RotoPax Design Flaw?

[socialpants]

I have two white RotoPax cans for drinking water. They have been good to me. No drama. I have mounted them a dozen different ways over the years, like a man trying to solve the same problem with more brackets.

Now I am re evaluating my build and downsizing, which is a polite way of saying I am standing in the driveway, staring at my gear, and asking myself what I was trying to prove in the first place.

That is when the ugly thought crept in. Diesel fuel.

Just saying it out loud makes my nostrils flare. Diesel has a personality. It is loud. It is clingy. It does not leave quietly. It moves into your life like an unemployed cousin and suddenly your whole world smells like a truck stop breakfast.

But if I actually need to carry diesel, the first idea that pops into my head is the same brand I already own. RotoPax. Easy, right?

Then I remembered how these things pour.

For anyone who has not done the ritual: you unscrew the lid, pull out the pour spout that has been soaking in whatever liquid lives inside the container, flip it upside down, jam it through the lid, tighten it back down, and then pour.

With water, it is fine. Water is honest. Water does not haunt you.

With fuel, and especially diesel, that whole process feels like a holy nightmare. Because now you are handling a spout that is already coated. You are flipping it. You are threading it. You are tightening it. And in my mind, I am forever dripping and slinging diesel onto the can, the mount, the tailgate, my hands, my shoes, and eventually my pants. The kind of smell that does not wash out. Now, I know some of you guys like to date women who think that smell counts as cologne. More power to you. No offense. That is not me. I am not trying to roll into dinner smelling like I just wrestled a semi truck behind a gas station.

So is this a design flaw, or am I being dramatic in the normal healthy way?

If you carry diesel in these, what has your real world experience been with this debauchery, and how did you get the diesel smell out of your pants?

 

[reaver]

Hand condoms..... Aka gloves. This keeps the truck stop smell off your meat mits, and contains it to the..... Container.

Honestly, this is the only working solution I've found for that kind of fuel can.

Also, that is an exceptionally well written post. I found your descriptions very entertaining.

Just saying.

 

[OkieDavid]

I do just use gloves and not worry about it, but extra spouts are relatively cheap. I use the "water" spot for my gas, I don't have diesel. I realize carrying a spare spout goes against your plan of reducing stuff, but it's an option.

Self-Venting Water Container Replacement Spout | RotopaX

 

[socialpants]

@OkieDavid The extra spout idea is solid. I am into that. No real weight there either.

And, thanks, @reaver

 

[grubworm]

all I know is that Temu has their version now so people like me can finally get into the game....


(yeah, yeah, yeah...they're made in China and the plastic is radioactive...BUT...they are using a linear low density polyethylene versus the high density polyethylene rotopax uses, meaning the Temu brand has more flex and is more than likely able to withstand impacts and temperature changes better without leaking. i'd say that's more than a fair trade for the skin lesions you get from handling them...)