Storing gasoline for use later is essential for anyone with a gas-powered machine that they need to keep fueled. Gasoline, however, can be very dangerous as it is not only highly flammable but also produces flammable vapors that pressurize whatever container they’re stored in. On top of that, spilling gasoline can often be dangerous and is a common problem with many gas cans. Luckily, there are a variety of gas cans available on the market that are safe to use and store gasoline in. To help you pick the right one, we’ve compiled this list of five hand-picked fuel cans, and included a guide at the bottom to help you decide which is the perfect gas can for your needs.
Best Gas Cans of 2020
| Product | Material | Size, gal | Colors | Dimensions WxDxH | Weight, lbs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-Spill 1450 (Editor's Choice) |  | Plastic | 5 | Red | 13.8 x 11 x 14.3 in | 2 | Check Price |
| Justrite Type II AccuFlow Steel Can |  | Galvanized Steel | 5 | Blue; Green; Red; Yellow | 19 x 13 x 13 in | 9.63 | Check Price |
| Wavian Authentic NATO Jerry Can |  | 0.9mm cold rolled steel | 5.3 | Black; Blue; Green; Red; Yellow | 19 x 14 x 6.5 in | 9.6 | Check Price |
| Surecan Crispo CRSUR22G1 |  | Plastic | 2.2 | Red | 12.1 x 9 x 13.1 in | 1.6 | Check Price |
| Eagle Galvanized Steel Safety Can |  | Galvanized Steel | 1 | Red | 9 x 9 x 8 in | 3.52 | Check Price |
1. No-Spill 1450 – Best 5 Gallon Plastic Gasoline Can
One of the most common reasons that people spill gas when filling up something like a lawn mower or leaf blower is that they simply can’t see into the gas tank to check how close to the top the fuel is. This can often cause spills due to overfilling the gas tank. This is one of the problems that the No-Spill gas can tries to fix. This gas can features the classic red plastic look with a carry handle at the top and boasts a unique yellow nozzle with a green button that has a slew of important features that anyone would want on their gas can.
This 5-gallon gas can has a seven-eighths of an inch funnel spout that is designed to fit into even the smallest of equipment and easily fills them with a simple press of a button. Tipping the gas can alone will not cause any gasoline to flow out until you press the green button at the top, and once the button is released, the gas immediately stops flowing. The even more impressive feature of this fuel can is that the spout has an automatic shut-off mechanism that stops the flow of fuel once it detects that the tank of whatever is being filled up is full. This means you’ll never overflow your mower again and spill potentially dangerous gasoline all over the hot engine. This gas can also comes with a dust cover for keeping the spout clean, and an integrated stainless steel screen to act as a flame arrester that prevents burning fumes from spreading fire into the gas can.
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2. Justrite Type II AccuFlow Steel Can – Best 5 Gallon Metal Gasoline Can
Metal gas cans are incredibly durable and will last a lifetime, but their steel construction can make them inconveniently heavy, and they can be especially unwieldy when they’re full. This is a problem that Justrite attempts to fix with their Type II steel safety can. This fuel can has an excellent ergonomic design that makes it easy to use, featuring a large and easy to grab handle at the top that allows easy access to the safe squeeze trigger. This trigger is large, making it easy to handle, and offers a precise degree of control over how quickly the liquid in the can is poured out.
In addition to the excellent design that allows for easy handling and pouring, this can has a flexible 9-inch steel hose that measures 5/8 of an inch in diameter that allows you to easily line up and fuel small gas tanks even from difficult angles. This gas can holds 5 gallons of fuel and features an automatic pressure relief valve that vents when the pressure is between 3 and 5 PSI. This can is also very easy to fill back up as it has a large opening at the top, which is covered with a handle and clamp, so there’s no need to remove and replace a cap repeatedly when refilling the can, which can lead to looseness and leaks. The tip of the hose also has a stainless steel flame arrestor in case of an emergency, or if the steel itself becomes hot enough to potentially ignite the vapors of the gasoline. Finally, the OSHA approved can comes in four different colors for storing various types of flammable liquids and has a large label area for discerning, which cans contain what kinds of flammable liquids.
