Eagle 5 Gallon Type I Red Safety Gas Can for Gasoline

Why it's worth it

A galvanized steel Type I safety can with a non-sparking flame arrestor and a gasketed cap that self-closes when you let go. It meets OSHA 1910.106 and NFPA 30 and carries FM, UL and ULC approval — the kind of protection commercial shops are required to have.

If gasoline lives in your attached garage, this is the can to buy. The flame arrestor is a metal mesh that stops a flame from traveling back through the spout into the fuel, which is a live scenario around welding sparks or an engine backfire. No plastic can here replicates it. Neither does a vapor-locking spout, which is a different and lesser thing.

The self-closing cap is the feature owners underrate. A plastic can left uncapped, or capped carelessly, off-gasses flammable vapor into an enclosed space for as long as it sits there. The Eagle's cap seats itself the moment you release it — no deliberate action required, which means it happens even when you're distracted. The cap assembly also vents on its own as temperatures swing, so pressure doesn't build.

From our review of 8 gas cans and fuel spouts, by Ben Carter, Tech Editor

What we like

• +If gasoline lives in your attached garage, this is the can to buy
• +The self-closing cap is the feature owners underrate
• +Steel is why owners keep this can
• +The included funnel attaches to the can and makes the pour into a mower tank straightforward

What to know

• –Filling it at a pump is the common frustration
• –Type I means one opening for both filling and dispensing, which is less flexible than a Type II with a separate spout
• –Steel is heavy. Empty, it already outweighs comparable plastic cans, and full it's a real load