Fuel and Gas Cans

A Type I safety can has a single opening used for both filling and pouring, with a self-closing lid and flame arrestor. A Type II safety can has two openings — a separate fill and pour spout, with the pour spout self-closing and typically fitted with a flame arrestor screen — designed for more controlled pouring without needing to remove a cap.

Color coding (red for gasoline, yellow for diesel, blue for kerosene) follows a widely adopted ANSI/OSHA convention meant to prevent misfueling and cross-contamination. It's not universally mandated by federal law for every container, but many states, fleet safety programs, and OSHA-adjacent guidance treat it as standard practice, and CARB-compliant consumer cans are required to follow this color scheme.

CARB (California Air Resources Board) compliance means the can meets evaporative emissions standards limiting how much fuel vapor can escape through the spout and vent — this generally requires a self-closing, non-permeable spout design. CARB-compliant cans are required for retail sale in California and several other states that have adopted CARB standards, even outside California.

Not necessarily — OSHA 1910.106 flammable liquid storage requirements for many industrial and commercial settings specifically call for listed safety cans (UL 30 rated), which are traditionally metal with flame-arrestor features. A CARB-compliant consumer gas can meets a different (emissions) standard and may not satisfy an OSHA workplace storage requirement — check which standard applies to your setting before substituting one for the other.

Match capacity to how the fuel will be used: 1–2.5 gallon cans suit small equipment like trimmers and chainsaws where weight when full matters for handling; 5-gallon cans are the standard size for vehicle and generator refueling; larger capacities (10+ gallon) are typically used for less frequent bulk transport rather than routine handheld dispensing.