Question about Alcohol Stoves and Airline Travel..

Hi Everyone.

I was discussing the pros and cons about different stove types with my sister this holiday weekend. She is considering adding some equipment for general hiking and such (not really ready to start the all out backpacking - I am working on that!).

She asked me about the use of alcohol stoves and airline travel. I know there are strict restrictions when it somes to these questions with regular stoves. She raised a few points...

Couldn't the alky stove be washed out to be readied for travel? Might be much easier than a regular stove with all of its parts and pieces.

Why can't the fuel (denatured alcohol) be packed with the rest of your checked luggage?

I do recognize that, while being a little different than the regular set of cookstoves, any mention of the work 'Stove' or 'fuel' is likely to raise the eyes of the examiners.

On my trip to the Philmont Scout ranch in Aug of 2006 I mailed my stoves and fuel containers. After using them I mailed them back to myself. That was the procedure at the time.

Any experience with this question? Your thoughts are most welcome.

Scott

I never had any problem with any stove (canister, pressurized, or alcool). What is attracting unwanting attention is the fuel bottle (i've had two bottles and one pump confiscated from my checked-in luggage, not all post 9/11!) No problem with alcool, at least as you can use any kind of container. I will now take my fuel bottle in hand luggage, and have it "hand inspected" at check-points, as it seem to be OK to have empty containers...(That is, next time I take a pressurized stove on a trip <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> ).

It is against FAA regulations to carry on or check any flammable liquid. Doesn't matter if it's white gas, kerosene, alcohol, or compressed butane, propane, etc.

The stove itself is not a problem in your checked luggage.

You can carry any and all kinds of stoves -- both as carry on or as checked luggage -- without any problems whatsoever -- so long as the stoves are thoroughly cleaned -- without any trace of fuel residue.

As above, fuel itself is strictly forbidden. You cannot carry it onboard with you and you cannot check it either. You will have to buy your fuel at your destination.

I'm personally very happy that the airlines forbid all types of fuels. Would you trust that everybody screwed their Whisperlite's white gas tank top tight enough? Or that someone's partially used canister won't leak iso-butane fumes?

As for making sure all stoves have been purged that too speaks to not creating volitale fumes.

For international travel you just have to use something that is a multifuel stove and try to purchase the cleanest fuel available in-country.

My ONE question is: Are solid ESBIT/FireLite type fuels permitted? Those may be difficult or impossible to obtain in say, the Philippines. And... would the airline inspctor even know what they were looking at when they scanned a pack of FireLite fuel tabs?

Eric

No, esbit is flammable! Here's an excerpt from REI about shipping esbit (note that it uses the same language as shipping other types of fuel):

"Flammable item - must be sent via surface (ground) shipping. Sorry, no air shipping. Cannot be sent to Alaska, Hawaii, APO, FPO or international addresses."

Yes, it does matter - The FAA allows you to carry alcohol - that's why they buy it in the duty free store.
I've bought everclear in the duty free stores, and it's what I often fuel my stove on. You can't carry
canisters or white gas. that is forbidden, but bottles of alcohol are permitted, thanks to the lucrative
duty free alcohol and perfume stores in airports who lobby for such things. The usual idiotic rules (more than 100 mls has to be in your checked baggage, etc.) apply.

No, it doesn't make sense, but that's what they do. It makes as much sense as the face that 1 quart ziploc bags are a terrorism condom that osama can't get through.

Phat:

Here's a blip from TSA website:

"More than 70 percent alcohol content (140 proof) is prohibited from carry-on and checked luggage."

The commonly used denatured alcohol is therefore prohibited. I suppose the typical "rubbing alcohol" sold in most stores probably can qualify since they only contain about 70% alcohol; however, this "watered down"rubbing alcohol also makes for a rather lousy fuel.

So, in summary:

1. Clean stoves -- OK to carry on and OK to check.
2. Fuel -- for alcohol, canister, white gas or esbit stoves -- Carry on or check in both prohibited -- except for <70% alcohol.

If they will allow a rubbing alcohol bottle or an everclear bottle on either via checked in or carry on. Wouldn't it be possible to just "re-package" the fuel both are clear and I am sure the inspector is not going to know the difference or even investigate that much to care.

Yeah, chances are good that nothing will happen and no one will know... but the rules are there for a reason. If something should happen, I would hate to see the next day's headline: "Plane Engulfed in Flames Traced to Flammable Liquid Carried On by Idiotic Backpacker". <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I don't think we backpackers should smuggle fuel onboard and put everyone else at risk just for our own convenience.

phat:

Ben is right. Everclear and high-proof rum gets confiscated, at least in the US. It was a BIG problem a few years ago, but even the duty free stores have stopped selling it at most of the rum-stops at Caribbean airports, so it is seldom taken from passengers when they connect in MIA from down south anymore.

ANYTHING flammable is a no-no. I once got popped for having waterproofing (and flammable) hiking-boot spray in my bag -- almost lost my job over it with my airline, since I guess "we're" supposed to be smarter than that. Duh.

I lost a brand new coleman propane stove (WITHOUT the green cannister) at the Calgary airport leaving -- no big deal, but I definitely would raise a HUGE stink if they took my Snowpeak that a coddle in my carry-on nowdays.

And to think of the days when I would bring that industrial-sized can of bear spray back from Banff in the old days . . . thank god we've got these rules, I can only imagine if that had gone off in my bag in the cargo hold, I might still be walking home from South Dakota where they dropped me off. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Hmm. guess that's new - I know I bought and brought back a bottle of everclear from
vegas 6 months ago.. Oh well! My bad! Thanks!

phat:



. . . nothing like admitting two vices in one post. Didn't they loosely base that movie "Rendition" on a Canadian flying with a flammable liquid in the US? But it is a cheap way to get a free trip and have a shockingly interesting time in North Africa at other's expense. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hey, everclear is hardly a vice - it's fuel!

Just because you can mix the fuel with cristal light or hot chocolate on days you
can cook on a fire.... A little bit cleans your hands after potty visits too. How can
triple use possibly be a vice? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

So THAT explains why you're hiking with three of these filled with fuel, hand-cleaner and hot-chocolate enhancer.