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. 9). 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 D-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

Fig. 9

ADJUSTING TRIMMING LINE LENGTH

The AFS™ cutting attachment (Automatic Feed System) automatically feeds out cutting line as needed. A blade on the cutting attachment shield will cut the line to the proper length if excess line is released.

NOTE: If the line stops feeding, this is usually a sign that the cutting attachment requires new line.

Refer to Line Installation.

NOTE: Do not rest the AFS cutting attachment 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.

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

•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 right to left whenever possible. Cutting to the 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;

•Adherence of the listed 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.

DECORATIVE TRIMMING

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

Rotate the whole unit so that the cutting attachment is at a 30° angle to the ground (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10

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