Making gas cans great again

[Grumpycat]

I like the tire valve idea, but would be concerned that gas would adversely affect the rubber.

A proper push-in vent cap from Amazon is much cheaper, easier, and better.

 

[wheelbuilder]

I buy old gas/diesel cans at yard sales. I stick to the metal ones.

 

[JackDaniels1982]

Maybe it's different in Canada, or maybe I'm in the minority, but I spilled a lot more with the old cans. I think a lot of you are remembering the good old days with rose coloured glasses. My gas cans leaked at the base of the nozzle. The plastic bendy straw style leaked at all the joints. Turning a 5 gallon can upside down as you tried to get it into a small hole guaranteed some leaked first - even with a funnel.
Then there is the fact that with this ethanol gas, it has a shelf life of months, and it gets much worse when vented. The automatically sealing cans keep the gas fresh longer (although steel is really the way to go and I saw a link for some nice ones on page 2 maybe?)
I love the auto sealing nozzles, especially for filling chainsaws. Yes it means a little extra time, but I'm saving that in spilled gas and keeping it fresher. I'm happy with the tradeoff.
I also use an electric pump for larger jobs now. Spills less again and it's easy.
I get my water directly out of a well without any filters, so I appreciate my ground having less spills.
*pro tip, when I fill I try to fill on the gravel driveway and when stuff did/does spill (still using some 30+ years old cans), lighting it on fire helps get rid of it quickly

 

[gsganzer]

This topic is one of the reasons I like the quotes by Ronald Reagan
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
― Ronald Reagan

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”
― Ronald Reagan

I love Reagan and have been to his presidential library 4 times.

 

[Engineer42]

What unemployed cats?

Deleting DPF will eliminate the need for the SCR which isn't quite the same thing as a gasoline catalyst.

I was being humorous, which you missed I believe.

I, and most people, tend to think DEF smells like cat piss. So if DEF is done away with, the cats are unemployed from pissing in the jugs.

 

[RB5]

Maybe it's different in Canada, or maybe I'm in the minority, but I spilled a lot more with the old cans. I think a lot of you are remembering the good old days with rose coloured glasses. My gas cans leaked at the base of the nozzle. The plastic bendy straw style leaked at all the joints. Turning a 5 gallon can upside down as you tried to get it into a small hole guaranteed some leaked first - even with a funnel.
Then there is the fact that with this ethanol gas, it has a shelf life of months, and it gets much worse when vented. The automatically sealing cans keep the gas fresh longer (although steel is really the way to go and I saw a link for some nice ones on page 2 maybe?)
I love the auto sealing nozzles, especially for filling chainsaws. Yes it means a little extra time, but I'm saving that in spilled gas and keeping it fresher. I'm happy with the tradeoff.
I also use an electric pump for larger jobs now. Spills less again and it's easy.
I get my water directly out of a well without any filters, so I appreciate my ground having less spills.
*pro tip, when I fill I try to fill on the gravel driveway and when stuff did/does spill (still using some 30+ years old cans), lighting it on fire helps get rid of it quickly

I think you are in the minority. I don't usually spill with the new cans, but being older and holding up a 5 gallon can that takes way longer to pour than the old vented ones sucks. I'm in good shape now, but I can see a day in the future where I won't be able to. I'm also starting to get pissed off every time I fill something and have to wait so long to finish as the air bubbles into the can. So what do I do? Get smaller cans and spend even more time filling up? I am sure I probably spilled a little with the old cans, but the spring loaded nozzles that fell apart spilled way more than anything else I ever used. I do not have any of those now. I do agree that you need a tight seal for the ethanol to keep from getting water in it longer, but what I remember in the old days had a vent that closed and a cover on the spout that screwed on. Maybe they didn't have those in Canada?

Remember your puck will sink when the ice melts... and I'm just kidding on that one so don't take it wrong. We are hockey fans in Texas and there is no ice here.

 

[mrmikey]

The plastic bendy straw style leaked at all the joints

The ones I have lasted for years before they started cracking, never leaked anywhere as you could bend the spout and place it in the tank of whatever you're filling before upending the gas can.
Now as someone pointed out, they're too small diameter at the base flange and leak like a sieve.
This is the one I was talking about, notice..."Discontinued"

 

[Grumpycat]

I was being humorous, which you missed I believe.

I, and most people, tend to think DEF smells like cat piss. So if DEF is done away with, the cats are unemployed from pissing in the jugs.

Silly. Everyone knows it is horse piss.

 

[TimberFarm]

I just take the spout off and use a funnel. Much faster.

