Being dumb with gasoline

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

The good news is that I'm fine; yesterday could have turned out worse than it did.

 

Yesterday I decided it was time to mow the lawn.  What's the first prep task?  Fill the fuel tank.  So I grabbed my gas can, and that's when two mistakes collided.  

 

First mistake: storing the gas can on a high shelf.  How high?

 

 

Up there on the right end of that shelf, which is above my head.  What can I say, I like keeping the floors clear and clutter-free.  I’ve read enough local restaurant health inspection reports to know that you aren’t supposed to store toxic stuff above food items because the food can accidentally get contaminated.  But for some reason it never occurred to me that I shouldn’t store hazardous chemicals in high places even when foodstuffs aren’t involved. 

 

Second mistake?  Grabbing the gas can by the nozzle to pick it up.  When the can is on that high shelf, its handle is inconveniently positioned, so I routinely just grab the nozzle.  Except this time, just as I slid the can free of the shelf, the nozzle broke off in my hand:

 

 

If you look back up at the first pic, you'll notice a box fan and a pair of boots.  This is not a coincidence.  When the nozzle broke off, the can (sans nozzle) feel six feet to the floor, projecting a geyser of gasoline up out of its fill port.  I got a bunch on the garage wall and floor, and a bunch on me (thankfully none on my eyes).  

 

I ran the box fan for a few hours before going to bed last night, but of course the garage still reeked this morning.  And despite three showers, my wife could still smell gasoline on me when we went to bed.   Not even going to try to save the clothes I was wearing, they'd just stink up the washer and dryer.  

 

Lessons learned?  Don't store gasoline in a high place, and always use the handle when hoisting the can.  

[John Ranalletta]

Glad it wasn't worse, like having a hot mower exhaust nearby.  I've converted to these cans.  Spendy but safer, I think.  I took two of the 1.25 gal in the topbox on the trip up the ice fields highway to Jasper. 

 

The nozzle still might come off if used as a handle, but I doubt it.

 

[Oldironken]

Yikes...  I keep mine in the barn with all my equipment.  Right next to where i store my blacksmith forge. 

[Rougarou]

Light a match, the gas smell will go away

[TEWKS]

2 hours ago, Living the Dream said:

Light a match, the gas smell will go away

 

 Funny, we went on a spilled gasoline call last week and I suggested something similar. Now it was a drip from a lawnmower (I mean a drip) in the garage but they were hypersensitive to it I guess. I told them to light a smelly candle in their living quarters to distract their senses. The look I got!  

[roadscholar]

 

I could be wrong but isn’t that one of those EPA mandated idiot proof gas container/dispenser thingys that came out 10 or 12 years ago and took at least two people to operate?    

[TEWKS]

There is actually a worse case scenario here. In this old training video that every fire recruit sees (several times actually) has these guys planning for a live burn exercise. They got a little extra!  IIRC, story was they soaked the place with gasoline then went to lunch. 

 

[Bill_Walker]

Use these cans:  https://www.justrite.com/safety-cans-and-containers/type-ii-accuflowtm-steel-safety-cans.html

 

 

They're not cheap, but they're the best around.  I used them for years at my stable for gas and diesel.  The control handle makes it super easy to stop quickly when the tank you're filling gets full.  I don't think you'll break the nozzle off, either.

[Rougarou]

9 hours ago, Bill_Walker said:

Use these cans:  https://www.justrite.com/safety-cans-and-containers/type-ii-accuflowtm-steel-safety-cans.html

 

 

They're not cheap, but they're the best around.  I used them for years at my stable for gas and diesel.  The control handle makes it super easy to stop quickly when the tank you're filling gets full.  I don't think you'll break the nozzle off, either.

 

$5 at an estate auction, best gas can I've ever owned and have had it for 10ish years,.....don't know how long the dead guy before me had it.

[RandyShields]

>>> story was they soaked the place with gasoline then went to lunch.

 

Ouch!

[Sonor]

Oh  just use a mason jar, glass if you have it. 

[Rougarou]

18 minutes ago, Sonor said:

Oh  just use a mason jar, glass if you have it. 

 

 

Meh, those are prevalent anymore, but these are:

[TEWKS]

If you were a thinking youngin,  you'd get two and hook them through each handgrip on the huffy. I remember the gas station attendant letting it slide once or twice before stepping in. 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

18 hours ago, roadscholar said:

I could be wrong but isn’t that one of those EPA mandated idiot proof gas container/dispenser thingys that came out 10 or 12 years ago and took at least two people to operate?    

