OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

HOLDING THE TRIMMER

WARNING: Always wear eye, hearing, foot and

body protection to reduce the risk of injury when operating this unit.

Before operating the unit, stand in the operating position (Fig. 22). 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 J-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

Once you are in the operating position, hook the shoulder strap to the unit (brushcutter only).

BrushcutterTrimmer

Fig. 22

ADJUSTING TRIMMING LINE LENGTH

The Bump Head™ cutting attachment allows you to release trimming line without stopping the engine. To release more line, lightly tap the cutting attachment on the ground (Fig. 23) while operating the trimmer at high speed.

NOTE: Always keep the trimming line fully extended. Line release becomes more difficult as the cutting line becomes shorter.

Each time the head is bumped, about 1 inch (25.4 mm) of trimming line is released. A blade in the cutting attachment shield will cut the line to the proper length if excess line is released.

For best results, tap the Bump Head™ on bare ground or hard soil. If line release is attempted in tall grass, the engine may stall. Always keep the trimming line fully extended. Line release becomes more difficult as the cutting line becomes shorter.

NOTE: Do not rest the Bump Head™ on the ground while the unit is running.

CAUTION: 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.

CurvedTrimmerStraight

Trimmer

Fig. 23

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.

•Cut from left to right whenever possible. Cutting to the right 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

•Where vegetation is cut

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

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