Gas Cans

[Pat'sPerfectLawnService]

hey i was wondering if there was anyway not to have my can almost blow up. like if i was going to from 1 house to another my can will ball up. what should i do:confused::confused:

[twotone]

I drill a very tiny hole (1/64") in the side of the breather cap or under the carry handle if it's a plastic can. If the can should turn over, the hole is so small it barely leaks before I spot it.

[Mikol87]

I keep the breather lid off and make sure my cans dont tip over. (bunjee cords work well) and make sure to keep them out of the rain.

[Pat'sPerfectLawnService]

I drill a very tiny hole (1/64") in the side of the breather cap or under the carry handle if it's a plastic can. If the can should turn over, the hole is so small it barely leaks before I spot it.

hey this is the can i use but mine is a 5 gal, so it dont have a breather hole in the back but i might drill the hole on it.

[White Gardens]

I've got a newer Blitz can with the shutoff to pour and release the handle and it stops. During the day the can wants to blow up on me also.

I think it's funny how the EPA wants sealed cans to help protect from spills and vapors entering the environment.

What I've found is that I spill more with these cans than I do with an older style. Once the pressure builds, I'll open the valve and one day it was full and shot an arch of gas and vapors about five feet accross a lawn.

I'm going to do like posted, I'm going to drill a hole in the can until makers of fuel cans get smart and put a check-valve in the cans to keep them from blowing.

One day next summer I'm going to let one expand and throw it in a burning brush pile for giggles. :laugh:

[DLAWNS]

I put a small hole in my cans right behind the handle on the top. It works well, just be sure like someone else said, bungee them down or secure them in some way.

[tamadrummer]

I feel the same way about it. With the blitz cans, you open them up and they shoot vapors everywhere. It totally defeats the idea of them not venting naturally.

It is also almost impossible not to spill when pouring.

[White Gardens]

One thing I was thinking of also, is that I feel these cans were built with the HO's in mind.

Example- Johnny Blow has power equipment he uses at home. So, he stores a gas can in not only an enclosed garage, but also attached to the house. And, the can stays in a cool area, never expands, and never releases vapors in said garage, attached to the house.

[tamadrummer]

I don't know if the EPA actually has anything in mind. They just act and react and knee jerk and never rescind any broken policy.

The best cans I have used are the Wedco cans. I have about 10 of them in the garage and if I see them I buy them. I don't care what size can they are on the lids and nozzles are all I care about.

I only carry 2.5 gal mix fuel cans with me so all I need are nozzles so I can keep those cans in service. I broke 2 of them at one time by dropping pieces if a tree on them. I almost cried.

[topsites]

I fill my equipment's tanks before I leave the house, no need to carry fuel containers around.

[White Gardens]

I fill my equipment's tanks before I leave the house, no need to carry fuel containers around.

:confused:;)

How many yards do you mow in a day? I'm always having to at least re-fuel something.

I can't believe for one second that you don't have a gas-can floating around your vehicle.

[tamadrummer]

I fill my equipment's tanks before I leave the house, no need to carry fuel containers around.

That would be great if I only did one yard a day. On a day like tomorrow, when I have 12 yards on the same road, I have to fill my edger, line trimmer and blowers several times. The blowers seem to run forever on these windy autum/winter days.

[rlitman]

Whoa, I can't believe I'm reading this.

Have you ever seen one of those cans actually explode. NO!

They're designed to withstand the pressure that gasoline vapors will reach, at pretty high temperatures, by venting at around 10PSI. With thicker shells than your old plastic cans, this is perfectly safe, and they WILL vent, before they explode.
If you get gas spraying out the top when you vent the can, then you've overfilled it. Maybe its time to consider buying the next larger size.

As for releasing the vapors when you open the can, think about it this way.
Yes, you release bubbles when you open the cap on a soda bottle, but you wouldn't enjoy your soda for very long if you drilled a hole in the cap.

