An oil can (oilcan or oiler)''A Book of Tools: Being a Catalogue of Tools, Supplies, Machinery, and Similar Goods''
Chas. A. Strelinger & Co., Detroit, Michigan, 1895, pp. 291–4 (from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

) is a can that holds oil (usually motor oil) for lubricating machines. An oil can can also be used to fill oil-based lanterns. An occupation, referred to as an oiler, can use an oil can (among other tools) to lubricate machinery. Oil cans were made by companies like Noera Manufacturing Company and Perfection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Around this time, oil cans frequently leaked and contributed to fires. In 1957,

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

oil cans were introduced, produced by companies like the American Can Company.

Rocanville, Saskatchewan Rocanville is a community in Saskatchewan, Canada, and home to the largest oil can in the world. It is home of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) potash mine which recently announced a $1.6 billion expansion. Rocanville is also th ...

, Canada is home to a large-scale oil can industry because of the Symons Oiler factory which produced oil cans during World War II.

Design

Oil cans come in a variety of designs, from a simple cylindrical disposable can opened with a churchkey (or with a combined spout-opener), to a

hemisphere Hemisphere refers to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western Hemisphere ** Land and water hemispheres * A half of the (geocentric) celes ...

base and tapered straight spout to more intricate designs with handles and push-buttons, to the modern plastic bottle. In 2000, the

3-In-One Oil 3-in-One Oil is a general-purpose lubricating oil sold for household and do-it-yourself use. It was originally formulated in 1894 for use on bicycles, and remains a popular lubricant for their chains. Its name, given by inventor George W. Cole o ...

can was redesigned to look like the early 20th century design (hemisphere base with tapered straight spout).

References

External links

The Sutcliffe Midget Oilcan
miniature oil cans made by

Sutcliffe Pressings Sutcliffe or Sutcliff is a surname, originating in three locations in Yorkshire, sometimes spelled Sutliffe or, unusually, Sutliff. The name means ''south of the cliff/hill''. People bearing the name include: * Alistair Sutcliffe (born 1951), Br ...

for toy/miniature steam engines, stationarysteamengines.co.uk, retrieved 19 July 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oil Can Liquid containers Lubrication

Design

See also

References

External links