 

Mine probably dates back to 2004, but it does have a spring-loaded closure feature.  According to this site, California Air Resources Board (CARB) had gas can rules in place way back in 2000, and the EPA didn't put a national rule into place until 2009.  It may be that mine was designed to be CARB compliant but was being sold nationwide anyway.   The child-proof feature was annoying (you had to retract a spring-loaded safety lever every time you let the valve close), but other than that it seemed to work fine.

 

I don't have any experience with other gas cans that were being produced shortly after the EPA implemented their national rule, but I have no doubt they were as crummy as first-generation low-flow toilets (as crummy as first-gen anything, really).   But the new can I rushed out and bought on Tuesday night seems to work pretty good, and John's NO-SPILL can looks even better:

 

 

 

 

[Rougarou]

3 hours ago, TEWKS said:

If you were a thinking youngin,  you'd get two and hook them through each handgrip on the huffy. I remember the gas station attendant letting it slide once or twice before stepping in. 

 

 

Hehe,.....must be a Mass thing, down in La where I grew up, some stations had milk jugs for fuel use, those are the same stations that dumped used oil on the back lot to keep the dust down.  Never seen an issue with anyone filling a milk jug.

[elkroeger]

throw out that God-forsaken spout.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Gas-Spout-Replacement-Water-White/dp/B0149L17FC/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=ez+pour+spout&qid=1566968040&s=gateway&sr=8-13

[John Ranalletta]

On 8/22/2019 at 8:21 AM, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

 

Mine probably dates back to 2004, but it does have a spring-loaded closure feature.  According to this site, California Air Resources Board (CARB) had gas can rules in place way back in 2000, and the EPA didn't put a national rule into place until 2009.  It may be that mine was designed to be CARB compliant but was being sold nationwide anyway.   The child-proof feature was annoying (you had to retract a spring-loaded safety lever every time you let the valve close), but other than that it seemed to work fine.

 

I don't have any experience with other gas cans that were being produced shortly after the EPA implemented their national rule, but I have no doubt they were as crummy as first-generation low-flow toilets (as crummy as first-gen anything, really).   But the new can I rushed out and bought on Tuesday night seems to work pretty good, and John's NO-SPILL can looks even better:

 

 

The can has one potential drawback.  When left in the sun or a warm place, especially after filling it with gas at a lower temp, pressure will build in the can.  That pressure can cause a spurt of gas when depressing the plunger.  So, if the sides look distorted, I'll relieve the pressure before inverting to fill my mowers, etc.  In that video, if the container was pressurized when she tried to fill the smaller containers, she'd be wearing some of the fluid.

 

 

[Rider1200RT]

You're lucky as it could have been worse. I really dislike those so called environmentally friendly gas cans as they end up spilling more gas then the ones they replaced....

A few years of boating will teach you the finer points of refueling with these dumb cans.....

[elkroeger]

That no-spill spout sure looks neat, if you take your gasoline in pint glasses.  Try shoving that thing into normal gas tanks, which are commonly at an angle, or tucked up underneath something somehow (like a bumper), or have some other obstruction nearby.  And then you have the business of trying to turn the can up on end to get the last little bit out.  I don't think that I would be able to use that thing on my mower, the wife's bike, or either of our cars.

 

We have some of those spouts at work, and the guys make a terrible mess every time.  I don't see what's safe, or environmentally responsible about that.

[Red]

Glad you pointed that out elkroeger.  I was contemplating getting one for the mover on my irrigation wheel line because sometimes it's the spousal unit who does the refuel and she has a heck of a time determining full until it runs over.   However the fill hole is angled and it's cramped under the cover for manuvering.  I still may get one for use on the lawn mower and string trimmer. 

[Bill_Walker]

Seriously, guys.  Spend the cash for the Justrite cans I posted (Amazon has 'em).  No spilling, because nothing flows until you squeeze the handle, and it stops flowing as soon as you let go, which is way faster than you can stop it by tilting a conventional can back.  And the flexible spout lets you get into those tough filler necks.  Being metal, they are heavier than the plastic cans, but they're also tough as nails.  I had a full one fall off the back of a flatbed golf cart.  There might have been a scratch in the paint, but there were no dents.