Bill Stone, owner of Swede’s Plant Maintenance in Hillsboro, Ore., needed a better system for differentiating between fuel types when his company’s chainsaws began to seize up and his crew began to show up to job sites with the incorrect type of fuel.
That’s why Stone decided to use carabiners from the dollar store to tell the difference. Containers with two-stroke fuel for the company’s chainsaws are marked with a carabiner, while containers with four-stroke fuel for its sprayer remain bare.
“It’s a pretty simple system, but it works well,” Stone says. “It’s really important that we make sure we’re putting the right gas in the right engine.”
The two-employee company performs spray work and arbor care services. It used to rely on appearance to determine which type of fuel a container held.
Stone says he’s also tried using tags to mark fuel containers, but they typically fell off, deeming the system ineffective.
For landscapers thinking about implementing this type of system—for fuel or other substances—Stone advises bringing the fuel containers along to the store to ensure the carabiners fit.