 

[KennyG]

I just ran into another design problem on gas cans. I have one of the push button type cans that someone gave me but I had never used. I needed to drain the gas out of a project car, so I needed all the cans I could find. When I took the spout off, I found a permanently mounted screen in the can. I was able to pull it out with a little work, a screwdriver and some pliers, but think about the concept. They put in a filter to catch any crap when you fill the can, but it will go right into the tank when you use the can to refuel anything. The only thing it does is keep the can clean.

 

[mrmikey]

Actually that's not a filter, it's a flashback arrestor, supposed to stop flame from entering the can

 

[t1kilo]

By far, these are the best cans that I own.

https://eagle.justrite.com/safety-cans/type-i-safety-cans

Like many of you, I refuse to use the new plastic cans.

 

[Grumpycat]

I just ran into another design problem on gas cans. I have one of the push button type cans that someone gave me but I had never used. I needed to drain the gas out of a project car, so I needed all the cans I could find. When I took the spout off, I found a permanently mounted screen in the can. I was able to pull it out with a little work, a screwdriver and some pliers, but think about the concept. They put in a filter to catch any crap when you fill the can, but it will go right into the tank when you use the can to refuel anything. The only thing it does is keep the can clean.

That is the "flame barrier" which bankrupted Blitz. Lawyers claimed a simple screen would prevent flames running inside the nozzle from reaching the inside of the gas tank.

Plenty of evidence to the contrary, but good enough to convince ignorant jurys that Blitz was negligent for exploding flaming gas cans.

Try this for fun: put 1/4" (or other small amount) of gasoline in a soup can. Throw lit matches into the soup can. Gasoline never ignites but always smothers the lit match. The reason being inside the soup can gasoline vapor is either too lean or too rich for combustion. There is one fine line on the way down to the liquid where the mixture is just right. Possible brief "poof".

 

[ruffdog]

The ones I have lasted for years before they started cracking, never leaked anywhere as you could bend the spout and place it in the tank of whatever you're filling before upending the gas can.
Now as someone pointed out, they're too small diameter at the base flange and leak like a sieve.
This is the one I was talking about, notice..."Discontinued"

View attachment 3831812

EZ-Pour has the correct nozzle for a Wedco can.

 

[rontaki]

I buy old gas/diesel cans at yard sales. I stick to the metal ones.

Are you magnetic?

 

[350c]

Maybe it's different in Canada, or maybe I'm in the minority, but I spilled a lot more with the old cans. I think a lot of you are remembering the good old days with rose coloured glasses. My gas cans leaked at the base of the nozzle. The plastic bendy straw style leaked at all the joints. Turning a 5 gallon can upside down as you tried to get it into a small hole guaranteed some leaked first - even with a funnel.
Then there is the fact that with this ethanol gas, it has a shelf life of months, and it gets much worse when vented. The automatically sealing cans keep the gas fresh longer (although steel is really the way to go and I saw a link for some nice ones on page 2 maybe?)
I love the auto sealing nozzles, especially for filling chainsaws. Yes it means a little extra time, but I'm saving that in spilled gas and keeping it fresher. I'm happy with the tradeoff.
I also use an electric pump for larger jobs now. Spills less again and it's easy.
I get my water directly out of a well without any filters, so I appreciate my ground having less spills.
*pro tip, when I fill I try to fill on the gravel driveway and when stuff did/does spill (still using some 30+ years old cans), lighting it on fire helps get rid of it quickly

Preventing spills but burning what does happen to spill--is there an advantage to putting potential pollutants in the air instead of the ground?

 

[gsganzer]

Preventing spills but burning what does happen to spill--is there an advantage to putting potential pollutants in the air instead of the ground?

Like the old saying: Dilution is the solution to pollution.

 

[deezler]

Preventing spills by burning what does happen to spill--is there an advantage to putting potential pollutants in the air instead of the ground?

Absolutely. Generally speaking, combustion converts volatile substances to less harmful ones that can float away in the air and diffuse down to infinitesimally small concentrations.

Whereas if you spill a big batch of petroleum onto the ground, it can permanently ruin the groundwater once its in the soil and water table and unable to evaporate.

 

[kent5757]

On my 5-gallon can, I drilled a small hole at the location where they show the push-in cap, then put a screw in it--loosen or remove the screw to pour. Cheap and no leaks. (American-made screw, by the way! Unlike all the replacement nozzles from you know where!)

I use a golf tee.

 

[Grumpycat]

Preventing spills but burning what does happen to spill--is there an advantage to putting potential pollutants in the air instead of the ground?

Government regulators do not use the products they regulate.