Cheaper Scepter Military Style Cans

[dirty Bakers]

Do any of you Back Country Explores have experience with these cans. If not I will test them out for y'all.

 

[peekay]

I have two of them that I bought when I was up in Canada. They work really well, I wish I had bought more.

 

[dirty Bakers]

Fleet pride here in AZ advertised they had them on sale but it ends up the only had the water cans. I think I will pursue the gas and diesel cans.

 

[Brian McVickers]

That is a pretty common general use can.
The wall thickness is thinner than an scepter.
Nothing wrong with them however they may not be as durable in the long run.


Brian

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Consumer grade. Thin plastic, cheasy caps, vents that pop open on the back, non-stackable, etc. Not that they won't work for some but its my opinion they are better suited for lawn mower gas than riding around with your rig. Scepter themseves make consumer grade fuel containers, but one really needs to compare the two side by side to realize exactly what your getting.

 

[Martyn]

The original Scepter Military Cans used a special polymer which gave them their ruggedness, the ability to be run over, thrown from moving trucks, and be shot by live ammo. In part it was this plastic that caused them to be withdrawn from the US market, they failed the permeability test. The DOD being the other reason.

The civilian scepter cans use a different plastic and lack some of the above qualities, although they do pass the permeability test.

I think they should be fine for a less exciting life than the military version. Maybe holding fuel for a lawn mower. (Kurt must also have a lawn mower :sombrero::sombrero

 

[dirty Bakers]

I am not on the defensive by any means but i have had the water can sliding around in the back of my truck for a month now and its been holding up so far. I could be the test dummy.

 

[Wes Craiglow]

I had two of these in the water can version. I took them on their first trip in July, a 3000+ mile journey out west. They were on my roof rack, resting horizontally spout-side up, and held in place with a single ratchet strap across their top.

They bulged under their own weight when full, and bulged terribly after the ratchet straps were cranked down. At that point they began to leak. Constantly. Since the moment I bought them, I regretted it.

Glad it was just water I carried.

Trust me here: don't cut corners. Spend the money and buy Wedco steel. I own several of the red fuel can pre-CARB style, and they are the best fuel cans around. (And I am an Army Soldier who has close to a decade spent around the DOD Scepters, even on the streets of Baghdad... I love Scepters, but I LOVE Wedcos.)

My $.02

 

[JohnnyS]

I've used other than scepter MWCs and they alll leaked after time.
None of my Scepters leak if tightened properly.

 

[AlexJet]

I have 4 of them using as fuel storage in my trailer and so far they good. Agreed that they are not that rigid as Military ones but price wise were very good. Military - $80, Consumer - $17.

 

[lake_bueller]

Who's the manufacturer? I'd like to get a few water cans.

 

[peekay]

Consumer grade. Thin plastic, cheasy caps, vents that pop open on the back, non-stackable, etc. Not that they won't work for some but its my opinion they are better suited for lawn mower gas than riding around with your rig. Scepter themseves make consumer grade fuel containers, but one really needs to compare the two side by side to realize exactly what your getting.

have you actually used one of these cans or even seen one up close? It doesn't sound like you have because they do not have pop up vents. They have screw on vents. No, they are not as durable as the $80 military versions. But they have the thickest plastic I've seen in a consumer grade product. There is nothing out there better for $20.

Also, not everyone has the same application. I've kept them in a holder in my bed for the last 2 years. I'm not racing in the Baja 500, but do a considerable amount of long distance off roading. So far, they have not leaked or buckled or done anything but reliably hold my gas.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Who's the manufacturer? I'd like to get a few water cans.

Scepter:
http://www.scepterconsumer.com/auto/specialty/

 

[cruiseroutfit]

have you actually used one of these cans or even seen one up close?

Yes, I have, in detail. I toted one around for a few hundred miles of rallying through Southern Utah. The vent was seeping and I was worried about it splitting at the seems after the way it bulged (wasn't legitly concerned but it did swell up quite drastically as the temps climbed from well below feezing to ~50*). We would tighten down the cap and it would work its way loose again, slipping past the bottom thread of the cap. You go drop yours out of the back of a truck or run over it and see if that vent will pop off

No, they are not as durable as the $80 military versions. But they have the thickest plastic I've seen in a consumer grade product. There is nothing out there better for $20.

Agreed, if $20 is your budget then they make an decent choice. Given you can get NATO or used Scepter MFC's for $15-40 on a somewhat regular basis, I personally don't find them all that good of a deal, but that's my opinion and your results may vary. I own ~30 Scepters MFC's and I've never paid more than $50/ea for them, even the new ones. Obviously their removal from the US market has made their prices hit the sky but deals can still be found especially if your looking for just one or two. If you can't find Scepters MFC's at reasonable prices the Nato style cans make a great heavy duty option.

Also, not everyone has the same application. I've kept them in a holder in my bed for the last 2 years. I'm not racing in the Baja 500, but do a considerable amount of long distance off roading. So far, they have not leaked or buckled or done anything but reliably hold my gas.

Exactly why I said... "Not that they won't work for some". :victory:

 

[peekay]

Yes, I have, in detail. I toted one around for a few hundred miles of rallying through Southern Utah. The vent was seeping and I was worried about it splitting at the seems after the way it bulged (wasn't legitly concerned but it did swell up quite drastically as the temps climbed from well below feezing to ~50*). We would tighten down the cap and it would work its way loose again, slipping past the bottom thread of the cap. You go drop yours out of the back of a truck or run over it and see if that vent will pop off

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Agreed, if $20 is your budget then they make an decent choice. Given you can get NATO or used Scepter MFC's for $15-40 on a somewhat regular basis, I personally don't find them all that good of a deal, but that's my opinion and your results may vary. I own ~30 Scepters MFC's and I've never paid more than $50/ea for them, even the new ones. Obviously their removal from the US market has made their prices hit the sky but deals can still be found especially if your looking for just one or two. If you can't find Scepters MFC's at reasonable prices the Nato style cans make a great heavy duty option.



Exactly why I said... "Not that they won't work for some". :victory:

Are you talking about the red tank in your pic? If so, that isn't the one in the OP's post! That red one may be a Scepter, but it's not the non-CARB version that the OP is talkiing about. My non-CARB one has a screw on vent with a screw on nozzle. The latter has a child proof thing that makes it so hard to unscrew and unloosen that I removed it completely.