Cleaning out my in-laws property two years ago, they had a generator that they upgraded. Consequently, I ended up with it. Unlike in Atlas Shrugged you cant make electricity from the static electricity in the air, you need fuel. So like all good preppers, I started buying gas cans when they were on sale and I was waiting for the winter price drop to fill them.

Before I did, I wanted to make some modifications for better use. It is a sad testimonial when you have to spend another $5 on a $20 gas can just so that it will work properly. The cans sold since 2012 are all but unusable due to modifications made to prevent vapors from evaporating by lazy users. Now, instead of letting vapor escape, you just spill copious amounts of fuel all over the ground since the cans are so difficult to operate.

P.S. My personal favorite is the sticker that is put on the can that says “Children under three should not be permitted to use this product”. I mean, can you imagine a four year old and a gas can? What if it was a non-smoking three year old? I am not even sure what they were actually insinuating.

Of course the cheapest modification you could do is drill a hole in the back of the gas can and cover the hole with tape (or even a cork). I warn you that just drilling the hole and not replacing the spout with a simple tube type, in a full can the gas will spill out the hole while you are trying to force the valve open to pour.

The modifications are easy to do. Once you do one, the rest are much quicker. One thing that I learned after I filmed the video is that if you drop the catchment filter inside the can, it is very difficult to remove. One other tip, if your can previously held gas, give it some time to evaporate or you will be dribbling gas all over the place and potentially on you trying to do this process.

End Your Programming Routine: I get it. The regulation to require gas can changes was an attempt to reduce greenhouse emissions. No matter where you stand on the issue, it is always laudable to try and do better. I don’t like evaporating gas either. But, this has to be one of the most in-effective changes ever made. I cant express how ridiculous it is to dump gas all over the ground because we are going to prevent it evaporating in the can.