Best fuel cans

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I've considered buying old ones, bead blasting them inside and out and powdercoating them. Inside and out. Got the blasting setup, but never done any powder coating.
The cans I show above were pristine inside, unused. The outside was a bit dirty and had a couple rust spots from storage and paint damage during transport. I wire brushed them and painted them, but would have been completely comfortable just filling them with gas and storing them as received, for a couple years no problem.

I use ethanol free fuel with a double dose of Stabil. Ethanol fuel, all bets are off.

If you haven't seen it yet, this short documentary is worth a watch:

 
Yeah I've read about the history though not that video in particular.

I found an aluminum USSR jerry can for 15 euros, gonna buy it. That needs no coating.
 
I'm on a computer now instead of my phone, and seeing that you're in Finland. I took CA to mean California or maybe Canada. Being on that side of the pond changes the shipping charges significantly!

For 15 Euros, I'd even consider giving it a shot, even with overseas shipping. Have a link? Or is it a one-off local sale type of thing?
 
I like to keep the 5 quart plastic bottles that motor oil companies use to sell their
automotive engine oils in. I have about seven or eight currently and they are mostly
Mobil 1 brand and a couple Castrol. I think these bottles are reasonably thick and tough for the intended purpose but not as thick as the plastic used in the commercial
plastic gas cans. These auto oil plastic bottles are designed to be easy to pour from
using the molded in handles. I also have 2 or 3 well designed funnels that I use
to prevent spillage as opposed to the filler spout on a gas tank.
 
I've been reading on other places that steel jerry cans are not recommended for long term storage (more than 2 weeks or so).

Apparently it is so that the steel reacts with gasoline (and even more with diesel) and this worsens the quality of fuel until it's not usable.

Some are painted on the inside too, but the paint can flake off when storing fuel for long times. I read several say they moved to plastic after ruining fuel by storing it for months in in jerry cans from steel.

Supposedly aluminum cans are OK though. And it's only an issue in smaller containers like 20 liters and smaller, because of volume to surface area. Which is why big steel fuel tanks are OK. Like what you get on farms and such.

Anyone care to comment on this? I would prefer to use metal containers over plastic ones, all I got at the moment are plastic ones, the small 5L one is OK, the 10L one is not, the spout leaks and it expanded like a baloon even though it stood in shade.
The gas we buy at 87, has a shelf life of 30 days....and than its looking for a tractor, or old truck. Buying 5 gals. of fuel, would suggest it is required, so the container it swishes around in, for a month or less.....can't truly be much of a concern. We store diesel, and stove oil in WW 2 Jerry Cans, here on the Farm. The fuel gets used up in short order, constantly-filled, and the cans are older than me. Everything gets poured thru a screened funnel, and the bottom of the can gets a coffee filter as well. The last pint goes in the parts cleaner......
 
I collect camp stoves and lanterns, kinda half heartedly. Top shelf, out of frame of the pic, has Trufuel for my saws, and yellow bottle HEET for my Trangia alcohol burners.
Hi,
I'm looking for the burner top, with round flame spreader, for my old Svea mountaineering stove. The brass one we all had in the sixties/seventies.
God bless,
Mike Rock
 
For 15 Euros, I'd even consider giving it a shot, even with overseas shipping. Have a link? Or is it a one-off local sale type of thing?

It's like our equivalent to craigslist so it's just a private seller trying to get rid of his personal stuff, here's a photo though:

Iicpe1k.jpg


And another one I found of a different brand:
tRXYyFf.jpg


The first one is more interesting, has a proper cap. Just hope the seller wants to ship. Sometimes you get people who just don't wanna ship even hough they can't sell it because all the interested people are too far away.
 
First one is purchased, 25€ with shipping.

I found three more and I think the seller will sell them all for 45€ to me
wpIvOAq.png


That really covers more than my needs. But why not. Really don't think I need the one with the screw lid now.
 
I'm going to bite the bullet and switch over to metal cans. Just Rite and Eagle are the two I have looked at so far. What has stopped me is I can't get a hose in them without mods. I'm building a 6 GPM electric transfer pump for removing fuel for the winter but also nice to fill tanks. A full 5 gallon can is starting to get heavy for me, not to mention the spills from the ridiculous EPA containers.
 
I've considered buying old ones, bead blasting them inside and out and powdercoating them. Inside and out. Got the blasting setup, but never done any powder coating.
I've used the RedKote stuff to coat the inside of metal boat fuel cans, and if you follow the instructions exactly, it works well. I would be concerned about powder coating breaking down or flaking off on the inside...

1062110-red-kote-the-only-real-fuel-tank-liner-sealer-1_1.jpg
 
I've used the RedKote stuff to coat the inside of metal boat fuel cans, and if you follow the instructions exactly, it works well. I would be concerned about powder coating breaking down or flaking off on the inside...

1062110-red-kote-the-only-real-fuel-tank-liner-sealer-1_1.jpg
What does they typical application involve?
 
What does they typical application involve?
Check the instructions, but briefly: Get some chain or gravel or whatever and put it into the gas tank with hot water/soap/degreaser, shake it around for as long as you can stand it to remove rust, scale, etc, then rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse
etc
Then rinse with acetone to dissolve and remove the water
Then rinse with more acetone to dissolve and remove the acetone-water solution
Then rinse with more acetone to dissolve the acetone-acetone-water solution
etc
Then dry and dry and dry some moar (Like any paint job, 95% of the work, and 95% of getting a good outcome, is in good surface prep.)
Then coat (not too thick!)
Then let dry upside down so that the excess drains out
 
Back
Top