• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Are NATO Jerry Cans Worth the price?

No...you also need to be careful they are not Chinese knock offs because those are true pieces of shit.

Buy a 15 gallon HDPE drum like this one: http://amzn.to/2vRWGeg add a battery powered pump so you can offload to smaller containers. Gas lasts much longer when in a sealed container like a drum. Add PRI-G and you can get 6-8 months with no noticeable degradation...I have gotten 12 months without issue.
 
twenty years ago I loved the surplus jerry cans I had and I do sometimes miss them. But unless you really need a stock pile of gas or are going way off road I really prefer the 2.5 gallon cans these days. Normally all I need and much easier to move around and fill things from.


Getting too old to carry multiple 5 gallon cans and generally have nicers cars that do not fit them as well as the old beaters I used to have.


I still love the Surecan and have the two No-Spills I had before that for refilling the Surecan if it runs dry
 
Intended usage is a small bit of gas for the car should shortages etc occur due to hurricanes, as well as generator usage. Harvey related shortages in TX is what made me consider it.
 
No! Even the original WWII cans eventually rusted and leaked. You're much better off with something that in plastic.
 
Also, even with Stabil, or your choice of fuel stabilizer, I like to not keep gas for more than three months, so I like being able to easily dump it in the car and refill as needed.

Ideally I keep 10 gallons around and try to use and refill one 2.5 gallon container each month. I miss a month here and there and I would want more if I had a generator, but this does well enough for my normal needs. I have another ten gallons worth of older containers and they might get filled before big blizzards so I could use inverter in car for emergency power for a while if I had too. Would not run whole house but would be enough for the gas furnace for heat.
 
I use and recommend a 5-gallon plastic gas jug, and then add an EZ Pour screw on cap for storage, and an EZ Pour push in vent for faster pouring. You can get them on ebay. Forget the EZ Pour spouts, they're junk. As someone said Tri-G is great, as is Tri-D for Diesel. I keep 6 gas cans filled and rotate them through one a month. Wisely I filled them all last week [smile]. I don't like to go more than 6 months, but have gone longer without a problem. I also keep a couple diesel cans.
 
Individualist said:
I use and recommend a 5-gallon plastic gas jug, and then add an EZ Pour screw on cap for storage, and an EZ Pour push in vent for faster pouring. You can get them on ebay. Forget the EZ Pour spouts, they're junk. As someone said Tri-G is great, as is Tri-D for Diesel. I keep 6 gas cans filled and rotate them through one a month. Wisely I filled them all last week [smile]. I don't like to go more than 6 months, but have gone longer without a problem. I also keep a couple diesel cans.
Click to expand...
What do you use for a spout if not the ez pour one?
 
ThePreBanMan said:
I routinely keep gas for a year plus with Stabil and have never had an issue. I don't even drain the tanks of any of my small engines during the off season. Actually - I make sure they're full.
Click to expand...

Honestly, the only engine that ever gave me trouble was a carbureted Harley, but it gave me enough trouble that I just got extra cautious about gas regardless of what it was going in.
 
nhams said:
What do you use for a spout if not the ez pour one?
Click to expand...

I find the newer ones that come with the cans now are not so bad, like they were several years ago. The key is to add the vent so they pour quickly. I bought a bunch of the EZ Pour spouts and they were fine at first, but broke down from the sun and temp changes. They are became brittle and basically cracked or disintegrated in a year.
 
dennism said:
Intended usage is a small bit of gas for the car should shortages etc occur due to hurricanes, as well as generator usage. Harvey related shortages in TX is what made me consider it.
Click to expand...

I've been using Scribner plastic 5 gallon fuel jugs for probably 25 years now. I've got a few that are at least that old - and they still work fine.

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...0i10k1j0i131i10k1j0i13k1j33i160k1.yAidX85m4I0

They come in multiple colors so you can get red for gas , yellow for diesel - etc.

I bought 5 or 6 of the red ones about ten years ago when there were threats of gas shortages - figuring I wanted something around to store gas in - just in case I needed to. I also bought 6 of the yellow ones about 15 years ago when first got a diesel tractor. All of them still work fine with no leaks.

From what I have read however - gas will stay good longer in a metal can than it will in plastic. There is some light infiltration thru plastic unless you can store in a cool dark place. I tend to believe this after a number of years of observation on how long the crappy ethanol infested gas lasted in metal fuel tanks on some of my stuff - vs the plastic jugs.

When I buy gas now that I know will be hanging around in storage for a while - I go to an airport and fill the jugs up with the ethanol free stuff. I've got some now - with no preservative in it - that I've had for two years. It still works fine.
 
If you want to stay with Military Fuel Cans, (MFC), the only place that I know to get them is from someone who is visiting from a road trip from Canada. If they are nice they leave their 'old' can behind for you. They can not be sold here by a business. I have/like the Scepter MFCs in different colors.

http://mil.sceptermilitary.com/fuel_containers/

They can be bought in some gas stations along the border. Scepter also makes a civilian can but that is not what you asked. I don't like them.

