difference in water and fuel cans

[sasaholic]

ok since fuel cans are so rediculious in price ive been lookin at water cans. now i know it should never be done(puting fuel in a container marked water)but i am the ONLY one that will be using these and then if someone steals em and drinks the WATER ill be even happier jk. but ive heard of people using the plastic water cans for fuel and being just fine, but wanted your guys opinion. dont tell me not to do it cause its a water jug. tell me why other than what i already stated.

[crusader]

If I'm not mistaken, the formulation of the plastic is different between Scepter fuel cans and Scepter water cans. The fuel cans are more resistant to the chemicals of the fuel, I've heard.

BTW, I'd hate to be around when somebody grabs your "water" can to put out a fire in an emergency!

[sasaholic]

like i said "if i was goin to be the only ones around these"

anyone else have an opinions

[apsilon]

As Crusader said the plastics are usually different. Won't happen the first time you use them (then again depending on the quality it might) and maybe not the 5th or 10th but water containers will eventually leak if used to carry fuel.

[crusader]

OH...It wasn't stated, but presumably we're talking about Scepter cans here, (since wal-mart gas cans and metal jerry cans are cheap and plentiful) so an additional difference between the Scepter MFC and Scepter water can is that the water can has no rubber sealing gasket like the MFC. The seal is a plastic friction-fit seal that relies on...well, I suppose it's the surface tension of the water, to keep the water from seeping past the sealing surfaces.

Also, and I'm too lazy to go out and confirm this, I think the threading for the cover on the MFC is different than on the water container. The cover is certainly different, but I think the threads may be also, so one might find it difficult to get the fuel from the water jug into a gas tank without a proper fuel spout to attach to the water can. Again, I haven't strolled out to the garage to confirm this bit.

[TACODOC]

OH...It wasn't stated, but presumably we're talking about Scepter cans here, (since wal-mart gas cans and metal jerry cans are cheap and plentiful) so an additional difference between the Scepter MFC and Scepter water can is that the water can has no rubber sealing gasket like the MFC. The seal is a plastic friction-fit seal that relies on...well, I suppose it's the surface tension of the water, to keep the water from seeping past the sealing surfaces.

Also, and I'm too lazy to go out and confirm this, I think the threading for the cover on the MFC is different than on the water container. The cover is certainly different, but I think the threads may be also, so one might find it difficult to get the fuel from the water jug into a gas tank without a proper fuel spout to attach to the water can. Again, I haven't strolled out to the garage to confirm this bit.

x2

MWC' would leak fuel like crazy on a rough road IMO. No bueno.

[Martyn]

Water cans are typically lined with a food grade plastic. Don't know how that will react with fuel.

[cruiseroutfit]

A note from an older thread on using the Scepter specific MWC's for fuel...

Its not just the gasket being absent, the water cans only have a ~1/8" lip on the top of the cans, where as the fuel cans have a 1/2" flat lip and still can drizzle a bit of fuel. Not to mention the lack of venting system (which is pretty neat on the MFC's and the thinner plastic, albeit the same plastic (as I was reported in a different thread). Having looked at the cans pretty closely side by side, I just don't see it being feasable or safe.

[CJCA]

ok since fuel cans are so rediculious in price ive been lookin at water cans. now i know it should never be done(puting fuel in a container marked water)but i am the ONLY one that will be using these and then if someone steals em and drinks the WATER ill be even happier jk. but ive heard of people using the plastic water cans for fuel and being just fine, but wanted your guys opinion. dont tell me not to do it cause its a water jug. tell me why other than what i already stated.

This is the reason why I would never buy used drinking water containers. You just never know what has been put in them. I'm sure that in an emergency more than a few MWCs have been used for fuel, used as a urinal, for hazardous waste, etc. None of which I want in contact with my drinking water.

[cruisertoy]

I explored this pretty indepthly a year or two ago. MY goal was to use the buylci.com water cans for fuel. They are very very close to the Scepter water cans. I ended up deciding not to do it. I researched out the military spec for the scepter fuel cans and recreated the testing on the LCI cans. Not using the same MFC spout... wasn't a big deal as i was going to use a super siphon. Putting viton orings on the vent and hose bib was simple and sucessful.

The problem came on the main lid seal. As Kurt said, the water can only has a 1/8" lip instead or the 5/8" flat ribbed seal surface. The water can uses a traditional "wedge" to seal within the cap. You see this being used on regular old gas cans from home depot. One of the reasons you don't want to use regular old cans is because this seal does not work when bouncing around and when the can changes temp. I attempted to install a large viton oring into this sealing area with very little success. I'd have to look up the military spec, but the can had to hold liquid under a certian pressure for a certian amount of time. I could not get it to meet either requirement. I could take it to about half the pressure required but could never get it to hold it for the time needed.

