Engine Oil/Gasoline; To Start Engine; Operation; Recoil Starter - Cold Start - MTD 31A-3BAD729 Operator's Manual

Before Starting Engine
Engine Oil
The engineisshippedwith oil in it. Checkthe oil level
beforefirst use.
1. Stop engineand wait severalminutesbeforechecking
oil level. Removeoil fill capand dipstick.
2. Wipedipstick clean,insert it intooil fill holeand
tighten securely.
3. With engineon levelground,oil mustbe to FULLmark
on dipstick. See Figure8. If oil levelis low, add oil.
FULL
ADD
Maintain Oil Level
Between FULLand ADD
Figure8
Adding Engine Oil
Be sureto use thegrade of engineoil specifiedin engine
manual.Toadd oil:
1. Removethe dipstickfrom theoil fill. Pourfresh oil
slowlythroughthe plug. Replacedipstick.
2. Checkand make surethat the levelof oil is up to the
FULLmarkon the dipstick.
IMPORTANT: F orcomplete detailed engine information, see
theseparate engineowneCs m anual i ncluded withthisunit.
Gasoline
_ ARNING:Gasolineis flammable and
caution must be used when handling or
storing it. Do not fill fuel tank while the
snowthrower is running, when it is hot
or when it is in an enclosedarea.
_ WARNING:Keepyoursnowthrower away
from anyopen flame or an electrical s park
and do not smokeduring fueling.
3. Neverfill the fuel tank completely.Fillthe tank to
no morethan 1/2inch belowbottomof filler neck to
providespacefor expansionof fuel.
NOTE:This unitmay includea fuel plug,which is only
usedduring assemblyto keepdirt and debrisout of fuel
tank. Discardthe fuel plug beforefillingthe fuel tank.
5. Alwaysuseclean,fresh,unleadedgrade automotive
gasoline.Fillthe fuel tank outdoorsand usea funnel
or spoutto preventspilling.Make surethat the
containerfromwhich you pourthe gasolineis clean
and freefrom rust or otherforeignparticles.Make
sureto wipeoff any spilledfuel beforestartingthe
engine.
6. At the end of thejob, emptythe fueltank if the snow
throweris notgoing to be usedfor30 daysor longer.
Storegasolinein a cleancontainerand keepthe cap
in placeon the container.
CAUTION:Never use engine or carburetor cleaner
productsin the fuel tank.
To Start Engine
,1_ WARNING: Be sure no one other than
the operator is standing near the snow
thrower while starting or operating. Do
not operate this snow thrower unless
the chute assembly has been properly
installedand issecured.
Forlocationof all the enginecontrolsreferredto in this
section,seethe engineowner'smanual.
Recoil Starter - Cold Start
1. Makesurethat auger and drivecontrolsare
released.Attachspark plugwire to sparkplug.
2. Turnfuel valveon, if soequipped.
3. Movethrottlecontrolto FASTposition.
4. Pushkey intothe ignitionslot so that itsnaps into
place.Do not turnkey.
5. Rotatechokecontrol to FULLchoke position.
6. Pushprimerbuttonwhilecoveringthe vent hole.
Removeyour fingerfromthe primerbetweenprimes.
Do not primeif temperature is above500F; prime
two timesbetween500Fand 150F; and primefour
timesbelow150E
7. Graspstarterhandle andpullropeoutslowlyuntil e ngine
reaches startd compression cycle(ropewillpull
slightlyharder at thispoint).Letthe roperewindslowly.
8. Pull ropewitha rapid,continuous, f ull armstroke.
Keeping a firm gripon the starterhandle,letthe rope
returnto thestarterslowly.Repeatuntilenginestarts.
9. Asthe enginewarmsup, rotatethechokeknobslowly
to OFFposition.If theenginefalters,returnto FULL
choke,then slowlymoveto OFFchokeposition.
10.Allowthe engineto warmup fora few minutes
becausethe enginewill not developfull poweruntil it
reachesoperatingtemperature.
11.Operatethe engineat full throttle(FAST)when
throwingsnow.
Warm Start:
1. If restartingan engineafter a temporaryshut-down,
rotatechoketo OFFinsteadof FULLand do not
prime.Pull starterhandleas instructedbefore.
WARNING
Gasoline is flammable
and caution must be
used when handling
or storing it. Do not
fill fuel tank while
the snow thrower is
running, when it is
hot or when it is in an
enclosed area.
Keep your snow
thrower away from
any open flame or an
electrical spark and
do not smoke during
fueling.
Be sure no one other
than the operator is
standing near the
snow thrower while
starting or operating.
Do not operate this
snow thrower unless
the chute assembly
has been properly
installedand is
secured.
The electric starter
must be properly
groundedat all
times to avoid the
possibilityof electric
shock to the operator.
if your house wiring
system is not a
three-wire grounded
system, do not
use
this electric starter
under any conditions.
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