Jerry can sizes, 3 to 30 litres, and how to choose

Jerry cans run from a 3-litre reserve to a 30-litre bulk can. The right size is the one a person can carry to the point of use, so weigh the filled can, not the empty one.

Weigh the filled can

Twenty litres of water weighs twenty kilograms before the can; twenty litres of fuel weighs a little less. The practical carrying limit for most people over any distance is closer to ten kilograms, which is why the 20-litre can is a two-hand or short-carry item and the 10-litre is the comfortable single-hand size.

The common sizes

• 3 to 5 litres. A reserve or a sample: a top-up for a tank that ran low, or a trial volume of a product.
• 10 litres. The comfortable one-hand carry, ten kilograms filled, which widens the user base beyond fit adults.
• 20 litres. The standard NATO size and the workhorse for fuel and water.
• 25 to 30 litres. Bulk, for a fixed refuelling point or a store, usually moved rather than carried far.

Match size to the job

A person carrying to a machine wants 10 or 20 litres. A reserve in a vehicle wants 3 to 5. A refuelling point that is drawn from wants 20 to 30 with a tap or spout. Use our sizing calculator to turn a headcount or a refuelling point into a quantity.

The range

Fortitude21 builds across the size range in steel, stainless, aluminium and HDPE. Read how to choose a jerry can for the full path from liquid to specification.