With the uncertainty about just how severe the Wuhan Flu would be last year, I laid in a bit more gasoline than normal. As it turns out, so far, gas was’t a problem in my region. So…time to rotate….half a tank of stored gas (vintage June 2020), half a tank of fresh gas, and we’re good to go. The stored gas gets replaced with fresh gas and a dose of PRI-G (which I recommend highly) and gets tucked away for the upcoming apocalypse.
As an aside, there are some folks who say that fuel treatments like Stabil and PRI-G are snake oil and that your fuel, if stored in a sealed metal can with no air in it, will store just fine. Perhaps. But for just a few pennies I don’t feel taken advantage of by using a fuel stabilizer that may-or-may-not make a difference. Five AM on the side of a highway during a rainstorm is no time to discover that the spare gas in the back of the truck is bad and you ain’t goin’ anywhere. I have used gas that was as old as six years with no ill effects. Maybe it’s snake oil, but it’s not worth the headache for me to find out empirically.
Also, as I’ve mentioned repeatedly, for storage where having good fuel means the difference between a disaster and an inconvenience, always go for the ‘Euro/NATO’-style cans. The real ones. Not the Chinese crap. They are wildly expensive but when you need gas to get you and your family to safety it’s gonna be cheap, cheap, cheap.
Don’t cheap out and get plastic gas cans. Don’t cheap out and get bargain “NATO-style’ cans made in China. Don’t cheap out and get metal Blitz cans. Spend $75-90 per can and get the real deal. Here’s why:
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I know that a lot of people use the Scepter cans, or they’ll swear theyve never had a problem with the Blitz cans. You do you, I’ll do me. For me, I won’t store gas in anything other than one of the high-end NATO-style of cans. I want to avoid as much risk as possible and if that means paying $85 for a freaking gas can….I’m cool with that. Why? Because if its something that my safety, security, well-being, and maybe even my life is going to depend on…why would you try to cut corners? I don’t buy discount parachutes, I don’t buy plastic gas cans.
Wedco Jerry cans and Stabil have never let me down. Jerry cans will take a beating, but don’t forget the details. Keep plenty of gaskets for the lids and spouts on hand (they dry out pretty quick if you have ethanol gas). I’ve had a few that leaked, even though they looked good. Plain old Vaseline works really good on the moving parts.
Also worth noting – take time to practice fueling a vehicle, lawn mower, chainsaw, etc. from a 5 gallon Jerry can. You’ll find that a funnel, rubber gloves (for grip), and some absorbent rags will come in handy. It also takes longer than you might think. My record setting time for 5 gallons to truck was just about 4 minutes.
“I don’t buy discount parachutes, I don’t buy plastic gas cans.”
Makes sense to me…
Could you please post a couple links ?
Hope this helps: CZ is right they are good gas cans just pricey.
https://wavianusa.com/
https://swisslink.com/collections/jerry-cans currently $69 a can
https://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html sells Valpro.
Relaying real world experience/experiment. 55 gallon drum kept inside barn to moderate temperature swings, premium no ethanol gas stored with recommended stabil amount, filled to capacity, sealed with original plugs for 6+ years. Recently used in farm vehicles & equipment (atv, jeep, chainsaw) with no problems whatsoever.
The primary reason gas deteriorates is evaporation of the light end portion of the mixture. Sealing it prevents this. Second way is breakdown of some components, stabil helps prevent this. Actually just slows it down.
YMMV.
Solid info mr. CZ. Good points also added by mark c. Thanxs for inputs by readers as always. I had gotten my cans from deutsche optik in yerirngton, nevada. A privateer catalog company that has accessories and package deals, worth a look, and he is not a big faceless corporation, so supporting small business as well. It seems to play out on the t.v. news imagery every time that Bubbas are lined up at what may be an only functioning gas station with dinky assed red plastic cans trying to get petrol for generators, chainsaws, and the fat wife’s suv, looking as pathetic as a church food line in sub sahara africa. Don’t be that dork.
Keep prepping
I have been using Pri-G for at least 10 years. I use NATO metal gas cans, stored outside in a shed that is in no way temperature controlled. I rotate the gas religiously every 6-7 months even though it says it is good for a year not because I think it might go bad before then but who wants gas 11.5 months old when disaster hit, I like a buffer. I have never had an issue with the gas running in anything I have put it in, I trust this stuff because it has proven to work.
Wow. I had no idea somebody, somewhere, torture tested gas cans.
That was a pretty neat video.
Take it with a grain of salt….theyre probably not gonna show their product failing miserably.
