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Atco allotment mower

29 March 2016

Somewhow Frank has managed to rustle up yet another 'new' mower. I have stripped the carburretor several times and cleaned the main jet and I think that it is now operational although there may still be little bits of dirt lurking in there somewhere ready to clog up the jet again.

Use at your own risk.

Please note that the design of this mower pre-dates proper EU health and safety legislation and needs to be treated with care. [If we leave the EU it will probably be perfectly adequate again as new UK, reduced red tape, health and safety regulations will soon be brought into place.]

If you make a mistake, what's left of the National Health Service may be able to stitch your fingers back on or not. Please see G4S website for more details.

Kindly note that you use it at your own risk.

The main problem is that the cutter cylinder rotates at all times when the engine is running and there is no 'dead man's' switch. Used properly, it is safe but please read the notes below to ensure safe working.

Guidelines for use

This is a quality machine, designed to produce a fine cut on a well maintained lawn. ie not to cut long coarse grass on our rough allotment field. Having said that it has been effective in cutting the grass though you must resist the temptation to push it into rough areas.

There is an apochryphal tale, lets say from St John's College, Oxford, founded 1555, of visitors from one of her majesties former colonies, enquiring of a groundsman, 'How do you get your lawns to look so wonderful?' 'Oh its easy your ladyship, we just cuts them every day for 400 years'. That is what this mower is expecting to do so go easy on it!!

To start

Remove from the shed, do a visual check and clear any obvious obstructions from the blade.

Take it out of the shed.

The grim teeth! Front roller height adjuster to the right.

Put on the grass catcher.

PUT ON THE GRASS BOX. NEVER run the mower without the grass box in place, it offers some protection from the rotating plades and prevents the engine from being smothered in grass cuttings.

Switch on the petrol.

Move the throttle control to the fast running position, ie to the right.

Put on the choke by moving the lever on the carburretor to the 'ON' position.

Pull the starter cord, it should start within three pulls, seek help if it does not.

Once the engine is running, move the choke lever to its middle position and then when the engine has warmed up, to the run position, confusedly marked 'OFF'.

You are now ready to start mowing.

The petrol tank, petrol tap, fuel line to carburretor, choke lever in the 'RUN' position, ie OFF

Set off mowing by lifting the bar under the handle.

If the grass is wet or long it may need a little encouragement [ie a push] to get it moving.

Drive engage bar under the handle. Throttle control set to the OFF position.

ALWAYS switch off the engine before doing any operation on the mower, including removing the grass box. The engine is easy to re-start so NO EXCUSES.
The grass box is rather small, especially when cutting coarse or long grass so fills up quickly. I have been decanting it to a wheelbarrow to reduce the number of trips to the compost heap.
Please return to the mower shed when you have finished with it AND turn OFF the petrol tap. This will make it much simpler [and safer] for our local thieves to remove it from the plot.