Gen eral Op er a tion
•
Read this op er a tor’s man ual care fully in its en tirety
be fore at tempt ing to as sem ble this ma chine. Read,
un
der
stand, and fol
low all in
struc
tions on the ma
-
chine and in the man
ual(s) be
fore op
er
a
tion. Be
com pletely fa mil iar with the con trols and the proper
use of this ma
chine be
fore op
er
at
ing it. Keep this
man ual in a safe place for fu ture and reg u lar ref er -
ence and for or der ing re place ment parts.
•
This ma
chine is a pre
ci
sion piece of power equip
-
ment, not a play
thing. There
fore, ex
er
cise ex
treme
cau tion at all times. Your unit has been de signed to
per form one job: to mow grass. Do not use it for any
other pur pose.
•
Never al low chil dren un der 14 years old to op er ate
this ma chine. Chil dren 14 years old and over should
read and un der stand the in struc tions in this man ual
and should be trained and su per vised by a par ent.
Only re spon si ble in di vid u als who are fa mil iar with
these rules of safe op
er
a
tion should be al
lowed to
use this ma chine.
•
Thor oughly in spect the area where the equip ment is
to be used. Re move all stones, sticks, wire, bones,
toys and other for eign ob jects which could be trip -
ped over or picked up and thrown by the blade.
Thrown ob
jects can cause se
ri
ous per
sonal in
jury.
Plan your mow ing pat tern to avoid dis charge of ma -
te
rial to
ward roads, side
walks, by
stand
ers and the
like. Also, avoid dis charg ing ma te rial against a wall
or ob struc tion which may cause dis charged ma te rial
to ric o chet back to ward the op er a tor.
•
To help avoid blade con tact or a thrown ob ject in jury,
stay in the op
er
a
tor zone be
hind the han
dles and
keep chil dren, by stand ers, help ers and pets at least
75 feet from the mower while it is in op er a tion. Stop
ma chine if any one en ters the area.
•
Al ways wear safety glasses or safety gog gles dur ing
op er a tion and while per form ing an ad just ment or re -
pair to pro
tect your eyes. Thrown ob
jects which
ric o chet can cause se ri ous in jury to the eyes.
•
Wear sturdy, rough-soled work shoes and close-fit
-
ting slacks and shirts. Shirts and pants that cover the
arms and legs and steel-toed shoes are rec
om
-
mended. Never op
er
ate this ma
chine in bare feet,
san dals, slip pery or light weight (e.g. can vas) shoes.
•
Do not put hands or feet near ro tat ing parts or un der
the cut ting deck. Con tact with the blade can am pu -
tate hands and feet.
•
A miss
ing or dam
aged dis
charge cover can cause
blade con tact or thrown ob ject in ju ries.
•
Many in ju ries oc cur as a re sult of the mower be ing
pulled over the foot dur ing a fall caused by slip ping
or trip ping. Do not hold on to the mower if you are
fall ing; re lease the han dle im me di ately.
•
Never pull the mower back to ward you while you are
walk ing. If you must back the mower away from a
wall or ob
struc
tion first look down and be
hind to
avoid trip ping and then fol low these steps:
a. Step back from the mower to fully ex tend your
arms.
b. Be sure you are well bal anced with sure foot -
ing.
c. Pull the mower back slowly, no more than half
way to ward you.
d. Re peat these steps as needed.
•
Do not op er ate the mower while un der the in flu ence
of al co hol or drugs.
•
Do not en
gage the self-pro
pelled mech
a
nism on
units so equipped while start ing en gine.
•
The blade con
trol han
dle is a safety de
vice. Never
at tempt to by pass its op er a tion. Do ing so makes the
safety de vice in op er a tive and may re sult in per sonal
in
jury through con
tact with the ro
tat
ing blade. The
blade con trol han dle must op er ate eas ily in both di -
rec tions and au to mat i cally re turn to the dis en gaged
po si tion when re leased.
•
Never op
er
ate the mower in wet grass. Al
ways be
sure of your foot ing. A slip and fall can cause se ri -
ous per sonal in jury. If you feel you are los ing your
foot ing, re lease the blade con trol han dle im me di ately
and the blade will stop ro tat ing within three sec onds.
•
Mow only in day light or in good ar ti fi cial light. Walk,
never run.
•
Stop the blade when cross ing gravel drives, walks or
roads.
•
If the equip ment should start to vi brate ab nor mally,
stop the en
gine and check im
me
di
ately for the
cause. Vi bra tion is gen er ally a warn ing of trou ble.
•
Shut the en gine off and wait un til the blade co mes to
a com plete stop be fore re mov ing the grass catcher
or un clog ging the chute. The cut ting blade con tin ues
to ro tate for a few sec onds af ter the en gine is shut
off. Never place any part of the body in the blade
area un til you are sure the blade has stopped ro tat -
ing.
3
IM POR TANT SAFE OP ER A TION PRAC TICES
WARN ING: This sym bol points out im por tant safety in struc tions which, if not fol lowed, could en dan ger
the per sonal safety and/or prop erty of your self and oth ers. Read and fol low all in struc tions in this man -
ual be fore at tempt ing to op er ate this ma chine. Fail ure to com ply with these in struc tions may re sult in
per sonal in jury. When you see this sym bol—heed its warn ing.
DAN GER: This ma chine was built to be op er ated ac cord ing to the rules for safe op er a tion in this man -
ual. As with any type of power equip ment, care less ness or er ror on the part of the op er a tor can re sult
in se ri ous in jury. This ma chine is ca pa ble of am pu tat ing hands and feet and throw ing ob jects. Fail ure
to ob serve the fol low ing safety in struc tions could re sult in se ri ous in jury or death.