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3. Wavian Authentic NATO Jerry Can – Best Military Fuel Can to Buy
The next gas can on our list is the Wavian NATO Jerry fuel can. This fuel can was designed for military use and has been used by countries throughout NATO for many years, lending it iconic and sought after visual appeal. This incredibly durable gas can is made from 0.9mm cold rolled steel and is so strong that even being dropped out of the bed of a pickup or run over with an SUV isn’t enough to cause it to leak. The thick welds on the side of the can are recessed so as not to wear out over time or scratch the finish on the inside of vehicles, and the steel carry handles at the top are also welded in place.
The Wavian NATO fuel can has a 5.3-gallon capacity and features an anti-corrosive coating on both the inside and outside to ensure the metal doesn’t begin to rust in humid environments. This fuel can has a dual-sealed cap with a pin that goes through it to secure it in place, and comes with a removable nozzle. This removable nozzle is latched on and easily comes on and off, making fueling up easy, but often resulting in leaks. The included bayonet-style nozzle also lacks any kind of manual flow control, meaning there is no button to press to allow the fuel to start flowing. Instead, it uses a safety spout which will not leak when tipped over and will only be open when it is actually pressed against something like the inside of a gas tank.
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4. Surecan Crispo CRSUR22G1 – Best Rated 2 Gallon Fuel Container
A full gas can is often extremely unwieldy, and the sloshing liquid is usually the culprit behind many spills. If you didn’t have to tip the can, the liquid wouldn’t slosh around as much, and there would be much less of an opportunity for spills to happen. This is the exact reasoning that lead Surecan to make the Crispo gasoline can. This can sports the classic red plastic look with a carry handle on top, but has the nozzle on the bottom of the can rather than coming out of the top. This prevents you from having to tip the can to pour out fuel and reduces the amount of sloshing around that happens inside the can.
The Crispo gas can has a long spout coming out of the bottom corner with a thumb trigger at the top that controls when the gasoline comes out. The thumb trigger also comes with a safety latch that must be pushed forward before the trigger can be pressed down to begin at the flow of fuel. The thumb trigger at the top also acts as a pressure valve, which releases excessive vapors if the pressure inside the can becomes too high. The back of the can features a large twist-off cap for filling the can back up with fuel once it’s empty. To make it more manageable and less unwieldy this can has a 2.2-gallon capacity but is available in other sizes as well.
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5. Eagle Galvanized Steel Safety Can – Simple and Safe 1 Gallon Gasoline Can for Lawn Mower
The final gas can on our list is the Eagle Type I safety can. This galvanized steel can boasts a very simple design that still manages to incorporate various safety features. The metal can is painted bright red with a large yellow label on it that informs those around that the contents of the can are flammable and should not be treated lightly. This is the smallest can on our list with a mere one-gallon capacity and comes in at only 8 inches in height and 9 inches in diameter.
This gas can has no nozzle or spout, but instead has a funnel that attaches directly to the opening of the can. The top of the can has a carry handle which is next to the handle that controls how open the top of the can is, and gas can easily be poured into any tank by simply pulling both handles and tipping the opening towards the included funnel. The funnel can also be easily taken off and used to refill the gas can when the time comes. The opening of this gas can also comes with an included internal fire arrestor that prevents flaming vapors or a trail of flaming gasoline from burning into the can and causing the fuel inside of the can to ignite.
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Buyer’s Guide
Storing gasoline is a serious business. Not only use the gasoline itself flammable, but gasoline evaporates quickly at room temperature, causing pressure to build up in whatever kind of container it is stored in. On top of that, the vapors produced by the gasoline are even more flammable than the fuel itself. These combined factors make storing gasoline safely a prime concern for anyone who has machines to fuel. Things can also get dangerous when the time comes to actually fuel up your machines if you have gas cans that are leaky or tend to spill everywhere. This can be especially hazardous if the engine of the mower or machine you’re fueling has already been running all day and is already hot. Not only could spilling gasoline onto the hot engine create a potentially dangerous situation, but many engines can be hot enough to easily ignite the gas vapors.
