After the last storm, I reviewed my gasoline storage. To avoid buildup of dangerous gasoline fumes, I have been storing the cans OUTSIDE. I am still working on ways to keep the storage in the shade while still avoiding gasoline fume buildup.

I am using Scepter 5 gallon MFC jerry cans. In the event of a large scale power outage, no gasoline will be available for sale as gas stations need electricity to pump. My town is aware of the problem but has done absolutely nothing to make sure that gas stations can run off using portable generators.

One of the disadvantages of the military Specter MFC cans is that the spout is SEPARATE from the can. With most civilian cans, each can comes with its own spout. This raises a single point of failure, particularly since I have only one military spout. I am also at risk of simply losing the spout.

Due to California laws, good civilian gas cans are no longer available for sale. All cans are CARB compliant which means that the spout leaks, doesn't fill up gas tanks and are plain difficult to use.

Additional military spouts are not available for sale and I am unable to purchase sufficient numbers of Scepter MFC at a reasonable cost.

I purchased a civilian 5 gal Scepter gas can and found it difficult to figure out how to even USE the spout with several moving parts which are bound to fail. I replaced it with a similar spout which has no moving parts.

The upside is that the can now works. The downside is that it takes about 1min 48sec to empty a military Specter MFC can; it takes 4min 5sec to empty the civilian version. I did not experiment with the emptying time of the CARB compliant spout as it is likely to be even worse than the spout I tried (not to mention that I can't figure out the logistics of lifting a full 5 gallon gas can while manipulating the CARB compliant spout to work.) A huge advantage of the civilian Scepter cans is that I no longer have to rely on not loosing/breaking my single military spout.

The military can empties well even if you lift it upside down over the gas tank. Unfortunately, the civilian can can't be placed upside down without impairing its ability to fill a gas tank efficiently; horizontal placement is the best it can do.

Despite the limitations, will likely transition to the civilian Scepter gas cans and retire the military cans (keep them available, empty for emergencies only). I Will experiment with building a 12v fuel pump to see how it fares.

Conway Yee

(minor edit on bit about California by the Sheriff)