Slope Operation - Craftsman 247.374302 Operator's Manual

Ifthe equipment should start tovibrate abnormally, stop t he engine and
check immediately for t he cause. Vibration
isgenerallyawarningof trouble.
Shuttheengineoff andwait untilthe bladecomestoa complete stopbefore
removing the grasscatcher o r unclogging the chute.Thecuttingblade
continues to rotateforafew seconds a fterthe bladecontrolisreleased.
Neverplace anypartof the bodyin the bladeareauntil youaresurethe
bladehasstoppedrotating.
Never o peratemowerwithout propertrail shield,discharge c over, g rass
catcher, b ladecontrolhandleor othersafetyprotective devices in place and
working.Never o peratemowerwith damaged safetydevices. F ailure to do
socanresultin personal injury.
Mufflerandenginebecome hot andcancause aburn.Donot touch.
Never a ttemptto makeawheelor cuttingheightadjustmentwhilethe
engineisrunning.
Onlyusepartsandaccessories madefor thismachine bythe manufacturer a s
listedinthe Partspages of thisOperator's Manual. F ailure to dosocanresult
in personal injury.
Whenstartingengine,pullcordslowlyuntil resistance i sfelt, then pull
rapidly.Rapid retractionof startercord(kickback) w ill pullhandandarm
towardengine fasterthanyoucanlet go.Brokenbones, f ractures, b ruises or
sprains couldresult.
If situations occurwhicharenotcovered in thismanual, u secareandgood
judgement.
SLOPE OPERATION
Slopes a reamajorfactorrelatedto slipandfall accidents, whichcanresultinsevere
injury.Operation onslopes requires extracaution.Ifyoufeeluneasy onaslope,do
not mowit. For y oursafety, u sethe SlopeGuideincluded aspartof thismanual t o
measure slopes beforeoperating this machine onaslopedor hillyarea.Ifthe slope
isgreaterthan 15degrees, do not mowit.
Do:
Mowacross t he faceofslopes; neverupanddown.Exercise extreme caution
whenchanging direction on slopes.
Watch for holes, r uts,rocks,hiddenobjects, o r bumpswhichcancause you
to slipor trip.Tallgrass canhideobstacles.
Alwaysbesureof yourfooting.Aslip andfallcancause serious personal
injury.If youfeelyouarelosingyourbalance, release the bladecontrol
handleimmediately andthe bladewill stop rotatingwithin three(3)
seconds.
Do Not:
Donot mowneardrop-offs,ditchesor embankments, because y oucould
loseyourfootingor balance.
Donot mowslopes greaterthan15degrees asshownon the slopeguide.
Donot mowon wetgrass. U nstable footingcouldcause slipping.
CHILDREN
Tragic accidents c anoccurifthe operatorisnot alertto the presence o f children.
Children areoftenattractedto the mowerandthe mowingactivity.Theydonot
understand the dangers. N ever a ssume thatchildrenwill remainwhereyoulastsaw
them.
Keep childrenout of the mowingareaandunderwatchfulcareof a
responsible a dultotherthanthe operator.
Bealertandturn moweroff ifa childentersthe area.
Before a ndwhilemoving backwards, lookbehind anddown forsmall
children.
Use extremecarewhenapproaching blindcorners, d oorways, s hrubs, t rees,
or otherobjectsthat mayobscure yourvisionof achildwhomayrunintothe
mower.
Keep c hildren a way fromhotorrunning engines. They can suffer b urns from
a hotmuffler.
Never a llowchildrenunder14yearsofageto operatethismachine. C hildren
14andovershouldreadandunderstand the instructions andsafeoperation
practices inthismanual a ndon the machine andbetrainedandsupervised
byan adult.
SERVICE
Safe Handling of Gasoline:
Toavoid personal i njuryor propertydamageuseextremecarein handling
gasoline.Gasolineisextremely flammable andthe vapors are explosive.
Seriouspersonal injurycan occurwhen gasolineisspilledon yourself or your
clotheswhichcan ignite. Washyourskinandchangeclothesimmediately.
Use onlyanapproved gasoline container.
Never f ill containers insideavehicle or onatruckor trailer bedwith a plastic
liner.Alwaysplacecontainers onthe groundawayfrom yourvehiclebefore
filling.
Remove g as-powered e quipmentfromthe truckor trailerandrefuel i t on
the ground.Ifthisis not possible, thenrefuelsuchequipment o n atrailer
with a portable container, r atherthanfrom agasoline dispenser nozzle.
Keep the nozzleincontactwith the rim ofthe fuel tankor container o pening
at all timesuntil fuelingiscomplete. D onot usea nozzle lock-open device.
Extinguish all cigarettes, c igars, p ipesandothersources
of ignition.
Never f uel machine indoorsbecause f lammablevapors will accumulate i n
the area.
Never r emove gascapor addfuel whileengineishot or running. Allow
engineto coolat leasttwo minutes beforerefueling.
Never o ver-fillfuel tank.Toallowforexpansion of the fuel,do not fill above
the bottomof the fueltank neck.
Replace g asoline capandtightensecurely.
Ifgasoline isspilled,wipeit offthe engineandequipment. M ovemachine to
anotherarea.Wait5 minutesbefore startingengine.
Never s torethe macNne or fuelcontainernearanopenflame,sparkor pilot
lightason awaterheater, s pace heater, f urnace, c lothes dryeror othergas
appliances.
Toreduce fire hazard, k eepmachine freeofgrass, l eaves, o r otherdebris
build-up.Clean up oil or fuelspillageandremove anyfuel-soaked debris.
Allow machine tocoolat least5 minutesbefore storing.
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