MTD Series 580 Starting Engine, Briggs & Stratton/ Tecumseh Engine, Honda Engine, Stopping Engine

Starting Engine

WARNING: Be sure no one other than the operator is standing near the lawn mower while starting engine or operating mower. Never

run engine indoors or in enclosed, poorly ventilated areas. Engine exhaust contains carbon monoxide, an odorless and deadly gas. Keep hands, feet, hair and loose clothing away from any moving parts on engine and lawn mower.

Follow the set of instructions pertaining to your unit. Refer to engine manual for help with the engine.

Briggs & Stratton/ Tecumseh Engine:

1.	Push primer three times. Wait about two seconds
	between each push. See Figure 4-2. In temperature
	around 55° F or below, prime five times. Do not prime
	to restart a warm engine.
2.	Standing behind the mower, squeeze the blade control
	against upper handle.
3.	Holding these two handles together firmly, grasp recoil

2

3

3

1

Figure 4-2: Starting the Briggs & Stratton/ Tecumseh engine.

4

Operating

Your Lawn

Mower

starter handle and pull rope out with a rapid, continu-

ous, full arm stroke. See Figure 4-2. Keeping a firm

grip on the starter handle, let the rope rewind slowly.

Repeat until engine cranks. Let the rope rewind each

time slowly.

Honda Engine:

1.	Place the fuel valve lever found on the left side of the
	engine into the ON (OPEN) position. See Figure 4-3.
2.	Move the choke lever all the way backward into the
	choke position.
3.	Standing behind the mower, squeeze the blade control
	against upper handle. The choke will now begin to
	slowly return to the off choke position after activating
	the blade control. Therefore, quickly move onto step
	four below.

4

3

2 1

OFF

ON

WARNING

The operation of any lawn mower can result in foreign objects being thrown into the eyes, which can damage your eyes severely. Always wear safety glasses while operating the mower, or while performing any adjustments or repairs on it.

4. Holding these two handles together firmly, grasp recoil

starter handle and pull rope out with a rapid, continu-

ous, full arm stroke. See Figure 4-3. Keeping a firm

grip on the starter handle let the rope rewind slowly.

Repeat until engine cranks. Let the rope rewind each

time slowly.

WARNING: Wait for the blade to stop com- pletely before performing any work on the

mower or to remove the grass catcher.

Stopping Engine

1.Release blade control to stop the engine and blade.

2.Disconnect spark plug wire from spark plug and ground against the engine.

Using Your Lawn Mower

Be sure lawn is clear of stones, sticks, wire, or other objects which could damage lawn mower or engine. Such objects could be accidently thrown by the mower in any direction and cause serious personal injury to the operator and others.

Figure 4-3: Starting the Honda engine.

WARNING: If you strike a foreign object, stop the engine. Remove wire from the spark plug, thoroughly inspect mower for

any damage, and repair damage before restarting and operating. Extensive vibration of mower during operation is an indication of damage. The unit should be promptly inspected and repaired.

Using as Mulcher

For mulching grass, remove the grass catcher from the mower. For effective mulching, do not cut wet grass. If the grass has been allowed to grow in excess of four inches, mulching is not recommended. Use the grass catcher to bag clippings instead.

Using Grass Catcher

You can use the grass catcher to collect clippings while you are operating the mower. Refer to setup section for instructions on attaching the grass catcher.

Be sure no one other than the operator is standing near the lawn mower while starting engine or operating mower. Never run engine indoors or

in enclosed, poorly ventilated areas. En- gine exhaust contains carbon monoxide, an odorless and deadly gas. Keep hands, feet, hair and loose clothing away from any moving

parts on engine and

lawn mower.