Stihl HTA 135 Owner's Instruction Manual page 16

English
￭
￭ To maintain a firm grip and properly control your pole
pruner:
– Keep the handles clean and dry at all times. Keep
them free of moisture, pitch, oil, grease and resin.
￭ To reduce the risk of serious or fatal injuries to the
operator or bystanders from loss of control:
– Always hold the pole pruner firmly with both hands
on the defined gripping surfaces during work.
– Wrap your fingers tightly around the handles,
keeping the handles cradled between your thumb
and forefinger (see illustrations).
– Position the pole pruner in such a way that all parts
of your body are clear of the cutting attachment
whenever the battery is inserted. Stand to the left or
right of the cut while limbing, outside of the cutting
plane (see illustration).
– Avoid contacting any object with the upper quadrant
of the tip of the guide bar. It may cause kickback to
occur.
– Always hold the pole pruner firmly with both hands
when you are working.
– Read and follow all warnings and instructions in the
chapter Kickback and Other Reactive Forces, @ 7.
￭ One-handed operation makes it difficult to oppose and
absorb reactive forces (pushback, pull-in, kickback)
without losing control of the pole pruner. It also makes it
14
6 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
difficult to prevent the bar and chain from bouncing along
a limb. To reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury to the
operator or bystanders from loss of control:
– Never attempt to operate the pole pruner with one
hand.
￭ To reduce the risk of serious or fatal cut injuries to the
operator or bystanders from loss of control, keep proper
footing and balance at all times:
– Never work on a ladder, roof, in a tree or while
standing on any other insecure support.
– Take special care in overgrown or wet terrain and
always watch for hidden obstacles such as tree
stumps, roots, rocks, holes and ditches to avoid
stumbling or falling.
– Be extremely cautious when working on slopes or
uneven ground.
– For better footing, always clear away fallen
branches, scrub and cuttings and other material,
objects or vegetation that can increase the danger of
slipping, tripping or falling.
– Use extreme caution when cutting small-size brush,
branches and saplings because slender material
may catch the chain and spring toward you or pull
you off balance.
– Do not overreach. Keep proper footing and balance
at all times.
– Never switch on the pole pruner when the guide bar
is in a cut or kerf. Doing so could lead to reactive
forces and injury. Instead, remove the guide bar
from the cut and re-enter at full speed, taking care to
avoid contacting any object with the tip of the guide
bar.
– For a pole pruner with an adjustable shaft, expand
the shaft only as far as necessary for the intended
application, but never cut directly overhead. Ensure
that the pole pruner is positioned no more than 60°
from the horizontal plane, @ 6.5.4.
0458-698-8621-A