So at the end of 2012 I bought a 4 pack of the NATO cans from Deutsche Optik and I designated 2 to fuel and 2 to water. Since they were brand new I wanted to make sure there was no manufacturing residue or anything in the ones for water I washed them out with some dish soap and water rinsed thoroughly and filled for storage. I wanted to test them and make sure they didn't pick up any funky odor or taste before actually needing to depend on them. Well here it is roughly 2 (maybe 3) months later and I decide to open them (they've been stored in the corner of my living room) and to my disgust they are full of crap floating in the water that looks like rust. They don't look rusty inside but since they have a rust colored "liner" it's hard to know for sure.
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So I guess I'll need to take these out and give them another through washing and test them again. Super disappointed in these so far I can only imagine what the other two I filled with fuel look like :/
The cans meant for water storage have a different liner inside. It's a mottled gray color. The outside will be powdercoated blue. The fuel cans have the reddish color liner. I've got four of the green Wedco cans with the red lining from Atlantic British that I use for gasoline and have had no signs of rust visible in the can or when pouring. I've been rotating and refilling twice a year for two years now. I also have two surplus cans that came with tags that could be changed for whatever fuel was going to be used.
The smaller style nozzle, seen on the two cans in the back, does not fit the surplus can seen in the front left. They take the same gaskets, but the vent line in the can is a slightly different shape. The nozzle that fits the surplus cans can be used on the new cans though. Plus, it has a strainer basket inside which is kind of nice. I don't have any pics of the surplus nozzle, but it looks like this:
Here's a pic that shows the liner color of the water can:
The small rust colored spots are rust. Turns out the food grade liner isn't perfect. I've been keeping an eye on mine and so far the only rust visible is near the spout. I read somewhere that Wedco recommends storing the water cans empty (!?!). When the rust becomes a bigger issue than it is now, I'll likely swap over to the plastic scepter cans.
The surplus cans can't accept the nozzle holder that the newer (small) Wedco fuel nozzles come with due to the placard holder in the way. The surplus cans each came with two tags that can be placed to show what is in the can along with a nifty label in case you need to interpret the tag:
All of the cans are made by Wedco and have the V stamped into the sides.
