Carrying extra petrol

[marks]

Hi

I'm sure this has been discussed many times - I'm hoping theres something new out there...

I carry a 5L container in a soft pannier on the DT but it takes up over half the pannier and I only need 2-3L for backup.

I've been to supercheap and repco and tramping stores (alloy 1L ones for $36 - forget it) all to no avail.

I have plenty of empty 1L plastic oil containers - if it stored oil is it OK for petrol? or - preferably does anyone know where I could get a 2L or 3L proper petrol container?

cheers


Mark

[JATZ]

I've stored petrol in old oil containers before with no issues, just can't fill them up @ the servo, Have you tried payless plastics or wot eva they call themselfs now. Failing that mower and chainsaw shops may have something that would do the job, also logger supplies, used to have some fairly sturdy containers for carrying fuel in that I wore on a belt

[timg]

Hiya, I got a 3.2l ? (1 US gallon) one from Mitre 10 in their mower section a couple of years ago. It was a proper fuel container, just a slightly smaller version of the familiar red 5l container. I used it for chainsaw mix. Unfortunately it went walkabout which is a bit of a bugger as I will probably need it for the limited range of my wife's CRF230L.

[Frodo]

Definitely wouldn't put petrol in an oil container. They don't seal well and would leak when the petrol pressurised.

I've used PET soft drink bottles for short periods, such as mixing premix for my weedeater. An issue might be the cap seal melting, but I haven't experienced this. Why not try putting some petrol in a coke bottle for a few days?

A proper petrol container would be best, but they are bulky. I'd be tempted to try a soft drink bottle.


Hi

I have plenty of empty 1L plastic oil containers - if it stored oil is it OK for petrol? or - preferably does anyone know where I could get a 2L or 3L proper petrol container?

Mark

[twinkle]

This might be of some help, petrol containers are usually made from high density polyethelene apparently.

[Crisis management]

1.5 or 2 litre coke bottles apparently.... I haven't tried it but others i trust swear by them, the bottle and cap are ok.

Try it out first if your unsure, leave it to sit for a few days and then jump on it and see what happens. Should be fine.

[NighthawkNZ]

I have used coke bottles before...

[FJRider]

Chainsaw / mower shops usually have them. SAFER than drink bottles.

[tri boy]

+1 with FJRider I got one from the local Husky chainsaw/mower shop. 3ltrs.

[KoroJ]

I was chatting to Brendan at Motorad before he went on the Africa trip with Gareth Morgan and at that time he was in the process of setting up the bike for the trip. He showed me how he was using a throw over saddle bag set-up which is normally for water but he was going to use it for both, petrol on one side and water on the other.

Go and see him.

[CB ARGH]

With the old gas scooters I just used an empty meths/turps/etc bottle, of course put a small amount of fuel in it first and shake it around to clean it, don't want to clean the engine with meths... probably explode. :clap:

These worked sweet as.

[XF650]

Hey Mark - I have the same issue with the small tank on my DT230 & a "search" here will reveal pages of discussion.
My personal experience as follows:

Oil bottles - they don't seal well enough for petrol

Fizz bottles - while they are strong & seal well, the issue is that service stations can't (legally) re-fill them. Plus messy to fill without a funnel.

3l container from Mitre 10 - For some reason the ones I tried don't seal well enough for an adventure ride. Might be OK on smoother (seal) roads though.

Alloy fuel bottles - expensive but strong.
Alloy water bottles - cheaper but don't seal well enough for petrol

1 litre Plastic Camping fuel bottles (see pic) - I got three from an outdoor's store, for less than $10.00 each. Way cheaper than alloy version. They are rated for petrol, meths etc & include an optional mini spout for getting fuel into cookers. Mine are well travelled, have taken a lot of knocks & (most importantly) don't leak.

[Lugzy23]

There is a thing called a toucan that is used by forestry workers when they are on the hill using a power saw, one side is for fuel and the other is for chain bar lube, I think from memory the fuel side holds around 3-4 litres and and 1 litre of oil. I think they are made from aluminium and designed to go on your belt around your waist, fairly compact. You could just use both sides for gas though.

