How are you guys shipping carbs? I just sold one for $75, and USPS says they won't send it because it had gas in it one time in it's life, and UPS wants $33! Anyone have any tips or ideas?

 

Pack it yourself and keep quiet about it. Put everyone on a need to know basis.........and they don't need to know. Wrap it in a freezer bag

 

Thanks Trip, I will try that ! I 've never sold a carb before, and so this never dawned on me that I might have a problem.....

 

On another note you can't ship spray paint either so hush hush and hope they don't hear the cans rattle

 

It's on its way....don't tell Newman.......

 

maybe sprinkle in some nutmeg spice in the box to reduce/overide the fuel smell ,after you put the carb in the bag

 

Even Greg from Sparky's carb service ships them by USPS. When i got mine it was a flat rate box

 

If I ever buy a carb from one of you guys just ship it attached to the car.

 

LOL, shipping might be a grand more, but at least it would be worth it.....this carb hasn't been on a car in 17yrs, so it didn't even smell. I went to another post office and this time didn't give them much info. Shipped it in a flat rate box......

 

Bingo. What they don't know wont hurt them. Call them 'car parts' if they want to know what is in there.

And Eastwood ships them all the time.

I had a similar issue taking a vintage oil lantern aboard a plane. It held oil 50 years ago and I think it is all gone now!
It was fun seeing 4 TSA guys scratching their heads and sticking their noses into it. I think they had pretty much sucked what little fumes it had out of it.
They let me take it on.

 

Whenever they ask me if there is anything flammable, liquid, or perishable, I always say, "Nope". Never had a problem yet.

Glad to hear you got it out.

 

Flat Rate box works the best. Just shipped one cost about $12.50 to send anywhere in the US.

 

Yes, that's what I did. Issue is, if the PO knows what it is, they will refuse it....I never shipped one before and walked in with the carb in my hand. LOL, the lady wasn't even sure what it was.....I have learned, and am not a rookie anymore!

 

Everybody is having so much fun on here about how they circumvent the post office's restriction on mailing things the post office says are hazardous materials by simply not telling them what they're mailing.

I hate to rain on people's parades, but has anybody checked to see what the potential penalties are if the post office were to discover that you had mailed a carburetor when they expressly told you it was forbidden? As well as you might wrap a package, there is always a chance that it will be damaged in shipment and be partially or fully opened by the post office. I've had it happen once or twice in my life.

For anyone who is interested, in 18 USC (United States Code), Section 1716 ("Injurious Articles as Non-Mailable"), it says the following (I've underlined the relevant words):

(a) All kinds of poison, and all articles and compositions containing poison, and all poisonous animals, insects, reptiles, and all explosives, hazardous materials, inflammable materials, infernal machines, and mechanical, chemical, or other devices or compositions which may ignite or explode, and all disease germs or scabs, and all other natural or artificial articles, compositions, or material which may kill or injure another, or injure the mails or other property, whether or not sealed as first-class matter, are nonmailable matter and shall not be conveyed in the mails or delivered from any post office or station thereof, nor by any officer or employee of the Postal Service.

Now here's the section on the penalty. Again, I underlined the relevant section:

(j)(1) Whoever knowingly deposits for mailing or delivery, or
knowingly causes to be delivered by mail, according to the
direction thereon, or at any place at which it is directed to be
delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, anything declared
nonmailable by this section, unless in accordance with the rules
and regulations authorized to be prescribed by the Postal Service,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one
year, or both.


Are you ready to pay a fine and/or go to jail for a year for mailing a carburetor?

 

Yes, yes I am.
Ease up there. Its a victimless crime.

When I shipped my Quadrajet it fit really nicely in a flat rate mid size box.

 

Hey, I'm perfectly calm. I couldn't care less if you go to jail.

But it is most certainly NOT a victimless crime. They don't restrict the shipping of these types of items because they're worried about the damage that might be done to the postal vehicle's paint. They're worried about injury, or worse, to postal workers.

 

I maintain that a carb with the last trace of gasoline long since gone is NOT in any way more hazardous than say an NOS one.

It's just NOT hazardous. In any way.

USPS stance is lawyer driven is overprotective butt covering to accommodate the idiots of the world that would ship one with liquid gasoline in it.

"infernal machines," - heh. Is that a Ford?

 

Jaunty, the point was, that when I went to a different PO, they asked the questions "anything breakable, hazardous , yada yada yada". They did not ask specifically what it was. Who would think that a carb that hasn't been on a car for almost 20 yrs would be an issue, when companies such as Sparky's, Jegs, Summit and so on do it all the time. Didn't you just order paint through the mail? That is far more dangerous than an old carburetor.....so, if they specifically asked me," is this a carburetor?", and I said "no", then we have a problem........

 

I heard the Postmaster Gen is forming a task force to address the growing trend or rouge carb shippers.

 

Lol....maybe we should add this thread to the "No Privacy" thread.....if they read what's going on here......

 

And just because there might be a faint smell of gas, it does not mean it will explode, or ignite. If that was the case, my garage would have been gone years ago... There has to be the right ratio of gas to air in order for it to ignite.

 

What I want to know is what is an "infernal machine," and do I have one?

Also, if you can point to a single person who's ever been prosecuted for carburetor shippin', then I'll sit up an pay attention.
Otherwise, there's no need to blow smoke about it.

- Eric

 

I hope they aren't stakin out my house. I might have to refuse package. I should have had it sent to my neighbor.

 

Know who doesn't ask me questions?............................Post All, but you do pay more. Just wrap it yourself and have your zip codes and addresses ready to go

 

Yes and no. I ordered paint, but it came via Fedex.

I just love all the he-man huffing and puffing on here. All I did was point out what the law says, and everyone is jumping down my throat as though I wrote the law.

I realize that hazardous chemicals are shipped all the time. But there's a difference between shipping being done by professionals in sealed containers that are properly labeled as such and the shadetree mechanic shipping his old carburetor to his buddy in an unlabeled box.

And I love how everyone is declaring that there is nothing hazardous left in a carburetor that hasn't been used in 20 years as though you have the final say in the matter. I agree, but it's not up to me or you. It's up to the postal service, and theirs in the last word.

I also agree that it's very unlikely that anyone would get caught shipping something the post office says is a no-no, but do you want to be the first? If so, then ship away!

 

The people who ship hazmat are certified to do so and must follow certain steps. And label accordingly.
I think its 10 grand if you screw up.
Real old carb? Heck I'd ship it. Wrap it, bag it, ship it. But thats me.
If it smelled at all, I'd pass.

jaunty passed on good info. Maybe saved someone (maybe a lurker?) some heartache.

 

In my mind, an old carb properly cleaned does not fit the above cited description of hazardous materials. You could never get that thing to light or spontaneously combust.

 

"And I love how everyone is declaring that there is nothing hazardous left in a carburetor that hasn't been used in 20 years as though you have the final say in the matter. I agree, but it's not up to me or you. It's up to the postal service, and theirs in the last word."
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Nah, that's bullshed. They are NOT smarter than me. I -can- discern a hazardous carb. I have the final say.

The cited law does not say "carburetors are hazardous if they have ever had gasoline in them" or any such thing. It's a judgement call, therefore, at the counterperson level. And, I am more qualified than they are in this matter, I daresay.

If possible, buy your postage at the automatic machine and bypass the clerks altogether.