Operation Practices
WARNING
This symbol points out important safety instructions which, if not followed, could endanger the personal safety and/or property of yourself and others. Read and follow all instructions in this manual before at- tempting to operate this machine. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in personal injury. When you see this symbol.
HEED ITS WARNING!
Your Responsibility
Restrict the use
of this power machine to persons who read, understand
and follow the warnings and instructions
in this manual
and on the machine.
Children
Tragic accidents can occur if operator is not alert to presence of children. Children are often attracted to mower and mowing activity. They do not understand the dangers. Never assume that children will remain where you last saw them.
1.Keep children out of the mowing area and under watchful care of a responsible adult other than the operator.
2.Be alert and turn mower off if a child enters the area.
3.Before and while moving backwards, look behind and down for small children.
4.Use extreme care when approaching blind corners, doorways, shrubs, trees, or other objects that may obscure your vision of a child who may run into the mower.
5.Keep children away from hot or running engines. They can suffer burns from a hot muffler.
6.Never allow children under 14 years old to operate a power mower. Children 14 years old and over should read and understand operation instructions and safety rules in this manual and should be trained and supervised by a parent.
General Operation
1.Read this operator’s manual carefully in its entirety before attempting to assemble this machine. Read, understand, and follow all instructions on the machine and in the manual(s) before operation. Be completely familiar with the controls and the proper use of this machine before operating it. Keep this manual in a safe place for future and regular reference and for ordering replacement parts.
2.This machine is a precision piece of power equipment, not a plaything. Therefore, exercise extreme caution at all times. Your unit has been designed to perform one job: to mow grass. Do not use it for any other purpose.
3.Never allow children under 14 years old to operate this machine. Children 14 years old and over should read and understand the instructions in this manual and should be trained and supervised by a parent. Only responsible individuals who are familiar with these rules of safe operation should be allowed to use this machine.
4.Thoroughly inspect the area where the equipment is to be used. Remove all stones, sticks, wire, bones, toys and other foreign objects, which could be tripped over or picked up and thrown by the blade. Thrown objects can cause serious personal injury. Plan your mowing pattern to avoid discharge of material toward roads, sidewalks, bystanders and the like. Also, avoid discharging material against a wall or obstruction, which may cause discharged material to ricochet back toward the operator.
5.To help avoid blade contact or a thrown object injury, stay in operator zone behind handles and keep children, bystanders, helpers and pets at least 75 feet from mower while it is in operation. Stop machine if anyone enters area.
6.Always wear safety glasses or safety goggles during opera- tion and while performing an adjustment or repair to protect your eyes. Thrown objects which ricochet can cause serious injury to the eyes.
7.Wear sturdy, rough-soled work shoes and close-fitting slacks and shirts. Shirts and pants that cover the arms and legs and steel-toed shoes are recommended. Never operate this machine in bare feet, sandals, slippery or light-weight (e.g. canvas) shoes.
8.Do not put hands or feet near rotating parts or under cutting deck. Contact with blade can amputate hands and feet.
9.A missing or damaged discharge cover can cause blade contact or thrown object injuries.
10.Many injuries occur as a result of the mower being pulled over the foot during a fall caused by slipping or tripping. Do not hold on to the mower if you are falling; release the handle immediately.
11.Never pull the mower back toward you while you are walking. If you must back the mower away from a wall or obstruction first look down and behind to avoid tripping and then follow these steps:
a.Step back from mower to fully extend your arms.
b.Be sure you are well balanced with sure footing.
c.Pull the mower back slowly, no more than half way toward you.
d.Repeat these steps as needed.
12.Do not operate the mower while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
13.Do not engage the self-propelled mechanism on units so equipped while starting engine.
14.The blade control handle is a safety device. Never attempt to bypass its operation. Doing so makes the safety device inoperative and may result in personal injury through contact with the rotating blade. The blade control handle must operate easily in both directions and automatically return to the disengaged position when released.
15.Never operate the mower in wet grass. Always be sure of your footing. A slip and fall can cause serious personal injury. If you feel you are losing your footing, release the blade control handle immediately and the blade will stop rotating within three seconds.
16.Mow only in daylight or good artificial light. Walk, never run.
17.Stop the blade when crossing gravel drives, walks or roads.
18.If the equipment should start to vibrate abnormally, stop the engine and check immediately for the cause. Vibration is generally a warning of trouble.
