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Review: Scepter® SmartControl Fuel Container

A gas can is a gas can is a gas can, right? From the military metal five gallon cans that required a pour spout to the “modern” plastic containers of varying sizes that have a permanently attached or retractable pour spout… a gas can is simple. It holds gas and you pour out of it. Yet anyone who has ever overflowed a lawn mower fuel tank – or any other gas-powered tool for that matter – the challenges of a functional gas can are obvious. The challenges are:

  • Positive control of the flow
  • Not causing “chug” as the vacuum inside the can builds and recedes
  • Not always having that last bit of gasoline you can’t get out
  • Having a clear indication of how much gas is in the can

Enter the Scepter® SmartControlTM fuel container. Available in one, two and five gallon sizes, this “gas can” from Scepter® is the next evolution in fuel delivery for your lawn maintenance (and other) gas powered tools. We received a two gallon version for testing and then came to realize that a member of our team had already purchased a one gallon example at his local hardware store.

The look of the container is unique and it’s easy to pick out from among other plastic containers. To look at it, it appears to have a forward leaning main body topped by a sturdy handle and a pour spout that looks kind of like a duck’s head. Behind and below the handle is a window/clear area in the material where you can clearly see how much gas you have put into, or have left in, the container. What you don’t recognize right off are the two additional handles built into the design, one of which specifically controls fuel flow.

The bottom rear edge of the container is designed to be a hand hold for lifting the back of the container as you pour. The other handle is in the pour spout itself. The safety-green portion at the back of the spout combined with the black shield appearing piece together form that handle. Squeezing them together is what operates the spring loaded internal system to allow for pouring of fuel.

Being suspicious of how secure the pour system actually was, we put a gallon of gas into the two gallon can, inverted it holding it by the back bottom hand hold and the pour spout and shook it. We were trying to get gasoline to shake out due to failure of the pour system. We were not successful. Not even a drop came out during this testing. That made us wonder how easy (or difficult) it would be to get gasoline to pour when we actually wanted it to.

One of our staff members had his lawn mower handy and we performed the hold / squeeze / pour movement to deliver fuel into the mower’s gas reservoir. It worked perfectly. There was no chug of vacuum build up / air fill; it was easy to control the flow of the fuel by how much pressure we put onto the pour release handle. With the spout still in the fill port we released the pour control and the gasoline flow stopped. Tilting the can back to upright, we didn’t spill a drop and then we covered the end of the spout with the attached cap.

The Scepter® SmartControlTM website has information about the fuel container and we encourage you to check it out for further info. CLICK HERE to visit the webpage.  Here are the benefits and features it lists:

Benefits

  • Easy To Pour
  • Fast Fills Without Spills
  • Controllable Flow
  • Rugged Design
  • Flame Mitigation Device

Regulations & Safety Compliance

  • CARB / EPA Compliant
  • ASTM F2517-17
  • ASTM F852-08
  • ASTM F839-15
  • ASTM 3326-19

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