[CallMeSnake]

As I've gotten older, I've taken to using the smaller 2.5 gal metal cans, made by Wavian. They are expensive, but they take a lot of abuse and seal well. Even ethanolized gas can stay good for well over a year if it's sealed in a metal can. You can import plain old spouts for them from GB and other countries as they use the standard NATO small neck.

I've used 55 gallon drums for gas as well with the old school hand crank pump with a self shut-off pump handle. Gasoline rated electric pumps tend to be pretty expensive, but having a gas station at home is awfully nice.

I also have some 30+ year old poly 5 gallon cans made by Rubbermaid that swell up like a bloated tick if they are filled and then allowed to get hot. Amazingly, they continue to not leak and soldier on after all those years. They have regular old spouts so I don't plan to ever get rid of them. HDPE certainly has a good service life with gasoline.

 

[CallMeSnake]

As for the fuel caddy itself my two concernes are interior rusting. Not sure how the metal inside will be once the humidity picks up. The second would be the pump failing. I think the key to pump longevity is not seeing how fast you can dispense fuel simply crank the handle at a nice even pace like one revolution per second. Fast enough to flow a good amonun ot fuel but slow enough to allo the vanes to not be stressed. IDK, time will tell.

The cheap hand pumps tend to fail after not too long when the vanes inside them get sloppy enough to not be able to prime anymore. When the tank is low, you will need to crank really fast to get the pump primed and eventually won't be able to get it going. The vanes and sides are usually hard carbon graphite. Tuthill makes a nice small 12V gasoline rated pump but it's pricey. Powered pumps spin fast enough that the clearance isn't an issue. A commercial grade hand pump will last much longer, but again, they are pricey and hard to find rated for gasoline, which is much thinner than diesel, so clearances need to be tighter.

Same for that clear looking tubing. I've never seen any clear tubing, even stuff that is fuel rated not start to leach plasticizer out of it when exposed to gas for a few months. Only exception is the tube made by Gobain, F4040-A Tygon. It has a liner inside of it and is stupidly expensive. You can swap the hose with standard service station hose and a self-shutoff nozzle when the stuff that came with it dies. Assuming the threads are NPT, not some weird straight thread as is often found on Chinese stuff.

If you use the tank up within a few months the ethanol in the gas should keep the moisture in suspension and rust free. Helps to have stable temperatures in the garage to keep the tank from breathing. I'd also check the vent to make sure it's a real pressure / vacuum relief valve not just a hole. Ideally the tank should hold about 5PSI before venting and at least few inches of water vacuum. Will go a long way to keeping outside air and thus water out as the temperature changes.

 

[CallMeSnake]

Time will tell on the pump. The vanes are spring loaded so they push outwards to the housing.

There is no possibility of the tank building pressure or going into vacuum. The fuel level gauge is not sealed. The pin in the sight glass is connected to a float and passed through a metal with mated sealing surface. Also the fuel pump does not seal 100%. When done fueling if you lift the hose up the gasoline will drain back into the tank. The tank can ebb and flow with the temp changes and barometric pressure.

I found the problem with the hand pumps is that the sides of the vanes quickly develop enough clearance once they wear in, that when the pump is full of air it just bypasses around the vane sides when you try and prime it. Works OK with diesel since it's just viscous enough to seal the sides, but not that good with gasoline.

Having the totally open tank means you will loose the light fractions of the gasoline within a few weeks. Most gas blends have a vapor pressure of 3-7 PSI. Probably not the end of the world for a fuel injected engine, but carb bikes won't run for crap on it when cold.

I'd also consider it a bit of a safety issue when transporting, as a tipover means gas will be running out all over the bed.

For $200 it's still a bargain just for the tank/ wheels alone. Might just get one and strip the parts off to make a properly sealed electric pump version.

As a side note, there's no way that thing is EPA legal and can be sold in the states, much less legally transported in a vehicle when full. I imagine they will get yanked off the market at some point over that, so if you want one...