To safely operate gas-powered lawn equipment, start with No-Spill gas cans

My teenager is going to start helping us maintain the garden and I want to give him advice on safely operating gas-powered equipment.

— Joe Rosen, Elmwood Park

Most home gardeners work with gas-powered equipment to maintain their gardens. Be sure to emphasize to your son that gasoline is a toxic, highly flammable product that can harm you, the environment and your equipment if used carelessly.

Start by filling your equipment’s gas tank before you begin using it. Avoid filling a hot piece of equipment and never add fuel to any machine that is still running. There have been cases of severe injuries sustained while fueling a hot piece of equipment because of the gas igniting after being spilled on the muffler or other hot engine component.

In a situation where the gas ignites, you will likely be burned before having time to react. If you have been using the equipment, let it cool down for a few minutes before refueling.

Gas that spills on plants will kill them and contaminate the soil, so it is best to fuel the equipment in an area where any gas spilled will not harm the surface. Avoid overfilling your equipment and gas can as the fuel tank needs room for the gas to expand in hot weather.

It is a good idea to leave the neck of the tank or container empty. Slowly remove the filler caps during warm weather as pressure can build up inside the tank or gas can. It is safer to release this pressure slowly to avoid getting any spray on you or in your eyes. Wear safety glasses while fueling to add another measure of safety.

Fill up your gas can while at a gas station with the can on the ground and not in the bed of a truck. Vehicle fires sometimes occur when people fill metal gas cans placed on plastic surfaces. This type of fire usually involves a gas can in the back of a pickup truck with a plastic bed liner.

Gasoline tends to carry a static electric charge and this charge can build up on the can as it is being filled. If the can is sitting on concrete or the ground, the static charge can safely flow away. Since plastic is an insulator, static electricity can build up. A spark can then occur between the gas can and the fuel nozzle and ignite the gasoline vapor near the open mouth of the gas if conditions are right.

I like using No-Spill gas cans for my power equipment. They come in 2.5-gallon and 5-gallon sizes and have an easy-to-use thumb button to pour the gas, which makes them ideal for small equipment and reduces the chance of spilling fuel.

Simply insert the nozzle into the fuel tank and press the button to begin fueling. If the gas can is in the sun on a warm day, pressure can build up, so be careful when beginning to fill up a machine. There can be an initial burst of air under pressure with gas when you press the button to begin filling.

It’s a good idea to label your gas cans as mixed gas and regular gas. Two-stroke (two-cycle) engines require you to mix the two-cycle engine oil with the gas in exact amounts, so the oil acts as a lubricant for the crankcase. My mechanic suggests using a high-quality gas with some extra two-cycle oil over the amount recommended on the label to better protect the engine. Too much extra oil may result in excessive smoking.

Four-stroke engines take oil and gas separately. Leaf blowers and weed whips generally have two-stroke engines so they require mixed gas. Some snowblowers have two-stroke engines too. You will ruin the engine of a two-stroke engine if you do not use mixed gas.

For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.