# Who's responsible for "spill-proof" gasoline cans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301 "2018-09-13T21:30:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/1 "2018-09-13T21:30:05Z")
This is a factual question. Are they mandated by Federal legislation, EPA regulation, or what? I’ll bitch about the damned things in MPSIMS if I feel the urge, but right now, I just want to know who’s responsible for the fact that for the past dozen years or more, I haven’t been able to buy a normal gas can. Can’t effectively complain about something if I don’t know who to complain _to_. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/2 "2018-09-13T22:14:14Z")
It seems that you are not alone. > [@](#): > > The EPA banned normal gas cans in 2009, following the pioneers at the California Air Resources Board, which intones: > > The Portable Fuel Container (PFC) regulations are an important concept in our efforts to improve California’s air quality. PFCs, also known as gas cans… > [https://fee.org/articles/the-epic-failure-of-the-government-gas-can/](https://fee.org/articles/the-epic-failure-of-the-government-gas-can/) > [@](#): > > It wouldn’t surprise me to find, for example, a sudden proliferation of heavy-duty “water cans” in 1- and 5-gallon sizes, complete with nice spouts and vents, looking almost exactly like the gas cans you could get anywhere just a few years ago. How very interesting to discover this. > [https://fee.org/articles/how-government-wrecked-the-gas-can/](https://fee.org/articles/how-government-wrecked-the-gas-can/) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/3 "2018-09-13T22:50:15Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’ll bitch about the damned things in MPSIMS if I feel the urge… [Pit thread on the topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657534) from 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/4 "2018-09-14T00:52:45Z")
> [@](#): > > The EPA banned normal gas cans in 2009, following the pioneers at the California Air Resources Board Yeah, CARB always leads the way, sometimes in not so great ways. I actually purchased some NATO gas cans while in Nevada so I could have some proper old school gas cans for my 4Runner. I’ve spilt gallons of gas trying to use the fume resistant ones. You have to use two hands, the spout is not nearly long enough and they leak like a sieve. I actually looked up on youtube how to modify them with a schrader valve stem for a vent. That said, I picked up a couple brand new ones for a trip down the Mojave Road recently, and they worked much better than the first gen ones, to the point where I didn’t modify them. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/5 "2018-09-14T11:50:02Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [Pit thread on the topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657534) from 2012. Which the OP of this thread participated in :). No such nonsense on this side of the pond, as far as I’m aware. But then such containers are probably a good deal less common, even per capita, as we tend to have electric lawnmowers (smaller yards) and are rarely too far from a filling station, obviating the need to carry spare fuel on a long journey. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/6 "2018-09-14T13:06:05Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > It seems that you are not alone. Given that your source, the Foundation for Economic Education, clearly has an axe to grind, I’m wondering if there’s a better cite for the EPA’s being the cause for us non-Californians having to put up with these cans. From both your links (the later one quotes the earlier): > [@](#): > > Soap doesn’t work. Toilets don’t flush. Clothes washers don’t clean. Light bulbs don’t illuminate. Refrigerators break too soon. Paint discolors. Lawnmowers have to be hacked. It’s all caused by idiotic government regulations that are wrecking our lives one consumer product at a time, all in ways we hardly notice. Haven’t experienced any of these problems - quite the opposite! - except for the gas cans. AFAICT, they’re an unfortunate outlier, rather than part of some malign trend. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/7 "2018-09-14T13:06:27Z")
My local stores sell replacement spouts that pretty much eliminate the issue. The kit includes a vent unit that’s snapped into a 3/8" hole you drill into the plastic can. They come with two sizes of spout as well. This is one type I’m using: [http://a.co/d/4wEQKQg](http://a.co/d/4wEQKQg) I’ve also got one of these: SureCan Gas Can [http://a.co/d/8dy2Tbh](http://a.co/d/8dy2Tbh) And it’s OK, but not ideal. I’m thinking of trying one of the battery powered transfer pumps. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/8 "2018-09-14T13:15:01Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > My local stores sell replacement spouts that pretty much eliminate the issue. The kit includes a vent unit that’s snapped into a 3/8" hole you drill into the plastic can. They come with two sizes of spout as well. > > This is one type I’m using: [http://a.co/d/4wEQKQg](http://a.co/d/4wEQKQg) The spout on my 1994-vintage gas can works just fine. It’s the (plastic) body of the can that’s showing its age. I really need a pre-2009 spout that I can put on a post-2009 can. > [@](#): > > I’ve also got one of these: SureCan Gas Can [http://a.co/d/8dy2Tbh](http://a.co/d/8dy2Tbh) > > And it’s OK, but not ideal. I’m thinking of trying one of the battery powered transfer pumps. Not to mention, I can’t get my head around the idea of paying $50 for a gas can. Which is also the reason (replying to **Darryl** ) that I haven’t considered buying a NATO can - they’re more like $80, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/9 "2018-09-14T13:39:51Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The spout on my 1994-vintage gas can works just fine. It’s the (plastic) body of the can that’s showing its age. I really need a pre-2009 spout that I can put on a post-2009 can. That’s what these are. They say for pre-2009 cans so they can’t be accused of selling items to violate the clean air act provisions. Similar to selling illegal head lamp bulbs and marking the package “Off Road Use Only” ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-responsible-for-spill-proof-gasoline-cans/821301/10 "2018-09-14T14:16:45Z")
I got the replacement spout for my 6 gallon plastic can. It make putting gas in the boat so much easier.