Ryobi 155r manual Operating the Trimmer, Adjusting Trimming Line Length, Decorative Trimming

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

OPERATING THE TRIMMER

WARNING: To avoid serious personal injury, wear goggles or safety glasses at all times when operating this unit. Wear a face mask or dust mask in dusty locations.

Clear the area to be cut before each use. Remove all objects such as rocks, broken glass, nails, wire, or string which can be thrown or become entangled in the cutting attachment. Clear the area of children, bystanders, and pets. At a minimum, keep all children, bystanders and pets outside a 50 feet (15m) radius; there still may be a risk to bystanders from thrown objects. Bystanders should be encouraged to wear eye protection. If you are approached, stop the motor and cutting attachment immediately.

NOTE: Remove protective tape from the line cut-off blade before operating trimmer.

ADJUSTING TRIMMING LINE LENGTH

The bump head allows the operator to release more trimming line without stopping the motor. As line becomes frayed or worn, additional line can be released by lightly tapping the trimming head on the ground while operating the trimmer (Fig. 9).

Bump Head

Fig. 9

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

WARNING: Do not remove or alter the line cutting blade assembly. Excessive line length will cause the motor to overheat and may result in serious personal injury.

Each time the head is bumped, approximately 1 inch (25.4 mm) of trimming line is released. A blade in the string guard will cut the line if excess line is released.

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

DECORATIVE TRIMMING

Decorative trimming is accomplished by removing all vegetation around trees, posts, fences, etc. Use a 30-degree angle when trimming with this method (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10

TIPS FOR BEST TRIMMING RESULTS

•The correct angle for the cutting attachment is parallel to the ground.

NOTE: Do not rest the bump head on the ground.

•DO NOT FORCE THE UNIT. Allow the very 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 motor.

•Grass over 8 inches (200 mm) should be cut by working from top to the bottom in small increments to avoid premature line wear or motor drag.

•Whenever possible, cut right to left. When cutting to the left, the unit's cutting efficiency is improved slightly. Also, the clippings are thrown away from the operator.

•Slowly move the trimmer into and out of the area being cut, maintaining the trimmer at the desired cutting height. This can be either a forward- backward or side-to-side motion. Cutting shorter lengths produces best results.

•Trim only when grass and weeds are dry.

•The life of your cutting line is dependent upon following the previous trimming techniques, what is being cut, and where the cutting is being done. For example, the line will wear faster when trimming against a foundation wall as opposed to trimming around a tree. 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 fenceposts

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