Craftsman 247.28902 Operator's Manual page 5

CHILDREN
Tragic accidents canoccuriftheoperator i s notalerttothepresence
of children. C hildren are oftenattracted tothe machine andthemowing
activity. T heydo notunderstand thedangers. N ever assume that
children will remain whereyoulast sawthem.
• Keepchildren outof themowing areaandin watchful careof a
responsible adultotherthantheoperator.
• Bealertandturnmachine off if a childenters thearea.
• Before and whilebacking, l ookbehindanddownfor small
children.
• Never carrychildren, e venwiththeblade(s)shutoff.Theymay
falloff andbe seriously injuredor interfere withsafemachine
operation.
• Useextreme carewhenapproaching blindcorners, d oorways,
shrubs, t reesor otherobjectsthatmayblockyourvisionof a child
whomayrunintothemachine.
• Toavoidback-over a ccidents, alwaysdisengage thecutting
blade(s)beforeshiftingintoReverse. I f equipped, the"Reverse
Caution Mode"(bladesoperate whilemachine ridesin reverse)
should not beusedwhenchildrenor others are around.
• Keep childrenawayfromhotor running engines. T heycansuffer
bumsfroma hotmuffler.
• Remove keywhenmachine is unattended to prevent u nauthorized
operation.
Never allowchildrenunder14years of agetooperatethismachine.
Children 14andovershouldreadandunderstand theinstructions a nd
safeoperation practices in thismanual a ndon themachine andshould
betrainedand supervised byan adult.
TOWING
• Tow onlywitha machine thathasa hitchdesigned fortowing.Do
notattachtowedequipment exceptatthe hitchpoint.
• Follow themanufacturers recommendation forweight limitsfor
towedequipment andtowingon slopes.Forrecommendations,
call1-800-659-5917.
• Never allowchildrenor othersin or on towed equipment.
• On slopes, t heweightof thetowedequipment m aycauselossof
traction and lossofcontrol.
• Always useextracaution whentowingwitha machine capable of
making tightturns(e.g."zero-turn" r ide-on mower).Make wide
turnstoavoidjack-knifing.
• Travel slowlyandallowextradistance to stop.
• Donotcoastdownhill.
SERVICE
SafeHandling of Gasoline
Toavoidpersonal i njuryor property damage useextremecarein
handling gasoline. G asoline is extremely f lammable andthevapors are
explosive. Seriouspersonal injurycanoccurwhengasoline is spilled
onyourselfor yourclothes whichcanignite.Washyourskinand
changeclothesimmediately.
• Useonlyanapproved gasoline container.
• Never fillcontainers insidea vehicle or on a truckor trailerbed
witha plasticliner.Alwaysplacecontainers on theground away
fromyourvehicle beforefilling.
• Whenpractical, r emove gas-powered e quipment f romthetruck
or trailerand refuel i t on theground.If this is notpossible, then
refuel s uchequipment on a trailerwith a portable container, rather
thanfroma gasoline dispenser n ozzle.
• Keepthenozzle in contact w iththe rimof thefueltankor
container opening at all timesuntil f uelingis complete. D onotuse
a nozzlelock-open device.
• Extinguish allcigarettes, cigars,pipesandothersources of
ignition.
• Never fuelmachine indoors.
• Neverremove gascaporadd fuelwhiletheengineishotor run-
ning.Allowenginetocoolat leasttwominutes beforerefueling.
• Never o verfill fueltank.Filltankto nomorethanY2 inchbelow
bottomoffillerneckto allowspaceforfuelexpansion.
• Replace gasoline capandtightensecurely.
• If gasoline is spilled, w ipeit off theengine and equipment. Move
machine toanotherarea.Wait5 minutes beforestarting the
engine.
• Toreduce fire hazards, k eepmachine freeofgrass,leaves, o r
otherdebrisbuild-up. C leanupoil or fuelspillageandremove any
fuelsoaked debris.
• Never storethemachine or fuelcontainer i nsidewherethereis an
openflame,spark or pilotlightason a waterheater, s paceheater,
furnace, c lothesdryeror othergasappliances.
• Allowa machine to coolat least f iveminutes beforestoring.
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