never
wrap fingers tightly around branches as you are
feeding them into the unit, as a sudden inward surge
could pull your hands and arms into the unit.
6. Always stand clear of the discharge area to avoid
being struck by ricochets or material being ejected
from the machine.
7. Never allow material to build up in the discharge
area or shredding chamber, as this may cause new
material being fed into the machine to kickback with
sufficient force to injure you or other bystanders.
8. Never allow material to build up around the engine
during chipper/shredder operation. This could result
in a fire or overheating of the engine.
9. Never attempt to reposition or move the
chipper/shredder unit while it is running. Doing so
could cause the machine to tip over, and reaching to
steady the unit could result in accidental insertion of
your hands into the chipper cone or shredder hopper
areas.
10. Never continue to operate the machine if it starts
making unusual noise or vibration. Shut the engine
off immediately, allow the rotor to stop, disconnect
the spark plug wire from the spark plug, and do the
following:
• Inspect the unit for any signs of damage or foreign
material in the chipping or shredding areas. Remove
any solid material that may be preventing the unit from
operating properly.
• Check for loose parts, and loose or missing hardware,
and repair or replace as required.
• Check the oil level in the engine crankcase. See
ENGINE OIL LEVEL under Servicing The
Chipper/Shredder.