OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING: Always wear eye, hearing, foot and body protection to reduce the risk of injury when operating this unit.

HOLDING THE TRIMMER

Before operating the unit, stand in the operating position (Fig.

10). Check for the following:

•The operator is wearing eye protection and proper clothing

•With a slightly-bent right arm, the operator’s right hand is holding the shaft grip

•The operator’s left arm is straight, the left hand holding the assist handle

•The unit is at waist level

•The cutting attachment is parallel to the ground and easily contacts the grass without the need to bend over

LINE REPLACEMENT

for Hassle-Free III™ Cutting Head

Always use Craftsman Hassle-Free III™ XTRA QUIET Spiral Line. Choose the line size best suited for the job at hand. Red colored line is designed for cutting grass and small weeds. Black colored line is designed for cutting larger weeds and light brush.

NOTE: Before inserting new line into

 

the holes in the cutting head,

 

identify the proper holes.

 

Follow directions as shown

 

on the line glide plate. Do

 

Not attempt to remove the

 

cutting head from the unit

 

when replacing line.

Fig. 10

 

WARNING: Do not remove or alter the line cutting blade assembly. Excessive line length will make the clutch overheat. This may lead to serious personal injury or damage to the unit.

1.Remove the old line and line glide plate from the cutting head.

2. Clean entire surface of cut-

Cutting

Line Glide

Head

Plate Arrow

ting head. Note positions “A”

 

 

and “B” on the cutting head.

 

 

3. Reinstall line glide plate (Fig.

11). Align arrow with:

“A” when using medium (red) or large (black) line, or

6.Correctly installed line will be the same length on both sides.

NOTE: Do not rest the Hassle-Free III™ Cutting Head on the ground while the unit is running.

Some line breakage will occur from:

•Entanglement with foreign matter

•Normal line fatigue

•Attempting to cut thick, stalky weeds

•Forcing the line into objects such as walls or fence posts

TIPS FOR BEST TRIMMING RESULTS

•For best trimming results, operate unit at full throttle.

•Keep the cutting attachment parallel to the ground.

•Do not force the cutting attachment. Allow the tip of the line to do the cutting, especially along walls. Cutting with more than the tip will reduce cutting efficiency and may overload the engine.

•Cut grass over 8 inches (200 mm) by working from top to bottom in small increments to avoid premature line wear or engine drag.

•Cutting from right to left improves the unit's cutting efficiency. Clippings are thrown away from the operator.

•Slowly move the trimmer into and out of the cutting area at the desired height. Move either in a forward-backward or side-to-side motion. Cutting shorter lengths produces the best results.

•Trim only when grass and weeds are dry.

•The life of your cutting line is dependent upon proper adherence of explained trimming techniques, what vegetation is cut, and where vegetation is cut.

For example, the line will wear faster when trimming against a foundation wall as opposed to

trimming around a tree.

DECORATIVE TRIMMING

Decorative trimming is accomplished by removing all vegetation around trees, posts, fences and more.

Rotate the whole unit so that the

 

cutting attachment is at a 30°

Fig. 14

angle to the ground (Fig. 14).

USING THE TWIST AND EDGE™ FEATURE

WARNING: Before you begin using any attachment, read and understand the manual that came with the attachment. Follow all safety information contained within.

“B” when using lines with diameters smaller than medium (red) line

NOTE: Line glide plate must

Fig. 11

Positioning

WARNING: To avoid serious personal injury and damage to the unit, shut the unit off before removing or installing add-ons.

You can convert this unit to edge grass.

be reinstalled in cutting head before inserting new line.

4.

Insert both ends of your

 

line through the proper

 

holes in the side of the

 

cutting head (Fig. 12).

5.

Pull the line and make

 

sure the line is against the

 

hub and is fully extended

 

through the positioning

 

tunnels (Fig. 13).

Tunnel

Fig. 12

Line against

the hub

Positioning

1.Make sure the unit is turned completely off.

2.Turn the knob counterclockwise to loosen coupler (Fig. 15).

3.Push in the release button (Fig. 16) and twist the shaft 90° until the release button snaps into the 90° hole (Fig. 15).

4.Turn the knob clockwise to lock the coupler (Fig. 17).

90˚ Edging Hole (Trimmer Only)

Coupler

Knob

Tunnel

Fig. 13

Fig. 15

8