Why your new gas can is ridiculous and evil (tucker.liberty.me)

This article is funny and spot on...

My house is on 35 acres, which I maintain...at any given time I have around 20 gallons of gas in 5-gallon cans, and 10 gallons, or so, of diesel in my barn...fuel for the mower, Gator, tractor, garden tiller, etc...

>>government “fixed” the gas can. Why? Because of the environmental hazards that come with spilled gas. You read that right. In other words, the very opposite resulted. Now you cannot buy a decent can anywhere. You can look forever and not find a new one.<<

This is so very true...I "baby" my old cans...I want them around until long after I'm gone...

The only real solution for reliably pouring from the new cans, especially into a car, is a long-necked, broad-mouthed funnel...

I've decided to also baby the funnel, in case changes in it's design are mandated at some point... :)

I got one of these new and improved gas cans. It was very similar to the old one, that worked, except it had some spring-loaded thing to close automatically. To put gas in my boat I have to hold this can with one hand and try to twist the stupid spring thing with my other. Doesn't work. I ended up getting rid of the spout and pouring the gas, sans spout, into a funnel.

So yeah, the workaround defeats every supposed advantage of the new design.

I was dangerously low on gas and in gridlocked traffic. Rather than risk dying in traffic, I pulled over into a parking lot a couple of blocks away from the gas station, walked over, bought a plastic gas can, filled it, and walked back.

I spent 15 unsuccessful minutes trying to get any of the gas into the tank before giving up and driving anxiously to the gas station. I seriously thought I was struggling to be a functional human being.

I'd buy a heavy duty water spout.

You know what I'd prefer? An explanation of why exactly these things don't work. Not a page long rant that vaguely covers some problems and then goes on a tangent to the effect of "government makes me sad".

Now, I've never had to deal with the new gas cans- I still have some old ones from the 90s. And, full disclosure, I just read over this now, but the overall theory behind the can seems like a pretty good idea- unlock the spout thing, and press the spout down and gas comes out. Take pressure off, and the spout closes, thus preventing spillage.

I will concede that there's a more than unnecessary amount of child-safety things and locks. Not only would they not stop a very determined child they're just kinda silly. Additionally, the lack of vent seems like a design flaw- and a simple one way valve would solve the problem. Or you could use a mechanism like an olive oil bottle. http://previewcf.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/07__18_44_07...

All this is to say that I really hate posts where someone talks about a problem vaguely, and then rants about the government without proposing a solution that isn't "go back to the way things are." Is it a solution looking for a problem? Yeah, probably. Did a bunch of unnecessary stuff get tacked on? Seems so. But it doesn't mean there isn't a problem to be solved.

Why, it's almost as if government bureaucracies were low-accountability compared to businesses that compete for consumer dollars.

I fill up a lawn mower ever week or two in the summer and don't find the tab difficult to use.