Change My Mind: Scepter is the Best Way to Carry Fuel

[Space Invader]

I just got my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Scepter 5 gallon fuel can and filled them with ethanol-free, longer-lived gasoline. I bought them new and unused on Ebay.

I think they are the best! Lets talk about the form factor, the mounting, and the material.

The Wavian metal ones can be punctured, and can puncture other things. Metal is hard! The Scepter swell with the heat, which is good!

Jerry cans can be carried around, like to another vehicle where they can deliver or receive fuel.

Jerry cans can be carried to a gas station, or in other vehicles, as opposed to integral "extended range" tanks.

I want to maybe use mine for powering portable generators.

Rotopax don't carry enough fuel, and the mounting for Rotopax is not ideal, with everything hanging off of one constantly oscillating point, as opposed to sitting firmly and secured with one or two sides against a flat surface.

Scepter look the coolest. The can be accessorized, modified, extended, etc. https://jagmte.com/collections/scepter-mfc-accessories

Other gas tanks (which aren't Rotopax, Wavian, or Scepter) can be to flimsy. one of my Scepter cans has a gash in the side of it, and I'm not worried at all! (Although I do need to keep the thing totally strapped down.)

In World War Two, the allies captured german jerry cans (Thats where the name comes from) and realized they were totally awesome, so they used them themselves.

Then humanity made advances in plastic, and guess what the US military uses today? Scepter plastic cans.

Somebody find me a picture of a modern US military soldier with a metal fuel can. I cant find one. I'm not in the military, though.

Please, if I've got it wrong, will a veteran come in and set the record straight?

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[chorky]

Used those for far too many years in the past - as a vet. They work sure, but there are better solutions.

I also have a couple of Wavians on my TJ. They have been exposed to the elements non stop for 6 years now. There is some rust starting. They do expand a lot in the summer. And although it looks suspicious never has one broken at the seam. Couple years ago I even lost one, that was full, on the road. It fell of at 50, landed perfectly to get stuck under my Jeep and dragged for a few hundred feet, and then bounced over some railroad tracks - in 90 degree temps mind you. Didn't leak a drop of Gas. That being said, I do think the plastic Scepters are a better option than the Wavian. But the robustness of the Wavians are under-rated. All the other fuel can options are completely sub-par and I would never use any of them IMO (except maybe to store lawn mower gas in the shed where it never moves and is protected from the sun).

But an on board aux tank is the optimum way to go. Instead of struggling lugging around bulk you can have a aux tank plumbed right into your factory tank. Just push a button and it fills up. It also doesn't take up extra space in the bed, and fills up when you fill your factory tank - so no additional fill neck's needed.

Long Range America I think currently has the only option for under body mounting for the Gladiator. Its slick. Well worth the cost. But that also depends on how often a person drives long distances I suppose. Many people argue "well you gotta stop to pee, that's crazy to carry so much fuel". Begging to differ, I would rather stop when I WANT to stop, not when I HAVE to stop. Also, those people seem to always be near fuel stations - out my way it could easily be a hundred miles or more before you see a gas station if out exploring the woods. On board aux tanks beat the plastic Scepter can's.

 

[fourfa]

I'm very happy with my 4 MFCs. However there were definitely issues along the way to becoming happy:

Get a cap wrench. Hand-tight, no matter how strong your grip is, will leak eventually. Worse, you might not be able to re-open a cap that didn't go on particularly tight. Expansion can exert a lot of force! Cheap rubber strap wrench sucks, I tried that first but not worth the minimal cost savings.

Whatever seals come with them, consider them trash, replace them, and carry spares.

I broke two plastic cap flanges along the way, replaced them with identical plastic flanges as that's all I could find at the time (and I carry a spare too). Now I see machined metal flanges - replace plastic with those as needed. Much better.

 

[Space Invader]

Used those for far too many years in the past - as a vet. They work sure, but there are better solutions.

