Jerry cans question

Brew69(SA)
dont put them on your roof
snailbait

Mmmm, good question. On balance, I'd go with plastic. I carry 4 of the black plastic ones on my CT drawer bar, 3 for diesel and one for ULP. Use the steel a fair bit in the Army. Steel are heavier, more expensive and can split at the seams if treated badly. I've had no trouble with the plastic ones, but I guess they might split as well if dropped when full!!!

Whichever you get, make sure you get a piorer attachment that fits well (does not leak), and don't carry it connected to the top of the gerry if you are driving in the dirt.

Black Rheem Plastic. Use to have steel but too much crap flakes out of them. Split easily. Had the rheems for 11 years now and had no trouble.

Bit like tojo vs nissan , usually I carry 5 ,all plastic all have 2 openings/lids ,makes for easier pouring , all up have 15 jerries to mix and match depending on where we are going , diesel in yellow ,water in white and 2 stroke for the boat /genny/ chainsaw in red., all willow brand.

Wow , i had no idea that plastic was so popular and so long lasting. Unless someone can talk me out of it i may join the plastic brigade.

Ask Stan, he just carried 19 jerrys in his playdoe across the madigan I think it was!

I have carted ex-army steel Jerry cans all through the Outback & Vic High Country on the camper trailer with no problems, the Rheem black plastic ones with the yellow caps won't accommodate a high flow diesel pump nozzle.

The best water Jerries are the khaki coloured ones sold by Aussie Disposals & K Mart, the white or light blue ones let in light & allow algae to grow.

I have four yellow diesel jerrys from SuperCrap and they have done 80 odd k's with no dramas, except that I lost one of the seals for one of the spouts.

The spout is a good pourer - nice breathing set up - it is just a pity that Toyota can't make decent breathers on fuel tanks - I seem to always get some on my shoes or pants.

I have had the Rheem black plastic ones, but the standard rheem spout quickly perished and cracked and one of them developed a leak in one of the (two) caps (well in the seal anyway).

Did have one emergency with them on the roof - hit a low hanging tree and it turned the cap so had to jump up on the roof rack to retighten it.

Ciao for now
Andrew.

I have owned 2 steel jerry cans that I purchased back in 1977.

They have been pretty much in use the whole time for one thing or another and are currently carrying fuel for my motorbikes.

Apart from replacing the rubber seal once about a year ago I have never had a problem.

However it is possible that they are not made now like they used to be.

G'day Brew,

I have 2 of the black plastic jobbies which you can have if you like. They've had diesel in them, but have been sitting in my shed, empty, for the past several years.

Cheers mate

Roachie

I have 4 super crap $20 jobs and a $50approx job (all Plastic) How do I rate them? The $20 super crap have given me less grief than the higher quality one.

Plastic all the way my man, had a steel one for a while, but the paint in the tank flaked and clogged my fuel line.

I see at Bunnings they are selling diesel only jerry cans at 20 bucks each. Much the same as the rheem plastic ones but with the bigger cap to allow for the bigger fill nozzles. I cant see why you could not use them for unleaded. Yellow in colour with the same flexible pouring nozzle as the petrol ones. Might be worth a look!!

Plastic is the only way to go apart from anything else there is a slight weight advantage. Keep some spare seals though I've misplaced a few over the years

One of my camper trailer can holders had a couple of sharp edges.
Didn't notice it on the steel jerry cans, but took a bit of plastic off the plastic one. Good gouge in it now.
Prefer the plastic though.

G'day Brew nothin to do with your jerry can question,just thought i'd let you now that i've completed my storage system after 4 weekends straight on the job,we made a couple of mistakes along the way but all in all it looks o.k,ca'nt show you pic's cause i have'nt figured that bit out yet.cheer's Sir GREENDOG.

Brew,

If you don't mind lifting the bloody things while you are refilling your fuel tank, the plastic ones should be OK.

Me, I'm getting old and lazy and leave the jerry cans secured to the trailer.
A tanami pump takes care of the fuel transfer. So simple and no spills, but AFAIK the tanami pump only fits the steel jerries. "Powered" by the spare wheel. The spare if inflated to around 55 psi will contain enough air for at least 3 jerries.

Tanami Pump

Well Brew I'll confuse you.

I have 5 red metal ones that I bought in 1996 with the Trak Shak, I use them for diesel, I also have one green metal one I use for ULP for the mower. In addition to these I also have 5 yellow plastic ones I use for water and 1 green plastic one I use for recycled water, ( for doing the dishes in).

I have had no problems with any of them. I don't knock them around, I don't drop them they are carried firmly secured on the ct in an upright position. Just as the maker recommends.

So I hope that has added to the decision making process. Whatever you buy buy good quality.

Finally I do not pour. I use super siphon's. No mess no fuss no heavy lifting. I have three, 1 x 3/4" for diesel, that sucker really empties a jerry can fast. I use a half inch one for filling the mower and a half inch one for water. They are clearly marked so I don't mix them up, but I keeep the one for water in the ct and the one for filling the mower in the shed. I rarely take the mower on holidays with me.

I got back from Madigan Line / Hay River Trip about a month ago. On the trip
I had to carry 19 jerries with (14 fuel + 5 water).
I bought 12 ex-army steel jerry cans for $20 each and had a problem with them from day one.

Even with new seals some of them wouldn't seal properly... I had to use plastic
bags over them so it doesn't smell. The plastics ones didn't had any smell
problems. However because of heaps of corrugations one of them had
a bit of deep rubbing happening from the cargo barrier.

In short, I would recommend going with plastics ones as they are seal better
and they are easier to pour. Something like black rheems ones or similar should do.