Are we talking about the metal Blitz cans that slogged from Guadalcanal to Normandy and Iwo Jima, then through Korea, Vietnam, and Grenada, before some damned hippie decided they punked Mother Gaia?
Or some modern-day, cost-trimmed, cheap-assed chinesium knock off?
From what Ive read, those cans were never good to begin with: https://hiconsumption.com/the-complete-history-of-the-jerry-can/
I think I made it pretty clear I was definitely not saying anything positive about the Chinese cans. The history seems to suggest that the traditional WW2 US Blitz cans were flawed in a bunch of ways and that bureaucratic inertia and ‘not made here’ prevented the US from admitting there were better options. My own empirical experiences show that the Blitz cans are inferior.
This is why captured true german “jerry cans” were highly valued . Could be used for fuel(smooth pour due to internal vent),then a special coating allowed a quick rinse and use for potable water. If you have ever been subject to contaminated water you can appreciate this special feature.
The other reason to store fuel is inflation- price is up 50% and futures are climbing ($66bbl at last check). Using fuel at lower price allows “buy the dip”.
Thanks, I’ll look into that.
I have 8 of the Blitz cans, which doubles the range on Big Truck (which puts anything in an arc from Tacoma to Amarillo within one way range from SoCal with a full tank), incl. 2 absolute mil-surps. Haven’t experienced any problems at this latitude with any of them, and I rotate through the collection’s stored contents roughly annually.
But I may just go with a couple of the 15-gal “fuel stations”, or an actual DOT auxiliary tank, eventually.
I bought a couple of the Wavian cans, because
a) they were the only metal cans I could still find, and
b) local surplus store had 2- and 1-gallon cans, which are a lot handier than 5-gal cans, should one need to hike to and from a gas station after running out of gas.
I am needing to find a gas storage solution and the timing of this article was perfect. (I actually hit your site to search for previous jerry can articles.)
But I don’t know where to store the cans themselves. Are they safe in a garage (attached with doorway into dwelling)? I don’t have any detached sheds or buildings to use and worry about fire risk.
You park your car in that attached garage, right? And that car contains, what?, 15-20 gallons of flammable gasoline wrapped up in an electrical harness wired to a battery? If you feel safe keeping that in your garage I can’t imagine three or four gas cans along the outside wall would be any less safe.
That makes a lot of sense. My lizard brain sees a gas can and thinks “bomb”. Hard to shake, but your logic works for me.
Ever played-lit match into a can of gas? Gasoline needs to vaporize or atomized into stochimetric(14:1) air to burn. This is how carburetors work.
The full-to-the-brim gas can isn’t the problem.
The one with half an inch of gas in the bottom is the problem.
No worries stored in my garage, connected to house and in 100+ degree lost vegas summer heat. They are well gasketed sealed cans with the lever clamp. Leave a bit of head room space when filling up, a few inches below the spout anyway. Garages should have floor vents (I have 2, 1976 era construction) in the walls for such vapor mitigation. I have a humming along gas clothes drier and hot water heater in there as well with no kaboom after 28 years. You should be smelling vapors if an issue otherwise. Those new sealed enviromental spouted versions of red plastic cans swell up like footballs on mild warm days. Silly epa mandates on products. My 2 cents this time, cheers.
What about Eagle gas cans?
I have stored ethanol-free gas in mine for several years (5) (forgotten can, back of shed)
Worked fine. They seem to have a tight seal. Also, sometimes. they can be had for $39.99 on an internet sale.
Good cans. I have 3 five gallons. Seal up tight. Not as slim for packing into a vehicle, but for home storage they are great.
What’s your mix ratio with Pri-G?
I’ve always done 1oz. to 5 gallons. Thoughts?
I do what the label says…says one ‘capful’ for every 15 gallons or something like that. So I use about 1/3-1/2 in each.
Heat is an enemy to gasoline storage. First it causes the lighter constituents with high vapor pressures to evaporate off. A steel gas can with a cap that can hold the pressure will keep them in solution much like a soda bottle keeps the CO2 in solution. The vapor pressure is what causes those plastic containers to bulge – much of those lighter elements are then lost permanently. Longer term, it will begin to breakdown forming a varnish the forms a jelly-like substance that can clog small passageways in the carburetor. Your best bet is to build an underground storage area in the shade with an insulated lid for the summertime, unless your garage is cooler than outside in the shade. Buy your gasoline for storage in the winter. Gasoline produced in the winter has a significant amount more butane dissolved in it to facilitate starting in cold weather. It is the butane that evaporates first in hot weather, but because it’s vapor pressure is so high, not much is needed in summer gas. In an emergency and all you can find is very old gas, strain it twice – first with cloth as the filter, and the second time with paper towel or coffee filter paper to remove any congealed fuel so as to not clog passages. Better still, after you filter it if you can find any propane or butane, bubble it through the gasoline; the smaller the holes for the bubbler the better. A fish tank aerator would be perfect. You’d be amazed at how much will dissolve in the gasoline. This is essentially what the can of spray ether is used for to get an engine started with old fuel that’s lost it’s butane.
