The Gas Can Incident

It’s Monday, my last day with my Mom and family in Emmaus, PA. I decide to run to the store to pick up a gas can because the two that she has both have issues (which we learned when my brother had run out of gas and needed a bit to get to the gas station.) The one does not have a cap so that if someone tipped it there would be a spill with potentially serious consequences, not the least of which might be a fire that destroys… well let’s not go there. The second gas can has no spout at all, so there is no way to pour the gasoline into a car engine.

Alas, I drove to Wal-Mart, parked and walked to the furthest corner of the supersized super store. Indeed there were red plastic gas cans, but upon inspection they were definitely changed from my own gas can. They had a spout that seemed too short to be effective, and also a springloaded method of holding the cap on while dispensing gas. But for some reason it seemed too complicated for me to understand. The instructions did not make sense to me and I asked for assistance getting an explanation. The customer service rep essentially said, “I’m not sure how it works, but this is all we sell now.”

I left the Wal-Mart seeking an auto parts store, hoping for a more suitable gas can for Mom. A few blocks down the road I stopped at the gas station to ask directions to nearest auto parts store so I could buy a gas can. “We sell gas cans,” the friendly woman behind the counter said while pointing to the lower shelf behind me.

I placed the gas can on the counter and looked at the dispensing tube. Like the Wal-Mart dispensing unit it was likewise complicated, but even more complicated than the Wal-Mart version. It had a double spring plus some kind of means of “locking” the spout before it would release gas. After reading the instructions I finally asked the two women there for help. The one said several times that her husband could explain it. I didn’t realize that he was there on the premises, so when she fetched him I thought I was making progress.

Unfortunately, despite the good intentions, he could not get the spout to lock properly, which meant you could not get the gasoline to come out. All the while I am wondering how to explain this to my mom or brothers. After thanking them, I went back to my original query… how to find an auto parts store.

From here I drove to Wenz Hardware where they had a shelf of gas cans in a range of sizes. I purchased a two gallon plastic can which appealed to me because it appeared less complicated… but after filling it, the lid leaked. While reading instructions, I also notice the label which read, NOT FOR USE FOR VEHICLES THAT GO ON THE ROADS. When I asked the gas station attendant where I could dispose of the gasoline, she said that was not possible. I did not think it wise to put the gas container in the trunk, which would spill and smell up my mother’s car. Nor could I risk putting it on the seat and holding it upright, which would likely also dribble a bit of gas smell into the car. So, I offered the free container of gas, filled, to the first guy in a truck who came along, believing he would not care about a little spilled gas. Sure enough, he took it.

I drove back to Wenz, and discovered that ALL of the gas cans had that message. What’s a car owner to do?

I’m not sure if this is a problem that Pennsylvania environmentalists have created or whether it is a national matter, but it does seem we’re going a bit far with government meddling. My guess is that the worst is yet to come.