Operating Your Edger; Starting The Engine; Stopping The Engine - MTD Series 520 Operator's Manual

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Operating
Your Edger
WARNING
Do not lower blade
if blade is over
concrete, asphalt,
rocks or the like. The
blade can strike the
supporting surface,
resulting in personal
injury or property
damage.
Never fill fuel tank
indoors, with engine
running or until the
engine has been
allowed to cool for
at least two minutes
after running.
This control mecha-
nism is a safety
device. Never attempt
to bypass its opera-
tion.
The operation of any edger can result
in foreign objects being thrown into the
eyes, which can result in severe eye
damage. Always wear safety glasses
or eye shields. We recommend wide
vision safety mask for over spectacles or
standard safety glasses.
WARNING: Do not lower blade if blade
is over concrete, asphalt, rocks or the
like. The blade can strike the sup-
porting surface, resulting in personal
injury or property damage.
Adding Gasoline And Oil
Service the engine with gasoline and oil as instructed
in the Engine Manual packed with your edger. Read
instructions carefully.
WARNING: Never fill fuel tank indoors,
with engine running or until the engine
has been allowed to cool for at least
two minutes after running.

Starting The Engine

NOTE: Refer to the Engine Manual packed with your
edger for a detailed description of all engine-related
controls and components.
To start the edger's engine, proceed as follows:
1. Move the blade depth control lever back to the
START position in the adjacent (top) notch.
2. Depress the primer bulb three times, pausing two to
three seconds between each push. In cold weather
(below 50°F /19°C), it may be necessary to depress
the primer bulb four or five times.
IMPORTANT: Using the primer to restart a warm
engine after a short shutdown is usually not necessary.
Doing so may result in a flooded engine.
3. Standing behind the unit, depress the blade control
and hold it against the upper handle with your left
hand.
WARNING: This control mechanism
is a safety device. Never attempt to
bypass its operation.
4. With your right hand, grasp the recoil starter handle
and slowly pull the rope outward until engine reaches
the start of its compression cycle (the rope will pull
slightly harder at this point).
5. After slowly allowing the rope to recoil, pull the rope
with a rapid, continuous, full arm stroke. Keep a firm
grip on starter handle throughout the entire stroke.
6. Allow the starter handle to slowly return to the rope
guide.
NOTE: If the engine fails to start after three pulls,
depress the primer an additional two times before
pulling the starter rope again.
Edging
To begin edging, proceed as follows:
1. Move the unit over to the area to be edged, making
sure that the left rear wheel is on a hard surface and
the blade is over the area to be cut. See Figure 4.
Figure 4
2. Move the blade depth control lever to the left and place
into the next lower notch. Then make a pass along the
area to be edged before proceeding to the next notch.
The further forward the blade depth control lever is
moved, the deeper or lower the blade will cut into the
ground. Several passes may be necessary to obtain
the desired depth of cut. Do not lower the blade more
than one depth notch at a time without making a pass.
3. For best results, proceed slowly along the path being
edged, slowly moving the edger back and forth through
the cutting area, again making sure to keep the left
rear wheel on the hard surface and the blade in the
cutting path, close to but not touching the edge of the
hard surface.
4. Once you have reached the end of your cutting path,
raise the blade control lever back into the START
position, move to the next area to be cut, and proceed
again from step 1.

Stopping The Engine

To stop the edger's engine, release the blade control
handle.
NOTE: See your engine manual packed with your unit for
more detailed instructions.
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