Matt B
UltraDork
3/10/20 9:23 a.m.
I need to buy a set a 5 gal fuel jugs for the next Lemons race. We've used VP jugs previously and they were fine I guess. I found them to be a little ergonomically challenged by the time I got to the third jug. Anyone used something better?
My criteria (and everybody else's) are:
- Fast filling
- Easy to handle/hold
- Spill resistant
We do not need to store fuel, so I'm not sure I'd want the weight penalty of a metal jug unless there were significant advantages in the criteria above.
As always - thanks for your input ladies & gentlemen!
If you were using the VP jugs with a single handle, I've found that jugs with a second lower handle make them easier to manage. The lower handle makes it much easier to tilt while guiding the pour spout/tube. Something like this:
-Rob
Hunsackers or however you spell it work well. You can get them to flow pretty fast with some vent modifications as well. Worth it if you're actually trying to be competitive.
Hunsakers are pricey but easy and fast. We've done a 10 gallon fuel stop in under a minute which we're still very proud of.
I've got the summit brand jugs for my DD and they take forever to dump.
Matt B
UltraDork
3/10/20 11:15 a.m.
Those Hunsakers look pretty good. I'm assuming you can use that vertical "spout" as a secondary handle? Any tips/links on the vent modifications?
rob_lewis said:
If you were using the VP jugs with a single handle, I've found that jugs with a second lower handle make them easier to manage. The lower handle makes it much easier to tilt while guiding the pour spout/tube. Something like this:
-Rob
I have several of these LC2 jugs for my dirtbikes and diesel stuff. They're the only ones I buy now, the double handles make a big difference. I also have the plastic pre-bender thing for the fuel hose, holds it at a 45 degree bend. You could make your own but it was cheap enough that I didn't bother. The jugs are really durable and the vent is really nice too. The vent is at the top while you're pouring so it doesn't slosh out any fuel. Once you get some vacuum you can tip it way up.
Hunsakers. Nothing else comes close stock for stock.
Plus, if you make sure the air and fill diameter are both as big as you can make them, they are the best when modded too.
Because the air enters the bottom of the jug, the fuel just wooshes out as fast as possible.
They are worth the money.
Just buy the Hunsakers and be done with it.
I bought 4 of these on sale for $40 each. They do a very good job of dumping fuel. Usually faster than the car can handle it.
Matt B said:
Those Hunsakers look pretty good. I'm assuming you can use that vertical "spout" as a secondary handle? Any tips/links on the vent modifications?
The vent tube is the handle.
No real need for vent mods. It's a hole bigger than the dump hole.
Matt B
UltraDork
3/10/20 4:28 p.m.
In reply to buzzboy :
Gotcha - makes sense. We're still using the stock fill neck on our E36 so sounds like we're good with those OTS.
The LC2 handles look like an improvement on the VP cans, but sounds like the Hunsakers are the fastest dumpers and win the vote here.
The can dumps as fast as our stock fill neck can drink. We've adopted a weird fuel strategy of one guy holding the jug against the neck and another guy controlling fuel flow. I'm sure filler neck mods could fix that but we haven't messed with it since our early days because it keeps working.
(one of my favorite photos of the team is with our Hunsakers, please don't judge this was like our 3rd race 6 years ago)
I got these inexpensive summit cans. Some have complained the vent thing fails, the caps crack, but I bought six of them and had no issues whatsoever after 5 races.
It fills up the car plenty fast. The "best" i don't know, but they work. Being cheap, I also just bought a single fill tube cap and swap it to the ones I'm filling the car with. Most people seem to get a fill tube for every can. I'm not sure I get that decision. We don't care about saving seconds in Lemons, hardly care about minutes either. lol
The two handle design really helps.
Matt B
UltraDork
3/11/20 7:41 a.m.
Hmmm, how important is it with the Hunsakers that you have a guy controlling fuel flow? Most of the time, our stops only involve 2 guys. The guys getting out of the car dumps fuel while the guy getting in holds the extinguisher. I hadn't really considered a can being "too fast".
Matt B said:
Hmmm, how important is it with the Hunsakers that you have a guy controlling fuel flow? Most of the time, our stops only involve 2 guys. The guys getting out of the car dumps fuel while the guy getting in holds the extinguisher. I hadn't really considered a can being "too fast".
What do you mean by control the flow?
Dump it as fast as you can and stop when it's full! You probably have a good idea of how much fuel it's gonna take before you start. When you get close to where you think it might be full, lower the jug so it fills slower.
You can also put a ball valve on the outlet and choke off the flow if you are into that sort of thing.
Matt B
UltraDork
3/11/20 10:19 a.m.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
Toyman said it dumps faster than the car can handle and Buzzboy has a guy dedicated to just controlling flow so that's why I asked. It's not a problem I imagined would be possible before this thread. If I'm misinterpreting or blowing it out of proportion - great!
Matt B said:
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
Toyman said it dumps faster than the car can handle and Buzzboy has a guy dedicated to just controlling flow so that's why I asked. It's not a problem I imagined would be possible before this thread. If I'm misinterpreting or blowing it out of proportion - great!
You can adjust the fill neck and tank venting to accept a faster fuel flow from a fuel jug. We had to do some testing on our Champcar with this but eventually got it down to being able to dump 15 gallons in the same amount of time it takes to swap drivers during a pit stop.