FS 120, FS 120 R, FS 250
English
7
Special care must be taken when 
working in difficult, over-grown terrain.
When cutting high scrub, under bushes 
and hedges: Keep cutting attachment at 
a minimum height of 15 cm to avoid 
harming small animals.
Always shut off the engine before 
leaving the unit unattended.
Check the cutting attachment at regular 
short intervals during operation or 
immediately if there is a noticeable 
change in cutting behavior:
– Turn off the engine. Hold the unit 
firmly and wait for the cutting 
attachment to come to a standstill.
– Check condition and tightness, look 
for cracks.
– Check sharpness.
– Replace damaged or dull cutting 
attachments immediately, even if 
they have only superficial cracks.
Clean grass and plant residue off the 
cutting attachment mounting at regular 
intervals – remove any build up of 
material from the cutting attachment and 
deflector.
To reduce the risk of injury, shut off the 
engine before replacing the cutting 
attachment.
When using mowing heads
Equip the deflector with the additional 
components specified in the instruction 
manual.
Use only the deflector with properly 
mounted line limiting blade to ensure the 
mowing lines are automatically trimmed 
to the approved length.
To reduce the risk of injury, always turn 
off the engine before adjusting the nylon 
line of manually adjustable mowing 
heads
Using the unit with over-long nylon 
cutting lines reduces the engine's 
operating speed. The clutch then slips 
continuously and this causes 
overheating and damage to important 
components (e.g. clutch, polymer 
housing components) – and this can 
increase the risk of injury from the 
cutting attachment rotating while the 
engine is idling.
Using metal cutting attachments
STIHL recommends the use of original 
STIHL metal cutting attachments. They 
are specifically designed to match your 
model and meet your performance 
requirements.
Metal cutting attachments rotate at very 
high speed. The forces that occur act on 
the machine, the attachment and the 
material being cut.
Sharpen metal cutting attachments 
regularly as specified.
Unevenly sharpened metal cutting 
attachments cause out-of-balance 
which can impose extremely high loads 
on the machine and increase the risk of 
breakage.
Dull or improperly sharpened cutting 
edges can put a higher load on the 
cutting attachment and increase the risk 
of injury from cracked or broken parts.
Inspect metal cutting attachments for 
cracks or warping after every contact 
with hard objects (e.g. stones, rocks, 
pieces of metal). To reduce the risk of 
injury, remove burrs and other visible 
build-ups of material (use a file) because 
they may become detached and be 
thrown at high speed during operation.
If a rotating metal cutting attachment 
makes contact with a rock or other solid 
object there is a risk of sparking which 
may cause easily combustible material 
to catch fire under certain 
circumstances. Dry plants and scrub are 
also easily combustible, especially in hot 
and dry weather conditions. If there is a 
risk of fire, do not use metal cutting 
attachments near combustible 
materials, dry plants or scrub. Always 
contact your local forest authority for 
information on a possible fire risk.
Do not continue using or attempt to 
repair damaged or cracked cutting 
attachments by welding, straightening or 
modifying the shape (out of balance).
This may cause parts of the cutting 
attachment to come off and hit the 
operator or bystanders at high speed 
and result in serious or fatal injuries.
Inspect the work area: 
Stones, pieces of metal 
or other solid objects may 
be thrown more than 15 
meters and cause per-
sonal injury or damage 
the cutting attachment 
and property (e.g. parked 
vehicles, windows).
The gearbox becomes 
hot during operation. To 
reduce the risk of burn 
injury, do not touch the 
gearbox housing.