I was not too worried about the material or the plastic thickness. The LCI cans are made out of a single material, High Density Poly Ethylene(HDPE). From my discussions with LCI and tearing apart a can, there was no lining. The water cans are also a little thinner walled than the fuel cans. This also was not too much of a concern for me as the regular cans from Home depot are much thinner than the water cans. When doing the pressure test (I did it succcessfully on a Scepter MFC) the LCI can did swell more than the MFC, but not by much. I was only looking to use them for fuel storage in my garage so the heat and bouncing wasn't a big deal. I still opted to not use them at this point. Could you use them for emergencies, yes. They might be better than a regular plastic gas can, but probably not worth the risk.

[IggyB]

When I bough the Scepter cans a few years ago ( directly from Scepter :) ) I was told by them that materials for gas and water cans are same.

The problem I see is the amount of vapour that gasoline will generate compared to water. Scepter gas cans are rated to 30 psi. Water cans will not seal nearly as well. Even with the gas cans I wind up using a strap wrench to tightly seal gas cans after torquing them as much as possible with bare hands.

[sasaholic]

cruisertoy thanks for the reply i was also looking at those water can and was going to use em inmy garage, thanks for doing all the foot work and going through the trouble to tell me what the difference was and not just a dont do it answer. with those facts i agree its not worth the risk of leaking fuel and having vapors around the shop. thanks again.

[cruisertoy]

cruisertoy thanks for the reply i was also looking at those water can and was going to use em inmy garage, thanks for doing all the foot work and going through the trouble to tell me what the difference was and not just a dont do it answer. with those facts i agree its not worth the risk of leaking fuel and having vapors around the shop. thanks again.

No problem. I do this type of product testing for a living. I really wish it had worked out to use them. I really like the scepters, but the Nato metal cans are pretty good as well. There are a few places around that still sell them. Good luck.

[ryanhewitt]

How about the use of pre-ban Wedco water cans for fuel? Using the super siphon method, so spouts wouldn't be an issue. I'm in the process of trying to acquire some pre-ban/old style Wedco/NATO fuel cans and it's impossible, and I'm not going with the post ban plastic lid child proof versions. Thought I'd throw it out there since these types of water cans are not plastic. I realize that they have a sanitary coating inside, but besides that I don't see any other reason, except the fire one previously mentioned. Thanks.

[njsjeep]

NATO cans are still available:

http://www.roverparts.com/Nxt/search.asp?Category=ACC.%20-%20%20OFF-ROAD

http://www.deutscheoptik.com/

[ryanhewitt]

Thanks njsjeep, I didn't realize these can still be sourced. Good prices too.

[blackheart]

As Crusader said the plastics are usually different. Won't happen the first time you use them (then again depending on the quality it might) and maybe not the 5th or 10th but water containers will eventually leak if used to carry fuel.

Well I have been using Blitz water cans for gasoline for ten years - no leaks
Used because they are semi translucent and I cas see fuel levels

[msand1977]

What about the wedco water cans? Is there a way to get rid of the food grade liner and recoat them for gas?

[SunTzuNephew]

What about the wedco water cans? Is there a way to get rid of the food grade liner and recoat them for gas?

A gas tank cleaning kit (acid wash and recoat) should do....

[gasman]

my question would be where would you fill them.. all the gas stations around here have signage saying that only approved containers can be filled . i dont know how close they watch but . what if you had an accident ? i think you would be screwed.. .. not worth it imo

[Albin]

Spec for the MFC are attached. The MWC spec at 572 KB exceeds this sites attachment requirements; if anyone wants it, shoot me an e-mail address or post instructions on how to post a big .pdf file.

Most has already been covered.

Just because they're both made of HDPE, doesn't mean they're the same material - the MWC, by law, has to made of food-grade materials, the MFC does not (although it's certainly possible that it is but doubtful).

It's just generally a bad idea to use non-fuel containers for fuel and to put fuel in water-potable containers.

My .02.

Al

[cruiseroutfit]

Shoot it my way and I'll host it..

kurt -at- cruiseroutfitters.com

[Greggk]

i am in the military and had access to some that were being thrown away. so i grabbed 2 of them. i painted one black and marked it with GASOLINE in bright red. the other i left alone and use it for water. 2 years later still no issues, now granted these are official ARMY plastic cans, not "aftermarket replica" cans if you will

[cruiseroutfit]

i am in the military and had access to some that were being thrown away. so i grabbed 2 of them. i painted one black and marked it with GASOLINE in bright red. the other i left alone and use it for water. 2 years later still no issues, now granted these are official ARMY plastic cans, not "aftermarket replica" cans if you will

The cans we are using and referring to are not replicas either, they are exactly the same. I stand by my opinion that it is unsafe and unwise to use gasoline in a water can. Safety (leaking, marking, etc) aside, the waters do not have the vent system built into the can that makes the MFC's so desirable to me.