Fuel Bottles and Stoves on Airlines?

[blue_morph]

I checked and there was no topic on this "post" 9/11. I want to bring my MSR stove and a bottle (empty and dry of course) with me on Delta Airlines. The flight will be domestic. Any recent experiences regarding this? I think I'll take my least favorite stove just in case.

[Jim]

This is now a pain, and I don't know the solution. Because they now X-ray all checked bags they can spot your buried fuel bottle and stove. I've had two empty fuel bottles and pumps taken by security. I was told that if the fuel bottle ever had fuel in it it cannot be put on the plane. If they find it they will take it. Same with the stove. They now have displays in airport of what you cannot take on the plane, and stoves and fuel bottles are included. I asked them what are you supposed to do for camping then, and they said maybe a friend could mail it back to you (!?).

 

Someone on this board suggested filling the bottle up with soda - but if it smells like fuel they will take it. So I don't know. You can hide it but if they find it you're screwed.

[murraysovereign]

A lot of airlines have declared "zero-tolerance" on stoves and fuel bottles. Rather than putting their employees in the position of having to make judgement calls (how much residual fuel smell is "OK"?), they're simply saying "NO", regardless of whether the stove or bottle has ever been used or not. But check with the airline - they may simply ask you to take a series of steps to ensure the stove is completely purged of fumes. Or you could ship the stove separately by ground, and pick it up when you get to your destination - since you're travelling domestically that may be a viable option.

[b-rock]

Make sure it's empty, clean, and packed in checked lugage. Don't ask, don't tell. Last time I flew they took the empty canister but didn't mind the stove (they never saw they pump, which they proably wouldn't like either). For all the flights on the trip after that I didn't say a word, when the counter people asked if I had a stove I sid no, figuring if they found it I'd just tell them I assumed they meant a gas canister. At the checked luggage security stations we went through (the new federal peeps) they saw the stove but didn't care. I think the airlines themselves see the greatest liability, the security people don't see it as a risk. Of course they are fully in their right to keep you from flying with them. Have fun, good luck.

[cj001f]

blue_morph said:

I checked and there was no topic on this "post" 9/11. I want to bring my MSR stove and a bottle (empty and dry of course) with me on Delta Airlines. The flight will be domestic. Any recent experiences regarding this? I think I'll take my least favorite stove just in case.

Post 9/11 I've had no problems with stoves or fuel bottles (even flying out of National airport). In fact the security people seemed much more interested in my carabiners. Just to be on the safe side I now use a pocket rocket - it's small, they don't notice it's there, and it's not that hard to find canisters most anywhere you go.

[Terminal_Gravity]

I've had good luck since 9/11 putting all the stove parts in separate places in the checked luggage. ( I rinsed the pump with acetone, to help with the fuel smell). Stashed among screws, tools, crampons & hardware, I bet they don't show up up much on x-ray.

 

After washing the bottles I put strong drink mix in the fuel bottles and filled them from a drinking fountain just before going through the security check. There is no fuel smell until the risidual has time to seep from the aluminum. So even though I had to drink a bit from each bottle there was no question from the security that they were just beverage bottles. No garuntees but it worked for me several times including international.

 

[Stefan]

I have also heard of people taking apart their stoves and putting it in various places in their checked baggage. The security is more interested in looking at the crampons.

 

I have also heard of people taking their fuel bottles and filling them up with soda. The fuel bottles look exactly like the Sigg bottles that a lot of Europeans use for drinking out of.

[blue_morph]

I just called Delta and surprisingly I got someone who knew what I was talking about (people seem to think that the Kitchen Stove would be unacceptable as check in luggage). According to Delta Reservations today, the stove is fine in your check in, but NO BOTTLES. I even asked about new ones and she said no. I don't think she understood that new meant EMPTY though. I will try the empty bottle thing anyway. I wonder what the other airlines say. I think its just easier to have a blanket policy for these things than to leave it up to the individual who will likely have no idea what they are looking at. Still, they need to allow stoves as MANY people use them and need to travel with them.

[Dru]

if your bottle is stuck in the middle of a bunch of cams and pitons and so on won't the x ray have a hard time seeing it?

[murraysovereign]

blue_morph said:

... I don't think she understood that new meant EMPTY though. I will try the empty bottle thing anyway...

 

Your probably better to do as an earlier poster suggested, and fill the bottle with Gatorade or some such and be prepared to drink from it at the security check. If they think it's a fuel bottle, they keep it; if you're seen drinking from it, then it isn't a fuel bottle and they'll let it go.

I don't think the airline's concerns about these things has anything to do with 9/11, either. Certainly they've become much less flexible since the attacks, but the whole fuel bottle problem I think goes back to an airliner that crashed in the Florida Everglades a number of years ago (late 80s?). The cause was traced back to some oxygen bottles in the luggage compartment that leaked, causing a fire, causing the plane to lose key control systems, and down they went. It seems someone thought the bottles were empty, when in fact at least one of them wasn't. In order to avoid similar errors or oversights in future, the FAA decided that it was best to "just say no".

[chilly]

On a trip a few months back to Aconcagua, I had two large red MSR bottles and MSR Dragonfly stove, all used many times and had no problem. I just buried it around other stuff and what someone else noted they were more interested in the crampons than anything else. I also had several lighters in my checked baggage.

[Beck]

...ground freight, general delivery... you can send your handguns, too, with a special form, last time I checked...

[ncascademtns]

I flew back from Reno (SWA) on Sept 10, 2001 (evening before 9/11) after doing the east face of Whitney. I had my MSR stove in my bag. My partner had the fuel bottle which was empty. I made the mistake of telling them that I had a stove but no fuel and no bottle. Big deal I thought. We'll my buddy didn't say a word and they let him through. They took my stove and told me to move on. WTF! They said that the stove had been previously burned and would still have fuel substence in it. We all know that White Gas evaporates fast. I tried to explain that to them but she would not listen. This guy was standing next to me with a pack of smokes in his front pocket with a lighter in it. I asked the lady, "so you let this guy take a lighter on the plane"? She gave me this smart ass look and summon her manager. I finally agreed to leave the stove but asked to have it ship home, the bitch said, "not my problem". Bitch! She said all lost stuff goes to F'n Georgia or something like that. I took one of those bag tags and wrote my name and address on it and tagged it to the stove. She gave me another smart ass look and put it behind the counter. Bitch!

Made it home that night and called Southwest Airlines in Reno in the morning (9/11). The lady on the line said that there was a meeting going on and that someone would call me back in an hour. Well, that was when the shit hit the fan and the Twin Towers crashed to the ground. I let it go for about a week.

I finally called back and talk to another person. She actually found the stove in the back room. She was really nice about the whole thing and get this, she shipped it FEDX overnight on a freakin' airplane!

Got it back.

I believe in the don't ask, don't tell. Hell with it, just lie.

 

 

[Terry]

I've flown Alaska a couple times this year with no problems. I stick the pack and everything else inside a huge NF duffel so there are no questions about stoves or fuel bottles. Just in case, I rinse out the stove with some cheap shampoo that takes care of fuel odor. On return flights I pack used socks and long underwear on top. My bag was searched on last flight but nothing was missing - I don't think they made it past the socks.

Terry

[fern]

It used to be with Air Canada that not only did they not

care too much if you had a stove, if they asked and you

did tell them you had a stove they wouldn't charge you any

excess baggage if your luggage was overweight

... something about camping equipment being exempt.