UKH

I've been reading some of the old posts but just would like some up to date advice.

Whats the deal on this? From what I've read if you have a used expedition stove it's pretty much a gamble whether they will let it through or confiscate it. 

Heathrow list in their banned items : "Vehicle fuel system components which have contained fuel", a rule which I can easily see being transferred onto a stove which can burn petrol. 

I have a remote canister gas stove that has boiled water below -30C but it was pretty slow and quite difficult to get going, however gas stoves are way cheaper to replace, simpler and from what I've read, WAY less likely to be confiscated.  

I'd take the stove brand new, but I'd really like to get to grips with it before being dropped in the field. And ultimately I just don't want the drama of wondering on each flight whether I'm going to lose a very expensive and neccessary stove. 

So is stove confiscation still a thing? 

I always leave mine out for a few days to air and get rid of any odour and I put some fruit juice in the fuel bottle for a few days to mask any residual odour in it. I've done this since once being called back to explain what the bottle was and was given the all clear once it had been sniffed! For a while after that I showed the bottle to the person at bag drop to make sure there was no issue with it. I've flown many times since with my MSR without any problems.

Borrow a fuel bottle off someone for testing purposes. Keep the new bottle for the initial flight. 

I've always painted or covered the bottle in duck tape and pretended it was a drinks bottle

Stoves are fine, the bottles sometimes they got issues with. Sticker it up to cover any mention of 'fuel' or 'cooking' so that it looks like a Sigg bottle, clean and dry it properly before the flight to remove any smells, and carry it separately from the stove and you'll be ok, preferably as a carry on so it's easy for them to check.

There really should be no problem with a gas stove (for any US readers, I mean the physical state of matter, not 'gasolene'). There will be no fuel residue in the burner.

Liquid fuel stoves, especially those burning heavier fuels like kerosene, will have oily residues. Whilst these are so tiny as to not pose a threat to anything, my guess is that any ban is to prevent any hassle for the airline due to sensor systems detecting these residues, triggering the need to determine the source of the detection. It's about operational inconvenience, not safety.

A good clean with alcohol might help remove fuel residues, or I imagine there must be proprietary products designed for removing fuel and oil residues, e.g. degreasing products in automotive servicing.

In addition to the advice above, clean liquid fuel stoves with something like brake cleaner to remove any petrol/diesel/paraffin residue.

What do people do with the pump? Bottle advice makes sense, but seems like it could be potentially harder to explain away the pump? 

Never been a problem (along with the stove) on many trips for me in hold baggage.

I wonder if keeping the box it comes in, and transporting it in that might help...! 

I was advised to use cooking oil.  

Make sure the lid is very obviously not on the bottle.  

Multifuel Stoves on Planes

The less exciting but more practical prequel to 'Snakes on a Plane'.

I’ve flown with Petrol/White Gas stoves many times without issue.

Make sure your clean and dry the stove, pump and bottle before packing. I find hot soapy water and a Brillo pad does the job.

Covering the bottle with stickers/tape is probably sensible.

The only time I have ever had an issue with a stove, was flying with a MSR Reactor as hand luggage. Once I’d explained what it was there was no issue.

HTH

I let the stove run dry, let it all air, wash it and the bottle with detergent and pack the bottle with the top off and separated from the stove.  Not had problem

When we flew back from Morocco after using an MSR with petrol for a week, we gave away the last half litre of petrol to a taxi driver (which was a bit of fun in itself) and then gave the fuel container a right good wash with soapy water.  No probs encountered at Agadir.

The fun was getting the taxi driver to understand that it was petrol - me not speaking any arabic.  I ended up spilling a bit in the gutter and setting light to it.  At which point, the penny dropped and he was all smiles

I had a similarly odd conversation at a moped hire shop in Greece.  Trying to explain why I wanted to give her petrol was entertaining.