Use and Care Manual

WARNING
Gasolineisharmfulorfatalifswallowed.Long-term
exposuretovaporscancauseseriousinjuryand
illness.
•Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
•Keepfaceawayfromnozzleandgastankor
conditioneropening.
•Keepgasawayfromeyesandskin.
UnderstandingtheSafetyInterlock
System
WARNING
Ifsafetyinterlockswitchesaredisconnectedor
damagedthemachinecouldoperateunexpectedly
causingpersonalinjury.
•Donottamperwiththeinterlockswitches.
•Checktheoperationoftheinterlockswitches
dailyandreplaceanydamagedswitchesbefore
operatingthemachine.
Thesafetyinterlocksystemisdesignedtopreventtheengine
fromstartingunless:
•Thebladesaredisengaged.
•Themotioncontrolleversareintheparkposition.
Thesafetyinterlocksystemalsoisdesignedtostoptheengine
wheneverthecontrolleversareoutoftheparkpositionand
yourisefromtheseat.
TestingtheSafety-Interlock
System
Testthesafety-interlocksystembeforeyouusethemachine
eachtime.Ifthesafetysystemdoesnotoperateasdescribed
below,haveanAuthorizedServiceDealerrepairthesafety
systemimmediately.
1.Whilesittingontheseat,withthecontrolleversinpark
position,andmovetheblade-controlswitchtoOn.
2.Trystartingtheengine;theengineshouldnotcrank.
3.Whilesittingontheseat,movetheblade-control
switchtoOff.
4.Moveeithermotion-controllevertothecenter,
unlockedposition.
5.Trystartingtheengine;theengineshouldnotcrank.
6.Repeatwiththeothermotion-controllever.
7.Whilesittingontheseat,movetheblade-control
switchtoOff,andlockthemotion-controlleversin
theparkposition.
8.Starttheengine.
9.Whiletheengineisrunning,engagetheblade-control
switch,andriseslightlyfromtheseat.
Note:Theengineshouldstop.
10.Whilesittingontheseat,movetheblade-control
switchtoOff,andlockthemotion-controlleversin
theparkposition.
11.Starttheengine.
12.Whiletheengineisrunning,movethemotion-control
leverstothecenter,unlockedposition,engagethe
blade-controlswitch,andriseslightlyfromtheseat.
Note:Theengineshouldstop.
BeforeStarting
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
overthewinterunlessafuelstabilizerisused.
•Donotaddoiltogasoline.
UsingStabilizer/Conditioner
Useafuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachinetoprovide
thefollowingbenets:
•Keepsgasolinefreshduringstorageof90daysorless.
Forlongerstorageitisrecommendedthatthefueltank
bedrained.
•Cleanstheenginewhileitruns.
•Eliminatesgum-likevarnishbuildupinthefuelsystem,
whichcauseshardstarting.
Addthecorrectamountofgasstabilizer/conditionertothe
gas.
Note:Afuelstabilizer/conditionerismosteffectivewhen
mixedwithfreshgasoline.Tominimizethechanceofvarnish
depositsinthefuelsystem,usefuelstabilizeratalltimes.
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