Proquip Heavy Duty (Dark Green) 20 litre Jerry Can Taints water taste

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

We towed a camper trailer 7,500km behind our Prado for a fantastic trip to Lawn Hill, Karumba and lots of places in between.

For this trip we purchased 3 Proquip brand, 20 litre heavy duty (dark green) opaque Jerry Cans for water for our trip. Prior to departing we rinsed the Jerry cans out a few times. They are very robust, and are labelled as "Ideal for drinking water storage". We found that the Jerry Cans survived the outback trip, but the water, despite several more rinses, was heavily tainted with a perfume odour that permeated the taste of the water. Its quite a pleasant odour, and its not an offensive taste, but it taints the water heavily, and if its all the water you had you could still drink it if your life depended on it, however it is terrible for making tea or coffee as it adds so much perfume taste to the water, and we soon abandoned the idea of using the water for anything else other than washing up and showering etc. On our return I telephoned the Proquip company and asked to speak to a technical person, however the administration lady said she knew exactly what to do. Rinse the Jerry can with hot water with a table spoon of sodium bicarbonate, and then rinse again with a tea spoon of dish washing detergent and rinse out. Well, after several hot water rinses, and lots of sodium bicarbonate, and the several rinses with dish washing detergent, and lots of clean tap water flushes, and after a few more weeks soaking with clean water, the odour is actually just as bad as it was at the outset...seriously heavily perfumed....the jerry cans may be ideal for drinking water "storage", but NOT if you actually want to drink fresh water.

The Jerry cans are part number 1003, they are Australian made, and are stated to be BPA free....in this case though, they are not perfume fragrance and taste free....it could be an isolated issue, but we have now been rinsing and soaking and adding and rinsing sodium barb, and soaking in dish washing detergent over a period of there months and even the dog wont drink the water that comes out of the Jerry cans.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced this issue, or if perhaps its a faulty manufactured batch which had too much fragrance added to the mold. The company representative said that in order for the plastic material to be removed from the mold during manufacture its needs a lubricant which is a safe oily substance, and they use a pleasant fragrance to avoid a nasty plastic taste...unfortunately, in this instance at least, a plastic taste might actually be less offensive than the perfume. I don't have a sensitive nose, and am happy drinking tank water or tap water, but this is over the top unfortunately. Any similar experiences?

[Piney Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Piney]

I bought 2 from SCA last week before a weekend trip and my wife and her sister both complained about the taste choosing to use river water instead. Think I'll take them back.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

Try rinsing with some vanilla essence after using a caravan tank cleaning product.

[VKPrado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close VKPrado]

I have 2 of these and used them for a couple of years now and no issues so hopefully just an isolated case and it can be all sorted out.

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

Try rinsing with some vanilla essence after using a caravan tank cleaning product.

I have since also rinsed with the environmentally friendly "tank clean" product used to clean caravan water tanks, and still to no avail. I'm not sure if vanilla essence will help, as its quite perfumed...I am really starting to think it might be a manufacturing issue for a particular batch. I have email the Propquip people again. I am a big believer in supporting Australian Made, and its obvious that it is a good product, and i am sure they will be able to help. I have even filled with very hot water and sodium bicarbonate again, as advised, and shook it and shook it and soaked it, and rinsed it, and still no good. The diesel fuel container equivalent had no such perfume smell, (and it certainly now smells like diesel), and is excellent, apparently the perfume is added to the oily coating used during manufacture to only the water Jerry cans. I see "Piney" has experienced the same problem, I wonder if there are any other similar experiences. I purchased mine from Tent World, so I will call them and see if they have heard any similar experiences. Proquip may need to recall a batch of these Jerry Cans perhaps?

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

I have since also rinsed with the environmentally friendly "tank clean" product used to clean caravan water tanks, and still to no avail. I'm not sure if vanilla essence will help, as its quite perfumed...I am really starting to think it might be a manufacturing issue for a particular batch. I have email the Propquip people again. I am a big believer in supporting Australian Made, and its obvious that it is a good product, and i am sure they will be able to help. I have even filled with very hot water and sodium bicarbonate again, as advised, and shook it and shook it and soaked it, and rinsed it, and still no good. The diesel fuel container equivalent had no such perfume smell, (and it certainly now smells like diesel), and is excellent, apparently the perfume is added to the oily coating used during manufacture to only the water Jerry cans. I see "Piney" has experienced the same problem, I wonder if there are any other similar experiences. I purchased mine from Tent World, so I will call them and see if they have heard any similar experiences. Proquip may need to recall a batch of these Jerry Cans perhaps?

Old thread but yup having the same issue with a brand new ProQuip Jerry given to me as present. No issue with the two BCF clear/white Jerry's. Took the Jerry's as back up to the CT on a recent camp, went to use the Proquip and it was heavily tainted with perfume. Ended up having to do a 2 hour round trip to the nearest store to get some Coles water boxes...

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

Here is a reply from the manufacturer. A superb reply, very explanatory and helpful, and a generous offer of a refund, but I am more interested in a solution than a refund. I want to support Australian made, and I feel that they might have a batch of jerry cans with an excess application of the vanilla flavoring that is added during manufacturing. I have no doubt it is safe, but I would only drink the water if it was the last water left in the desert, and I would not bother making tea or coffee with it, as it taints the taste terribly.

I have been criticized by one forum member for posting this information on the forum, as its not "prado" related, but many of us with Prados have them for camping and touring and Jerry cans are very important accessories for either fuel or water. The proquip heavy duty diesel jerry cans are fantastic, the heavy duty green drinking water Jerry cans are, unfortunately, in my experience, made in a way that imparts a terrible taste to the water, that after months and months and multiple rinses still remains.

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Thank you for your email.

The "perfume" type smell you are experiencing is from a Vanilla Flavour that we add to the master batch of plastic during the manufacturing process of the Water Cans.
We add this into the Master Batch as the normal manufacturing process can give off a "Burnt" type odour once the Plastic Cans are completed.

We therefore add a Vanilla additive to counter the effect. The Vanilla additive is completely safe and the Water is totally drinkable and we have been selling this Water can for many years.

The Vanilla smell and taste usually does go away quite quickly after a couple of uses.

I do understand that the taste is not everyone's cup of tea, and especially in warm condition's it can be quite strong.

We recommend that you wash the can out with Baking Soda, rinse and then leave to dry overnight. As you have tried this method and that has not removed the odour to your satisfaction please don't hesitate to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund from the retailer.

I apologise for any inconvenience caused but assure you the Cans are safe to use.

Please give me a call if you wish to discuss.

*********************************************

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Have you tried some citric acid crystals instead of the baking soda? I use a teaspoon of these in my kettle every now and again to removed any buildup of "crud" on the element, etc. I just boil it up and let it sit overnight, then rinse the kettle and boil it again with clean water, the kettle always comes out clean as a whistle. Not sure if it would also help with the taste but worth a try.

Oh and don't worry about the person who criticised you for posting here, it's as Prado related as many of the other topics on here are. As you said, many of the members here would use them for camping so it is of interest.