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. Volume tells you how much the can holds. Filled weight tells you who can lift it and how far, and that is the number that decides whether a can gets used or set down and left.
One lift is not the test
A fit adult can pick up a filled 20-litre can once and think nothing of it. The job is rarely one lift. Move fuel to a machine fifty times across a shift and the weight compounds into a strain, and a tired lift is where a can gets dropped and the contents spill. Size the can for the hundredth carry, not the first. The 10-litre also widens who can do the work: it suits more people than the 20-litre, so a crew is not built around the strongest few.
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. See our 3-litre mini can.
- 10 litres. The comfortable one-hand carry, ten kilograms filled, which widens the user base beyond fit adults. See our 10-litre NATO steel can.
- 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.
Fewer big cans or more small ones
Larger cans mean fewer handling movements per litre. One 20-litre trip replaces two 10-litre trips, so the container count drops and so does the caps-off, caps-on time. The cost is a heavier lift each time. That is a real trade for a distributor to weigh against the crew and the distance: pick the big can where the carry is short and the people are strong, pick the small can where the carry is long or the hands are many.
Bulk cans need a tap
A 25 or 30-litre can is drawn from, not carried. Nobody lifts a brimmed 30-litre can to pour it accurately, so specify a tap or a spout on anything at that size that will sit at a refuelling point and be decanted. 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.
Size decides freight too
The size you pick also sets how the cans travel. A can that nests or stacks cleanly loads more units into the same pallet and container, so the choice reaches past the point of use and into the freight bill. Read warehouse storage and export packing before you fix a size for a large order. The common mistake runs both ways: specifying 20-litre cans for a job where staff carry them far all day, and expecting anyone to hand-carry a brimmed 30-litre can. Match the size to the carry, then check it against the freight.
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.
Match the can to the job
Pick the size for the carry. Here is the range by job.
| Your use case | Recommended can | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| A reserve or a sample |  3L Mini Horizontal Can |
A one-hand top-up or trial volume. |
| A comfortable one-hand carry |  10L NATO Steel Can |
Ten kilograms filled, wider user base. |
| The standard workhorse |  20L NATO Steel Fuel Can |
NATO size for fuel and water. |
| Bulk at a refuelling point |  25L & 30L NATO Can |
Fewer handling moves per litre; add a tap. |