How to find a good gas can without the frustration
My friend Greg Lewis used to say in high school: “He’s so dumb, he couldn’t pour pee out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel.”
Courtesy of a recent fiveday power outage, I think I know what that apocryphal numskull does for a living: He designs gasoline cans.
During the blackout, I spilled gasoline on myself and a running generator, wasted time and money shopping, and cursed a blue streak, all because some industrial designers apparently never saw anybody pour a cup of coffee.
How do you pick a can that won’t turn you into a walking wick? And how did a simple tool like a gas can morph into a machine requiring three arms and double-jointed thumbs?
I’ve had a 2-gallon plastic gas can for years. It’s all I need to refuel my lawn mower and snowblower, but it was insufficient when I had to fill my generator’s 7.5-gallon tank a couple of times a day to keep my house cool on 90-degree days and preserve frozen
food for myself and my neighbors. I needed 1-2 more cans.
I eventually found a 2.5-gallon can with an easy to use trigger that allows you to regulate flow so an initial rush of gasoline doesn’t overwhelm the inlet.
The brand is Easy Can. I paid about $20 for one at Home Depot.
My generator has a 7.5-gallon tank, so I needed another can. Sadder but wiser after my bad purchases, I knew the product characteristics I needed when I went to Amazon looking for a 5-gallon can.
I found a No Spill can with the same trigger design — perpendicular to the spout; put a finger on either side and you can pull while holding the spout steady.
Best of all, the No Spill has handles on top and its rear, making it easy to hold steady while tipping the can to pour. A 5-gallon plastic can of gasoline can weigh about 35 pounds, so a single handle on the same top surface as the spout isn’t helpful. I paid $33.99 for the big No Spill.