Storing fuel in a old jerry can

[bricol]

I was trained when I worked for THF on motorway service station forecourt - the problem was general public thinking it was okay to smoke cigarettes, and even though you walked out with a cup of water to extinguish it in, wanted to chuck it on the floor . . . where the vapour might be . . . or complaining when you wouldn't let young Timmy fill the car . . . or drive off with the pump nozzle still in the filler . . . or if your car's on fire, where do you head for . . . maybe somewhere where they have a couple of hundred thousand litres of petrol stored . . .

Fun days ;-)

Used to be 2 gallon you could store at home back then.

Always wondered about my jerry cans . . inherited from my dad . . . stamped 1940 and 1942 . . . but British petrol carriers were of different design - so are mine genuine "Jerry" cans?

Red lining is damaged, but generally seems to be holding - I do use a filtered spout though!

Now the Pratts, BP and Esso cans - I can't find a spout for those . . .but all still petrol tight.

 

[wookie]

Always wondered about my jerry cans . . inherited from my dad . . . stamped 1940 and 1942 . . . but British petrol carriers were of different design - so are mine genuine "Jerry" cans?

Red lining is damaged, but generally seems to be holding - I do use a filtered spout though!

Now the Pratts, BP and Esso cans - I can't find a spout for those . . .but all still petrol tight.

WW2 dated jerry cans command a premium because saddo's like me want war-time dated cans to go with our WW2 vehicles, I've got British, Yank and German WW2 jerry cans, "British flimsies" are particularly sort-after because so few have survived.

 

[rcx132]

Can you service the old jerry cans like you do any fuel tank... put in pebbles and fuel and shake and shake. Rest of the rubbish will come out and get caught in the filter won't it?

 

[fizzy]

Can you service the old jerry cans like you do any fuel tank... put in pebbles and fuel and shake and shake. Rest of the rubbish will come out and get caught in the filter won't it?

I would have thought so yes. I find the filter in the spout stops most of it as the flakes are quite big. Never had a problem with any of my LandRovers

 

[julianf]

I run on bio - it takes the red lining off the inside of some cans, but not others.

Also, a constant irritation - if you buy a generic cam action spout, it will seal perfectly on some cans, it will drip on others, and some it may not even lock to.

They all look the same to the eye, but evidently are different.


wookie - you mentioned beeing a geek with these things - mine are collected from all over. id there any way to ID them? Some have numbers pressed into them, which look like dates, but i assumed not, as i cant think theyre that old (cant remember right now what any of them say though)

again, they all look the same - ie they all look like 'standard' cans, rather than flimsies etc

 

[wookie]

wookie - you mentioned beeing a geek with these things - mine are collected from all over. id there any way to ID them? Some have numbers pressed into them, which look like dates, but i assumed not, as i cant think theyre that old (cant remember right now what any of them say though)

again, they all look the same - ie they all look like 'standard' cans, rather than flimsies etc

All the following are WW2 dated (they are not mine I'm just using the images to illustrate the differences), the British and the German are very similar because we ripped the design off the Germans

Top to bottom...

German, British, USA, the American can has a totally different style of cap.



The "ABA" on the German and the "BMB" on the British are the manufacturer mark, the year is obvious on the German & British cans, the W/|\D with the broad arrow in the middle is the mark for British War Dept, the German "Feuergefährlich" means inflamable while the USA has a "G" for gasoline. The USA will have a date on it usually near the filler neck.

I'll stop now before I bore you all to tears.

 

[julianf]

Im surprisingly tempted to go outside now and see if there's any markings on mine. Im sure i recognise the W^D thing.

 

[julianf]

Earliest i can see in the ones ive just looked at are mid 80s, but i have some more that i cant be bothered to check right now (under stuff).

If i find any early ones, ill let you know.

 

[julianf]

ps. my partner starts scowling when i spot them at bootsales.

i too, however, admit that i now have plenty - but are there any that i should look for, for resale? Im not planing on getting rich like that, but i always spot them, so i may as well look if there's anything that's worth significantly more than pocket change?

 

[wookie]

Like I said wartime dated cans or earlier are worth more because people want them to complete their vehicle. It all depends who is after a can as to what they prefer and hence willing to spend more, those with an American vehicle such as a Jeep tend to prefer the yank ones unless they are doing it as a British vehicle plus yank ones tend to be rarer in the UK, I've got most variants as I like to be different i.e. a British Jeep with a "captured" German Jerry can on the back .

The proper rare ones are the SS ones, I ain't got one and wouldn't be prepared to pay what they go for (think hundreds ) besides which because they are worth so much people are faking them and I don't know enough about them to spot a genuine one.

As always original condition/patina is preferred rather than restored. The most I've ever paid for a can is £20 so I don't think you'll get rich just yet and I only bought that as I didn't have a German one and I'd spent the day wandering around Beltring and weren’t going home without buying something.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Shelf life of modern petrol is quite short http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp-co.../opal-fuel/Opal-factsheet-storagehandling.pdf
Can be as short as 1 month for fuel in tanks !
I'd cut open the side of the can and add hinges so it can be use as tool box, drinke cabinet etc I've got a spare one that I intend doing this with.
New cans are cheap enough to not risk an older can which you are worried about lining comming lose. Quick look on eBay shows they can be had for around £20 incl P&P.
I have a 20 ltr black PLASTIC fuel container that I used to store red diesel - plenty on eBay.

 

[normspanners]

Being a pedantic sod... does that mean we shouldn't fill petrol tanks on our cars with more than 20l ?

Nobody on here is pedantic ------ surely you must have the wrong forum ???

the stable genny, never had any problems.

is it stable coz it has a good wide base or because it has a voltage regulator on it ??

 

[normspanners]

I'll stop now before I bore you all to tears.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ EH WHAT ------- youve finished???------ OH OH OH sorry----- I was just crack testing my eyelids.

 

[wilbur]

Do you mean "unless you can buy petrol from somewhere *without* ethanol". Because I heard it's the modern ethanol content that makes petrol go off quickly?

Yes, that's what i meant to have typed, sorry.

 

[normspanners]

ps. my partner starts scowling when i spot them at bootsales.

She best not go to a place I know, I said, Hi dave got any jerry cans, yes he said go and have a look in that building over there ya might find a couple not sure whats in some of em. Well I opened the door and they where just after the door handle and the stack went straight up till you couldnt see any higher, and the full width of the building, they had fluid in them fuel in some diesel, some oil he said oh thats how they came in !! .

 

[ajlelectronics]

Nobody on here is pedantic ------ surely you must have the wrong forum ???

Maybe so, but you don't use three question marks at the end of a sentence. ;-)

 

[Pete.]

Rules shmooles...

I've never been stopped from filling my 20L red plastic petrol can at any filling station and I've been using it for 15 years plus.

 

[8ob]

Maybe so, but you don't use three question marks at the end of a sentence. ;-)

Gramar natsi alurt

Bob

 

[Robotstar5]

Maybe so, but you don't use three question marks at the end of a sentence. ;-)

My old boss used to love exclamation marks, anything he wrote used to be littered with them, maybe the !!!!!!! key was stuck on his keyboard?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Whooosh!