Best Jerry Can and Where to buy?

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Jun 8, 2022
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I need a couple new jerry can's to store gasoline for my generator. I am wanting something I can count on to last for years without leaking. Where I store them Its possible I wouldn't notice a leak for some time.

Anyone have a brand to recommend?

Done some searching and it seems Wavian claims to be "the best". I presume buying them directly from Wavian is the best to ensure its not a fake if going that route?

 
IF I was buying I'd consider the Eagle type II that has the filling hole separate.

I have a couple type I's and they are a pain to pour into some things but work ok for the tractor.. were 1/2 the price of the type II

Keep in mind you have to rotate your fuel so you might want something you can pour into your vehicle easily (spout) vs the yellow funnel type.
 
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I'd look for something CARB compliant. Your challenge will be holding vapors in and those cans will do it in spades.

Dispensing is a whole another awkward issue... get a long funnel for that.

Cans for storage vs daily use should have different priorities. If I had $100 to spend on fuel storage for my generator I'd go with more, cheaper, if I had the room.
 
Playing devil’s advocate here:

Why not a dual fuel generator? Propane can keep essentially forever. The tanks are rated only for what, 10 years? most people then pay to get rid of them. Could you find tanks right at the discard mark, find someone to fill them for you, then store those tanks? I mean, might not be the best plan (a better one would be one large 500 gallon propane tank instead), but I’m not sure just what you are after here. Seems like a cheap way to get fuel tanks, since once the expire date hits, they have a negative value.

I do agree, the late EPA (or whatever) cans are sealed up. I store my plastic gas cans outside, in partial sun (no shed, yet). Seems fine. But I also only have one gas can, so the gas never gets all that old, six months at the tops.

While I’d recommend rotating your gas in and then out, regardless, do you have any plans to put a date stamp onto the gas can? First in, first out is how you should use your gas.
 
Why not a dual fuel generator?
I have the generator already. I have limited space for a bunch of propane. I hope to never use it, but I store about 15 gallons of gas and can access 2 of my 3 vehicles easily for another 40 gallons if desperate. I never store the jerry cans for more than 60 days and rotate, but I am thinking of going ethanol free with stabilizer and rotating every 6 months instead.
 
I have the generator already. I have limited space for a bunch of propane. I hope to never use it, but I store about 15 gallons of gas and can access 2 of my 3 vehicles easily for another 40 gallons if desperate. I never store the jerry cans for more than 60 days and rotate, but I am thinking of going ethanol free with stabilizer and rotating every 6 months instead.
Might be easier to rotate the gas every 3 months or so. 3 cars? Sounds like you could dump into the cars at the 3 month mark (or pick your time frame) and skip any treatment.

I like your idea, I am thinking the same. I have a cheapo electric gas pump (thought I needed it for an ATV, was wrong), can run off 12V of course. Have a mess of PVC tubing on the wall, in case of need. If I run out of gas in my gas cans, I think I can pull gas out of the car’s gas tank by running a hose down… otherwise I need to figure out how to tap the fuel line elsewhere. Never given it enough thought at this time, TBH. Anyhow. Point being, would a 12V gas pump have value to you in your plan, in case of fuel transfer needs?
 
I bought steel cans to mount on the back of a Jeep. For home use, I prefer plastic.
 
Playing devil’s advocate here:

Why not a dual fuel generator? Propane can keep essentially forever. The tanks are rated only for what, 10 years? most people then pay to get rid of them. Could you find tanks right at the discard mark, find someone to fill them for you, then store those tanks? I mean, might not be the best plan (a better one would be one large 500 gallon propane tank instead), but I’m not sure just what you are after here. Seems like a cheap way to get fuel tanks, since once the expire date hits, they have a negative value.

I do agree, the late EPA (or whatever) cans are sealed up. I store my plastic gas cans outside, in partial sun (no shed, yet). Seems fine. But I also only have one gas can, so the gas never gets all that old, six months at the tops.

While I’d recommend rotating your gas in and then out, regardless, do you have any plans to put a date stamp onto the gas can? First in, first out is how you should use your gas.
Propane takes too much space to store. Energy density is not here. Maybe for a couple of hours it would work. My outages are usually 24-48 hrs at a time. I probably could only get a few hours from a bbq tank.

I'd need 5 -6 bbq tanks per day. Would require 15 bbq tanks to equal the 15-20 gallons of gas i keep on hand in 4 cans. Plus having to swap every few hours.

On gas, i can fill it and start it at 6am, run continuous and refill at 8pm, with 4 gallons.
 
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I have the generator already. I have limited space for a bunch of propane. I hope to never use it, but I store about 15 gallons of gas and can access 2 of my 3 vehicles easily for another 40 gallons if desperate. I never store the jerry cans for more than 60 days and rotate, but I am thinking of going ethanol free with stabilizer and rotating every 6 months instead.
I do this. You have to be careful though to get truly ethanol free fuel. On a dedicated pump its no problem,. On a multipump island, the first 1/2 gallon can be whatever the previous customer bought. If its E-85 yikes. In a safety can thats sealed, 6months seems to work fine for E-0.

I generally take all my cans and line them up. I select non ethanol, then i pump about 2-3 gallons into my truck FIRST, then fill the cans.
 
I do this. You have to be careful though to get truly ethanol free fuel. On a dedicated pump its no problem,. On a multipump island, the first 1/2 gallon can be whatever the previous customer bought. If its E-85 yikes. In a safety can thats sealed, 6months seems to work fine for E-0.

I generally take all my cans and line them up. I select non ethanol, then i pump about 2-3 gallons into my truck FIRST, then fill the cans.
2 of the 3 gas stations here that have E0 are on separate pumps so I will go there. Still I was planning to test a little - just to make sure. I would be unhappy but at least know I needed to cycle it sooner. pumping the first gallon into my truck sounds like a good idea either way.
 
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