Gas cans - really

[dragoneggs]

I cannot believe that people are saying that plastic fuel containers are great, I'm 50 years old and I'm sick of everything being made out of plastic, it cracks, leaks, breaks, expands. Can people honestly say that plastic is good, every consumer product that is made out of plastic fails, and we the consumer keep getting ripped off. I can't tell you how many household items I throw in the trash every year that's made out of plastic that fails. These Just rite containers work perfect, I just filled up three today, and had them in back of my jeep and they did not leak one drop and I could not smell any fumes, and they pour perfect and you can control the flow. So please, enough with the plastic is great stories, I'm not buying it.

Huh? The present and future is plastic. And they have certain properties where metal just can't compete. A good portion of high tech products like new aircraft are made with a significant amount of plastics. It is all about performance, economy, and purpose.

 

[jcummins]

The diesel tank on my tractor is plastic. Bet the tanks on my truck and car are plastic too. I'm 74 years old and I have several plastic cans that are quite old and I've never had an crack.

 

[PILOON]

All sorts of regulations were enacted to limit fuel consumption in vehicles.

As we know plastics are derived from petroleum and I would like to know the % of the barrels go that route vs fuels.
The land fills and the oceans are loaded with all sorts of plastics which don't biodegrade but only vehicles are targeted for pollution and consumption.

I venture to suggest that plastics are by far more polluting than fuels.

Besides in many situations there are alternatives to many plastic items with paper, cardboard and glass being examples.
Trees do grow, plastic does not. Aluminum and tin can be recycled.

Could it be that we need to re-think some regulations?

 

[ArlyA]

Your tank is most likely made from HDPE which is a favorite materiel for me to work with. I have sheets that the wonderful material here. If its UV stabilized, then it will last for many, many years. Here is a good description of HDPE. High-density polyethylene - Wikipedia

The problem we have with it as a potable fuel tank (ak can) is the plastic has a low melt point, so its not class II. On a personal use, the flexible spout that most plastic cans have, just don't last. Class II steel cans have good seals as well and that includes its vent. The ones we use have a steel flexible spout on them. We also use the diesel rated ones for that type of fuel.

 

[scdeerslayer]

As we know plastics are derived from petroleum and I would like to know the % of the barrels go that route vs fuels.

I don't think it works quite like that. I'm pretty sure what gets turned in to plastics is a by-product of producing the fuels. That's one of the reasons I often wonder what would happen if we were to stop using crude for fuel like so many want. Then there would be no by-product for plastic, and plastic is in nearly everything we touch everyday. Another example of not fully thinking through the consequences.

 

[Creamer]

Most plastics are made from Natural gas as it is a lower cost source for the carbon based molecules. I have been to ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge HDPE plant which is located there because it is on the large coastal gas pipeline that supplies many chemical plants along the coast. At this plant they crack the various natural gas molecules to create the base molecules they need and then react those molecules to create the HDPE. It is about 160 acres of pipes and tanks where all this activity goes on. Not a lot to see as it is all done inside steel vessels but it is obvious what is happening when you see the flow of plastic pellets filling the rail cars at the end.

Therefore the plastic is not a by-product of the refining but a core use for the natural gas.

 

[Dadnatron]

Your tank is most likely made from HDPE which is a favorite materiel for me to work with. I have sheets that the wonderful material here.

What do you use it for and how is it used?

I've often wondered if there are things I can make, but just don't have the skill and knowledge to make them because I don't know they exist.

 

[Creamer]

HDPE is very easy to reheat and form as well as hot plate weld. You can cut it with a knife, sawzall, or router. Your imagination is your only limitation.

I cut a plastic fuel tank and put under the leading edge of logs I am skidding to keep them from digging. it has nice rounded edges and it is very tough and slippery and takes a lot of abuse.

 

[orangeandgreen]

I really like the "race" jugs.
JEGS Performance Products 8211: Square 5-Gallon Jug Red | JEGS

 

[ArlyA]

Are we getting away from fuel cans here??? I work in the snow industry and use it to make "shoes" or in general cover steel which snow passes under..

It cuts well with a sharp carbide wood blade as long as you feed it slowly. And since it has much higher expansion-contraction rates, one must attach is differently to allow this movement. I'll attach a couple of photos which shows plastic being used.. These machines do not ride on steel at all but only on HPDE plastic. I'll attach a few photos, some of the machine at work.

What do you use it for and how is it used?

I've often wondered if there are things I can make, but just don't have the skill and knowledge to make them because I don't know they exist.

 

[denmis]

All I can say is that I have several "new" plastic gas/diesel cans and I have never spilled as much fuel with an old fashioned kind than I have with the new "spill-proof" styles. I retrofitted them with the EZ Pour spouts, and have not spilled a drop since. Plus I can fill my tractor ten times faster with the vent.

