Craftsman 247.886940 Operator's Manual page 4

To r educe fire hazards, keep machine free o fgrass, leaves, or other debris
build-up. Clean up oil o r fuel spillage and r emove any f uel soaked debris.
Never store the machine or fuel container inside where there is an open
flame, spark orpilot light as on awater heater, space heater, furnace, clothes
dryer or other gas appliances.
OPERATION
Donot put hands or feetnearrotatingparts,inthe auger/impeller h ousing
or chuteassembly. Contact w ith the rotatingpartscanamputatehands and
feet.
Theauger/impeller controlleverisasafetydevice. N everbypass i ts
operation. D oing somakes the machine unsafeandmaycause personal
injury.
Thecontrol l eversmustoperateeasilyin bothdirectionsandautomatically
returnto the disengaged positionwhenreleased.
Never o peratewith amissing or damaged chuteassembly. K eep all safety
devices in place andworking.
Neverrunanengineindoors or inapoorlyventilatedarea.Engine exhaust
contains carbonmonoxide, a nodorless anddeadlygas.
Donot operatemachine whileunderthe influence o f alcohol o r drugs.
Mufflerandenginebecome hot andcancause aburn.Donot touch.Keep
children away.
Exercise e xtremecautionwhenoperatingonor crossing gravelsurfaces. Stay
alertforhiddenhazards o r traffic.
Exercise c autionwhenchanging directionandwhileoperatingonslopes.Do
not operate on steepslopes.
Planyoursnow-throwingpatternto avoiddischarge t owardswindows,
walls,carsetc.Thus, a voidingpossible propertydamage or personal injury
caused byaricochet.
Never d irectdischarge a t children,bystanders a ndpetsor allowanyonein
front of the machine.
Donot overload machine capacitybyattemptingto clearsnowat too fastof
arate.
Never o peratethismachine withoutgoodvisibilityor light. Alwaysbesureof
yourfootingandkeepafirm holdon the handles. W alk,neverrun.
Disengage p owerto the auger/impeller when transporting or not in use.
Never o peratemachine at hightransportspeeds onslipperysurfaces. Look
downandbehindandusecarewhenbackingup.
If the machine shouldstartto vibrateabnormally, stopthe engine,
disconnect the sparkplugwire andgroundit againstthe engine.Inspect
thoroughlyfordamage. R epair a nydamage before startingandoperating.
Disengage a ll controllevers andstopenginebeforeyouleavetheoperating
position(behind the handles). W aituntil the auger/impeller c omes to
acompletestopbeforeunclogging the chuteassembly, makingany
adjustments, or inspections.
Neverput yourhandin the discharge o r collector openings. D onot unclog
chuteassembly w hileengineis running.Shut o ff engineandremainbehind
handles until all movingpartshavestoppedbefore unclogging.
Use onlyattachments andaccessories approved bythe manufacturer ( e.g.
wheelweights,tire chains,cabs etc.).
Whenstartingengine,pull cordslowlyuntil resistance isfelt, thenpull
rapidly. R apid retractionofstartercord(kickback) w ill pullhandandarm
towardenginefasterthanyoucanletgo. Broken bones, f ractures, b ruises or
sprains couldresult.
Ifsituations occurwhicharenot covered inthismanual, u secareandgood
judgment.
CLEARING A CLOGGED DISCHARGE CHUTE
Hand contactwith the rotatingimpellerinsidethedischarge chuteisthe most
common cause of injuryassociated w ith snowthrowers.Never u seyourhandto
cleanout the discharge chute.
Toclearthe chute:
a. SHUT THE ENGINE OFF!
b. Wait 10seconds t o besurethe impellerblades havestopped
rotating.
c. Alwaysuseaclean-out t ool, not yourhands.
MAINTENANCE & STORAGE
Never t amperwith safetydevices. C heck t heir properoperationregularly.
Refer t o the maintenance a ndadjustmentsections o f thismanual.
Before cleaning, r epairing,or inspecting machine disengage a ll control
levers andstopthe engine.Waituntil the auger/impeller c ometo acomplete
stop.Disconnect the sparkplugwire andgroundagainst t he engineto
prevent u nintended starting.
Check b oltsandscrews forpropertightnessat frequentintervals to keepthe
machine insafeworkingcondition.Also,visuallyinspectmachine forany
damage.
Donot change the enginegovernorsettingor over-speed t he engine.The
governorcontrols the maximum safeoperatingspeedofthe engine.
Snow throwershaveplatesandskidshoes aresubjectto wearanddamage.
Foryoursafetyprotection,frequently checkall components a ndreplace
with originalequipmentmanufacturer's ( OEM) p artsonlyaslistedinthe
Parts pages ofthisoperator's manual.Use of partswhichdonot meetthe
originalequipment s pecifications m ayleadto improperperformance and
compromise safety!
Check c ontrolleversperiodically to verifythey engage anddisengage
properly andadjust,if necessary. Refer t o the adjustment s ectioninthis
operator's manual f or instructions.
Maintainor replace safetyandinstructionlabels, a snecessary.
Observe p roperdisposal l awsandregulations forgas,oil,etc.to protectthe
environment.
Priorto storing,runmachineafewminutesto clearsnowfrom machine and
prevent f reezeupof auger/impeller.
Never s torethe machine or fuelcontainerinside wherethereisanopen
flame,sparkor pilot light such asa waterheater, f urnace, c lothesdryeretc.
Alwaysreferto the operator's manual f orproperinstructions onoff-season
storage.
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