"Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

[Larson170]

Has this happened to anyone else? Bought a new gas can. Yay, its "green". NO WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS ANYWHERE. Instead it has three pictures showing how to put your nozzle on and the twist to unlock process.

So I stick the nozzle into my boat's gas port. No gas comes out. I pull it out and try again. I try pushing it in further. Gas is now going everywhere, but down the gas line. I try to pull it out and it won't budge. Even more gas going everywhere. I pull harder and the gas can pops off the nozzle sending me and the gas can into the lake. WTF!

More gas went into the lake in this one failed attempt, then in 20 years of boating combined. How exactly is that "green"? A friend told me that they are all like that now, and that when they do work it takes 10 times as long to empty because there is no vent.

My boat stays in the water all summer. So a trip to the gas station is not happening. Where can I buy a gas can that doesn't suck?

 

[204 Escape]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

IMHO, those "new g r e e n cans", are a J O K E !!!!!!!! Did yoiu try to buy a new nozzle for a gas can lately ?? They are that damn new style !!!!!!! I'd like to have that engineer that designed that junk with me for a minute !!!! I'd like to see him make them work "properly" !!!! BESIDES a gas can is expensive nowadays !!!!!!!!! (Maybe my age is starting to show, I don't know, I can't remember !!!!!!! )

 

[dccordell]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

Yep, those new nozzles are tricky. Not sure of the kind you got your hands on, but the new ones I've had recently required you to slide this lever forward and then while holding it, squeeze this "trigger", and then the gas would come out. Very cumbersome, AND like you said, the gas comes out super slow. I have seen some people pop a little vent hold on the other side of the top of the gas can... helps with the gas coming out, just gotta watch that gas splashing out of that awesome new hole while in the truck or car heading to the boat.

I've noticed those new style nozzles in most places that have gas cans. Maybe somebody else knows where to find old style.

Maybe it's just me, but my arms usually go dead while having to hold a full gas can up in the air with the nozzle in the filler hose while the thing slowly empties. I end up trying to prop it up on my belly or chest to give my arms a break, lol..

 

[vintageglass]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

I dealt with one of those once, its long gone now. I bought a big funnel and tossed the original can nozzle. Get one of the huge funnels made for race cars. I found one that I can nearly dump the whole can into the funnel and let it drain.
Back when I kept my boat in the water on a lake I had bought a gas caddy that held about 30 gallons or so. I'd fill it at the gas station and haul that to the lake, I could wheel that out to the boat and it would drain by gravity into my boat's tank. It worked great but 30 gallons of gas on a what amounts to a hand truck dolly can be a challenge on narrow finger docks.

 

[roscoe]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

You can put a real vent in the can by drilling it to accept a valve stem with the valve removed.

Or you can buy a can like this:

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/productDetails.aspx?sku=72158

Sure beats the heck out of any of the dozen plastic cans I have had in the last 15 years.

 

[John_S]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

You can put a real vent in the can by drilling it to accept a valve stem with the valve removed.

I have a few of the new style, and hate them as much as the posters above. I usually end up filling an old style from the new style. Always thought of adding a vent, and this should work fine, with cap to seal.

PS: I'd bet there is some small print somewhere that says you are breaking federal law by tampering with said gas can. :0

 

[JoLin]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

Buy a Super Siphon to tranfer fuel from the can. They work great.

My .02

 

[CapeAnn]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

I agree. I've spilled more gas from these eco-safe containers than a combined lifetime before when it was simple enough to open and pour. I finally broke the safety dispenser (the spring became stuck) and simply pour gas from one receptacle to another. The regulatory geniuses who made this happen obviously never poured gas in their lives. My recommendation - break that stupid nozzle off.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

You can put a real vent in the can by drilling it to accept a valve stem with the valve removed.

Or you can buy a can like this:

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/productDetails.aspx?sku=72158

Sure beats the heck out of any of the dozen plastic cans I have had in the last 15 years.

Those are the same cans we use on the construction site and the same ones I use at home, they'll last 10x longer than a plastic piece of crap can.

 

[aspeck]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

You may want to look at some of the racing supply places ... they have cans with a high flow rate, won't leak, and in the end are probably "greener" than the one you have.

 

[Hit It]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

Ditto on the Super Siphon. We use one and it works great. No more struggling to hold a 5-gallon can up against the side of the boat and spilling it all over into the lake!

 

[JimS123]

Re: "Green" Gas can = Gallon of gas and me in lake

Not every state mandates those nozzles. When they first came out a few years ago and I needed to buy 2 new cans, I suffered for awhile until I made my next business trip and found the old style nozzles in a WalMart in another state. They sell them as repair parts.

Two years ago I found a guy on EBay that had them and I ordered a half dozen. Some of the Ebayers would not ship to a restrictred state, but this guy did. The old spouts fit all the new cans.