Stainless Jerry can experience?

[SailingHarmonie]

Anyone have experience with stainless steel jerry cans? We have no safe place below deck to store our gasoline dinghy fuel, and while the plastic jugs work, they have limited lifespans in the sun and can be a PITA.

For about 2x the price of a decent plastic can, I can get a 304 stainless one that I’d expect to last 10x longer.

Real world experience comments welcome, or theoretical reasons for not using them…

[markxengineerin]

I've been using stainless mini-kegs to store my drinking water because they are mass produced, cheap, robust, easy to clean, etc. I don't see any issues with doing the same or similar with fuel but have never tried.

[SailingHarmonie]

So nobody uses stainless jerry cans?

[valhalla360]

Just looked them up. At 4 times the price of plastic...I can throw them out and buy new when they start looking a bit wonky...that said, never had one fail. Usually the bleach out the color long before they fail indicating its time for replacement.

So, no.

[SailFastTri]

I agree that the durability of the plastic cans is a problem, as is the environmental cost. However, with stainless cans I’d be more concerned about wear and tear on the decks if they slide or bang against it, and added weight. At about 45# full, I find the plastic cans to be heavy enough. The stainless ones weigh significantly more.
Are they rated safe for drinking water? The welds and insides would need to be cleaned up after manufacture.

[s/v Jedi]

You better take care of your old Scepter jugs with normal spouts and vent

For storage on deck, traditional method to keep them good is making Sunbrella covers for them.

[Lrak]

Theoretical reason for not using them is avoiding regulatory problems of using a non-approved container for gasoline. PWC, quad, and dirt bike riders in California are routinely cited and fined for using VP Racing jugs for road gas because they are not DOT/EPA/fire marshal approved for gasoline. You can't get them filled in New Jersey where you can't pump your own gas. It's somehow deemed safe to put race fuel in them and carry that to the track, but suddenly unsafe to put pump gas in them and carry that to the beach, dunes, or woods.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Lrak

Theoretical reason for not using them is avoiding regulatory problems of using a non-approved container for gasoline. PWC, quad, and dirt bike riders in California are routinely cited and fined for using VP Racing jugs for road gas because they are not DOT/EPA/fire marshal approved for gasoline. You can't get them filled in New Jersey where you can't pump your own gas. It's somehow deemed safe to put race fuel in them and carry that to the track, but suddenly unsafe to put pump gas in them and carry that to the beach, dunes, or woods.

I don't think you're really allowed to put race fuel in those and transport them on the road either. They're (legally) intended to be filled from pumps or drums at the track and used as a practical method of filling a car. Basically, they're intended as fuel containers, but not for transporting fuel on public roads.

[Salty Possum]

I have been using NATO Jerry cans for four years because of the security below decks for four years. They seal great with no odor. They will anywhere the paint is scratched and the paint will scratch. They will rust aggressively if left out or kept on deck.

They need to be kept below. They should be rinsed with fresh water after being brought out or at least wiped down with a bit of diesel. I touch up scratches with primer and then, when I have any wet epoxy, dap the leftover here and there on my cans over the primer. With all of that, they do great. It is a hassle but cans on deck trip me and plastic cans below smell.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

You better take care of your old Scepter jugs with normal spouts and vent

For storage on deck, traditional method to keep them good is making Sunbrella covers for them.

Jedi's got the right of it here! Such covers are easy to make, too, even by hand, if need be. They really do work. And, if you make one for the dinghy fuel tank, give it a little flap with some velcro, so that the fuel gauge can be protected, except when you peel back the flap to check the fuel level.

Ann

[jamhass]

Another yes for sunbrella covers. On ours, we included "belt loops" and fitted nylon straps to provide secure lash points for attaching to rail-mounted stores boards.