 

[tcreeley]

I've noticed that the tank on my cub cadet snow blower (chinese engine I think) is made of metal. The same for my son's older snow blower and also on my cub cadet walk behind tiller. I figure things are cheaper in China- so they used steel again. They are rugged solid gas tanks- not the sheet tin that we used to have on our small engines a few years back.
I grew up on a farm and I hand pumped a lot of 5 gallon gas cans. Then they had 3 different screw spouts, one on the other and you controlled the flow by the one you removed. We also used big steel funnels.

I must have 5 plastic gas cans and 1 diesel can that I don't have spouts for because they broke. I have one gas can that just has half the spout broken off (on my second spout) and I seal it from dirt with a paper napkin shoved in the top of the spout. Plastic cans tip easily in the truck and I am always careful to wedge them so they can't. The old metal cans were rock solid- stayed put.

I bought a just rite yellow can for diesel. It arrived today. It will be a couple of weeks before I need to run up and buy some diesel- but filling the tractor won't be about balancing the spout on the edge of the tractor fuel lip and pushing down gently to release the diesel as it flows slowly. The whole time I'm thinking it's going to slip.

Plastic is nice- maybe I'll start filling them with drain oil!

I bought this The diesel goes straight into the tractor after I buy it. It doesn't hang around in the tank. -

 

[jcummins]

I don't use gas cans much, just for gas trimmer, chain saw....got diesel in 55 gal drum with pump.......but the earlier video someone posted here of the no spill version is impressive. I think the regulatory powers to be went thru several failures with their mandates on fuel containers....but maybe they have just found the answer. IF...I had to buy one now it would be that one. No Spill Gas Can - YouTube

 

[Creamer]

I grew up on a farm and I hand pumped a lot of 5 gallon gas cans. Then they had 3 different screw spouts, one on the other and you controlled the flow by the one you removed. We also used big steel funnels.

What farmer hand pumps five gallon cans? You pick it up and pour it. Our gas cans growing up on the farm were 5 gallon and said "Champlain Oil" on the side.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't use gas cans much, just for gas trimmer, chain saw....got diesel in 55 gal drum with pump.......but the earlier video someone posted here of the no spill version is impressive. I think the regulatory powers to be went thru several failures with their mandates on fuel containers....but maybe they have just found the answer. IF...I had to buy one now it would be that one. No Spill Gas Can - YouTube

Did you read the comment on that video?

"Now... How about telling folks WHERE you can purchase them?"

:mur:

:laughing:

 

[Midniteoyl]

The No-spill cans can do that.
I replaced all my gas cans with the No-spill cans. By far the nicest working cans I have used. (available for diesel also)
Pour fast, slow or instantly stop with the button.
No-Spill Gas Can - For Life Out Here

No Spill Jill I watched that three times and still didnt see how the tank worked..

 

[buckeyefarmer]

No Spill Jill I watched that three times and still didnt see how the tank worked..

Lol, what tank.

 

[ericm979]

I think the regulatory powers to be went thru several failures with their mandates on fuel containers....but maybe they have just found the answer. IF...I had to buy one now it would be that one.

The regulators don't design the gas cans they just write requirements. It's up to the gas can manufacturers to make a design that meets them. Like how every tractor manufacturer has their own solution to meeting Tier 4 and some work better than others. No-spill seems to have done a good job of it. I got one of their gas cans recently and it works better than my old motorsports cans or my old plastic diesel cans. It's easier to pour, easier to control the flow rate, and spills much less. I've since bought a new No-spill diesel can and another one of their gas cans for the generator (power's been out a lot this winter).

Mossroad- they're available on Amazon, at Ace hardwares, and at TSC.

Midniteoyl- there's a button on the head, opposite the spout. It's protected by a couple pieces of plastic so it's less likely to get pushed in by accident while transporting the can. It doesn't take much force to push it in, and it's positioned so you can operate it with your thumb while holding onto the head with your fingers.

Not shilling for No-spill, I'm just pleased to find something that works well.

 

[EddieWalker]

The vent caps on my 5 gallon fuel can keep disappearing. I've been putting screws in the hole to keep the fuel from sloshing out too much getting it home, but it's been a failure for far too long. Somebody provided a link to replacement vent caps at Amazon that looked just like what I had, so I bought a pack of them. It turns out that the new, replacement vent caps are just a little smaller then the original ones on the cans, and they fall out. I had some purple primer and clear pvc cement on my shelf, so I gave that a try. It worked great!!!!!! Now I'm happy with my diesel and gas cans again.

 

[Dadnatron]

IF...I had to buy one now it would be that one. No Spill Gas Can - YouTube

That is the can I use for my Stihl Kombi (string trimmer et al). It works great for small tanks. But there is no way in **** I would use it to fill a tractor.