It’s my fault. I blamed the bad design first on government in general, then on California regulations. I should know better. Sorry.
You can argue whether Gov’t should regulate and to what level, but these bad designs are on engineers and often corporate mandates, not government. As MJuric mentioned, the design is bad because but consumers won’t or can’t bring the product back so there is no incentive to make it better. As far as the Gas Can executives are concerned, they sell a bunch of them and they have few returns. Honestly, does anyone even remember a gas can brand? If anything, you get upset it isn’t working right and either:
- Live with it
- Modify it
- Go to the store and buy a different design and hope it works.
Maybe number 3 is what the gas can execs are hoping for, continuous revenue.
It’s not your fault. You aren’t responsible for the government in general or California regulations.
That’s easy to say, but the company board had to comply with the regulation, but didn’t give the project a budget, and the manager had to schedule the work without any resources, and the engineer had to do it without any time. Without a real incentive carrot, the governmental stick is not enough to force good design.
This is the part I don’t tend to agree with. There’s not a regulation passed that effects any large group of companies that there isn’t a lobby for that company(ies) involved somewhere. Of the case is such that the companies actually have a large hand in forming those regulations.
So it goes like this.
People… “We’re worried about the planet and the gas fumes killing it”
Government…“We’re supposed to do what the people want regardless if they are idiots or not and besides it will make us look like we care and that will get us re-elected”
Business…“Well we have to do what government says so we better get involved in this lunacy. Government we can do this…”
Government…“Well that looks kinda like what the people asked for even though they have no idea what they are asking for and or what it takes to do it and most of us are lawyers and have no idea what it takes to make anything. Hell most of us can’t even figure out how to change our own tires…but sure yeah, we are experts on everything so that looks like a great design!”
Business…“Ok sure we can do this…because we know doing it this way is going to be more profitable than the old simple cans we used to make because now we can sell them at 3X the price and blame it on the government”
Engineer…“Seriously WTF! is this? This is a stupid idea!”
Business…“Just design something so we can sell it. This is what the people want so they will buy it and when it sucks they will end up buying another one”
People…“Seriously! This thing sucks. I just turned myself into a mobile wick and nearly burnt my house down. I’m going to go buy a different one. DAMN IT! This one sucks too. I’ll by one more…really…sucks. I’m buying a funnel instead and ripping the top off this thing”
Business…“See it’s working the average customer now buys three gas cans instead of one and they never return it because they rip the part off that might break, use it as an open can of gas that now spews 10X more fumes into the environment than the old ones did. On top of that certainly the people will demand this travesty be fixed because the planet is dying and we can do this ALL over again”
Planet…“I figure I have another couple hundred years before I rid myself of this awful scourge of humanity”
[quote=matt post_id=11844 time=1629816624 user_id=49]
That’s easy to say, but the company board had to comply with the regulation, but didn’t give the project a budget, and the manager had to schedule the work without any resources, and the engineer had to do it without any time. Without a real incentive carrot, the governmental stick is not enough to force good design.
[/quote]
All likely true, but who can say when we don’t know more specifics? We are assuming, unless someone here works a for gas can company and can give us the lowdown.
But in the end, bad design is on who, especially after this many years? Maybe the problem is I’m buying gas cans from Walmart which is likely a cheap knockoff design by engineers who are just copying something without understanding how it works.
Most cans have poor reviews however this design seems to get high marks:
https://www.surecanusa.com/gascan
<LINK_TEXT text=“https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont … e=emb_logo”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=81&v=lWvEk8pqVaA&feature=emb_logo</LINK_TEXT>
Replace “excited customer” with “excited bureaucrat”. <()>
2021-02-16 08_01_06.jpg
I’ve driven cars that were less complicated than that gas can.
ETA:
I came hear this morning to try and kill the political talk, and it appears I just poured fuel on the flames. <()>
Well maybe if you had one of these well regulated gas cans that wouldn’t have happened 
Or should it be?
Excellent. Thanks!
No doubt many of us are passionate about making or trying make things better.
The sad part.. the opportunist who “use it for their own horse to ride in on” (celebrity or grifter) or “blame it on somebody else with no intent to help or solve problems at all” (grumpy old men/women with $$$ who lobby against everything, except more $$$ in their pockets (recent acceptance of safety features for gas cans) and don’t want real change.
The polarities within the news and even here, are so self evident.
Oh joy… let there be more polls for the masters of puppets. 