Operator's Manual
Operation
BeforeOperation
Note:Determinetheleftandrightsidesofthemachine
fromthenormaloperatingposition.
BeforeOperationSafety
GeneralSafety
•Becomefamiliarwiththesafeoperationoftheequipment,
operatorcontrols,andsafetysigns.
•Checkthatallguardsandsafetydevicesareinplaceand
workingproperly.
•Alwaysinspectthemachinetoensurethattheblade,blade
bolts,andcuttingassemblyarenotwornordamaged.
•Inspecttheareawhereyouwillusethemachineand
removeallobjectsthatthemachinecouldthrow .
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.
RecommendedFuel
•Forbestresults,useonlyclean,fresh(lessthan30days
old),unleadedgasolinewithanoctaneratingof87or
higher((R+M)/2ratingmethod).
•Ethanol:Gasolinewithupto10%ethanol(gasohol)
or15%MTBE(methyltertiarybutylether)byvolume
isacceptable.EthanolandMTBEarenotthesame.
Gasolinewith15%ethanol(E15)byvolumeisnot
approvedforuse.Neverusegasolinethatcontains
morethan10%ethanolbyvolume,suchasE15
(contains15%ethanol),E20(contains20%ethanol),or
E85(containsupto85%ethanol).Usingunapproved
gasolinemaycauseperformanceproblemsand/orengine
damagewhichmaynotbecoveredunderwarranty.
•Donotusegasolinecontainingmethanol.
•Donotstorefueleitherinthefueltankorfuelcontainers
overthewinterunlessyouuseafuelstabilizer.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
UsingStabilizer/Conditioner
Useafuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachinetoprovide
thefollowingbenets:
•Keepsgasolinefreshduringstorageof90daysorless.
Forlongerstorageitisrecommendedthatthefueltank
bedrained.
•Cleanstheenginewhileitruns
•Eliminatesgum-likevarnishbuildupinthefuelsystem,
whichcauseshardstarting
Important:Donotusefueladditivescontaining
methanolorethanol.
Addthecorrectamountoffuelstabilizer/conditioner
tothegasoline.
Note:Afuelstabilizer/conditionerismosteffective
whenmixedwithfreshgasoline.Tominimizethechance
ofvarnishdepositsinthefuelsystem,usefuelstabilizer
atalltimes.
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