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)

Good post and welcome to the forum. The CARB compliant gas can/spouts are horrid. My solution to transferring gas from the can to my truck is to use a hand pump siphoning thingy I picked up at Northern Tools or Harbor Freight. It's not any faster but it's a lot less frustrating.

-Blast

Welcome Conway!

That 12v fuel pump... wouldn't that still produce enough of a spark to set off gasoline fumes?

Just wondering... If you find a safe way to do it, be sure to post!

Sue

I have some of the euro military cans and I use one of the Harbor Frieght shaker syphons. Works well, empties 5 gallons quickly and is cheap enough to have several spares.

Have also used one of these,

http://www.flofast.com/products.html

A little pricey but works well. And gives you the ability to pump into or out of your fuel container depending on the direction that you turn the handle. Makes it easy to drain the fuel tank on a generator to keep fresh fuel in it.

And welcome to the forum.

How about a large improvised funnel,custom made to fit your vehicle,possibly use a 1 gal plastic gas can with the bottom cut out.I think it would provide enough depth/width to contain the splashing that would occur,though I doubt it could be even slightly safe as per the fumes that would roll up into the face,allright back to the drawing board.Welcome to ETS-Conway!

if you are talking about refueling a generator tank, a 7' piece of 3/8" fuel line, and a squeeze bulb (will have a one way check valve) to prime the siphon line... attach to a double ended barb fitting with a short section of 1/4" or whatever your fuel inlet hose on the generator is...if you remove the barb, you have a 3/8" siphon rig to transfer fuel... not exceptionally fast, but doesn't spark

welcome....

Jeggs sells some CARB-compliant spouts that actually work. Take a look at this page: http://bit.ly/sCxC4I

They also sell non-CARB spouts on the bottom of this page: http://bit.ly/vLgR8g.

12 volt electric fuel pumps are common. Carter makes a good high-volume one for about $90, but it's still going to be slow compared to pouring. Maybe a gallon a minute or so.

I just use a regular siphon hose with a squeeze bulb. Some are cheap and crappy. I got one at Walmart, this one, I think: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pennzoil-Siphon-Pump/16795103, and it works great. It was about $10.

David

my best cans to date have been the old civilian non-CARB 5 gal Scepter gas can.

even though they're still made in canada, and the maker says they are sold in the USA, i can't find them anywhere of course.

new ones look like this:


none of the newer CARB cans & spouts that i've tried are worth using, so when i have to transfer fuel from a modern can, i just use a large flex-neck funnel that has a big bowl and wire it to the top of the pick-up bed to hold it in place while i pour without any spout on the can. (and being a pick-up, i simply stand in the bed and lean over the side to pour. way easier than standing on the ground, trying to hold the can at chest level!)

in the past i have used the siphon systems (shaker or bulb-&-valve), but damn, they're incredibly slow.

fyi - i did find some older flexible "w/ breather-tube" spouts to replace broken spouts on my Scepter cans. and they work almost as fast as the plain-old hard-tube type that came with each can. but due to changes in dimensions (due to CARB regs???), they don't fit newer cans of any make.

Hmm, the non-CARB spout I have on my Blitz containers fit the newer containers that came with CARB spouts. Thank goodness, because those Jeggs containers are pricey.