I also have a couple of Wavians on my TJ. They have been exposed to the elements non stop for 6 years now. There is some rust starting. They do expand a lot in the summer. And although it looks suspicious never has one broken at the seam. Couple years ago I even lost one, that was full, on the road. It fell of at 50, landed perfectly to get stuck under my Jeep and dragged for a few hundred feet, and then bounced over some railroad tracks - in 90 degree temps mind you. Didn't leak a drop of Gas. That being said, I do think the plastic Scepters are a better option than the Wavian. But the robustness of the Wavians are under-rated. All the other fuel can options are completely sub-par and I would never use any of them IMO (except maybe to store lawn mower gas in the shed where it never moves and is protected from the sun).

But an on board aux tank is the optimum way to go. Instead of struggling lugging around bulk you can have a aux tank plumbed right into your factory tank. Just push a button and it fills up. It also doesn't take up extra space in the bed, and fills up when you fill your factory tank - so no additional fill neck's needed.

Long Range America I think currently has the only option for under body mounting for the Gladiator. Its slick. Well worth the cost. But that also depends on how often a person drives long distances I suppose. Many people argue "well you gotta stop to pee, that's crazy to carry so much fuel". Begging to differ, I would rather stop when I WANT to stop, not when I HAVE to stop. Also, those people seem to always be near fuel stations - out my way it could easily be a hundred miles or more before you see a gas station if out exploring the woods. On board aux tanks beat the plastic Scepter can's.

Thanks for the perspective. That's wild about the Wavian coming off at speed. Like so many things, it depends on your use case. I want to be able to share fuel with others, and bring fuel to and from my vehicle. If I were really focused on range, I'd want a permanent tank more.

I drove my truck to Mexico last year, and we went deep onto private lands. It's probably more remote than most will ever get in the United States. We planned our fill ups and didn't need any extra fuel.

I wouldn't want to get an aux tank simply because I didn't want to stop. If I were doing international overlanding, and didn't want to fill up because of security concerns, or couldn't fill up, then an aux tank would make sense for me. Although even then, Jerry cans could still serve that need.

The Long Range America tank cost $2245 PLUS requires that you redo your exhaust system. Everything in life is a compromise, but that price is too high for the convenience of simple filling.

There are other reasons to go with that, such as the advantageous mass properties of lower storage, and having the gas out of the way. My mind isn't changed. For me, it's scepter MFCs.

When I hauled a trailer across the country, I got about 12 miles per gallon. If I were planning on doing that all the time, then the integral tank would make more sense. But the Gladiator is not great at hauling, in my opinion, and one takeaway from my cross country haul is that it's not something I want to do often!

Wandering days in the back country, within range of gas stations, and not going to gas stations, doesn't seem like a reason for an aux fuel tank. If I were crossing the Sahara, I think I'd still use jerry cans! I bet the Russian convoy in the Ukraine would take a shipment of Jerry Cans before they would take a shipment of Aux tanks!

 

[Space Invader]

I'm very happy with my 4 MFCs. However there were definitely issues along the way to becoming happy:

Get a cap wrench. Hand-tight, no matter how strong your grip is, will leak eventually. Worse, you might not be able to re-open a cap that didn't go on particularly tight. Expansion can exert a lot of force! Cheap rubber strap wrench sucks, I tried that first but not worth the minimal cost savings.

Whatever seals come with them, consider them trash, replace them, and carry spares.

I broke two plastic cap flanges along the way, replaced them with identical plastic flanges as that's all I could find at the time (and I carry a spare too). Now I see machined metal flanges - replace plastic with those as needed. Much better.

I'm very happy with my 4 MFCs. However there were definitely issues along the way to becoming happy:

Get a cap wrench. Hand-tight, no matter how strong your grip is, will leak eventually. Worse, you might not be able to re-open a cap that didn't go on particularly tight. Expansion can exert a lot of force! Cheap rubber strap wrench sucks, I tried that first but not worth the minimal cost savings.

Whatever seals come with them, consider them trash, replace them, and carry spares.

