Instruction Manual

0458-725-8621-B
18
English 5 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
– If the cutting attachment loosens after being properly
tightened, stop work immediately and have the unit
inspected by your authorized STIHL servicing
dealer.
￭ A cracked, damaged or worn out cutting attachment may
shatter at high speeds and cause serious or fatal injury.
– Replace a cracked, damaged or worn out mowing
head or a cracked, bent, warped, damaged, dull or
worn out blade immediately, even if damage
appears to be limited to superficial cracks.
– Never use a trimmer / brushcutter with a loose or
damaged cutting attachment.
DANGER
￭ To reduce risk of electrocution:
5.8 Working with the Cutting Attachments
5.8.1 Kickout (Blade Thrust) with All Metal Cutting
Attachments
WARNING
￭ This kickout (blade thrust) may cause loss of control and
may result in serious or fatal injury to the operator or
bystanders. To reduce the risk of injury, extreme caution
should be used when cutting with the shaded area of any
rigid blade.
￭ The greater the force of the kickout reaction, the more
difficult it becomes for the operator to control the unit.
Blade thrust is more likely to occur in areas where it is
difficult to see the material being cut.
￭ Many factors influence the occurrence and force of the
kickout reaction. These include cutting attachment speed,
the speed at which the cutting attachment contacts the
object, the location and angle of contact, the condition of
the cutting attachment, and how quickly the cutting
attachment is slowed, snagged or stopped, among other
factors.
– Use caution when working with the shaded areas of
any metal cutting attachment.
￭ To reduce the risk of personal injury from kickout and
blade thrust when using a rigid cutting attachment:
– Avoid cutting close to fences, sides of buildings, tree
trunks or other such objects when a metal cutting
blade is mounted. STIHL recommends using a nylon
line head for such jobs.
– Keep metal cutting attachments sharp.
– Keep bystanders at least 50 ft. (15 m) away from the
work area.
– Never operate this trimmer in the vicinity
of any wires or cables that may be
carrying electric current.
– Do not rely on the trimmer's insulation
against electric shock.
0000-GXX-3025-A1
Kickout (blade thrust) is the sudden and
uncontrolled movement of the cutting head
toward the operator's right or rear that can occur
when the shaded areas (especially the darkly
shaded area) of a rotating blade contact a solid
rigid object like a tree, rock, bush or wall. The
cutting attachment may be thrown to the right or
to the rear (black arrow) any time the rapid
rotation of the blade is stopped, slowed,
snagged or bound in an object that it doesn't
immediately cut.