View Full Version : Alcohol in USPS
Hellos,
Can anyone tell me the the regs regarding sending denatured alcohol in the mail for re-supply? I plan to use half shopping and half post office re-supply for my thru with maybe more shopping towards the end. Resupply does not make much since if I still have to find a place to buy alcohol.
Any info would be welcome. I hope to leave next week. (imagine emoticon here)
Thanks,
SGTdirtman
03-30-2006, 01:36
I dont think its illegal to ship alcohol. Even if it is, unless your slapping stamps right on the side of the bottle I dont see what the problem is. They dont know whats in the box they just ship it :cool:
Alligator
03-30-2006, 10:40
Denatured alcohol is prohibited by the USPS. http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/welcome.htm
See App A in this link
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf
txulrich
03-30-2006, 12:16
Denatured alcohol is prohibited by the USPS. http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/welcome.htm
See App A in this link
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52.pdf
These only apply to shipments that will be via air. If you use ground, these don't apply.
Alligator
03-30-2006, 12:35
These only apply to shipments that will be via air. If you use ground, these don't apply.
Ok, my bad. Section 3 provides guidelines for surface transport, but I don't know the flashpoint of alcohol. It may differ by type. Any help here?
Alligator
03-30-2006, 13:30
I've found several flashpoints, all within 50-60F, making alcohol a flammable liquid (as opposed to combustible). One set of the postal surface regs are for flammable liquids with flashpoints between 20-73F, App C USPS Packaging Instruction 3A (Pub52). So it looks doable by ground. Thanks to txulrich for pointing out the differences.
This might do for instructions.
No more than a pint in a soda bottle. The soda bottle needs to be placed into a ziplock (secondary packaging). The soda bottle needs to be cushioned in a strong outer box and no other soda bottles (primary receptacles) allowed. The box needs to go ground, and needs to be labeled with "surface mail only", "Consumer Commodity ORM-D" and the flashpoint of the alcohol. Complete return and delivery addresses needed too.
As always, please double check with your postal employees. I'd print out the instructions and have them handy as backup documentation.
WalkinHome
03-30-2006, 21:32
In 2000, I sent Esbit solid fuel tablets in the mail, with Parcel Post, Surface Delivery Only and ORM-D written on the outside of the package. Two out of three USPS folks don't even know this. I believe the same rules applied to alcohol. Be Safe
Hellos,
Thanks for the feedback and links. Even if I labeled according to the regs., I don't trust that our friends at usps would perform as they are suppose to. I would'nt want to risk loosing the other contents of my supply box because of a dollars worth of ethanol.
So I guess I'll find it along the trail.
Thanks again,
Yea, I don't think you will have any trouble finding alcohol near the AT, I think almost all the traditional stops are going to have it somewhere.
The more interesting question is fuel cannisters, . . . but that's another thread