Storing gasoline when traveling

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Trekking

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For you folks you carry generators with you in your vehicle where do you keep your gasoline?
Or do you just toss it in the back your van and Go. :)
 
66788 said:
I use the medium NATO jerry can.

http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.com/Nato-Jerry-Cans.html

stored full carefully below the bed and fastened with the holder bolted to the wall.

WHOOWEE! They sure ain't cheap! But I have the cheaper Chinese knockoffs. They're okay, but the real deal NATO cans are much better!
I really despise the recently mandated plastic 'safety' gas cans. I spill more gas trying to get them to pour than with the older 'unsafe' gas cans. Get government involved, quality goes to pot. :(
 
My gas gauge works sporadically (under 1/4 tank reads empty) so I would love to be able to carry a gallon safely. Watching this thread to see my options.
 
I have bought jerrycan carriers at Pep Boys some years back. They may still carry them? Fits most tall GI style five gallon cans. Bolts onto the vehicle - outside or inside. I use them in my open trailer.
 
i guess the one gallon metal gas cans are gone for good. However, you could get one gallon metal paint thinner container and replace paint thinner with gasoline. I carry paint thinner in my work van and never smell it.
 
The NATO cans in the link above have a steel one in a bit more than a gallon. Check with surplus stores too. I have four East German surplus cans that hold a bit more than a gallon. Got them some years ago.
 
decodancer said:
My gas gauge works sporadically (under 1/4 tank reads empty) so I would love to be able to carry a gallon safely.

Or use your odometer as a gas gauge. X number of miles = time to fill up.
 
Whatever brand you choose, make sure it's metal and meets the new safety standards....even though some can be a real pain to use.

Plastic is actually porous to gas fumes. In the racing world, I've seen gas stored in plastic jugs (designed for gas) fail a tech test that had passed the same test just weeks before. The porosity of the jug allowed enough of a change in the fuel to flunk the test. Weekend use of our plastic racing jugs is fine, but storage is always in metal cans.

Carrying a metal jerrycan on the outside of your vehicle would be safest.
 
I also use the NATO cans. You are probably thinking these are the standard tall GI cans with a screw-on spout. That's NOT what they are. They have a totally unique spout attachment that gives a 100% seal so there is NEVER a smell of gas in my van.They also have a built in breather tube so they pour easily. You must buy one of the spouts from them because they don't come with them.

I will NOT use anything but them ever again. They are hard to find locally, your best shot is a military surplus store. That is a very good price that 66788 posted above.

One more point, I always put some Stabil in with the gas. Generators don't like water, and gas that sits for awhile will get water and gum up. Always use Stabil.
Bob
 
I am surprised no one here use a bumper swing away carrier to hold spare tires and gas cans. gets everything outside. highdesertranger
 
Swing away carrier is on my list of things to do when I get a welder and a place to weld. They don't make them for my weird little van.
 
LeeRevell said:
For gensets and other small engines I use only non-ethanol gas. Prevents the sludge build-up.

Where do you find non-ethanol gas? I haven't found it ANYWHERE in my area. Only place I haven't checked is the local airport. Running avgas in a generator strikes me as a little extreme . . .

Regards
John
 
LeeRevell said:
This website is very good for locating stations that sell real gas:

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp

Select your state, then the city or closest city to you.

Thanks for posting this. As I thought, there was nothing listed within 100 miles of where I live.

Oh, well. I'm sure this will come in handy when I hit the road next year. I've bookmarked it on my computer.

Thanks again.

Regards
John
 
+1 on what the poster above said about fuel stabilizer. I used to work in a store that did small engine repair, and the number 1 problem we had was bad gas. Gasoline with ethanol starts to go bad within 2 weeks, so add stabilizer to every can of fresh gas as soon as you get it. I have done that for years, and all my small engines, string trimmer, mower, blower, and generator start in the first couple of pulls even after years of use.
 
Being on the fringe of the Prepper Movement for years, I keep around sixty gallons of gas stored. Came in very handy during a bad hurricane season when refineries and platforms shutdown and gas supplies got scarce in the Southeast. The stored gas lasted me well as my only transportation then was my motorcycle.
I keep it treated with Stabil Marine. It runs fine even after two years storage. And this is E10 crap gas!
 
I don't think it's true that gas without ethanol doesn't need to have Stabil to last over a few months.

There' no doubt that Ethanol makes it much worse and makes it go bad much faster. But it is the nature of gasoline to go bad after a few months. It always has been, long before we got the terrible idea to put Ethanol in it.

If you aren't going to keep it more than a month or two than gas without Ethanol might be fine, but much more and it will start to gum up your engine. My 2 1/2 gallon can lasts for a long time in My Honda 2000 so I would always put it in even if it doesn't have Ethanol.

Why not use it? One bottle of Stabil lasts me for years, it's cheap insurance against a much bigger bill.
Bob
 

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