Though I have the Scepter spout I like the simple siphon on hand. Getting either the 'shaker siphon' or the 'simple siphon', I don't know which one came first, works well and quickly.

Good luck.
 
GomerPile said:
No...you also need to be careful they are not Chinese knock offs because those are true pieces of shit.

Buy a 15 gallon HDPE drum like this one: http://amzn.to/2vRWGeg add a battery powered pump so you can offload to smaller containers. Gas lasts much longer when in a sealed container like a drum. Add PRI-G and you can get 6-8 months with no noticeable degradation...I have gotten 12 months without issue.
Click to expand...

$70 Yikes.

I have used ones that need to be cleaned for sale here $10 per or 6 for $50
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/266216-WTS-Blue-15-Gallon-Storage-barrels
 
dennism said:
Jerry cans are quite pricey. Is the value there?
Click to expand...

Strictly speaking they're probaby not NATO cans as the NATO surplus supply dried up a few years ago. I researched this at one time and there is one factory somewhere in eastern Europe still making cans to the NATO spec. but they're not legal for gasoline storage in Mass. You're also quite likely to be getting crappy Chinese knockoffs at that price.
 
SERE said:
If you want to stay with Military Fuel Cans, (MFC), the only place that I know to get them is from someone who is visiting from a road trip from Canada. If they are nice they leave their 'old' can behind for you. They can not be sold here by a business. I have/like the Scepter MFCs in different colors.

http://mil.sceptermilitary.com/fuel_containers/...
Click to expand...

+1

Have been using Scepter cans for 10+ years and will never go back to metal ones. I buy them each time I am in Quebec.
 
SERE said:
If you want to stay with Military Fuel Cans, (MFC), the only place that I know to get them is from someone who is visiting from a road trip from Canada. If they are nice they leave their 'old' can behind for you. They can not be sold here by a business. I have/like the Scepter MFCs in different colors.

http://mil.sceptermilitary.com/fuel_containers/

They can be bought in some gas stations along the border. Scepter also makes a civilian can but that is not what you asked. I don't like them.

Though I have the Scepter spout I like the simple siphon on hand. Getting either the 'shaker siphon' or the 'simple siphon', I don't know which one came first, works well and quickly.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

these are the exact ones we use in the Marine Corps for fuel/water.

tidbit of info...our slang for the ez pour spout for these is 'donkey dick'...this has been a marine corps minute brought to you by chesty pullers smoking pipe.
 
Last edited:
Shipping is usually expensive on metal Jerry cans.
I use these from Atlantic British and highly recommend them- although they are marked "not for storage of fuel"
http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/GJC20K4
$40 for one, or $155 for four cans.

ETA They are offering FREE shipping this Labor Day weekend on orders of $199+
 
Last edited:
I have four 20L NATO cans, and one old USGI "gerry" can. The old US can is useless, but the NATO cans work just fine.

I need to take up my old habit of rotating fuel through the four NATO cans. I have Eagle brand safety cans, though, so I stopped bothering a few years ago.
 
I've been switching over to No-Spill cans. They work great and don't dump a bunch of gas on my feet.

41jVHqueexL._SX425_.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/No-Spill-140...e=UTF8&qid=1504732106&sr=8-2&keywords=gas+can

ETA: If you're storing gas, you might consider ethanol free. https://www.pure-gas.org/
 
I have a dozen NATO cans and I love them. Bought them years ago from Sportsmans Guide. Pri-g and the gas will last for years. I try to rotate once a year but have had several go 3 or 4 years and had no issues burning it in either a small engine or a vehicle. I use them only for long term storage for emergency use. For regular use I have a couple 2.5 gallon plastic cans.
 
coastie said:
I have a dozen NATO cans and I love them. Bought them years ago from Sportsmans Guide. Pri-g and the gas will last for years. I try to rotate once a year but have had several go 3 or 4 years and had no issues burning it in either a small engine or a vehicle. I use them only for long term storage for emergency use. For regular use I have a couple 2.5 gallon plastic cans.
Click to expand...

I'd store more gas if I had a place to put it. I just don't want that much flammable liquid inside my garage and I can't be bothered to build something suitable far enough from my house.
 
I picked up three of these a while back

https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-UI-50-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GST5WAK4JS2DZYJNTS30

I don't recall what I paid but I know at the time the price had dropped to something very reasonable which is why I jumped on them. Only downside I recall was when they come they may be pre-dented a bit from the vacuum created in the can. When I opened them up some dents popped out but not all.
 

Similar threads

A quick trip to the Adirondacks...
Replies
12
Views
467
peterk123
P
The preppers who fear global meltdown in 2024 ....
2 3
Replies
61
Views
3K
tinhorn
tinhorn
Ötzi the Iceman...
Replies
4
Views
462
not new guy
N
Water Bath Canning Tip of the Day
Replies
0
Views
262
Uzi2
U
Survival Rifles of the USAF...
Replies
4
Views
686
Tnkrclwn
T
Back
Top Bottom