New Midwest Gas can fail

[RayIN]

A few years ago I bought a 2-pack of these 5G plastic cans. I didn't use them until last summer. I refilled one yesterday and this morning it was empty. Evidently the heat we had last summer caused an over-pressure situation in the can, and the seam around the center that joins both halves split.
This is yet another problem with the newest safety rules for home gas/fuel cans. I called Midwest CS and was told "that cannot happen, our products are designedd to withstand temperature changes, thank you for purchasing our product." (abbreviated conversation)
That was my last purchase of Midwest products.

 

[dstig1]

No-Spill brand are heavy duty and very well made, plus they work great. But when I leave gas cans empty, I tend to loosen the lids so they don't blow up or suck in from vacuum as it deforms them, sometime permanently.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I keep the nozzles loose on my gas cans empty or full. I have not had one crack since I started to do this. I keep them outside in a plastic container.

 

[RayIN]

I keep the nozzles loose on my gas cans empty or full. I have not had one crack since I started to do this. I keep them outside in a plastic container.

I have now began installing a vent in all my fuel cans now. Just be sure not to drill the hole in the can too big; I had to throw one away for that reason.

 

[Cycledude]

A few years ago I bought a 2-pack of these 5G plastic cans. I didn't use them until last summer. I refilled one yesterday and this morning it was empty. Evidently the heat we had last summer caused an over-pressure situation in the can, and the seam around the center that joins both halves split.
This is yet another problem with the newest safety rules for home gas/fuel cans. I called Midwest CS and was told "that cannot happen, our products are designedd to withstand temperature changes, thank you for purchasing our product." (abbreviated conversation)
That was my last purchase of Midwest products.

Any pictures ?
The side of one of my No Spill cans got sucked in from hot to cold weather temperature change, hopefully next summer when we have hot weather again the side will pop out again, it’s not really hurting anything but I hate seeing that expensive can looking like that. It’s a 1.25 gallon can that I use for mixed chainsaw gas, still holds over a gallon.
I own 5 or more No Spill cans of various sizes and other than this issue with one can they have been flawless .

 

[bdhsfz6]

I've had trouble over the years with plastic gas cans. I don't like to leave the vents open when storing in the barn for fear of fume buildup. If I don't store them vented, they deform from temp changes. I now store them outside next to the barn in a plastic deck box with the vents open.

If you do this, use a well vented box that can't create a spark when opened or closed! It's easy for fumes to build up to explosive levels inside a small closed in area. There was an incident near here a few years ago where someone was severely injured in an explosion caused by storing gas cans in a steel box.

 

[RayIN]

Any pictures ?
The side of one of my No Spill cans got sucked in from hot to cold weather temperature change, hopefully next summer when we have hot weather again the side will pop out again, it’s not really hurting anything but I hate seeing that expensive can looking like that. It’s a 1.25 gallon can that I use for mixed chainsaw gas, still holds over a gallon.
I own 5 or more No Spill cans of various sizes and other than this issue with one can they have been flawless .

The seam on the bottom where both halves were "welded" together split enough to leak out all the gas. Notice the seam is black while the side seam isn't. The white stuff is where gas dissolved concrete floor sealer, which then dried on the plastic.

 

[dstig1]

It isn't actually welded, per se. They are blow molded and that is the seam where the parison melt gets pinched off by the mold, prior to inflation. But that doesn't look like a No-Spill brand can. Perhaps just cheaply made?

 

[rontaki]

I had a No-Spill gas can fail when it fell off the ATV I was towing a mower with, and it met the mower blades. Should I have kept the pieces as spare parts?

 

[Cycledude]

The seam on the bottom where both halves were "welded" together split enough to leak out all the gas. Notice the seam is black while the side seam isn't. The white stuff is where gas dissolved concrete floor sealer, which then dried on the plastic.
View attachment 5336834

What brand of can is that in the picture ?
To me it doesn’t look like the No-Spill brand cans I have but maybe it a different size ? The one of mine with one side sucked in is supposed to hold 1.25 gallon, with the side sucked in it still holds over 1 gallon so I’m still using it. But the can happens to be empty right now so I brought it into the house where it’s warm to see if the heat might have any effect on getting the one caved in side to expand back out.

 

[RayIN]

What brand of can is that in the picture ?
To me it doesn’t look like the No-Spill brand cans I have but maybe it a different size ? The one of mine with one side sucked in is supposed to hold 1.25 gallon, with the side sucked in it still holds over 1 gallon so I’m still using it. But the can happens to be empty right now so I brought it into the house where it’s warm to see if the heat might have any effect on getting the one caved in side to expand back out.

Midwest Can Co. 5G size. I don't recall ever saying otherwise.

 

[Cycledude]

Brought my empty one side caved in No-Spill can into the house this morning to see what might happen after it warmed up. After about 1 hour I checked it and sure enough the side was not caved in, looks like new again.
The plastic No-Spill uses seems to be a little thicker than the plastic on other brands of gas cans.

 

[dstig1]

Yes the No-Spills are very beefy. I loosen the cap when empty so they don't collapse and expand.