Operator's Manual
Operation
BeforeOperation
BeforeOperationSafety
GeneralSafety
•Becomefamiliarwiththesafeoperationoftheequipment,
operatorcontrols,andsafetysigns.
•Checkthatallguardsandsafetydevices,suchasdoors
and/orgrasscatchers,areinplaceandworkingproperly.
•Alwaysinspectthemachinetoensurethattheblades,
bladebolts,andcuttingassemblyarenotwornor
damaged.
•Inspecttheareawhereyouwillusethemachineand
removeallobjectsthatthemachinecouldthrow .
•Adjustingthecuttingheightmaybringyouintocontact
withthemovingblade,causingseriousinjury.
–Shutofftheengineandwaitforallmovingpartsto
stop.
–Donotputyourngersunderthehousingwhen
adjustingthecuttingheight.
FuelSafety
DANGER
Fuelisextremelyammableandhighlyexplosive.
Areorexplosionfromfuelcanburnyouand
othersandcandamageproperty.
•Topreventastaticchargefromignitingthefuel,
placethecontainerand/ormachinedirectlyon
thegroundbeforelling,notinavehicleoron
anobject.
•Fillthefueltankoutdoors,inanopenarea,when
theengineiscold.Wipeupanyfuelthatspills.
•Donothandlefuelwhensmokingoraroundan
openameorsparks.
•Storefuelinanapprovedcontainerandkeepit
outofthereachofchildren.
WARNING
Fuelisharmfulorfatalifswallowed.Long-term
exposuretovaporscancauseseriousinjuryand
illness.
•Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
•Keepyourhandsandfaceawayfromthenozzle
andthefuel-tankopening.
•Keepfuelawayfromyoureyesandskin.
FillingtheFuelTank
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh,unleadedgasoline
withanoctaneratingof87orhigher((R+M)/2rating
method).
•ETHANOL:Gasolinewithupto10%ethanol(gasohol)
or15%MTBE(methyltertiarybutylether)byvolume
isacceptable.EthanolandMTBEarenotthesame.
Gasolinewith15%ethanol(E15)byvolumeisnot
approvedforuse.Neverusegasolinethatcontainsmore
than10%ethanolbyvolume,suchasE15(contains15%
ethanol),E20(contains20%ethanol),orE85(contains
upto85%ethanol).Usingunapprovedgasolinemay
causeperformanceproblemsand/orenginedamage
whichmaynotbecoveredunderwarranty.
•Donotusegasolinecontainingmethanol.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorinfuel
containersoverthewinterunlessfuelstabilizerhasbeen
addedtothefuel.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
Important:Toreducestartingproblems,addfuel
stabilizertothefuelallseason,mixingitwithgasoline
lessthan30daysold.
Refertoyourenginemanualforadditionalinformation.
g187574
Figure13
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