Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Stoves & Airport Security

Having just completed a transatlantic trip with camping gear I thought it was worth providing the following info.

In the UK my pack was screened seperately and my stove was identified for closer inspection. I had to unpack the stove and the burner was give a through examination with a 'nose'. It was deemed to be safe and my baggage arrived in San Francisco.

Before leaving the US I cleaned out both the burner and fuel bottle and was prepared to ditch both at check-in. As far as I am aware nothing was picked up, I say this because I was not called back prior to boarding however our bags have not as yet made it back to Scotland, I suspect this was due to a late arrival into London and not due to my Stove.

Note: Topic continued from <a href=/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005045> TSA policy regarding stoves and fuel containers</a>

So just out of curiosity, where did you end up getting your fuel (see denatured alcohol )?

Hi VersatileFred,

Thank-you for the info you provided.

We stopped off in Manteca, I had planned to visit Walmart & a local hardware store, however as I was told, I was able to get 'Meths' or denatured alcohol in the decorating section at Walmart.

Just a point of interest, I felt that my stove burn't far hotter in the US, my evidence a melted pan handle & burner seal, which had survived in the UK for years. Not quite sure why, no blue dye maybe.

Thanks again for your help.

> Before leaving the US I cleaned out both the burner and fuel bottle

Just curious... What did you do to clean them out? And did you re-assemble the stove or pack the parts separately?

Hi Steve,

I wiped out both the burner & bottle with a clean absorbent cloth. I then left them both for air to circulate around them for as long as possible.

When I packed for the airport I had the burner separate from the stove and my fuel bottle was packed without the stopper.

Our luggage is now back home, I believe the delay was because of late arrival at Heathrow not close inspection at San Francisco.

For those of you with Coleman stoves, I highly recommend the following.

1. Empty the fuel bottle completely.
2. Reassemble and pump up to full pressure.
3. Open valves fuly and let the air sweep out residual fuel.
4. Repeat several times.
5. Diassemble and let it air out with the valves open as recommended by others.

Your stove may have burned hotter because not all denatured alcohol is created equal. The actual composition varies widely from one brand to the next. Some are almost pure ethanol with a little isopropanol, methanol, MEK, MIBK, or benzene. Others have much more of the denaturing agent. If you were burning S-L-X brand, which is what I bought at Walmart, it is 45-50% ethanol, 45-50% methanol, and 1-4% MIBK, IIRC.