[Yogesh Sarkar]

Hi guys, I am planning to carry roughly 7-8liters of spare petrol for my upcoming trip to Ladakh. I will be carrying them in two different cans that I will put inside of my saddle bags. I am wondering how safe it would be to carry petrol in those plastic jerry cans. Also is it preferable to keep the petrol level a little below the max level or should I fill them to the brim? Plus would it be safe to put them in the saddle bag above the exhaust?

[Sunilg]

hmmm... not a bad idea et al.

Instead of usual plastic carry cans (which are usually of very inferior quality plastic), try to get those which are used to carry engine oil/other automobile oil. These are not generally available in market; however, you can contact your friendly neighborhood kabadi-wala or the raddi(old news papers) wala; they can easily arrange them. It costs a little more than the usual ones, but shouldn't be more than Rs.15-20 a piece, maybe even less.

Do not put the plastic cans on the saddlebag on the exhaust side, instead keep it on the left side (sari-guard side). I carried the LPG gas cylinder on our last year's trip, no problem whatsoever.

Try not to fill them to their full capacity; even if you have to do this, refill your petrol tank regularly after short intervals to remove some load off the jerry cans. Also, carry a small funnel along, it will be very convenient.

[Scorpion King]

My personal Advice to anyone carrying fuel in cans.

1) Buy those big black Garbage Bags

2) Once u fill ur can at the petrol kiosk clean ur hands and place the can in the garbage bags.

3) Tie a knot on the bag

This will ensure an air tight seal so that u dont get nauseated in case fumes do escape from the can. This is especially advisable for owners of cars like Scorpio, Innova etc. where u dont have a separate boot for luggage.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Sunil nice idea, I remember Hitanshu telling me on the Sunday meet about an engine oil container from some company that was really good. The problem is I will be carrying 3 liters of engine oil, plus 6-7 liters of petrol, that means I will need to carry them in two separate cans. Don?t know how much I will be able to stuff in my saddle bags and also add to the fact that I will be carrying a lot more luggage beside this.

Rohan nice tips, washing hands is really important and one has be careful while pouring petrol in the petrol tank, if petrol manages to enter ones eyes it can eat away the tissues and cause damage to ones eye.

[Sunilg]

Carry two cans, put one in teh saddle bag (this one should cotnain more quantity of oil, say around 5 liters.)

Tie the other one on the rucksack (shouldn't carry more than 2-3 liters of fuel)........keep emptying teh cans regularly.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

I was thinking on the similar lines (one 5liter can and another 2liter can), however putting the 2 liter can in the rucksack will be a bit of an issue. On the plus side I would have used up one liter of engine oil before there will be a need to carry spare petrol, on the minus I will be climbing one of the steeper passes and really rough terrain with that kind of payload.

[Salil]

Well, carry both cans in the Saree guard side saddle. Tools and other heavy materials and **food stuff** on the silencer side saddle. Empty engine oil cans are a nice idea, provided they fit in your saddle bags. So look for some that fit. Putting them in agrbage bags is a good idea too, as suggested by Rohan. I had a bad experience with Petro noodles and petro biscuits, as you guys now . So food and petrol to be kept separate, however leakproof your fuel cans are. So you can in no way distribute the fuel in 2 saddles, since one of them has to carry food.

Tying it to the rucksack would be a bad idea... there's aways a risk of them falling off, plus, it would be too messy if you need to open the rucksack. These cans were never meant to be tied to things, and won't provide adequate grip if you try tying them anywhere. Pressure on the cans when tied tightly with ropes/strings is another factor. So both cans in the Sareeguard side saddle is the best thing to do according to me. Just make sure to balance the other side accordingly.

[Salil]

Don't carry batteries/other electric/electronic items in the fuel saddle.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Yup still remember the taste of those petro biscuits, will make sure to carry the food items separately. Balance will be an issue when I have to carry 7 liters of petrol on one side, balancing them would be tough by putting the spares etc on one side. Also during the 2 legs of the journey both the cans will be empty since I will not need to carry any spare petrol at that moment.

By the way how safe would it be to carry engine oil on the exhaust side?

[hitanshu]

6L gear oil can from servo (or the 4L shell helix one from skoda service stations - is a charm). can take some half liter more. keep it in normal colelge bag on your back. Ride till pangong/marsimek, empty in the tank. Where's the issue?

Safety is a problem if you start on bad roads. From jay/arpan's account - the FUN starts post pangong towards chushul and beyond

before that you can anyways top up and ride with the empty can- the can isnt meant to be used at the bherry end!!