flying with stove

[carback]

Here's a question for you:

I'm planning on a several-months-long cycle trip (fully-loaded / camping) overseas.

How do you get around the 'flying with a camp stove' issue? If the stove has never been used before, then I see that as not a big deal (but the airlines might think differently). But what do you do if you've used the stove before?

Is draining the lines / ensuring the stove is empty of gas enough for airlines? I somehow doubt it.

Any insight?

Thanks!

[Zen]

Is there an address you can mail it to?
That is if shipping costs aren't too much.

[carback]

No address to mail it to.

And my guess is that mailing it won't be any easier as mail is going to involve flying it (as it has to go 'across the pond').

I once faced the same situation when flying within Canada (where I live). On my flight TO Nova Scotia, no one at the airline was the wiser (the stove was new, too). On my return flight, they found out I had a stove (I had drained the fuel) so they made me take it out of my luggage. Thankfully, someone nearby heard my predicament and offered to take care of mailing it to my self for me (gotta love the kindness of Nova Scotians). he said he would turn a blind eye to the fact that it was a stove. I didn't question it.

The stove showed up about a week later.

Anyhow, I won't have the ground shipment option going over to the U.K. from Canada.

[Zen]

http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/prohibited_and_permitted_items_10-24-07.pdf

Your call.
I'd go ahead and gamble it.

[OakLeaf]

Where are you traveling to? Can you buy one at your destination, then ship it back to yourself at the end of the journey? (Which is what would have to happen if your stove got confiscated, anyway.) Commercial carriers like DHL - most prevalent in Europe - , FedEx and UPS have their own aircraft and don't ship on passenger aircraft, so they don't have the same restrictions.

[Kimmyt]

What type of stove is it?

I've flown with a small stove like this a few years ago: http://www.rei.com/product/660163

in my checked baggage and had no problem (no fuel cannister, obviously). Of course, it was probably fairly obvious to the baggage guy that I was going camping, considering that my bag was full of tents and sleeping bags and climbing gear. Now, of course, this isn't a guarantee you won't get a bag guy who's having a bad day and is feeling peevish. If you're really worried, you could just stop at an REI once you get to your destination and pick up a cheap model, the single-burners run for something like $30.

If you're feeling risky, and you have a stove with an external line you could probably rinse thoroughly with water and remove the residue.

Just buy fuel once you get to your destination.

[Tuckervill]

I've seen in person at the airline check-in people who had to give up gear like that, whether there was fuel or not. I'd plan on getting one when you got to your destination and leaving it for someone else when you come back.

It's what I used to do with strollers when my children were little. Buy a $15 umbrella stroller and leave it for the housekeeper at the hotel when I left.

Karen

[lph]

And here I thought this was a follow-up to the "cooking disasters" thread... :D

[Trigress]

I've taken a stove flying once (I've sent a burning one flying as well, actually), and that was no problem at all, neither from Oslo via Frankfurt and Sao Paolo to La Paz, or from La Paz via Sao Paolo, Rio and London.

However, American airlines are a little more panicky, aren't they?

[newfsmith]

Pre 9/11 we have checked our camping stove without problems, but not since. For this summer's trip we will be UPS'ing it to friends ahead of time. Maybe you should consider the soda can stove for your travels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can_stove just re-cycle at the end of each leg of your trip.

[carback]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm flying from Canada to the U.K., if that matters.

[Jolt]

Maybe you should consider the soda can stove for your travels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can_stove just re-cycle at the end of each leg of your trip.

That's what I'd recommend. I use one of those for backpacking trips since it's lightweight and there are no moving parts to break. It only boils water though, no simmering control, so depending on what you're planning on cooking it may or may not work (my backpacking meals consist of "just add boiling water" kinds of things that cook quickly, so that isn't a problem). I would even think it would be OK to fly with since it doesn't get any fuel residue anyway since all the alcohol burns off cleanly. And if not, like newfsmith said, you can always recycle it.

[shootingstar]

Carback, it's not worth trying to save money by bringing your own stove across the international borders on flights...though as Canadians , we are aware how still strong the pound is..and euro is.

For instance, last year on a DOMESTIC flight between Vancouver and Toronto, they nearly confiscated my bottle of British Columbian wine that I cycled kms. to get it home from a winery. I planned it as a gift while visiting a family member in Ontario.

I didn't know the new rules that wine could only be in checked baggage, not carry-on baggage. So I frantically ran my carry-on luggage, stuffed wine bottle into luggage at the ticket stand and checked in my baggage. I made my flight by 5 min.

All of this..just for a DOMESTIC flight. :cool:

[Rai Sue]

this might be a little late, but...

i have an MSR whisper-lite. I've flown with it as checked baggage both from Canada to the US, and within the US, no problem. I did completely empty the fuel cannister, and make sure that it was clean(ish) and well-wrapped.

This was in 2006.

good luck!