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.
19. Mow only in daylight or good artificial
light. Walk, never run.
20. Stop the blade when crossing gravel drives,
walks or roads.
21. If the equipment should start to vibrate
abnormally, stop the engine and check imme-
diately for the cause. Vibration is generally a
warning of trouble.
22. Shut the engine off and wait until the
blade comes to a complete stop before remov-
ing the grass catcher or unclogging the chute.
The cutting blade continues to rotate for a few
seconds after the blade control is released.
Never place any part of the body in the blade
area until you are sure the blade has stopped
rotating.
23. Never operate mower without proper trail
shield, discharge cover, grass catcher, blade
control or other safety protective devices in
place and working. Never operate mower with
damaged safety devices. Failure to do so can
result in personal injury.
24. Muffler and engine become hot and can
cause a burn. Do not touch.
25. Never attempt to make a wheel or cutting
height adjustment while the engine is running.
26. Only use parts and accessories made for this
machine by the manufacturer. Failure to do so
can result in personal injury.
27. When starting engine, pull cord slowly
until resistance is felt, then pull rapidly. Rapid
retraction of starter cord (kickback) will pull
hand and arm toward engine faster than you
can let go. Broken bones, fractures, bruises or
sprains could result.
28. If situations occur which are not covered
in this manual, use care and good judgement.
Contact Customer Support for assistance or the
name of the nearest service dealer.
SLOPE OPERATION
Slopes are a major factor related to slip and fall
accidents, which can result in severe injury. Op-
eration on slopes requires extra caution. If you
feel uneasy on a slope, do not mow it. For your
safety, use the slope gauge included as part of
this manual to measure slopes before operat-
ing this machine on a sloped or hilly area.
14
If the slope is greater than 15 degrees, do not
mow it.
Do:
1. Mow across the face of slopes; never up and
down. Exercise extreme caution when chang-
ing direction on slopes.
2. Watch for holes, ruts, rocks, hidden objects,
or bumps which can cause you to slip or trip.
Tall grass can hide obstacles.
3. Always be sure of your footing. A slip and
fall can cause serious personal injury. If you feel
you are losing your balance, release the blade
control handle immediately and the blade will
stop rotating within three (3) seconds.
Do Not:
1. Do not mow near drop-offs, ditches or em-
bankments, you could lose your footing or bal-
ance.
2. Do not mow slopes greater than 15 degrees
as shown on the slope gauge.
3. Do not mow on wet grass. Unstable footing
could cause slipping.
SERVICE
SAFE HANDLING OF GASOLINE:
1. To avoid personal injury or property damage
use extreme care in handling gasoline. Gaso-
line is extremely flammable and the vapors
are explosive. Serious personal injury can oc-
cur when gasoline is spilled on yourself or your
clothes, which can ignite. Wash your skin and
change clothes immediately.
2. Use only an approved gasoline container.
3. Never fill containers inside a vehicle or on a
truck or trailer bed with a plastic liner. Always
place containers on the ground away from
your vehicle before filling.
4. Remove gas-powered equipment from the
truck or trailer and refuel it on the ground. If
this is not possible, then refuel such equipment
on a trailer with a portable container, rather
than from a gasoline dispenser nozzle.
5. Keep the nozzle in contact with the rim of
the fuel tank or container opening at all times
until fueling is complete. Do not use a nozzle
lock-open device.
6. Extinguish all cigarettes, cigars, pipes and
other sources of ignition.
7. Never fuel machine indoors because flam-
mable vapors will accumulate in the area.