[RiderInBlack]

Empty 1L Meths or Kero bottle filled with petrol would do would it not. Have a 5L fuel can for back-up myself.

[MXNUT]

I have used 2 litre coke bottles for the limited ( 150 km ) range on my drz for a while now and have never had a leak even after leaving petrol in there for a month. I dont fill them right to to top and squeeze them slightly before putting the lid on, this leaves room in the bottle for expansion. Also the advantage with them is that once you have emptied them you dont need to carry them all the way home with you,never had an issue at the service station filling them as most servos are self serv now anyway.

[Motu]

Looks like us DT230 riders are a bit paranoid about fuel range! I have one of the MSL fuel bottles,it was about $25 when I got mine.Kinda pricey,but they do the job.1litre is not going to get me far....but hopefully I will be heading to somewhere for fuel anyway,it's not like you are going to suddenly run out 100km from civilization,you have to think ahead with a small tank.I also have a 500ml alloy drink bottle for oil,much cheaper and seems to be holding up ok.

Back in the '70's I had some round 1/2 gallon oil tins - they were great in the fuel rationing era and we could pack them around our bikes much easier than the gallon tins we had back then.The Hog Farm used to sell throw over leather bags that were the exact shape of gallon tins.

[Pedrostt500]

With the old gas scooters I just used an empty meths/turps/etc bottle, of course put a small amount of fuel in it first and shake it around to clean it, don't want to clean the engine with meths... probably explode. :clap:

These worked sweet as.
A little meths in your petrol is ok, used to pour a bit of meths into the petrol if there was a small amount of water in the fuel as this would help dilute and mix the water with the petrol.

[Pedrostt500]

try a Paint shop some times they have empty Thinners cans that are steel, in 1 Ltr and 4 Ltr. or try a panel beater or car painters.

[pampa]

I have one of those mower 3+ litres containers and a MSR like 1.5Litre fuel bottle bought on discount at 15$ at a trampers shop. The Mower fuel container seems very handy.

[slowpoke]

Are you blokes frikkin' crazy?! Soft drink bottles?

As kids we used to jump on a soft drink bottle to make the cap blow off and spray our mates.....

Now imagine coming off a bike with all it's sharp protuding bits, the possibly rocky/scrubby/abrasive ground and a shitty soft drink bottle caught between the two at who knows what speed. A spray of fuel, a spark of alloy against rock and you are literally toast.

Chances are you'll get away with it but why even take the chance?

[RiderInBlack]

Now imagine coming off a bike with all it's sharp protuding bits, the possibly rocky/scrubby/abrasive ground and a shitty soft drink bottle caught between the two at who knows what speed. A spray of fuel, a spark of alloy against rock and you are literally toast.:sherlock: Sounds like a job for Myth Busters. Think ya will find the results very disappointing. Would have ta be a very dry hot day.

[slowpoke]

:sherlock: Sounds like a job for Myth Busters. Think ya will find the results very disappointing. Would have ta be a very dry hot day.

Haha, nice "smilie"! I've seen pictures of a bike going up in flames after sliding down the road at a trackday. Made a hell of a mess after coming to rest in the middle of the track. A soft drink bottle is gonna rupture a hell of a lot easier than a steel tank and if you've ever seen a bike sliding down the road then you'll know there are plenty of sparks....

[RiderInBlack]

Haha, nice "smilie"! I've seen pictures of a bike going up in flames after sliding down the road at a trackday. Made a hell of a mess after coming to rest in the middle of the track. A soft drink bottle is gonna rupture a hell of a lot easier than a steel tank and if you've ever seen a bike sliding down the road then you'll know there are plenty of sparks....
Plastic doesn't spark. Alloy is not much better. Steel sparks like hell as long as the surface is right. Not much spark off muddy tracks. Now down tar-seal, yes it is possible. Petrol flame moves slow (about walking pace). The plastic bottle would have to be strapped the the bike in such away as to stay with the bike and be close ta steel as it goes down on hard rock. Possible but unlikely, but then they would have a lot more ta worry about with that fall than the plastic petrol bottle. A tin with petrol would not fair any better in that fall. In fact the tin would be more likely to spark and therefore more likely ta ignite as did the steel tank on the trackday.

