Sure Can...A New Idea!

Sure Can

A friend of mine gave me this can to try, because I have a weed whacker, a leaf blower, two riding lawn mowers, a small tractor with a front loader and several rear attachments for it. I also have a power washer, oh and four motorcycles. So it seems as though I’m always pouring fuel into something and my friend Art thought I’d be the perfect guinea pig to try this new design. Someone is forever trying to invent a new improved mouse trap. If we never tried something new how would we know if it’s better than what we’ve been using?

The first thing you notice about the can is where the spout/drain is located. Instead of being on top which requires you to lift and tilt a can in order to drain it, it’s on the bottom at the side of the can (And totally tucked out of the way) which means no lifting and tilting, I kind of like that idea. But how will it work in a practical application?

As I said I have lots different kinds of equipment to try it on. First of all the quality is very good. It has big markings showing liters and gallons on the end making it easy to read and it has some nice hand holds especially on the bottom making it very easy to grab the bottom. The other thing I noticed was when holding the container by the handle it felt very comfortable and balanced. I only put two gallons in it at first, my thought was it would be much easier to handle for the first time, which it was. My concern was how easy it would be to fill things essentially from one side at the bottom, turns out it was pretty darn easy. I had no problems filling my power washer and the two riding lawn mowers I have, each of the mowers has a different type of filler. I also filled one on my motorcycles which also worked well. Not having to tip a can and dealing with weight is a huge plus. 

So what are the negatives and questions? When you tip the can and pour you can tip the can back when you’re almost full and avoid overflowing. Not so easy this new way, you’ll need to anticipate this and release handle to stop the flow, as the fuel will continue to flow until the nozzle has drained. Not a big deal but will require a little getting used to. The release handle on top for safety purposes has a release mechanism that must be pushed forward in order to depress the handle allowing fuel to flow through the nozzle, releasing that safety is difficult to do with only one hand. You can take your index finger and release it, again just takes a little while to figure that out and with practice will become second nature. The fuel flow is great and begs the question is it legal in California. If it is that is a huge advantage as anything else you can purchase in this State is made to be very awkward and flow like molasses. For those who only have the one gas can and must fill it up, I’d say dealing with a full five gallons won’t be a big problem since you don’t have to tip it to use it.

I must admit I was skeptical when I first looked at the can, but now that I’ve use it I like it and I’m not going to give it back.

Doug 21J