SlopeSafety
•Slopesareamajorfactorrelatedtolossofcontrol
androlloveraccidents,whichcanresultinsevere
injuryordeath.Youareresponsibleforsafeslope
operation.Operatingthemachineonanyslope
requiresextracaution.
•Evaluatethesiteconditionstodetermineifthe
slopeissafeformachineoperation,including
surveyingthesite.Alwaysusecommonsense
andgoodjudgmentwhenperformingthissurvey.
•Reviewtheslopeinstructionslistedbelowfor
operatingthemachineonslopesandtodetermine
whetheryoucanoperatethemachineinthe
conditionsonthatdayandatthatsite.Changes
intheterraincanresultinachangeinslope
operationforthemachine.
•Avoidstarting,stopping,orturningthemachineon
slopes.Avoidmakingsuddenchangesinspeedor
direction.Maketurnsslowlyandgradually.
•Donotoperateamachineunderanyconditions
wheretraction,steering,orstabilityisinquestion.
•Removeormarkobstructionssuchasditches,
holes,ruts,bumps,rocks,orotherhiddenhazards.
Tallgrasscanhideobstructions.Uneventerrain
couldoverturnthemachine.
•Beawarethatoperatingthemachineonwet
grass,acrossslopes,ordownhillmaycausethe
machinetolosetraction.Lossoftractiontothe
drivewheelsmayresultinslidingandalossof
brakingandsteering.
•Useextremecautionwhenoperatingthemachine
neardrop-offs,ditches,embankments,water
hazards,orotherhazards.Themachinecould
suddenlyrolloverifawheelgoesovertheedge
ortheedgecavesin.Establishasafetyarea
betweenthemachineandanyhazard.
•Identifyhazardsatthebaseoftheslope.
Iftherearehazards,mowtheslopewitha
pedestrian-controlledmachine.
•Ifpossible,keepthecuttingunit(s)loweredtothe
groundwhileoperatingonslopes.Raisingthe
cuttingunit(s)whileoperatingonslopescancause
themachinetobecomeunstable.
•Useextremecautionwithgrass-collectionsystems
orotherattachments.Thesecanchangethe
stabilityofthemachineandcausealossofcontrol.
StartingtheEngine
1.Ensurethattheparkingbrakeisengagedand
thecutting-unit-driveswitchisintheDISENGAGE
position.
2.Removeyourfootfromthetractionpedaland
ensurethatthepedalisintheNEUTRALposition.
3.Movethethrottlelevertothe1/2-throttleposition.
4.Insertthekeyintotheswitchandrotateitto
theON/PREHEATpositionuntiltheglow-plug
indicatorlightgoesout(approximately7
seconds);thenrotatethekeytotheSTART
positiontoengagethestartermotor.
Important:Topreventoverheatingofthe
startermotor,donotengagethestarterfor
longerthan15seconds.After10secondsof
continuouscranking,wait60secondsbefore
engagingthestartermotoragain.
5.Releasethekeywhentheenginestarts.
Note:Thekeyautomaticallymovestothe
ON/RUNposition.
6.Whenyoustarttheengineforthersttime
orafteroverhaulingtheengine,operatethe
machineinforwardandreversefor1to2
minutes.
Note:Also,operatetheliftleverand
cutting-unit-driveswitchtoensurethatallparts
operateproperly.
7.Turnthesteeringwheeltotheleftandtothe
righttocheckthesteeringresponse,thenshut
offtheenginecheckforoilleaks,looseparts,
andanyothermalfunctions.
ShuttingOfftheEngine
1.MovethethrottlecontroltotheIDLEposition.
2.Movethecutting-unit-driveswitchtothe
DISENGAGEposition.
3.RotatethekeyswitchtotheOFFposition.
4.Removethekeyfromtheswitchtoprevent
accidentalstarting.
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