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robar_gw

Can't find a regular plain gas can!

robar
10 years ago

Is there a new "gas can law" in effect? Every store that I go into to buy a gas can.......every can (plastic) has a special nozzle that you have to twist either on or off for the gas to flow out of the can. It's very annoying and they look cheaply made.......easy to break. I just want a normal.....no frills gas can. Where can I buy one?

Comments (16)

  • txtom50
    10 years ago

    Its not a new law. Just your big government EPA hard at work saving the world.

  • rustyj14
    10 years ago

    Yep--the new gas cans were designed by some kid in third grade, who never used a gas can, or even knew what a gas can was. Seems that way. Maybe you can find a 5 gallon water can, and use that. A friend was selling out his lawn stuff, and gave me 2 red plastic gas cans. I keep them out of sight when possible. They have the screw on lids, and pour spouts. Old!
    The local "sells anything store" had had those cans sitting on their shelves since they first came out. Sold 2 cans in 2 years! Took a bunch back for refund.!
    Couple weeks ago, a friend asked me how his new can was supposed to work, as he couldn't get any gas out of it. I told him they were designed that way so he couldn't spill any gas on the ground, if nothing came out of the spout! That got me some strange looks! RJ

  • krnuttle
    10 years ago

    " I keep them out of sight when possible. They have the screw on lids, and pour spouts. Old"

    I thought existing cans were grandfather in the law,

    I have a 5 gallon screw top metal gas can that I regularly take to the gas station to fill. No body has ever said any thing.

  • txtom50
    10 years ago

    I think Rusty is afraid somebody might "borrow" his good cans.

  • baymee
    10 years ago

    A long time ago, I bought two 5 gal. Jerry jugs from WW II at a yard sale. I welded a female 1/2" fitting on the side at the bottom and screwed in 2 spigot valves and a garden hose. They sit on the shelf in the barn, above the tractor. Just open the spigot and fill up!.

    My other 5 gal. steel can had a steel cap with a rubber dispenser hose. The hose broke, so I welded a fitting to the cap and soldered in some 1/2" copper with a 45 degree angle and a garden hose brass cap to seal it. Been using that for years.

    If I see them at a yard sale, I pick them up.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    10 years ago

    I bought one in an emergency, at a small gas station, in the middle of nowhere. It was $15 for a 2 gallon peace of junk plastic can that took me 5 minutes or more to figure out!

    My brother and I were going to pick up a tractor with his recently purchased older Ford truck. The fuel Gage was wrong and we ran out of fuel 20' from the pumps! Uphill of course!

    Of course we didn't have a jug and the store owner claimed that all he had was the new and improved gas can with about one quarter of an inch of dust on it!

    I used it once after that "as is" for a light weight fill up for my tiller. Then I took out my hacksaw and made some modifications!

    A wine cork fit in the spout perfectly!

  • robertz6
    10 years ago

    What state are you in? California?

    I haven't seen any special nozzles on gas cans except for the fancy no-spill can I bought about ten years ago. This was a name brand (can't recall it, B&S?), about $16 for a 2 gal can.

    It sounded great, got some kind of a ball that blocks the gas from overflowing when the tank you are filling is full. Only problem is, when things sound too good to be true...

    When 1) the tank you are filling is rigid and won't flex and 2) when you can move it directly overhead --- it works fine.

    So when I fill my push mower but don't too hard it works fine. Shuts off when tank is full. But if you press too hard (filling tank against mower tank) gas goes everywhere.

    And on my shredder -- the handle blocks the fancy gas can from filling the shredder tank.

    So it works fine on one of my three pieces of equipment.

  • baymee
    10 years ago

    Back in the 50s when I grew up, my dad would send me to the gas station, about a half mile away, with a glass gallon milk jar on my bicycle.

    I already see people getting creative. Design something obnoxious and we're going back to plastic bottles again.

  • Kardar2
    10 years ago

    Go to tractor supply or Grainger.com they have metal safety cans. If you have a farm and ranch store go there.

  • rdaystrom
    10 years ago

    Who wants to spend $40 on a metal safety can? I would have to spend $200 just to have enough fuel. My point is the EPA is out of control and has cost us enormous amounts of money by forcing us to use these absurd gas cans and that stupid ethanol in the fuel.

  • txtom50
    10 years ago

    If you don't like the E10 fuel we have today, wait till the E15 gets here. The Lawn and Garden Tractor forum has a discussion going.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fuel concerns, E-10 and next, E-15

  • mvron
    10 years ago

    I found some ethanol free gas close to me using this web site. It's not always accurate however. I take my oil/gas can, my mower gas can - tie them on the back of my motorcycle. fill all three up periodically. It's a farm and country store.

    http://www.pure-gas.org/

  • robertz6
    10 years ago

    I agree with Texas Tom that the gas itself is probably going to be a increasing problem.

    I recently tried to find out a few simple facts at my local BP station. No stickers about ethanol on pumps. I just wanted to know what % of ethanol was in this gas for my lawn equipment. The employees didn't know, said go look at the website. Did not find any info at the BP website.

    But I did find some info -- the states set the reg not the federal government. Would be a lot easier if the feds set things up. So some states require a sticker on pumps at 1% ethanol, and others don't require posting at 10%!

    So my state, Missouri, does not require any stickers on pumps and the max ethanol is 10%. But the next week I found by chance the local paper had an article about this subject. Some folks in the state gov tried to get the 10% max increased to 15%. I wonder if they would require a sticker on the pumps for the 15%! Those proposing this said it for the benefit of the consumer.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    10 years ago

    There are a lot of places around here to get ethanol free gas. It averages 10 to 12 cents more per gallon.

    I think it is because there are a lot of farms around here. Most of them have off road diesel also.

  • tom_nwnj
    10 years ago

    I have a couple of these new "EPA compliant" gas containers. The spouts are useless. So I bought a large funnel at Tractor Supply. Even has a screen in it. So now I just take the spout off, and pour the gas into the funnel, and into the gas tank. Works great.

    These EPA people are idiots.

  • txtom50
    10 years ago

    I just bought some EZ Pour Spouts this weekend and fixed 3 of my old cans that had cracked spouts. The instructions say they work on majority of plastic cans manufactured before January 2009.