Jerry cans

[Netpackrat]

The pre-ban Wedco spout clips that hold the NATO spout to the can aren't very solid.

Yeah, I took one look at those, and decided that using them would be a good way to lose my spouts. That was before I built my fully enclosed can carriers, but I'll probably need to occasionally carry the cans on vehicles other than my Jeep. Also, I bought more cans than I did spouts, figuring that it will be easier to just keep a spout with the tools in each vehicle.

[Termite]

As a matter of fact, when I finish up the current work to the Jeep, I may come up with a process for doing just that, and document it on the web for people who wish to circumvent the new regs.

Is there enough room on the top of the newer metal cans to drill and install a small(1/2") bulkhead fitting as a vent?

[Rich Jordan]

Is there enough room on the top of the newer metal cans to drill and install a small(1/2") bulkhead fitting as a vent?

Appears to be. I doubt the metal is thick enough for a self-tapping fitting on either Blitz or NATO cans though; you might have to braze in a fitting or threaded bunghole (new can only please) or find a way to hold the nut on the inside of the can while you screw in a fitting. You probably don't need one quite as big as you mentioned though. And you would mess up the inside coating in that area no matter what method you chose.

I wonder if a radiator petcock would work. You want something that won't pop and vent if pressure goes up much (I had the old yellow plastic ones do that to us back in Las Vegas in the summer...)

My Blitz can is in storage; won't be able to check it till the weekend. I'm nearly certain its the earlier type though. I never knew they had venting. Apparently the MFC's copied the Blitz can because their vent is also a small hole on the face of the opening that the cap/gasket completely covers but the spout leaves shrouded but open. Interesting.

[Netpackrat]

Over on Jeepforum.com, I posted a tutorial with pictures on how to modify one of the new Blitz metal cans to the old, vented configuration:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/jerr ... a-1025877/

You should be able to see the images without being registered and logged in, because they are hosted from my server, rather than as attachments on jeepforum.

Also, a build thread for my rear bumper showing the finished fuel can holders:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/bump ... s-1025824/

[Rich Jordan]

That looks great. Wish I could weld. Wish I had a place I could weld... so many things one can do when one can weld...

[Netpackrat]

Yes, absolutely true... but that wasn't welding, it was brazing.

Brazing just required a brazing torch, nothing fancy.

I think he was referring to the bumper project that I also linked. Even doing my own work, you can make a pretty good argument that I would have been better off simply buying one of the many commercially available bumper solutions, depending on what kind of value I want to place on my time. On the other hand, you can't put a price on having something that is exactly the way I wanted it, and that nobody else has one quite like.

[Windy Wilson]

cancan1.jpg

cancan2.jpg

Oooooh, spiffy!


Brazing, Hmm, like an ordinary torch? Is that sort of like large-scale soldering? I have this Benzomatic thing that uses some sort of canned gas. Might that be usable? I should consult the local JC to see if they haven't gone so Yuppie so as to eliminate the auto shop and welding classes.

[Netpackrat]

Brazing, Hmm, like an ordinary torch? Is that sort of like large-scale soldering? I have this Benzomatic thing that uses some sort of canned gas. Might that be usable? I should consult the local JC to see if they haven't gone so Yuppie so as to eliminate the auto shop and welding classes.

An ordinary oxy-acetylene torch. Brazing refers to a process by which a dissimilar filler metal is used to join two or more pieces at less than the melting temperature than the parent metal. In this case, I brazed the vent tube because I didn't have to heat the can as hot, and the braze material will wick down into the joint somewhat like solder will, which is important when the majority of the filler will be removed in an instance like this when it is filed flush. Steel is generally brazed using a bronze filler metal, which is where the name comes from, but other metals can also be brazed. I even have in my possession a bundle of rods for brazing aluminum alloys. These are NOT the rods that you see advertised as allowing aluminum to be "welded" using only a propane torch; the ones I have are used with oxy acetylene.

When brazing, the flux is all important. Most common brazing rods are coated with the flux, that is consumed as you work, but you can also get uncoated rods that you must apply the flux to as you work. Brazing is actually a fairly simple process that should be in everyone's toolbox, but I only learned it as a bit of an afterthought, after I had already learned to weld using each of the common processes. I don't use it a lot, but sometimes it is the exact right tool for the job.

[Frankingun]

Does Mapp gas get hot enough for brazing?

[Netpackrat]

Does Mapp gas get hot enough for brazing?

I would expect so, but I think it is pretty expensive stuff to use compared to just having a regular acetylene torch setup.

In other news, I tested the modified fuel can today. With the gasket I made, the cap seals just fine, and it also pours like it should.