Weed Eater 960480001 Service Manual

•  Mower should be properly leveled for best mowing 

per for mance. See "TO LEVEL MOWER HOUSING" in 

the Service and Adjustments section of this manual.

•  The left hand side of mower should be used for trim-

 ming.

•  Drive so that clippings are discharged onto the area 

that has been cut. Have the cut area to the right of the 

machine. This will result in a more even distribution of 

clippings and more uniform cutting.

• 

When mowing large areas, start by turning to the right 

so that clippings will discharge away from shrubs, 

fences, drive ways, etc. After one or two rounds, mow 

in the opposite direction making left hand turns until 

finished (See Fig. 12).

•  If grass is extremely tall, it should be mowed twice to 

reduce load and possible fire hazard from dried clip-

 pings. Make first cut relatively high; the second to the 

desired height.

•  Do not mow grass when it is wet. Wet grass will plug 

mower and leave undesirable clumps. Allow grass to 

dry before mowing.

•  Always operate engine at full throttle when mow-

ing to assure better mowing performance and proper 

dis charge of ma te ri al. Regulate ground speed by se-

 lect ing a low enough gear to give the mower cutting 

per for mance as well as the quality of cut desired.

•  When operating attachments, select a ground speed 

that will suit the terrain and give best performance of 

the attachment being used. 

When starting the engine for the first time or if the engine 

has run out of fuel, it will take extra cranking time to move 

fuel from the tank to the engine.
• 

Sit on seat in operating position, depress clutch/brake 

pedal and set parking brake.

•  Place gear shift lever in neutral position.
•  Move attachment clutch to “DISENGAGED” position.
•  Move throttle control to choke position.
NOTE: Before starting, read the warm and cold starting 

procedures below.
• 

Insert key into ignition and turn key clockwise to “START” 

position and release key as soon as engine starts. 

Do not run starter continuously for more than fifteen 

sec onds per minute. If the engine does not start after 

several attempts, move throttle control to fast position, 

wait a few minutes and try again. If engine still does 

not start, move the throttle control back to the choke 

position and retry.

WARM WEATHER STARTING (50° F/10° C and above)

•  When engine starts, move the throttle control to the 

fast position.

• 

The attachments and ground drive can now be used. If 

the engine does not accept the load, restart the engine 

and allow it to warm up for one minute using the choke 

as described above.

COLD WEATHER STARTING (50° F/10° C and below)
•  When engine starts, allow engine to run with the 

throttle control in the choke position until the engine 

runs roughly, then move throttle control to fast posi-

tion. This may require an engine warm-up period from 

several seconds to several minutes, depending on the 

tem per a ture.

•  The attachments can also be used during the engine 

warm-up period.

NOTE: If at a high altitude (above 3000 feet) or in cold 

temperatures (below  32° F/0°C) the carburetor fuel mixture 

may need to be adjusted for best engine performance. See 

“TO ADJUST CARBURETOR” in the Service and Adjust-

ments section of this manual.