Over the years, however, a variety of solutions have come on to the market to solve these problems and offer safer options for fueling your vehicle, mower, or other machines. We made this list to take a look at some of the unique options that are available when trying to safely fuel up your machines from a gas can. Each of the gas cans on this list has a variety of distinguishing factors, including the material they’re made of, how their nozzle works, and how the fuel flow is turned on or off. In this short guide, we’ll go over what the advantages and disadvantages are of each of these different options in order to give you a clear idea of which can will best suit your needs.
Materials
The most immediately noticeable thing that differentiates one gas can from another is what material it is made of. All of the gas cans on our list are made from either plastic or metal, each of which presents distinct advantages and disadvantages. Metal gas cans are, as you might expect, much more durable than plastic gas cans. Fuel cans made from plastic can be punctured in the back of a pickup truck if they are placed with other tools or equipment and happen to bump around, or can even be damaged from a simple fall out of the bed of a truck. Most metal gas cans, on the other hand, are almost impervious to damage and will last a lifetime. The drawback to metal gas cans is that they are much heavier than plastic gas cans making them unwieldy, and they can often be difficult to properly line up and tip without spilling.
If toughness is a top priority for you and you want a gas can that will undoubtedly last you a lifetime, then the NATO Jerry fuel can from Wavian is a great choice. It features 0.9mm cold rolled steel and strong recessed welds that are guaranteed to never wear out or leak under normal use. On the other hand, if having a lightweight and easily manageable gas can is your priority, then the Surecan Crispo is a great choice as it is made of lightweight plastic and comes in a reasonable 2.2-gallon capacity, as opposed to the unwieldy five-gallon capacity of the NATO fuel can.
Spout and Pouring Mechanism
Every one of the gas cans on our list features a slightly different spout and pouring mechanism, some of which are safer and easier to use than others. If you want to avoid spills as much as possible, then the first gas can on our list, the No-spill 5-gallon can, might be your best choice. This plastic fuel can has an easy-to-use single button operation to start and stop the fuel flow, as well as an automatic shut-off mechanism that stops the flow of fuel on its own once the gas tank is full. This mitigates the cause of most fuel spills, which is simply overflowing a tank when you can’t see inside of it, such as with a lawnmower.
If you want the easiest possible gas can to use, then the Surecan Crispo is probably the best option on our list for you. This can features a unique design that lets you pour the gas from the bottom rather than the top of the can. A long nozzle comes out of the bottom corner of the can and a thumb trigger at the top allows you to control the flow of fuel. To make it even safer, the thumb trigger has a safety latch that must be pushed forward before the trigger can be pushed down. By putting the nozzle at the bottom of the can rather than the top, this fuel can allows you to pour fuel without having to tip the can and slosh the fuel around, which can often cause spills and is troublesome with larger cans.
Safety Features
The last thing to take note of is the special safety features that some gas cans have that can be a literal lifesaver in certain situations. If you store your fuel cans in a garage or live in a hot climate, it can be important to make sure that the cans you buy have pressure release valves. In hot environments, the vapors produced by evaporating gasoline can reach very high pressures, and many gas cans are designed to release this pressure automatically if it becomes too great. Both the Eagle Type I can and the Justrite Type II gas cans have this kind of relief valve, as well as the Crispo and No-spill cans.
Another important safety feature to have on gas cans that will be in an especially hot environment is a flame arrester. This simple metal screen prevents burning vapors from igniting the fuel inside of the gas can. Again, the Type I and Type II cans are the best in this regard. Additionally, the Type II can from Justrite is fully OSHA approved for storing any flammable liquids. The can comes in a variety of different colors that are specifically designed and OSHA approved to distinguish what kind of flammable liquids are in the cans. The classic red cans are for general flammable liquids and typically used for regular gasoline, while the blue cans are meant to store kerosene, yellow cans can be used for diesel fuel, and green cans are used for storing oil.
Wrap Up
The gas cans featured on this list were hand-picked for a variety of reasons. These five fuel cans represent the safest and easiest to use on the market. If you currently own an old gas can that either leaks everywhere, spills fuel, or simply lacks many of the more modern features of the gas cans on our list, then we highly recommend upgrading to one of these gas cans. Hopefully, our included guide has given you a good idea of which fuel can suits your needs best, but we’re sure no matter which of the cans off our list you pick, it will be a huge improvement over any gas can you have used in the past.