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.
•
Never op
er
ate mower with
out proper trail shield, dis
charge
cover, grass catcher, blade con trol han dle or other safety pro -
tec
tive de
vices in place and work
ing. Never op
er
ate mower
with dam
aged safety de
vices. Fail
ure to do so, can re
sult in
per sonal in jury.
•
Muf fler and en gine be come hot and can cause a burn. Do not
touch.
•
Only use parts and ac ces so ries made for this ma chine by the
man u fac turer. Fail ure to do so can re sult in per sonal in jury.
•
If sit u a tions oc cur which are not cov ered in this man ual, use
care and good judg
ment. Call cus
tomer as
sis
tance for the
name of your near est ser vic ing dealer.
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.
WARN ING: En gine Ex haust, some of its con stit u ents, and cer tain ve hi cle com po nents con tain or emit
chem i cals known to State of Cal i for nia to cause can cer and birth de fects or other re pro duc tive harm.
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.
