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Who makes the best gas can?

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NY Old Guy

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Hello. I thought some of you guys might have some good advice about who makes the best can for storing and dispensing gasoline. The purpose for my particular need is refueling motorcycles. In this application I don't need more than 2 or 3 gallon capacity. What is for me the absolute most important feature required is that the gas not drip out from where the spout screws onto the can. This is because the paint job on the motorcycle's gas tank could be damaged from repeated fuel leaks dripping on it. I bought a plastic "no leak" fuel can from Autozone for about $20 and after just a couple of uses the twist and lock nozzle valve broke. So I just want to buy one that's really good at this point. I found on Amazon a nice looking Eagle brand gas can.

I found this item on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQO15I/?tag=atomicindus08-20

What do you guys think, is that a nice, high quality, leak free one. Or is there a better quality one available. It is 5 gallons though which is a little bigger than required. Budget is not that much of an issue as long as it will last and stay leak free when pouring.

Thank you.
 
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rlitman

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You can't do better than an Eagle Type II can.
Justrite is about as good. I've got Type II cans from both (one is a 3 gallon, the other is a 5), and I really only use metal cans nowadays (I have a few 1 gallon, and 5 gallon Type I cans, and a 1 quart too).

BUT, you will still get some amount of drips. The metal nozzle will get a coating of gas inside it as you pour, and can drip for a while after the valve is shut. I don't see how to avoid this.
If you had a Type I can, and poured in a funnel, the inside of the funnel would get wet, and you could lose a drip here and there as well.

I use metal cans for the additional safety over plastic cans, but the Type II are indeed easier to dispense from without a mess. After closing the valve, you can shake the metal hose around and tap it on the tank to get the drips to stay in the tank. I still get some drips, but at least I can't complain about breaking anything.

The only can I have never had a drip from, has been my 1 gallon plastic that I use for 2-cycle mix. It's small enough that I can dispense right into my tools without a funnel, and when I let go of the valve, I can tip it back before I remove it from the tank, so anything in the nozzle would drip back, instead of out.

Maybe you should make a "bib" for your gas tank. Get one of those absorbent mats made for oil changes (the ones that have a plastic non-permeable layer on the bottom to prevent a leak from getting through), cut it to the shape of your gas tank, and put a hole in the middle.
 
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C

cgv69

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Boone Co., KY
Unless you get lucky and find a NOS can someplace, any new gas can sold in America will have a CARB compliant nozzle. The carb compliant nozzles are POS's IMO (regardless of who makes them) and you can just about guarantee they will leak and they pour at a painfully slow rate.

Your best bet is to find an older can. The best IMO are the Scepter MFC's (Military Fuel Canister). I have 6 of the 20L. (aka 5 gal) cans and they do not leak and will last a life time. The big downside to these is because of the carb requirements, these are no longer available here (new) so prices on used versions of these cans have really skyrocketed.

scepter-mfc-gas.jpg


They also made a 10L (2.5 gal) version is a better size for some purposes but even harder to find these days

smallgas.jpg
 
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mrobins297aaa

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south east michigan
cgv69 said:
Unless you get lucky and find a NOS can someplace, any new gas can sold in America will have a CARB compliant nozzle. The carb compliant nozzles are POS's IMO (regardless of who makes them) and you can just about guarantee they will leak and they pour at a painfully slow rate.
Click to expand...

this^^^^............there all junk and do more harm than good, just more good intentions by people that don't know what there doing.
 
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rlitman

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91FE said:
I've got a Justrite... this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042KUJ1E/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Makes a hella big mess if you're not careful.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a Type I. With the 5 gallon, you have to pour into a funnel, or else the can will be scraping the gas tank.
I have a few 1 gallon sized ones. You can pour directly from those, IF the cap is at the edge of the tank. It's not going to work on a motorcycle without a funnel.

The Type II cans have a cap used only for filling, and the main valve only pours through the tube.

The biggest mess I've made with those, is overfilling, because you need to stop BEFORE the tank is full, in order to account for the gas that is in the tube, and past the valve already. Whoops.

As for the CARB compliancy. ONLY plastic gas cans have to meet CARB. Metal cans have always been designed to retain a small amount of pressure and vent above that (3PSI, as opposed to 10PSI for CARB), but have not ever been required to meet the full CARB pressure requirements.
 
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dandan111

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The eagle metal are the best but you pay for it. I dont like the lever you have to pull on to let air in. I use cheap plastic at home. The eagle are pretty to look at and safe but what a pain to pour.
 
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tommudd

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Central Ohio / Tanzania
Check out www.deutscheoptic.com
They have 20 litre and 10 liter NATO cans and also the Flexi Jerry can spouts available
IMO opinion all of those new fangled ones are junk, have went through two of them in a years time.