How does PRI-G compare to Stabil? Did you go through a series of testing different products before you landed on the PRI-G? I ask because have a couple gens I use for the sole purpose of running my wife dialysis machine when needed and I simply want the best option available for that purpose.
@andy, I use stabil and sometimes have problems from evaporation or water in-migration due to thermal cycling. My best suggestion to you is FRESH gas. For something as important as that, constant rotation. Good cans as CZ suggests. I’ve got most of my gas in Blitz plastic jugs and they fail.
I’d back that up with a couple of solar panels and some batteries with appropriate chargers and inverters. I don’t know how much a dialysis machine draws, but size your solar correctly.
Minimum- get a big enough inverter and get set up to run it off your car battery and charger.
The goal of the solar/battery/inverter is to give you time to solve any issues with your gas gennie.
Spend some time with the gennie too. Take the carb apart, clean it, and put it back. MUCH better to learn that now and not try to learn it later in the cold dark and under pressure. Make sure you have cans of carb cleaner and starting spray in your preps. Since Y2K, all my gennie problems came down to dirty clogged carbs, contaminated gas, water in the fuel. Those are all straightforward to fix if you have the basic supplies and simple tools.
I also recommend everyone get a small hand pump for transferring fuel. It’s a lot safer and easier than trying to control the flow, while holding a 5 gallon can in mid air. And don’t forget that you might be injured, sick, or unavailable, and someone else might have to refuel.
nick
Added- and a lot of vehicles are very hard to fill from a 5 gallon can. Make sure you have any funnels, hoses, etc to work with your fuel inlet. (and a pump with hoses makes it SO much easier.)
Had to fill my generator from a five gallon can during the big ice storm 10 years ago whilst I had a broken arm. challenging task to be sure.
Wound up resting the open jerry can on top of the sut off gen and then used a siphon to transfer gas to the gen. Slow but it worked.
I love my French made NATO Jerry cans. It’s finding a well made spout that’s the problem. If you have any leads on quality all metallic, flexible nozzles that will last more than a few years, please let me know!
As someone who has both NATO spec jerry cans and a few Chinese knock-offs, there’s an obvious difference when put side by side. The weight, joints and general workmanship differences are apparent immediately.
My NATO cans store my fuel reserve with a healthy dose of STABIL for good measure. I keep some PRI-G around to resurrect fuel if required (not available locally, need to order online).
The Chinese cans were quickly relegated to kerosene storage and no more will be acquired for any price beyond free.
Steelheart
Steelheart
Anybody have opinions on the Justrite fuel cans? Looks like their nozzles are more durable than other brands mentioned here. Yes their price a bit higher.
https://www.grainger.com/product/JUSTRITE-Type-II-Can-Type-3NKT9
A round can is a bulkier design, the self-closing lid seems like a problem waiting to happen when you want to transfer using a pump, and the price is more than the NATO-style can….its a personal preference, yes, but for me I cannot see an advantage to this can.
I’ve got a couple of those style cans, and they are very sturdy. They are not a shape that lends itself to compact storage 😉
I don’t have spouts, and that means I usually use a big funnel to transfer the gas to a smaller can for use.
They sell for a premium even used at estate sales and auctions.
While I don’t dislike mine, I probably wouldn’t buy any more.
n
The fuel rotation you use is a very smart move. I’ve found the way I store my fuel and with the fuel additive that I use, doing a fuel rotation every second year is fine.
I took a look a the fuel additive you use Commander, Up here in the Great White North it’s a little pricy. Amazon.ca has it for $72.99 for the 16 Oz size. The stuff I use is CRC PhaseGuard4 Stabilizer & Ethanol Fuel Treatment. While it’s still a little expensive, the cost is a lot less than the PRI-G.
I am fond of the military Scepter Cans, plastic yes but very thick. I became a believer after witnessing “fuel deliveries” consisting of throwing full cans over the side of a LMTV onto rocks and pavement with the cans suffering no worse than some scrapes and scuffs. You can’t buy them new anymore but you can find them used especially if you live near a military base as old cans tend to walk off rather than be destroyed after 5 years as the military requires.