WARNING
Gasolineisharmfulorfatalifswallowed.Long-term
exposuretovaporscancauseseriousinjuryand
illness.
•Avoidprolongedbreathingofvapors.
•Keepfaceawayfromnozzleandgastankor
conditionerbottleopening.
•Avoidcontactwithskin;washoffspillswith
soapandwater.
UsingStabilizer/Conditioner
Useafuelstabilizer/conditionerinthemachinetoprovide
thefollowingbenets:
•Keepsgasolinefreshduringstorageof90daysorless.
Forlongerstorage,drainthefueltank.
•Cleanstheenginewhileitruns
•Eliminatesgum-likevarnishbuildupinthefuelsystem,
whichcauseshardstarting
Important:Donotusefueladditivescontaining
methanolorethanol.
Addthecorrectamountofgasstabilizer/conditionerto
thegas.
Note:Afuelstabilizer/conditionerismosteffective
whenmixedwithfreshgasoline.Tominimizethechance
ofvarnishdepositsinthefuelsystem,usefuelstabilizer
atalltimes.
FillingtheFuelTank
1.Parkthemachineonlevelground.
2.Shuttheengineoffandsettheparkingbrake.
3.Cleanaroundthefuel-tankcapandremovethecap.
4.Fillthefueltanktothebottomofthellerneck.
Note:Donotllthefueltankcompletelyfull.The
emptyspaceinthetankallowsthegasolinetoexpand.
5.Installthefuel-tankcapsecurely.Wipeupanygasoline
thatmayhavespilled.
CheckingtheEngine-OilLevel
Beforeyoustarttheengineandusethemachine,check
theoillevelintheenginecrankcase;refertoCheckingthe
Engine-OilLevel(page35).
BreakinginaNewMachine
Newenginestaketimetodevelopfullpower.Mowerdecks
anddrivesystemshavehigherfrictionwhennew,placing
additionalloadontheengine.Allow40to50hoursof
break-intimefornewmachinestodevelopfullpowerand
bestperformance.
OperatingtheParkingBrake
Alwayssettheparkingbrakewhenyoustopthemachineor
leaveitunattended.Beforeeachuse,checktheparkingbrake
forproperoperation.
Iftheparkingbrakedoesnotholdsecurely,adjustit;referto
AdjustingtheBrakes(page46).
CAUTION
Childrenorbystandersmaybeinjuredifthey
moveorattempttooperatethemachinewhileitis
unattended.
Alwaysremovetheignitionkeyandsettheparking
brakewhenleavingthemachineunattended.
SettingtheParkingBrake
Pulltheparking-brakeleverrearwardintotheENGAGED
position(Figure8).
Figure8
1.Parkingbrakeengaged2.Parkingbrakereleased
ReleasingtheParkingBrake
Pushtheparking-brakeleverforward(Figure8).
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