HOWTO
OPERATE
AND
MAINTAIN
YOUR
ELECTRIC
START
LAWN
MOWER
It
isnecessary tofollowtheseadditionalinstructions,ifyour
lawn
mowerisequipped
with
electricstarting.Followingtheseinstructions
will
assureyouofthebestcontinuedbenefitsofelectricstarting.
PREPARING
FOR
OPERATION
The
"dry-charged"batteryanditscontainerofelectrolyteare
shipped
inseparatecartonsinsidethemower carton.Yourdealer
should
haveactivated,connectedandinstalledthebattery.Incasethis
was
notdonebeforeyoureceivedthemower,activatethebatteryand
install
itasfollows:
1.Removethebatteryfromitscarton.Activateit bypouring
theelectrolyteintothecells.
Fill
each
cell
tothelevelofthecirclein-
dicatorinthe
fill
tube.Afterreplacingthe
cell
caps,removethepipe-
cleanerplugsfromthevents.
2.Setthebatteryonthefloor beside themower.Attachthered
cabletothered(positive)terminalofthebatteryandtheyellowcable
totheyellow(negative)terminal.Usethehardwarefurnished.
3.
Slide
thebatteryinto thebracketprovidedatthefrontofthe
mower,andtightenthehold-downclamp.
4.Checkthecharge
with
a
^attery
hydrometer.Ifthespecific
gravityisbelow1.265to
1.285,
havethebatteryslow-chargedata
2-amp.maximum
rate
until
the
full
chargeisreached.This is particu-
larly important for cold weather starting.
Careful
preparationoftheengine
will
preventoverloadingofthe
electricstartingequipment,and
will
provide
better
servicefromyour
mower.
1.Keepthecrankcase
filled
totheproper
level.
Iftemperature
is
above40°F,useNo.30weightregulargradeautomobileengineoil.
2.Ifthetemperatureisbelow40°F,disregardthenameplate
instructionsand
fill
thecrankcasetotheproperlevel
with
No.10
weight
regulargradeautomobileengineoil.
3.Usea regulargradeof
FRESH
gasoline.Keepthegasoline
tank
full
whenthemowerisnotinuse, tohelppreventwaterconden-
sation.
4.Besurethecarburetorisadjustedforeasiest starting.
STARTING
WITH
THE
ELECTRIC
STARTER
Becauseofsizerequirements,thestarterhascertainoperating
limits
andcoldweatherlimitations.Intemperaturesbelow20°F it
maybenecessary tostarttheengine
with
therecoilstarter.Seethe
special
instructionsforcoldweatherstarting.Innormaltemperatures,
startthemowerasfollows:
1.Besurethetransmissionisinneutralandthebladeclutchis
disengaged.
This
relievesthestarterofextraload.
2.Besuretheenginespeedcontrolleverissetproperlyforstart-
ing.
3.Iftheengineisagainstthecompression,
pull
itpastthecom-
pression
stroke
with
therecoilstarterrope.
4.
Turn
thekeytostartcrankingtheengine.
5.A self-resettingcutoutswitchpreventsdamagetothestarter
motor
fromover-heating.Continuouscranking
will
causethisswitch
toopen,stoppingthestarter.Ifthishappens,allow thestartertocool
until
theswitch
contacts
close.
COLD
WEATHER
STARTING
In
coldweather,followtheseinstructionsforstartingtheengine
ofyour
lawn
mower.
1.Followthe"PreparingforOperation"instructionscarefully.
2.Besurethebatteryisat
full
chargeandallconnections are
tight.
3.Asthetemperaturedrops,batteryefficiencyalsodrops,even
thoughthebatteryis
fully
charged.
This
increasestheamperagedraw
ofthestarter,andmaycausethecutoutswitchtoopenafteronlya
momentarycrankingperiod.
(This
isbecauseanelectric
motor
heats
rapidly
underabnormalamperageconditions.)Ifthishappensincold
weather,it usuallymeansthatthestarterhasreacheditscoldweather
limitations,
anddoesnotnecessarilyindicatea defectivestartermotor.
4.Inmoderatelycoldweather(about20°F),besuretheengine
speedcontrolleverissetproperly,andallloadisremovedfromthe
engine.Itmayalsobenecessarytoturntheenginethroughtwoor
threerevolutions
with
therecoilstartertobreaktheoil
film
sealsand
reducethefriction.
5.Iftheenginehasstoodidlefora prolongedperiodincold
weather,it
will
usuallyhavetobestarted
with
therecoilstarter.
PROTECT
THE
STARTER
THROUGH
PROPER
USE
To
preventdamagetothestarter
motor
andbattery,usethestarter
carefully,
accordingtothefollowingcautions.Thewarrantyisvoid
if
thetimelimitsaredisregarded.
1.Neverrunthestarterformorethantensecondscontinuously.
2.
Allow
one
full
minutebetweenten-secondcrankingperiods.
3.Donotrepeattheten-second crankingperiodmorethanfive
times.Iftheenginedoesnotstart
within
fivecrankingandwaiting
periods,
thereisa mechanicalreason.Checkandcorrect.
4.
Allow
fifteen minutesbeforetryingtostarttheengine,after
using
upthefive 10-second crankingintervals.Failuretoobservethese
timelimitscausesexpensivepermanentdamagetothestartermotor.
TAKE
GOOD
CARE
OFTHE
ELECTRICAL
SYSTEM
Proper
care
oftheelectricalsystem
will
resultinlonglifeofthe
partsandgoodservicefromtheelectricstarter.
1.Checkthebatteryoncea monthfor
state
ofcharge.Recharge
thebatteryifthespecificgravityofthecellsfallsbelow
1.225,
orif
theopencircuitvoltageofthecellsdropsbelow2.04volts.Usea maxi-
mum
charging
rate
of2 amps.Keepbatteriesatornear
full
charge
forbestperformance.
2.Whilethebatteryisinuse, checkit oncea weekforelectro-
lyte
level.
Keeptheelectrolyteabovetheseparators,but
fill
onlyto
thecircleindicator,notinto thevent tube.Useonlydistilledorap-
provedwaterfor
filling.
3.Donotaddbatterydopes,additives,oracid.Suchadditions
void
thebatteryguarantee.
4.Keepthebatterycleanbybrushingoffdirt,dustandgrass
clippings
afteruse.Ifcorrosiondevelopsontopofthebattery,clean
it
with
waterandbakingsoda.Besuretokeepthevent plugsinthe
cells
while
cleaning.Coatthecleanedterminals
with
petroleum
jelly
(Vaseline)
topreventfurthercorrosion.
5.Batteriesmaybestoredwithoutdamageiftheyarefully
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