5 Gal Gas Can Mods for Fueling (Page 1 of 4)

I'd be interested in this also.  When we watch teams with a fuel cell with a dry break attachment it is 10 secs to put in 5 gals, but it takes a 90 secs (at least) per 5 gals with the traditional hoses.

I really need to do this. It takes us like 5 minutes to refuel.

I purchased 2 VP fuel jugs, drilled out the vent to accept a 1/4" pipe thread, added an elbow fitting with a 1/2" barb on the end and zip tied the vent hose to the handle.  Buy some Scribner caps, drill and tap for a 1-1/4" pipe thread and install 1-1/4" hose barb fittings.  Takes 27 seconds to empty 5.5 gallons and no spills.  If you need it faster than that, copy what Rodknox built.

http://www.tuffjug.com/

Our team captain was looking at how to apply these to car use, but if you guys are able to get 20-25 second fill times, maybe DIY really is the best route to take.

I can't help but feel that drilling holes in a jug would invalidate its "DOT-, SCCA-, or FIA-" approval.  Just saying.

Scott

We just bit the bullet and bought 2 Hunsakers, which are basically already made with the vent set up you are all making.

Jaz makes one now too. I don't know why they insist on calling them 7 gallon jugs, they are the same size as all the other "utility jugs".

http://www.jazproducts.com/new_products.html

We have jugs that are similar to the ones rodknox has except they have a screw cap for the vent.  I drilled out the vent pedestal and stuck the largest diameter hard plastic tubing I could through the hole all the way to the bottom.  I used sealer around the end before I shoved it all the way in and then cut it flush with the top of the pedestal.  The vent screw top keeps the vent sealed for transport and there is nothing extra on the outside of the jug. I forget the exact amount of time but it takes about 25-30 secs to dump a gal.  The cans came with a 1/2" PVC pipe shoved in the end of the clear tube to put gas in unleaded tanks I guess.  I played around with water and found that it flowed the 5 gals slightly slower with the pipe removed than it did with the 1/2" reducer pipe in there.  Funny fluid dynamics going on or just an anomoly caused be me juggling the jug at the same time as using my android stopwatch.

I think dry break systems should be outlawed then.  That's the epitome of the credit card wrench.   30s vs 240 seconds for 15 gals.  4 pit stops per day.  That ~13 mins per day.  Hard to make that up if everything else is equal. 

Not that we're racing to win. 

I never even posted this either.

This is honestly the first I've heard of no can mods, my jugs have fueled 2 Lemons events and something like santioned 20 desert offroad events. 

I'll take my jugs and you can take a now bankrupt Blitz (75% market share) 5-gal that you could get at Walmart/Home Depot/Lowes with the mandatory EPA nozzle and we'll only test to see who leaks the least amount of fuel.   Speed aside I will get 99.99% of my full can into the vehicle, You will get 50% all over you and the ground, 30% on the car, and 20% in the hole.

Was this a reply to my CCWS comment?  The reason I brought it up was because a team was at the MIS CCWS race a few weeks ago with 6 gal Hunsaker jugs and they were deemed too big per the rules by the race director.  The team wasn't in contention for a podium, so they were allowed to finish the race with them, but they were told not to bring them back to a CCWS race.

I definitely remember the thread, where it was stated very explicitly "unmodified store-bought containers, designed and made for the express purpose of carrying fuel"

But the rules don't state this directly.

"handheld DOT-, SCCA-, or FIA-approved 5-gallon or smaller jugs" implies unmodified, but doesn't directly state it.

We are following the intent of the rules, and using unmodified cans, similar to the JEGS style cans.   Our fuel cell doesn't seem to want to accept fuel much faster than that anyway without backing up into the filler neck.

Ok, let me make clear from the start that this is not an official rule or anything. I could be completely mis-remembering, or mis-stating, or Jay could say "Mulry is an idiot, don't listen to him".  That said:

Jay and I had a pretty detailed conversation about this once upon a time, and my take away from it was really that his main concern was to get back to 5-gallon(ish) store-bought fuel cans. Prior to the rule institution, there were several teams who had built larger fuel rigs that were gravity fed at a height above the drivers and he was worried about those flowing uncontrollably if a fire broke out and having a bunch (like 11 gallons) of fuel right there in the way. And there was a rumor that a team in Louisiana at the last NPR race showed up with a fuel gadget that pressurized the fuel with an air compressor, essentially creating what is technically known as a "bomb". So that's why he wanted to get back to 5-gallon(ish) cans. He doesn't care if we use Hunsaker jugs. He has zero interest in patrolling pit lane for non-conforming jugs. He just doesn't want anybody dying because of some custom fuel rig.

In addition, he told me that he doesn't really care if the jugs are modified so that the air can flow into the jugs faster, so long as they're still 5-gallon(ish) jugs and the mods aren't unsafe. If you're leaking fuel, he'd have a problem with that. But just adding vents to the jugs, so long as they are not leaking, he doesn't have much of a problem with that.

Again, standard disclaimer, YMMV, don't rely on this as legal advice, I don't play a doctor on TV, etc.