These may cost more but will last forever ( well almost)

Pic of the 20 Litre on the back of my ride
Ironmanlift033.jpg
 
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demographic

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The Duchy of Grand Fenwick, otherwise known as Gre
Stihl make some excellent ones that you can buy spouts that you have to push into the chainsaw to get to pour fuel and oil as well, then they stop pouring when its full.

Thing is I don't think they sell them in the US because you poor buggers have complete spastics making your laws.

On the bright side, mines ace:thumbup:
 
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fflintstone

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MOFnowhere Mi.
Having lost a few dozen fuel storage containers in the course of 2 fires I decided to go with all steel safety cans. I bought both Eagle and Justrite and I prefer the Eagle brand. I bought the style with the plastic funnel and I like it over the Justrite.
Both brands require patients when filling they both have screens in the inlet.
FYI ALL Eagle tanks are all shipped from the factory so buy them wherever it is cheapest. And don’t expect them overnight.
 
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bobcatdan

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Good luck finding them anymore, but I love the lawn boy gas cans. I'm sure they were made by eagle or the likes.
 
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mobiledynamics

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Gotham City
All the carb ones are ****. I stockpiled a bunch of justrites. Its plastic but the pour on them is fantastic....the cover is controlled by pulling the latch on the handle as you hold it. Nice and fast pour too...
 
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twincam00

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pacsguy said:
I have that very same eagle can with flexible metal spout. I had the flexible spout break off from within the coil in the first season of use.
Click to expand...

Eagle also makes a plastic funnel version for people who don't like the flexible spout

pACE3-1742136enh-z7.jpg
 
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91bronc300

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Messages
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I'll just copy and paste this from wikipedia (I hope that's illegal)

Regulations
Current US regulations

As of January 10, 2009 all portable fuel containers are required to conform to two new regulations:[3]

They must meet new federal Mobile Source Air Toxic regulations, based on the California Air Resources Board’s regulations.[4]
They must meet the requirements of the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act.[5]

These new regulations do not apply to OSHA-approved metal safety containers, but rather to the common red plastic, portable gas cans. The regulations apply only to newly manufactured gasoline cans, and there is no requirement on the part of users to discard their existing cans or to upgrade, although the EPA provides informational resources for implementing community Gas Can Exchange Programs.[6]
Current European regulations

The transportation of dangerous goods (which includes liquid fuels) within Europe is governed by the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).[7] A jerrican is defined within Chapter 1.2 of the 2011 ADR as "a metal or plastics packaging of rectangular or polygonal cross-section with one or more orifices", a definition which includes the traditional jerrycan but which also covers a wide range of other packagings.

The ADR sets performance standards for packaging and specifies what standard of packaging is required for each type of dangerous good, including gasoline/petrol and diesel fuels. The traditional jerrycan is available in UN-marked approved versions which satisfy the requirements of the ADR.


So I guess the federal regulations just copied and pasted from the CARB book.
 
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bob15

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Northeasten, CT
I have the yellow funnel Eagle can. I have four 5 gallon cans and a one gallon for 2 stroke. No complaints.

E-bay can be cheap for them if you can wait and watch.

bob
 
V

volpster31

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SOUTH JERSEY
i bought a no spill can from a few suggestions on here..i think it works great and i couldnt see a better way to fill a tank without spills....
 
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NC-Fordguy

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Mar 10, 2012
Messages
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If you can find some of the older pre-garbage NATO cans go that route. Still can be found at some military surplus stores.

The gaskets for the "donkey ****" spout are hard to come by, but you can make then by cutting it out of a gasket sheet
 
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DMAR

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May 12, 2012
Messages
266
mfgorilla said:
I've lost count of the stupid nozzles with the shut-off valve in them. I found this one at the local power equipment dealer. It's a simple push-button valve and it seems to work. Made in the USA.

website:http://www.nospill.com/index.html
Available at Amazon
Click to expand...

I've had great luck with the "No-Spill" cans. They work great, and the push button nozzle really eliminates any spills/drips. Not the fastest in pouring fuel, but good cans. Any of the other new CARB gas cans that I've tried have sucked.

The best/fastest pouring cans I have are a couple of old metal NATO 20 liter cans. Got them at an army/navy store, and really like them. I use them with funnels, so no drips when I use them.
 
9

91FE

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Nov 20, 2008
Messages
460
Location
Harleysville, PA
rlitman said:
Yeah, that's a Type I. With the 5 gallon, you have to pour into a funnel, or else the can will be scraping the gas tank.
I have a few 1 gallon sized ones. You can pour directly from those, IF the cap is at the edge of the tank. It's not going to work on a motorcycle without a funnel.

The Type II cans have a cap used only for filling, and the main valve only pours through the tube.

