My gas container, a one-gallon "leakproof" item made by Midwest Can Co., died on me today. I've had it only for a few months, and I used it to keep an extra gallon of gas in the car. Recent I noticed that it leaked. I checked, and it seemed the gasket was crooked. I fixed that, and I thought that was that.

No such luck. Today I noticed a stranded motorist. I stopped to help, and it turned out that he ran out of gas. So I offered him some of my gas, and he gladly accepted. In the process of pouring gas into his tank, my container fell apart. I mean, the whole thing came apart!!! A piece almost fell into his tank if it weren't caught by the "valve" at the entrance of the tank. We had to fish it out.

I've had it with this container! It's hard to refill because it's hard to open. When you actually need to pour gas out, you have to pinch the cap so hard that your thumb hurts. Then you can never angle it so that all the gas comes out. And within a few months the thing started leaking, and apparently it just died. Here it is, with most of the pieces I salvaged on the side of the road:



How did it die? It seems that there is a crucial piece in the spout that is fitted with a spring on one end and a gasket on the other end. I am guessing that it got twisted from overuse (overuse being a few times), and it took on a shape that would not allow it to perform its duty:



No more Midwest Can stuff for me!

So, what do you guys recommend? It seems that people like Eagle Type II and Justrite Type II containers. I guess I should get fuel stabilizer, too. (STA-BIL works with car engines, right?) Links for the containers below for the curious:

I wouldn't carry a gas can around in my car unless it was metal. Those two both look good to me.

STA-BIL works fine with car engines; just a week ago I pumped out the gas tank on my generator, poured all the old gas into the car and refilled with fresh. Car runs fine. Don't use STA-BIL from a bottle that's been open longer than two years, and use the gas within twelve months.

I am not a fan of carrying around gas in one's car in this way. The gas in your car's gas tank is about as well protected as it can be during from collision damage. Any gas can kept in a trunk will get squashed in a collision and leak causing an extreme fire hazard at a very inopportune moment.

None of the currently available gas cans (at least in the US) are worth a hill of beans IMO. Some lunatic US federal government agency enacted idiotic regulations about gas cans that are all but impossible to accomplish with a gas can that will actually work well, so basically all gas cans currently sold in the US are all but useless.

We have one of those exact gas cans. Total trash. I would not even recomnend that piece of junk even to my worst enemy.

I wouldn't carry a gas container around inside of my car for anything other than going to the store to refill it, and even then.. I don't like the idea.

If your involved in a roll over accident or anything that causes that can to leak and your setting yourself up for immolation IMHO. That's pretty much in list of top five ways I don't want to check out of life, if you know what I mean.

Also, getting that gas smell out of your car is almost impossible...

Explosion resistant Steel Jerrycan.

http://www.jerrycans.co.uk/explo-safe-jerrycan-30-c.asp

I didn't think of the potential problem that the gas container could cause in an accident. I've carried this crappy plastic container for a few months now, with gas in it. (My fuel gauge doesn't always give the correct reading, so I got stranded once. My response was to carry a container with me.)

Now it seems perhaps the best thing is to refuel according to miles traveled, erring on the side of caution. And if I run out of gas, I guess I'll just call roadside service.

I can't find the explosion resistant jerrycans in the US. Maybe it's not sold here.

Yeah... not into routinely carrying spare gas. I fill it up, drive it to a half tank and fill it again. Gives me plenty of room for fuel gauge error.

The Jerrycan has some interesting history, a design that has rarely been bettered and much copied. Useful for a 'Blitzkrieg' Bug out Vehicles or BBOV.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerrycan

For example putting 5 20Litre Jerrycans of Diesel into the back of a modern Citroen DS3 Diesel @ 60+ mpg (US) combined would give around an extra 1500-1600 miles range.

Looking at some of the Storm Sandy photos of folks standing in line, it doesn't look like the Jerrycan isn't particularly popular/available in the USA.

Thanks for the wikireference. The history of the jerrycan is a hoot.....