FUEL CANS
- Thread starter buckwilk
- Start date
It is good and it’s actually really easy to use. Far better than siphoning gas the old way and getting a mouthful... haha
What I like about it is the fact that I can leave cans mounted wherever I’m carrying them and just siphon from them into the main tank. Easy peasy.
Code Red
Adventurist
I am a big fan of the super-siphon. It's so much better than juggling a 30-40 lb can as you try to get good flow into a filler neck at an inconvenient angle. I use mine with some Nato-style steel jerry cans. These are the only cans I have ever used that seal well enough to carry the can inside the passenger compartment with no smell whatsoever.
The other miraculous thing about the super-siphon is the hose. I don't know what wonder material it is made of, but it sheds the fuel almost instantly. A minute after you use it, the exterior of the hose is dry to the touch and doesn't stink of fuel.
The other miraculous thing about the super-siphon is the hose. I don't know what wonder material it is made of, but it sheds the fuel almost instantly. A minute after you use it, the exterior of the hose is dry to the touch and doesn't stink of fuel.
thanks for the super siphon tip!
if you seal a can well enough you can't smell it, wouldn't it be dangerous during temp changes? i mean, wouldn't you be pressurizing the gas inside as your car warms up? even if the lid seals completely, i'd think you could still smell gas from the vent
on a fuel can tangent.... i recently added 3 more steel jerry cans to my collection from a cheap online place. when they arrived, they had to my surprise, a steel rod welded from the mouth going down to the bottom of the can. at first, i assumed it was a feature designed to help control flow, but when i went to put diesel in the can, i found the rod prevented putting filling from the high speed trucker pumps. i had to drive around to the auto pumps and use the smaller nozzle, and even then it was a tight fit.
any clue what that rod is actually for?
if you seal a can well enough you can't smell it, wouldn't it be dangerous during temp changes? i mean, wouldn't you be pressurizing the gas inside as your car warms up? even if the lid seals completely, i'd think you could still smell gas from the vent
on a fuel can tangent.... i recently added 3 more steel jerry cans to my collection from a cheap online place. when they arrived, they had to my surprise, a steel rod welded from the mouth going down to the bottom of the can. at first, i assumed it was a feature designed to help control flow, but when i went to put diesel in the can, i found the rod prevented putting filling from the high speed trucker pumps. i had to drive around to the auto pumps and use the smaller nozzle, and even then it was a tight fit.
any clue what that rod is actually for?
Make sure you only fill the cans to the correct level to avoid damaging the seals when the fuel expands. NATO cans are rated for 20 liters and have a fill line on the outside of the can. Most issues with leaks are due to overfilling a can (assuming its a quality can in the first place). I usually fill mine while watching the gas pump meter and just put in 5 gallons. If you fill them to the top you're doing it wrong.
Road
Adventurist
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Exactly. As I wrote earlier in the thread, I believe that's the problem causing the bulk of failures with rotopax; overfilling, then storing in the sun.
Even the Scepter Marine jugs I pictured have a "5gal US" fill line and "Nom Cap 20L" line before the crease.
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Even then. Vent the containers with significant altitude and temperature changes.
Code Red
Adventurist
As Andy, Greg, and Road noted above, the correct fill level is key. We used the steel NATO cans in Dubai where the temp changes were pretty extreme. The fuel would go from a nice cool underground tank to hanging off the back of a Jeep for a day or two in 120+ degree temps. We never had a leak, but we definitely pressurized the cans. No vents on these, so no smell, but overfilling would result in fuel geysers when you opened the can. Even when filled properly, we tried to refuel early in the morning before the temps got up.
I mentioned carrying the can inside as an example of how well the can works, not as a recommendation. I've done it, but I would approach it with caution. It worked out pretty well in the desert for the folks that carried the sealed can inside their air-conditioned cab. As long as you clean any spills off the outside before you lash it down, you didn't smell anything, and you were a lot less likely to get a gasoline shower when you opened it. We were just dealing with expansion from heat on those trips, expansion from altitude would obviously give a different result. And it's always a question of how you balance the risks.
There are obvious safety concerns when carrying a fuel can inside, and there's no doubt that everything mechanical can fail. When a can does inevitably leak, I'd much rather it be strapped to the outside. Crashes and rollovers offer different considerations. I don't get a warm fuzzy from having the fuel can in the cab with me, but I like that idea a lot better than fuel spilling on the ground around me before I can exit the vehicle. The can is a lot better protected and less likely to leak lashed down in the cab than if it's the point of impact in a crash or under the truck in a rollover. But you pay your money and you take your chance. Fuel is nasty stuff, and there are advantages and disadvantages to any way you carry it.
The sweet spot for me, and first mod I made to my current truck, is a long range tank, but if I have to carry more, then it's steel cans, outside the vehicle (off the rear, avoid the roof if possible), and a super siphon.
LRA makes a 33 gal tank for the double cab tacoma. People have retrofitted it into the access cab. That's been on my mind for a while but there's the cost and downtime of custom fabrication to get it to fit on top of the regular costs and down time.
Code Red
Adventurist
The tiny bladder has stopped me from buying a Taco more than once.
Get it done. It's so worth it. And the sooner you do it, the longer you will get to enjoy it, i.e. the more value you get for that money.
As I grow older I have finally realized that life is better if I install modifications in the order of what I will use the most often. I will vary that a little bit for safety and recovery gear, but not much. I had the big gas tank and a 5-speed installed in my FJ62 before I had a hundred miles on it, because I use them every single time I drive the truck.
Get it done. It's so worth it. And the sooner you do it, the longer you will get to enjoy it, i.e. the more value you get for that money.
As I grow older I have finally realized that life is better if I install modifications in the order of what I will use the most often. I will vary that a little bit for safety and recovery gear, but not much. I had the big gas tank and a 5-speed installed in my FJ62 before I had a hundred miles on it, because I use them every single time I drive the truck.
Wise words!
kalieaire
Adventurist
I hate the scepter can spouts, they keep having cracking issues in my experience. The other issue is requiring the wrench to open/close the caps and also mount the spouts so they don't leak. That's just a really chintzy way of doing things. I exclusively use NATO Jerries. I also use the fast spout which empties it out in <60 seconds. As long as the seals are good, never had an issue.
The issue with “NATO Jerry cans”, and one of the reasons the US stopped using them, is that at some point the inner lining gives up and you get debris/rust etc in your fuel. The exterior also suffers from paint corrosion especially in a maritime environment. And they get dented if dropped hard.
Scepter has none of these issues.
YMMV
Scepter has none of these issues.
YMMV
verdesard0g
Adventurist
I like my surplus cans with aluminum lid inserts. Made my own donky d**k and I use a strap wrench to open them. I don't carry them higher than my filler so a siphon will not work for me. The long filler tube I made is easy to insert into the tank opening then I lift the cans and let the fuel flow. Even at 72 years old 5 gallons of diesel is not too difficult for me to wrangle. They were kinda of pricey but will probably be the last fuel cans I will ever need to buy (I do have a 1 gallon rotopax on my motorcycle) :
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Super siphon will work even if the two reservoirs are at the same altitude. Once the flow starts it's like a self licking ice cream cone. Same with my hot tub and a garden hose, water drains right out once it starts to flow.
Save your back
verdesard0g
Adventurist
I use a big pool vacuum hose to siphon my hot tub, empty's in about 15 minutes or less!
I’m with you on this. Nothing else comes even close.
But of course, the steel Jerry can apologists will disagree. To each his own, but the money saved on cheap NATO cans may end up biting you in the ass when your fuel pump sucks up a bunch of rust and paint debris.
Nein Danke