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POLE PRUNER SAFETY MANUAL
Misuse may result in serious or fatal injuries. You must read, under-
stand, and follow these safety instructions and the instructions in your
Operator's Manual before operating a Power Pruner.
Overhead pruning can result in serious injury or death. Wear head, eye,
face and ear protection that meets ANSI standards to avoid injury from
falling objects or prolonged noise exposure. Place blade cover on
blade when transporting or storing unit.
To locate your nearest Echo dealer, visit our website at www.echo-usa.com, or call 1-800-
432-ECHO (3246). Ask how to obtain a FREE Safety Video. Echo's supplemental Safety
Video provides helpful safety and operating information.
X7522300101
DANGER!
DANGER!
X752000011
12/07
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Related Manuals for Echo Pole Pruner
Summary of Contents for Echo Pole Pruner
- Page 1 Place blade cover on blade when transporting or storing unit. To locate your nearest Echo dealer, visit our website at www.echo-usa.com, or call 1-800- 432-ECHO (3246). Ask how to obtain a FREE Safety Video. Echo’s supplemental Safety Video provides helpful safety and operating information.
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
CONTENTS SYMBOL MEANINGS AND WARNINGS ... 3 DEFINITION OF TERMS ... 4 SAFETY APPAREL ... 7 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ... 8 FORCES TO CONTROL ... 14 BALANCE AND BODY POSITION FOR CUTTING ... 16 PINCHING, BINDING, SPLITTING ... 17 LIMBING AND BUCKING ... 18 WHEN TO CALL A PROFESSIONAL ... -
Page 3: Symbol Meanings And Warnings
SYMBOL MEANINGS AND WARNINGS Maintain a distance 15m (50 feet) from electrical lines and electrical sources to avoid electrocution or electrical shock. Wear sturdy, protective safety shoes or boots with non- skid soles. Maintain secure footing and balance. Read and understand Operator’s Manual to avoid injury. Wear head, eye, face and ear protection that meets ANSI standards to avoid injury from falling objects or prolonged noise exposure. -
Page 4: Definition Of Terms
DEFINITION OF TERMS UNIT - Power head, handles, cutting assembly and pole. GASOLINE AND ELECTRIC POWERED TERMS CHOKE LEVER - The engine control attached to the carburetor that is used to enrich the fuel mixture for cold starting. Refer to Operator’s Manual for more details about correct position and use of the choke lever. - Page 5 DEFINITION OF TERMS CROWN CLEANING - The removal of dead, dying, diseased, crowded, weakly attached branches from the tree’s crown. CROWN REDUCTION - The reduction of the top, sides, or individual limbs by the means of removal of the leader or longest portion of a limb.
- Page 6 DEFINITION OF TERMS PRECUT OR PRECUTTING - The two-step process to remove a branch before the finished cut is made so as to prevent splitting or bark tearing into the parent stem. The branch is first undercut, then cut from the top before the final cut.
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Page 7: Safety Apparel
(rhinitis) sufferers may purchase disposable masks at hardware or medical supply stores to help reduce the intake of allergenic particles. Also, ECHO recommends wearing hearing protection at all times or hearing loss can occur. You should reduce the risk of hearing damage by wearing either “headset”... -
Page 8: Safety Precautions
Understand that rotational kickback is preventable by keeping an unshielded guide bar nose from touching an object or the ground. • Do not operate a pole saw with one hand! This can result in the pole saw “skating” or skidding, which can result in personal injury due to loss of control. - Page 9 ECHO servicing dealer. Any service or repair work that the Operator’s Manual does not address should be done by an authorized ECHO servicing dealer only. For a dealer near you dial 1-800-432-ECHO (3246).
- Page 10 • If the cutting attachment strikes an obstruction, stop the engine or motor immediately and inspect the cutting attachment for damage, do not contact ground with saw chain or blade. • When transporting your pole pruner use the appropriate guide bar or blade scabbard.
- Page 11 • Keep both feet on the ground. Do not work from off-the ground positions. Working from ladders is extremely dangerous because ladders can slip, as well as, limit your control of the pole saw. Work- ing aloft should be left to professionals.
- Page 12 • To avoid burns, always make sure that the muffler side of the engine is away from your body. • Shut off the pole saw immediately if the unit starts to shake or vibrate excessively. This could be a sign of danger. A part may be broken or loose.
- Page 13 Raynaud’s Phenomenon, which affects the fingers of certain individuals, may be brought about by exposure to cold and vibration. Accordingly, your ECHO pole saw has a vibration reduction system designed to reduce the intensity of vibration received through the handles.
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Page 14: Forces To Control
FOLLOW THROUGH - When you’re about to complete a cut, be ready to throttle back and hold up the pole saw so that the cutting attachment will not follow through into you or hit the ground after the guide bar or blade cuts through the branch. - Page 15 Cover the saw chain and guide bar or blade with a scabbard or serious injury may occur. PROPER GRIP ON THE POLE SAW - A firm grip is one requirement for pole saw control. The saw should always be held firmly with both hands with thumbs and fingers encircling the front and rear handles whenever the engine or motor is running.
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Page 16: Balance And Body Position For Cutting
• Long branches should be removed in several pieces. • At completion of the cut, let go of the throttle trigger, carefully lift the pole saw clear, and idle the engine before moving away. • DO NOT use Pole Saw for felling or bucking. -
Page 17: Pinching, Binding, Splitting
BALANCE AND BODY POSITION FOR CUTTING • When completing an elevated cut, be ready to hold up the pole saw as it cuts into the clear, so it will not follow through. • Limit your cutting to the range within which you can control the pole saw fully. -
Page 18: Limbing And Bucking
WARNING WARNING There is danger of kickback during boring. It is not recommended to bore cut with a pole pruner. Do not use SRS models for bore cutting. Serious personal injury or death can result from improper bore cutting. Avoid windfalls. Windfalls are tangled branches, roots and trees. Clean these out only by cutting from the perimeter. -
Page 19: When To Call A Professional
WHEN TO CALL A PROFESSIONAL There are times that the solution to a problem with a mature tree is best handled by a professional arborist. When do you call for professional help? 1. When you don’t have the expertise and proper equipment to safely accomplish the job. -
Page 20: Pruning: Timing And Technique
PRUNING: TIMING AND TECHNIQUE Pruning is vital to the health and beauty of trees. Pruning controls the size and direction of growth, improves a tree’s health, diminishes risk of infection and increases the size of flower and fruit production. Proper pruning also encourages growth by opening up the tree’s canopy and branch structure. - Page 21 PRUNING: TIMING AND TECHNIQUE • WOUND DRESSINGS - Wound dressings have been shown to interfere with the natural development of callus tissues that eventu- ally close the pruning wound. In some cases, wound dressings can even harbor disease organisms much like what occurs when a Band- Aid is left on a skin cut too long.
- Page 22 By starting low and working your way up, it makes it easier to trim the top part of the hedge. Tools like ECHO’S new shaft hedge trimmers help to extend reach while the articulating hedge trimmer makes sculpting a breeze and facilitates reaching across the top of taller hedges while still maintaining a parallel cut.
- Page 23 NOTES...
- Page 24 ECHO INCORPORATED 400 OAKWOOD ROAD LAKE ZURICH, IL 60047 PHONE: (847) 540-8400 www.echo-usa.com Printed in USA NOTICE: ECHO, INCORPORATED reserves the right to make changes in this safety manual or the models without advanced notice.