The biggest mess I've made with those, is overfilling, because you need to stop BEFORE the tank is full, in order to account for the gas that is in the tube, and past the valve already. Whoops.

As for the CARB compliancy. ONLY plastic gas cans have to meet CARB. Metal cans have always been designed to retain a small amount of pressure and vent above that (3PSI, as opposed to 10PSI for CARB), but have not ever been required to meet the full CARB pressure requirements.
Click to expand...

Yea... I use it with a funnel to fill the 7 gallon tank on my zero turn. The mess comes from the "glug" if you try to go too fast. Fuel hits the pulled back lid and goes everywhere in a hurry.
 
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TreePointer

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Oct 25, 2011
Messages
396
Location
PA
+1 on No-Spill containers.

I haven't used a large capacity model, but I have the 1.25 gallon container with "view stripe" for my 2-cycle mixes, and it does a great job of dispensing without leaking. In my experience, all other plastic containers with fancy caps fall short.
 
O

Outlawmws

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Messages
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Location
The Badlands
91bronc300 said:
I'll just copy and paste this from wikipedia (I hope that's illegal)

Regulations
Current US regulations

As of January 10, 2009 all portable fuel containers are required to conform to two new regulations:[3]

They must meet new federal Mobile Source Air Toxic regulations, based on the California Air Resources Board’s regulations.[4]
They must meet the requirements of the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act.[5]

These new regulations do not apply to OSHA-approved metal safety containers, but rather to the common red plastic, portable gas cans. The regulations apply only to newly manufactured gasoline cans, and there is no requirement on the part of users to discard their existing cans or to upgrade, although the EPA provides informational resources for implementing community Gas Can Exchange Programs.[6]
Current European regulations

The transportation of dangerous goods (which includes liquid fuels) within Europe is governed by the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).[7] A jerrican is defined within Chapter 1.2 of the 2011 ADR as "a metal or plastics packaging of rectangular or polygonal cross-section with one or more orifices", a definition which includes the traditional jerrycan but which also covers a wide range of other packagings.

The ADR sets performance standards for packaging and specifies what standard of packaging is required for each type of dangerous good, including gasoline/petrol and diesel fuels. The traditional jerrycan is available in UN-marked approved versions which satisfy the requirements of the ADR.


So I guess the federal regulations just copied and pasted from the CARB book.
Click to expand...

Wow I thought it only sucked to be in CA for this junk.

In CA that killed the good old "Jeep" can, unless it was (re) designed for the "safety" filler (More ****...) as it is NOT an OSHA can as well as the std 1 gallon "gas" can that is line most any other paint thinner type can...

This even applied to the surplus stores here... (But I have my stockpile of MIL grade jeep cans, so screw 'em...)
 
OP
N

NY Old Guy

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NYC
After watching No Spill Jill's demo I ordered the No Spill item, thanks everyone for the responses. PS, Amazon has a good price on them.
 
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amolaver

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Mar 10, 2009
Messages
835
to me, the jazz (or VP as pictured above by cablebandit) 5gal plastic jugs and a funnel is the best way. i've got a couple big D-shaped-opening funnels that i use to fill tractor, generator, and race car, and they are zero drip. you put in the amount of gas you want, and can put the can down while waiting for the funnel to drain. you can then draw the funnel out with one hand and use a paper towel to put under the spout for any residual drips. i've never seen a can+hose type not drip a LITTLE.

ahm
 
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Mr. Tool

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Thanks everyone for posting and sharing your information, now time to go get a "good reliable gas can"!
 
S

Skin

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Feb 24, 2010
Messages
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Location
Boston
I know this is an old thread but my 2 cents

cgv69 said:
Unless you get lucky and find a NOS can someplace, any new gas can sold in America will have a CARB compliant nozzle. The carb compliant nozzles are POS's IMO (regardless of who makes them) and you can just about guarantee they will leak and they pour at a painfully slow rate.
Click to expand...

There are a few different styles and they're not all bad. The ones that have really turned people off the CARB compliant tanks are generally using these spouts or some variation

418TbW-IR1L._SL500_SS500_.jpg


The O-Rings inside can swell making them a pain to unlock and the worst feature is that they wont pour fuel until the nozzle is pressed in which is just a terrible idea and who ever invented it should be slapped. Look for the little tab on the nozzle somewhere which is suppose to hook onto the lip of a fuel tank and if it has it run away. May as well just unscrew the damn thing and pour from the tank itself which ironically will make you spill far more gas than you ever would have with a pre-CARB tank.

The Blitz tanks (RIP) were actually okay, especially if you broke or removed the locking tab. All you do is push the trigger down and pour and you'd also get a satisfying woosh of air letting you know the tank was sealed from moisture (water/ethanol-need I say more?). I wish they were still making them
 
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