[426crasher]

In the past i have used small 2 stroke oil containers that i get for my outboard. Although they didnt leak i was still sort of concerned that they might when thrown around a bit so i went to the plumbers and bought a small selection of thin O rings and tested them inside the top. Filled them with water and stood on them.No problems at all. If i jumped on them the top blew off. I even tried them full of petrol turned upside down and clamped lightish in the vice overnight with no leakage. I now use them for my chainsaws fuel and its in there for months with no issues.
Cheers Tony

[scumdog]

1.5 or 2 litre coke bottles apparently.... I haven't tried it but others i trust swear by them, the bottle and cap are ok.

Try it out first if your unsure, leave it to sit for a few days and then jump on it and see what happens. Should be fine.

I left one full of petrol for a whole year - no problems at all and the fuel was still good :woohoo:

[marks]

Mitre 10 have ordered me a 3L container which should be about perfect.

Thanks for the responses.

[pete376403]

Get the KLR you know you want - 21 litre tank. No need to carry additional fuel supplies. :laugh:

[marks]

Get the KLR you know you want - 21 litre tank. No need to carry additional fuel supplies. :laugh:

Go on Pete - kick a man while he's down...

I thought I'd have one by know but the deal fell through

thanks again for letting me ride yours :)

[offrd]

My brother used to strap 2L coke bottles full of fuel to him to do big rides on his YZ250, Trust me he crashes just as good as me sometimes and no problems! Transfer fuel to tank and bin the bottle in the right place, less crap to carry alllll the way home......

[jezzaNZ]

I have used 2 litre coke bottles for the limited ( 150 km ) range on my drz for a while now and have never had a leak even after leaving petrol in there for a month. I dont fill them right to to top and squeeze them slightly before putting the lid on, this leaves room in the bottle for expansion. Also the advantage with them is that once you have emptied them you dont need to carry them all the way home with you,never had an issue at the service station filling them as most servos are self serv now anyway.

+1 Safe as houses as long you don't have a major off, in which case any fuel container carried on the exterior or your bike is a risk.

[vifferman]

Pussies.
Last time I carried spare fuel, it was in a 1-galloooon can, in my backpack, on a 100km bush ride. Unfortunately, I missed a sign, and did one loop twice. :eek5: Even more unfortunate was the petrol in the rustyish can deciding it had had enough of leaping around in the backpack and making a break for freedom, by tunneling its way out of the can. :doh:Also (more?) unfortunate was the fact that it happened about 20km or so into the ride, so there wasn't enough room in the gas tank yet.:doh::doh:

[twotyred]

Mega Mitre10 has 3.9L (1 US gal) in 2 varieties: good solid ones for $10 or more square but of a lighter,thinner manufacture,for $6.

[rok-the-boat]

When I lived in South Korea I sometimes saw students going to university with bottles of petrol. They only had rags in the top but they never leaked. Smelt a bit on the bus though but no one ever complained.

[FLYMO]

go see ya local mower shop they can get alloy chainsaw ones that have 2 compartments.one for oil and one for fuel
they are slim as have to be carted by loggers
they are called toucans
they are a bit expensive but well worth the investment

[csanson]

I got one of those plastic fuel containers designed for two strokes with 2 compartments and sawed it down the middle. What was intended for oil is now a nice circa 2L flat fuel container that sits nicely in a backpack or on a carrier.

[marks]

picked up a 3.9L container from mitre10 for under $10. Seems OK and has abig enough hole to fill from a pump nozzle

[xr-rider]

Hi

I'm sure this has been discussed many times - I'm hoping theres something new out there...

I carry a 5L container in a soft pannier on the DT but it takes up over half the pannier and I only need 2-3L for backup.

I've been to supercheap and repco and tramping stores (alloy 1L ones for $36 - forget it) all to no avail.

I have plenty of empty 1L plastic oil containers - if it stored oil is it OK for petrol? or - preferably does anyone know where I could get a 2L or 3L proper petrol container?

cheers


Mark

when i had the cr we used an old oil bottle. worked well