I broke two plastic cap flanges along the way, replaced them with identical plastic flanges as that's all I could find at the time (and I carry a spare too). Now I see machined metal flanges - replace plastic with those as needed. Much better.

Good tip. I might need to wait for the sticker shock to wear off before getting the upgrades. I've got one of those safety siphons for now.

This guy didnt have problems for a few years. how long did your seals and flanges last?

 

[Free2roam]

Bought two Wavian cans. I'll let ya know in 6 years

 

[fourfa]

My current MFC seals are about 10 years old and going strong, but it’s probably time to change them just because

The two plastic flanges broke in the same season about seven years after I got the cans surplus, with who know how much use on them. Plastic flanges were $10 ea FWIW

 

[ArmyMP]

My unit had plastic cans, metal cans, soft fuel bladder and a big ass fuel truck.

 

[Blade1668]

Sometime in mid 90s was the last of the steel fuel cans I remember in Army "used for fuel" back in M113s we kept them for OE-30 engine oil and transmission fluid. Plastic cans for fuel then on.
Something else to think about on aux fuel tank weight, cost and amount of additional fuel quantity vs 3-5 5gal fuel cans.
Yes the fuel cap wrench is needed if you don't want to smell fuel when changing temperature or elevations. "From my experience" much of the time due to over filling.

 

[Space Invader]

My unit had plastic cans, metal cans, soft fuel bladder and a big ass fuel truck.

When was that?

 

[Rockabillyroy]

My unit had plastic cans, metal cans, soft fuel bladder and a big ass fuel truck.

Don't forget the Donkey Dck. Haha

Rotopax recommends opening the cap at high elevation and temperature shifts. Could help these other cans as well.

 

[Hootbro]

USA made Specter style or true Euro made NATO Jerry cans is pretty much a pick your poison affair in my opinion. Both have their detraction's in some regards.

I used the Specter style when I was in the military and found the whole unique to it Donkey Dick and keeping serviceable gaskets and a extra tool for cap around a fiddly thing.

I am invested 6ea into the traditional NATO Jerry can style and it works well for the most part. It is a mix of new Polish made GELG, Latvia made Wavian and surplus 1970's Swiss made cans.

Even though the oldest, I would rate the Swiss surplus 1st followed by the GELG and Wavian cans in terms of build quality. The GELG made cans have a better finish than the Wavian made ones in my opinion

If traveling with multiples, the plastic Specter cans shine better in that regard over the metal cans.

 

[ArmyMP]

When was that?

2002-2005 some time in there

 

[Trailman]

USA made Specter style or true Euro made NATO Jerry cans is pretty much a pick your poison affair in my opinion. Both have their detraction's in some regards.

I used the Specter style when I was in the military and found the whole unique to it Donkey Dick and keeping serviceable gaskets and a extra tool for cap around a fiddly thing.

I am invested 6ea into the traditional NATO Jerry can style and it works well for the most part. It is a mix of new Polish made GELG, Latvia made Wavian and surplus 1970's Swiss made cans.

Even though the oldest, I would rate the Swiss surplus 1st followed by the GELG and Wavian cans in terms of build quality. The GELG made cans have a better finish than the Wavian made ones in my opinion

If traveling with multiples, the plastic Specter cans shine better in that regard over the metal cans.

Are the Gelg can's not USA certified for highway use due to the spout? Ie, is theirs an older style spout but perfectly fine in other respects?

Or - is it just that they aren't sold in the right colors? (Red for gas, etc.)

 

[Blade1668]

2002-2005 some time in there

There will be some units holding till the end with the s@@ty steel fuel cans. ? I have been in some that wouldn't issue the "new" gear or whatever until they couldn't get obsolete s@@@ that was no longer available. I was using AN-PVS 7b and Gortex gear back in 89 and 3 piece sleeping system in early 90s. Three PCS's later to a Div in 1998 still issuing sleeping bags from 50s and just started issuing PVS 7a among many other things. ? that Div. would have had us carrying M-1s, BAR'S and 1919's if they could have found them and ammo probably. ?

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