Yard-Man 12A-559K401 Operator's Manual

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Contents

Yard-Man 12A-559K401 Operator's Manual Manual pdf 11 page image

11Starting EngineWARNING: Be sure no one other than theoperator is standing near the lawn mowerwhile starting engine or operating mower.Never run engine indoors or in enclosed,poorly ventilated areas. Engine exhaustcontains carbon monoxide, an odorlessand deadly gas. Keep hands, feet, hairand loose clothing away from any movingparts on engine and lawn mower. Whenstarting the unit for the first time, face themower against a solid object such as wall,fence, etc. Start the unit and if it showsany signs of motion while the drive clutchcontrol is still engaged, shut the engineoff immediately.• Make sure that the drive clutch control is adjustedso the drive belt is as loose as possible.• Move throttle control lever all the way back to the“rabbit” position.• Push primer three times, See Figure 10. Wait abouttwo seconds between each push. In cold weatheraround 55 o F or below, prime five times. Do notprime to restart a warm engine after a shortshutdown.• Standing behind the mower, depress the bladecontrol handle and hold it against the upper handle.• Grasp starter handle and pull rope out slowly untilengine reaches the start of compression cycle(rope will pull slightly harder at this point). Let therope rewind slowly. Pull rope with a rapid,continuous, full arm stroke. Keeping a firm grip onthe starter handle, let the rope rewind slowly.Stopping Engine• Release blade control handle to stop the engineand the blade.• Disconnect spark plug wire and move away fromspark plug to prevent accidental starting.Using your Lawn Mower• You can use your mower as a mulching mower or arear bagger.• Do not operate the mower without the rearmulching baffle or the grasscatcher bag properlyinstalled.• Be sure that the lawn is clear of stones, sticks, wire,or other objects which could damage lawn moweror engine. Such objects could be accidently thrownby the mower in any direction and cause seriouspersonal injury to the operator and others.• For best results, do not cut wet grass because ittends to stick to the underside of the mower,preventing proper discharge of grass clippings, andcould cause you to slip and fall. New grass, thickgrass or wet grass may require a narrower cut.• For a healthy lawn, always cut off one-third or lessof the total length of the grass. Lawn should betrimmed in fall as long as there is growth.WARNING: If you strike a foreign object,stop the engine. Remove spark plug wirefrom spark plug, thoroughly inspect themower for any damage. Repair the damagebefore restarting and operating the mower.Extensive vibration of the mower duringoperation is an indication of damage. Theunit should be promptly inspected andrepaired.Bagging Grass ClippingsYou can use the grasscatcher bag to collect clippingswhile you are operating the mower. Attach thegrasscatcher following instructions on page 9 of thismanual. The grass clippings will automatically collect inthe bag as you run the mower. Operate the mower tillthe grass bag is full. Do NOT allow the bag to overfillwith grass clippings. Stop the engine completely byreleasing the control handle. Make sure that the unithas come to a complete stop. To empty the grass bagproceed as follows:• Lift discharge door and pull grass bag up and awayfrom the mower to dispose of the grass clippingsSee Figure 11.Figure 11Adjusting Cutting HeightRefer to height adjustments section of this manual onpage 15 for instruction on how to adjust the cuttingheight and the handle height.• For best results in mowing, keep the cutting heightposition high until it is determined which height isbest for your lawn.