Safety
SafeOperationPracticesfor
RidingRotaryLawnMowers
Readandunderstandthecontentsofthismanualbefore
operatingthemachine.
Thesafetyalertsymbol(Figure2)isusedtoalertyou
topotentialpersonalinjuryhazards.Obeyallsafety
messagesthatfollowthissymboltoavoidpossibleinjury
ordeath.
ThefollowinginstructionsarefromtheCENstandard
EN836:1997.
Thisproductiscapableofamputatinghandsandfeet
andofthrowingobjects.Alwaysfollowallsafety
instructionstoavoidseriousinjuryordeath.
Training
•Readtheinstructionscarefully.Befamiliarwiththe
controlsandtheproperuseoftheequipment.
•Neverallowchildrenorpeopleunfamiliarwith
theseinstructionstousethelawnmower.Local
regulationscanrestricttheageoftheoperator.
•Nevermowwhilepeople,especiallychildren,orpets
arenearby.
•Keepinmindthattheoperatororuserisresponsible
foraccidentsorhazardsoccurringtootherpeopleor
theirproperty.
•Donotcarrypassengers.
•Alldriversshouldseekandobtainprofessional
andpracticalinstruction.Suchinstructionshould
emphasize:
–theneedforcareandconcentrationwhen
workingwithride-onmachines;
–controlofaride-onmachineslidingonaslope
willnotberegainedbytheapplicationofthe
brake.Themainreasonsforlossofcontrolare:
◊insufcientwheelgrip;
◊beingdriventoofast;
◊inadequatebraking;
◊thetypeofmachineisunsuitableforitstask;
◊lackofawarenessoftheeffectofground
conditions,especiallyslopes;
◊incorrecthitchingandloaddistribution.
Preparation
•Whilemowing,alwayswearsubstantialfootwearand
longtrousers.Donotoperatetheequipmentwhen
barefootorwearingopensandals.
•Thoroughlyinspecttheareawheretheequipment
istobeusedandremoveallobjectswhichmaybe
thrownbythemachine.
•Warning—Fuelishighlyammable.
–Storefuelincontainersspecicallydesignedfor
thispurpose.
–Refueloutdoorsonlyanddonotsmokewhile
refuelling.
–Addfuelbeforestartingtheengine.Never
removethecapofthefueltankoraddfuelwhile
theengineisrunningorwhentheengineishot.
–Iffuelisspilled,donotattempttostartthe
enginebutmovethemachineawayfromthe
areaofspillageandavoidcreatinganysourceof
ignitionuntilfuelvaporshavedissipated.
–Replaceallfueltanksandcontainercapssecurely.
•Replacefaultysilencers.
•Beforeusing,alwaysvisuallyinspecttoseethatthe
blades,bladeboltsandcutterassemblyarenotworn
ordamaged.Replacewornordamagedbladesand
boltsinsetstopreservebalance.
•Onmulti-bladedmachines,takecareasrotatingone
bladecancauseotherbladestorotate.
Operation
•Donotoperatetheengineinaconnedspacewhere
dangerouscarbonmonoxidefumescancollect.
•Mowonlyindaylightoringoodarticiallight.
•Beforeattemptingtostarttheengine,disengageall
bladeattachmentclutchesandshiftintoneutral.
•Donotuseonslopesofmorethan
–5°whenmowingonsidehills;
–10°whenmowinguphill;
–15°whenmowingdownhill.
•Rememberthereisnosuchthingasasafeslope.
Travelongrassslopesrequiresparticularcare.To
guardagainstoverturning:
–donotstoporstartsuddenlywhengoingupor
downhill;
–engageclutchslowly,alwayskeepmachinein
gear,especiallywhentravellingdownhill;
–machinespeedsshouldbekeptlowonslopes
andduringtightturns;
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