RE: [MV] Jerry Can Gasket and Pour Spouts (NATO)

From: Glen Closson (glen@closson.com)
Date: Mon Jan 12 2004 - 20:49:27 PST


I bought some from metallsignwerks@hotmail.com in July of 03.

Very nice to deal with; Tom & Shella Sears

Regards,

Glen
May the Joys of today be those of tomorrow!
May the goblet of life hold no dregs of sorrow!

-----Original Message-----
From: Military Vehicles Mailing List [mailto:mil-veh@mil-veh.org] On Behalf
Of Lee Knoper
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 5:21 PM
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List
Subject: [MV] Jerry Can Gasket and Pour Spouts (NATO)

[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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