Anyway, YES, these plastic cans are HO grade. If you really wanted a nice can, get a Justrite (or Eagle, or equivalent type II metal safety can). They've got a handy spout, trigger control, and a separate fill cap so you don't have to unscrew anything to fill (with a flame arrestor tube under the fill cap for additional safety), and can be had for about $75, but will last you a lifetime.
Lowes has a type 1 metal safety can (no separate fill opening, so it pours into an attached funnel) for $43 if money is too tight.

[White Gardens]

Whoa, I can't believe I'm reading this.

Have you ever seen one of those cans actually explode. NO!

They're designed to withstand the pressure that gasoline vapors will reach, at pretty high temperatures, by venting at around 10PSI. With thicker shells than your old plastic cans, this is perfectly safe, and they WILL vent, before they explode.
If you get gas spraying out the top when you vent the can, then you've overfilled it. Maybe its time to consider buying the next larger size.

As for releasing the vapors when you open the can, think about it this way.
Yes, you release bubbles when you open the cap on a soda bottle, but you wouldn't enjoy your soda for very long if you drilled a hole in the cap.

Anyway, YES, these plastic cans are HO grade. If you really wanted a nice can, get a Justrite (or Eagle, or equivalent type II metal safety can). They've got a handy spout, trigger control, and a separate fill cap so you don't have to unscrew anything to fill (with a flame arrestor tube under the fill cap for additional safety), and can be had for about $75, but will last you a lifetime.
Lowes has a type 1 metal safety can (no separate fill opening, so it pours into an attached funnel) for $43 if money is too tight.

Ya that's nice and all, but you would think that a simple plastic can would work better than that.

Especially when it gets all bloated and won't sit level because it becomes spherical. 10 psi my foot, I bet there is up to 15psi in a can sometimes and it never vents.

Yes, overfill it and it will shoot fuel. But a can should never do that. That's a massive safety issue. Say I barely overfill a can and push the valve next to a hot mower, that could spell disaster.

[rlitman]

Depending on your location, summer blend gasoline will have a vapor pressure of somewhere between 7.8 and 9 psi at 100F. 15PSI isn't really possible, because our atmosphere is only around 14.7PSI (at sea level), and vapor pressures above that will cause the liquid to boil.

Yeah, the bowing out of the bottom of the plastic cans sucks. That's one reason I only use the 1 gallon plastic cans, and have metal for larger volumes.

Anyway, its the vapor of gasoline that's so flammable, not the liquid. Spraying a little liquid out the nozzle onto a hot exhaust isn't much more dangerous than just venting the vapor in the same location. If you manage to flash that vapor, it can easily spread to inside the tank. Hopefully, it will consume the air inside before doing something awful, but if you have a tank with a vent . . .
On that note, my old tank with the yellow vent snap cap also held a bit of pressure (more like 5psi though), and venting that near an exhaust isn't any safer. Here, is where the metal safety cans excell. They have flash screens in the openings, so if the vapor was to ignite, the flame wouldn't be able to make it inside.

[sehitchman]

I've got several Blitz cans, if left in the sun they do get larger. If they are nearly empty is when they expand the most. I've had two cap's come up missing and one broken spout. I sent Blitz an email, requesting a way to purchase the replacements, a few days later the parts showed up No Charge! They sold me, what great customer service, and I always bungie my cans.

[Two Seasons]

We use metal, Eagle brand cans. Got them from Interstate Products out of Miami, FL.

No problems with these cans.

[newjerseylandscaping]

I had a can pop in my shed. It was an old can that i though we trew out but my old man saved it in the back shed and put gas in it. i hate this type the one you have to push the spout in to pur they make a mess ad you loose more gas than you use.

[TNGrassCutter]

Does exmarkuser realize he just called topsites a dumbass? The very same topsites who's been here for years with 19 some odd thousand posts. And he is only 16? This should get interesting, please, don't delete this. And yea gas cans used to be great until they made them more "efficient" and "user friendly". That is why I am about to buy a bigger tank to mount on my trailer.

[newjerseylandscaping]

im considering a gas caddy.

[georgiagrass]

I fill my equipment's tanks before I leave the house, no need to carry fuel containers around.

I believe you on the large mowers, but you can't be serious about the small equipment.

[newjerseylandscaping]

Any body use a caddY?