What to use for replacement gas can gaskets?

Nov 16, 2010 11 Replies

I have several metal gas cans. Have the reversible spout/lid. Over the decades, all the cork gaskets have shrunken to the point they don't seal or disintegrated completely. Not finding any replacements, I bought some cork gasket material and cut some new ones. They fell apart in a month.



Anything I can use to cut new gaskets? Needs to be something that costs less than new gas cans and that I can buy without a $50 minimum order.



Google gets a zillion hits, but no conclusions. Several of the gas resistant materials are NOT alcohol resistant. And it's almost impossible to buy gasoline that doesn't contain alcohol. No, I'm not driving out to the airport.



Suggestions? Thanks, mike


If you have a template I'd go with neoprene.

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Google neoprene rubber rolls for gaskets.Or I would try buying small sheets of rubber that are sold for pipe clamps that clamp off pipe leaks, hardware stores should have them. I have a few packs of 3x5 rubber sheet

Tire inner tubes aren't as common as they were decades ago but you can still find one if you look around a bit.

I've got truck inner tubes in my basement right now. Used for tubing.

You can get gasket material at the auto parts shop. I think a letter-sized sheet is about five bucks.

Ace hardware sells some rubber like gasket material on a bubble card. It is 2 sheets, about 6x6, one 3/32 and one 1/8"

They also make great rubber bands.

mike wrote in news:ibuvk4$3f1$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal- september.org:

You need Viton. Viton will survive the corrosive nature of alcohol-polluted fuels.

NAPA and other places should be able to supply you with Viton-based gasketing materials.

Polyethylene is supposed to be resistant to gasoline. I'm not sure about the type milk jugs are made of but the flat side of an empty clean jug should provide a number of gaskets that would stay put depending on how they are cut.

TDD

Car parts store sell neoprene rubber gasket material, but they or real hardware stores sell flat rubber washers.(used in plumbing). I don't know if inner tube rubber will work because it's butyl instead of neoprene and swells up like crazy when exposed to motor oil. Nitrile rubber is supposed to be the best for gasoline.

Chemical compatibility info:

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Last time I was looking in the oddball hardware aisle at Tractor Supply, I believe one of the slide-out drawer things had gas can washers. Makes sense, farmers must run into that problem a lot.

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