Operator's Manual

–Wheneveryouleavethemower.DoNotleave
arunningmachineunattended.
•Stopengine,waitforallmovingpartstostop:
–Beforerefueling.
–Beforedumpingthegrasscatcher.
–Beforemakingheightadjustments.
•Tragicaccidentscanoccuriftheoperatorisnot
alerttothepresenceofchildren.Childrenare
oftenattractedtothemachineandthemowing
activity.Neverassumethatchildrenwillremain
whereyoulastsawthem.
–Keepchildrenoutofthemowingareaand
underthewatchfulcareofanotherresponsible
adult,nottheoperator.
–Bealertandturnthemachineoffifchildren
enterthearea.
–Beforeandwhilebackingorchangingdirection,
lookbehind,down,andside-to-sideforsmall
children.
–Neverallowchildrentooperatethemachine.
–DoNotcarrychildren,evenwiththeblades
shutoff.Childrencouldfalloffandbeseriously
injuredorinterferewiththesafeoperationof
themachine.Childrenthathavebeengiven
ridesinthepastcouldsuddenlyappearinthe
workingareaforanotherrideandberunover
orbackedoverbythemachine.
SlopeSafety
•Slopesareamajorfactorrelatedtolossofcontrol
androlloveraccidents,whichcanresultinsevere
injuryordeath.Theoperatorisresponsiblefor
safeslopeoperation.Operatingthemachineon
anysloperequiresextracaution.Beforeusingthe
machineonaslope,theoperatormust:
–Reviewandunderstandtheslopeinstructions
inthemanualandonthemachine.
–Useanangleindicatortodeterminethe
approximateslopeangleofthearea.
–Neveroperateonslopesgreaterthan15
degrees.
–Evaluatethesiteconditionsofthedayto
determineiftheslopeissafeformachine
operation.Usecommonsenseandgood
judgmentwhenperformingthisevaluation.
Changesintheterrain,suchasmoisture,can
quicklyaffecttheoperationofthemachineon
aslope.
•Identifyhazardsatthebaseoftheslope.Do
Notoperatethemachineneardropoffs,ditches,
embankments,waterorotherhazards.The
machinecouldsuddenlyrolloverifawheelgoes
overtheedgeortheedgecollapses.Keepasafe
distance(twicethewidthofthemachine)between
themachineandanyhazard.Useawalkbehind
machineorahandtrimmertomowthegrassin
theseareas.
g229111
Figure17
1.SafeZone-Usethemowerhereonslopeslessthan15
degrees
2.DangerZone-Useawalk-behindmowerand/orhand
trimmeronslopesgreaterthan15degrees
3.Water
4.W=widthofthemachine
5.Keepasafedistance(twicethewidthofthemachine)
betweenthemachineandanyhazard.
•Avoidstarting,stoppingorturningthemachineon
slopes.Avoidmakingsuddenchangesinspeedor
direction;turnslowlyandgradually.
•DoNotoperateamachineunderanyconditions
wheretraction,steeringorstabilityisinquestion.
Beawarethatoperatingthemachineonwet
grass,acrossslopesordownhillmaycausethe
machinetolosetraction.Lossoftractiontothe
drivewheelsmayresultinslidingandalossof
brakingandsteering.Themachinecanslideeven
ifthedrivewheelsarestopped.
•Removeormarkobstaclessuchasditches,holes,
ruts,bumps,rocksorotherhiddenhazards.Tall
grasscanhideobstacles.Uneventerraincould
overturnthemachine.
•Useextracarewhileoperatingwithaccessoriesor
attachments,suchasgrasscollectionsystems.
Thesecanchangethestabilityofthemachine
andcausealossofcontrol.Followdirectionsfor
counterweights.
•Ifpossible,keepthedeckloweredtotheground
whileoperatingonslopes.Raisingthedeckwhile
operatingonslopescancausethemachineto
becomeunstable.
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