Review: SureCan Gas Can – The New Paradigm

Let me tell you a little bit about the SureCan, the best gas can I have ever used. It is a gas can that doesn't leak and doesn’t spill, even when you are trying to use a full, heavy, gas can to fill a small chainsaw tank. But before I can get to the SureCan review, I need to give you a little back history on how the EPA outlawed the common gas can to cut down on lost gas through spilling and venting, only to create a different lost gas problem, which then leads to the invention of the SureCan.

The EPA Outlawed The Gas Can

For years and years pretty much all gas cans have been alike, where there is some kind of spout on one end and an air vent on the other. But that all changed when the EPA implemented new rules to cut down on spillage and the venting of gas fumes into the atmosphere. With these new regulations, the EPA made the cheap and common plastic gas can a thing of the past, which had the side effect of putting some gas can manufacturers out of business. If you have had a hard time finding a cheap gas can, this is why.

From my understanding, the new rules require that gas cans can no longer allow fumes to leach from the tank, and any air vents or openings must automatically close when not in use. This is why you see metal gas cans making a comeback, and all the glugging, splashing and spilling that comes along with a non-vented gas can. Many gas can designers couldn’t get around the engineering and costs of a self-closing vent, so some newer gas cans don’t even have one. Good luck trying to fill a small tank, when the glugging is causing the gas can to sway in your hands. So much for the EPA preventing gas spillage, right?

SureCan... Like a Phoenix Rising From The Gas Can Ashes

If there was one good thing to come out of the EPA’s decision, it would have to be the invention of the SureCan. While gas can designs hadn't changed for years, the new restrictions put in place by the EPA almost forced inventor, Brad Ouderkirk, to come out with something better; something that would meet all the requirements but wouldn’t splash and spill gas all over the place. His idea became the SureCan, which is quite possibly now the paradigm of what all gas cans should be. It is not only the best gas can I have seen since the new EPA regulations, it is better than the gas cans before the EPA got involved.

Where other gas cans try to use pressure switches or spring loaded sleeves to meet the EPA’s safety requirement to automatically close when not in use, the SureCan chose to go with something we are all more familiar with, a trigger. What's more, the trigger does double duty of opening the nozzle for pouring, while also opening the vent to eliminate glugging. The trigger also features a built-in safety switch that prevents it from opening if it is accidentally bumped or knocked upside down. Safety caps add an additional layer of protection to help keep the youngsters from having access to the fuel.

It took more than just a trigger to make the SureCan a great gas can, the other big change was relocating the spout to the bottom of the can. By moving the nozzle to the bottom of the gas can and putting it on a swivel, the SureCan gas can also eliminated the need to tip the gas can to pour gas. With the gas can above a lawn mower or chainsaw, gravity does most of the work for you, you just need to stand there and look pretty. Even for filling things that are higher up, it is easier to hold the SureCan than it is to try and pour with a regular gas can.

In Conclusion, the SureCan is awesome!

It took a complete redesign to come up with a gas can that actually works, but after only a few uses of the Sure Can, the results will begin to speak for themselves. The SureCan is made right here in the good old USA, and it is made of high quality components that do all they can to eliminate gas spilling, venting, and evaporation. Only time will tell how long the SureCan will hold up, but being made out of HDPE (High-density polyethylene), aluminum, steel, and using Viton seals and o-rings, I am pretty confident I won't be disappointed.

SureCan offers 2.2-gallon and 5-gallon models for gasoline that cost $37 and $45. They also recently came out with a Diesel (Yellow) 5-gallon can that also costs $45. If I had one request it would be that they also make a SureCan that is designed for water use. I don’t know if any components need to change to make that possible, but it is never a bad idea to carry around a few gallons of water in your automobile, and the SureCan seems like it would work just as well for that as it works for fuel. BUY Amazon

SureCan