Great Emergency Fuel Can

[Anonymous]

Have been keeping my eye out for a decent fuel can that could be used to carry extra fuel on the rare occasion that might be necessary. Not a fan of plastic fuel cans, though the Rotomolded one seems pretty sturdy and I was considering it, except the craptastic pour spout which isn't vented, so slow and 'gluggy'. Then I found this little gem. 10L NATO mil spec Wavian Jerrycan, manufactured by the same company that has been making them since WWI (and not in China). Really heavy-duty - 0.09 mm cold-rolled steel construction, leak proof gasket-sealed bayonet type latching & locking cap and vented spout, interior treated to prevent rusting. OSHA and DOT approved,, and there is a CARB approved spout available for it (I opted for the easy-pour spout - never found a CARB spout that actually functioned without leaking and spewing gas all over the place). And it fits upright in the frunk nicely. Sold at a lot of 4-wheel shops world-wide, on Amazon, at Grainger warehouses and Northern Tool (US), but I found the best price on ebay.

 

[Deutsch100]

Very good find!! Thank you!

 

[johnecampbell]

Anyone know about the safety of carrying gas in the Frunk?

 

[alohart]

Anyone know about the safety of carrying gas in the Frunk?

The frunk is in the front collision crumple zone, so in a front collision, gasoline could leak from the gasoline container. There are fewer ignition sources in the frunk than in an internal combustion engine compartment, but sparks could be generated during the collision. A front collision is pretty unlikely on any particular outing, but the results could be significantly worse with a gasoline container in the frunk.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone know about the safety of carrying gas in the Frunk?

Well, you already have a 2.5 gallon gas 'can' built into the frunk, a little better protected maybe, but still there. Heavy metal gas cans are pretty safe, particularly in EVs. Car fires happen when either the fuel line or the gas tank is breached in a collision, and gas spills onto a hot turbo, manifold or exhaust running at around 600 to 900 degrees F, which instantly vaporizes the gas and ignites it. Nothing like that in the front of an i3, and in the split-second the i3 detects a serious collision it disconnects both the 12v battery and the HV battery, so no sparks from electricity. I don't think I would routinely carry one, but for an extended trip, where I was unsure of available charge points or fuel stops, I'd have no problem carrying along a good gas can.

 

[BL5]

When I travel long distances, I’ll carry a 2.5g plastic tank in my front trunk filled with fuel for emergency needs only.

In my 2 yrs ownership of ‘15 & ‘17 RExs I only had to use it once. While driving my 2015 from AR to WA, one of my planned fuel stops was closed. There wasn’t a DC or AC charger within 50 miles. Fortunately I had that gas can up front, got me to the next station.

For safety reasons I don’t suggest a emergency tank up front unless you have no other options. Although the one time I needed it, I had it.

 

[peterb]

Came across this post. I have exactly this can as well. My usage of it is on long-distance trips. Which I do take only rarely in the i3 (REx, upgraded to 120AH battery, so I have 340km initial highway range).

What I then do is alternate gas stops and charging stops. When getting gas, I also fill the frunk tank (which normally drive around empty). Then, when charging electrically at a next stop (after also spending all gas using the REx), I also refill using the gas in the frunk. It kind of doubles charging speed: a 20 minute stop now adds 220 highway kilometers. And the 5-minute gas stop takes it to 340 kilometers per 25 minute wait, which is quite decent.

One might say that driving with gas in the frunk is unsafe (this container is quite robust, though). or that filling gas while charging is unsafe (given the distance between the electrical charge point and the gas nozzle in the i3 I find this rather unlikely).

 

[brinton7]

Looks like that fuel can is a good alternative to rotopax.