Petrol Can

miken

I have a petrol can that has been used a few times in the past, not for quite a while.
I am changing over to a diesel car soon.
Should I need to, can I now put Diesel in the same can without actually having it cleaned and without contaminating the fuel?

caprikid1

The level of likely contamination is so small I would not worry.

You are far more likely to cause issue running the car to the point you need to consider using the can !.

hewhoisnotintheknow

miken wrote: »

I have a petrol can that has been used a few times in the past, not for quite a while.
I am changing over to a diesel car soon.
Should I need to, can I now put Diesel in the same can without actually having it cleaned and without contaminating the fuel?

in theory you should have the correct colour can for the correct fuel

So you shouldnt use a green can for diesel, think of firemen reporting to your car being on fire etc etc etc

To clean the petrol out, empty it and then just leave the top off for the fumes to evaporate

The next hurdle may well be that the diesel nozel wont fit in an unleaded can

Tescos often have cans for £4

topdaddy_2

Is there fuel in it? If not or a little then it will be fine. Im assuming its "suitable" as per the law etc but again if suitable for petrol then very likely suitable for petrol. I wouldnt put petrol in it after having diesel though

caprikid1

"To clean the petrol out, empty it and then just leave the top off for the fumes to evaporate"

I did contemplate suggesting this but thought that is probably a dangerous state to leave a can in.

vansboy

As Caprikid says, you'll be better off NOT needing the can in the first place!

VB

topdaddy_2

vansboy wrote: »

As Caprikid says, you'll be better off NOT needing the can in the first place!

VB

Not if he tops up before running out. And maybe its for a genny etc.

Iceweasel

Any slight amount of petrol left in the can won't make the slightest difference.

Diesel cans should be black - unless they are marked 'Diesel'.

So if it's red or green or any other colour than black - just get a big thick marker pen and write on it - you've guessed it:



Diesel

keith1950

The next hurdle may well be that the diesel nozel wont fit in an unleaded can

All cans I have ever owned have had the same aperture....in fact the caps are usually interchangeable.

The issue I have had is that some petrol/diesel stations wont let you fill the wrong colour can and turn off the pump if they realise so keep it in the boot and be very careful filling it.

[Deleted User]

My car is petrol but I have a red can in the boot. I didn't buy it I just aquired it once off a relative, it must be around 10-15 years old though. I've had no problem putting petrol into it at the pump as I've used it to collect petrol for a car than had been sitting off road a while and for a moped.

Richard53

I think the red cans are from the old days of 4-star, when the green cans were introduced for unleaded, and of course black for diesel.


As far as I know, there are regulations that cover how big the cans can be, how much can be stored, and the markings on the cans, but not the colour, so I am a bit confused as to why keith1950 has had problems when filling up. I've been told off for filling my 20 litre jerry cans once or twice (illegal quantity) but never because of the shade of the can.


I think the fireman issue is a bit of a red/green/black herring. No trained professional is going to assume that a can carried by a member of the public contains a particular liquid just because of the colour of the can.


To the OP - unless there is actual liquid petrol sloshing about in the can, I wouldn't worry. You're talking about less than 1:1000 dilution. Not an issue in an emergency.