Jerry Can Gasket and Pour Spouts (NATO)

From: Lee Knoper (saztac4i@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Jan 11 2004 - 17:21:07 PST


[Was: Re: [MV] Jerry Can Gasket for the Lid Part Number needed]

On Fri, 9 Jan 2004 20:03:04 -0000, "noel shelley"
<noel@shelley1722.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

> Get yourself some nitrile rubber sheet and cut them out .

Having dealt with the vagaries of aftermarket gaskets for quite a few
years now, I had pretty much resigned myself to doing just that.

I carry reserve fuel in 5 gal jerry cans for multiple vehicles and
routinely rotate it. None of the aftermarket jerry can gaskets that
I've tried work well with diesel fuel. They're made of rubber that is
marginally adequate; they soften and swell. Once the jerry can's bung
plug is removed, the gasket often is too sloppy to properly reseal.
They sort of return to normal after airing out overnight, but as a
precaution I keep some floater gaskets on hand for fuel transfers.

However, the concern has become slightly more pressing because of an
apparent consumer market transition to NATO style openings and spouts.
I don't know the exact stimulus - whether it's in the public or
private sector - but this past summer I noticed that Checker Auto
stopped selling jerry cans with the old ~2-1/4" bung that has been
with us since at least WWII. Now they sell only the NATO style can
and pour spout. (AutoZone and Pep Boys still sell the old style.)

It was probably just as well. Locally, supplies of full size pour
spouts (the only kind worth having, I'll venture) - in either threaded
or quick disconnect varieties - had pretty much dried up.

Rightly or not, I took this discovery as a signal to change my
personal stock on an attrition basis, and already have acquired
several used NATO surplus cans from other sources.

The downside is that I haven't yet spotted any sources of replacement
gaskets for these NATO jerry cans. Similarly, the "unleaded" type of
aftermarket pour spout is the only one I have yet seen. They're all
Pac Rim imports, and quality of construction varies wildly. (Don't
stick your finger in the larger end to clear an apparent obstruction -
it's probably an untrimmed piece of the spiral stem. Simultaneously
you'll get a vicious laceration and face a "fishhook extraction"
situation. No, I didn't do it myself.)

In terms of fuel transfer flow rate the Pac Rim pour spouts are next
to worthless, because they do not adequately vent the jerry can as it
is being emptied. Transfers take =forever=.

Unless someone knows of a source of more suitable NATO pour spouts, I
may have to sacrifice a Pac Rim version in some homespun R & D efforts
to arrive at an improved version.

Lee_K

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