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Comment by zbrozek | Hacker News Reader

Now if only the portable fuel cans I'm able to buy were this good. Instead, they have nozzles that require a third hand to operate and they don't have breather tubes (by law these days, I think), so they make a mess every time. Filling my wood chipper's tank is frustrating.

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There are vendors of real, usable fuel cans. They're kind of expensive, but there's a nice feeling of usefulness everytime you use one.

From my perspective there's three options:

a) get an old, plastic can with a vent from the before times

b) buy an expensive NATO metal can, and the flexible spout 'for amusement purposes only'

c) lobby your government to allow gas cans that don't cause actual spills everytime in the pursuit of avoiding fume leakage or whatever.

you can also buy a hunsaker jug... they don't pack as nicely as jerrycans, but they're US legal, have a vent, and i can't recommend them enough. i use them for fueling a 24 hours of lemons race car, and they make my least favorite thing in the world relatively safe and drama free. they dump 5gal in ~20sec or so.

https://hunsakerusa.com/collections/5-gallon-quikfill-jugs

now, if you illegally modify one by adding a legit breather tube... you can dump 5g in ~10 sec or less. :)

How is the rate of evaporation from the old type? I lose gas through evaporation from the new type anyway so they don’t even appear to work. It would be awesome to fill a jerry can with non ethanol fuel if it would last for at least a few months.

I don't think they changed the plastic when they changed the shape, so I'd expect fuel vapor to permeate the old plastic cans too (or at least some of them). A metal can with a good seal doesn't let vapor out, so be careful with big temperature changes.

Ah that makes sense. I can definitely see the pressure buildup in the plastic type. If there is a risk of exploding metal jerry cans that would be quite a hazard.

> they don't have breather tubes

Just pour from the opposite side, e.g. https://youtu.be/LA7IbFzCNC4?t=51

That only works if there's no fill tube.

Yes, the newer EPA-approved cans are designed to ensure that you spill gas all over your hands and/or the ground when using them.

The regulation that made the old-style vented plastic gasoline cans illegal to produce is on my Mt Rushmore of well-intentioned, catastrophic failures.

The breather is under the plastic button or collar you depress while filling (with your third hand). The mechanism is easy to break.

They still come with breather tubes...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Scepter-USA-5-Gallon-Plastic-Gasoli...

This works great for filling my tractor, though I have the diesel variant

Check out Wavian. When looking around I read that they are the 'official' jerry can. I think the one consumers can get might be different if anyone knows that?

It is very sturdy feeling. Literally got last week so tbd on long term use I'm optimistic.

Though I had a problem trying to fill the two up at gas station. I'm going to try again I think it was just the pump or card was acting up since it also wouldn't flow into my car.

I believe you can buy old style nozzle kits to add to new gas cans to restore them to their former glory.

You can still get good quality fuel cans. Just don't complain about the price.

wavianusa.com

Sold out like everything these days.

Surely the nozzle has a breather tube? At least the one that I screw on to the plastic petrol can I use to fill my lawnmower does. I'm not in the US though; it's probably Norwegian but possibly British, can't remember where I bought it.

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