Jerrycan Speakers

by Samuel Bernier

32K11221

Intro: Jerrycan Speakers

Jerrycans are beautiful. Their shape is functional and iconic.
With the price of the fuel being so high, you can't afford to have a leak in your container. If it's the case, here is a simple idea that could interest you. Walking home a few days ago, I found an old set of speakers in my neighboor's trash can. (You know, these brown boxes that nobody uses anymore because today's technology offers much better sound quality.) I didn't know if they worked but I still took them. I smashed the case with a hammer (NOT the best way to get inside), and I unscrewed the speakers from the box.

Warning for music purists: The sound coming out from these speakers won't be HD quality... Jerrycans sound like Jerrycans. It's more a kind of party accessory.

STEP 1: Get the Stuff

YOU WILL NEED :

- A pair of stereo speakers
- Speaker wires
- 8 screws (the type will depend of the speakers you've got
- 2 EMPTY AND CLEAN Jerrycans (or similar objects)
- Polyester fill
- Amplifier

STEP 2: Find Speakers

Once you found old speakers, get inside the box to remove the parts you need. Try not to brake the membrane.

STEP 3: Mesure

Find the diameter of the speakers' inner part. Use a caliper

STEP 4: Trace a Circle

You can use a pair of compasses or make a paper template to trace the exact diameter on the Jerrycan's body. Use a big black marker.

STEP 5: Drill

Make a hole large enough to let your cutting tool go trough the plastic

STEP 6: Cut

Use a jigsaw to cut a hole in the can. Follow the circle traced on step 3. Make sure the hole is smaller than the overall speaker's diameter.

STEP 7: Mark

Place the speaker in the hole and mark the screw holes with the tip of a drill or a pen

STEP 8: Screw Holes

Use a drill to prepare holes for the screws. The  drill diameter should be about 7/64 inch.

STEP 9: Pass the Wires

Use the air holes on top of the can to pass the coper wires trough the can.

STEP 10: Wire

Sincerely, I can't help you much on how to connect the speakers together. I only followed my instinct and it worked. Some Instructables projects explain how to do it properly. Here's a link :

https://www.instructables.com/id/Music-Mods/

STEP 11: Fill

Use polyester fill to insulate the can to limit vibrations.

STEP 12: Screw Them

Just screw the speakers onto the Jerrycan.

STEP 13: Plug

Plug the speakers to an amplifier and put some music on.
Try some classics like :

The DOORS - Light my fire
Daddy Yanke - Gazolina
Hendrix - Fire

22 Comments

Alx_xlA 12 years ago

If you remake these, you should add a subwoofer and put it in a diesel jerry can.

(They're the yellow ones. Red is for gasoline and blue for kerosene.)

TonE5 7 years ago

I am currently in the process of making one with a woofer build from a WW2 parachute box, this fits great with the metal rusty cans. unfortunately I haven't found a 10" woofer with the yellow membrame yet because they look great with the black

ncanm1234 10 years ago

Maybe drill a small hole in the bottom of the cans to feed the wires thru it would look a little better

godscountry 11 years ago

what's cool about these ,if you have a jeep or other open,rag top vehicle,they look so good,and by using a few simple caculations and a couple extra dollars for a few better parts,,they can sound as good as any top dollar car speaker.

DIY Dave 12 years ago

Here's one I made a while back. I still haven't finished the instructable on it.

Also my dad has a metal jerrycan that he won't use because it's not easy to pour gas out of it. I'll see if I can have it to make a speaker.

UmerJavaid 12 years ago

i cant see any bass hole ? have u kept any ?


UmerJavaid 12 years ago

ok good idea :)

but i searhed on net that there are proper calculations for bass hole and the base pipe length?

so we cant change the size of the nozel have u calculated it ??

if yes then what is the name of your software any link to its download?

N36 12 years ago

I've got further SLR higher quality images of the jerry can speakers with tweeters (above) I made: http://www.mpinder.com/design-projects/201-jerry-can-speakers.html

ilpug 12 years ago

Amazing! How do they sound?

N36 12 years ago

The can's sound really good, especially with the tweeters in them. I don't have any vibration issues as they're packed out with nylon filler and are pretty heavy duty plastic formed cans. I use them with my projector setup and look great. I'm going to get some home garage garden hose pipe hooks for them to go on the wall :)

Samuel Bernier 12 years ago

They sound like jerrycans. ;)
The sound isn't amazing but their is not as much vibration that I tought there would be. The use of jerrycan is more for the style than for the sound quality. I usually plug them with an other set of speakers (more compact).

RBishop69 12 years ago

Yours are ok, they just seem like too much work. lol Check out how I did mine. That's the way to go no cutting, or anything. and a 12" sub fits a 5 gallon bucket pretty good don't you think?

netrunner 12 years ago

If you want to bring speakers for an outdoor party, this is really smart. The handles make it easy to carry and they do not weigh that much.

I have built several pairs. The last pair of metal, a former Army 20L gas cans. Worn, rusty and stamped with the Swedish military's "three crowns".

You can get the can significantly stiffer with metal bands and lots of heat glue on the inside. The band will stand on end, like a beam. The trick is to preheat the container before you glue, with a real heat gun.

My friends who are audiophiles believe the sound is really good and the girls likes the rough design. Cost 300usd.

netrunner 12 years ago

They are hard to come by. In rare cases you can find them at surplus stores. It is not something you want to buy by mail order.

There is a trick to get deeper bass. Only deeper bass, no more sound. But deep bass is also the thing that says "come here now it's party!" If you choose the elements well and assembles them as "airtight serial connected" you can create the real "club sound". You feel it in your stomach.

To get good volume outdoors you need to actually get a lot of power. It surprised me a lot. Often its enough with 3-5 watts indoors to get evicted from the apartment, but out on a field you often need a lot more lika 30-50 watts.

Lead-acid batteries are heavy. Lipo is expensive and difficult to monitor. If you do not monitor lipo it is easy to be deep discharged them and it is NOT GOOD!
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