20 liters of cider as checked baggage
May 12, 2013, 10:07 am
#1
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20 liters of cider as checked baggage
I'll be in Somerset next month and Mrs herzmeh loves Somerset cider... Aside of dealing with customs regarding bringing in ~6 gallons of cider, will UA let me check a box-o-cider? Any tips? It essentially a huge box not to dissimilar to plain old boxed wine.
May 12, 2013, 10:29 am
#2
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No issues otherwise - as 20 liters is roughly 20 lbs.
May 12, 2013, 10:42 am
#3
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Agreed, besides perhaps double packing as suggested above you should be fine. If it's in a plain box they will likely make you sign a release against breakage. If you can fit it in a piece of luggage they won't even know what it is.
May 12, 2013, 11:11 am
#5
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Unless it's very light cider.
It's going to be 45 lbs (cider has a density of 1.01 kg per liter, 20 liters would be 20.2 kg or 44.5 lbs) for the weight of the cider, plus the weight of the bottles or cans or box it's packed in plus the weight of the shipping box or suitcase it's packed in.
But to answer the question, as long as it's under 24% alcohol by volume, which it probably is unless it's really high octane cider, you can carry as much as you want, between 24% and 70% each customer is limited to five liters.
May 12, 2013, 11:39 am
#7
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Where you may get into trouble is weight. If you don't have any status, baggage limits cut off at 50 lbs/bag. I have to imagine that with the 44-45 pounds of cider itself, you're getting very close to the limit with the packaging added. I'd double check this closely.
Enjoy!
May 12, 2013, 11:42 am
#8
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Anyone who handles a bag with gallons of liquid in it should be able to determine that there are gallons of liquid in it, even if double packed, just by the feel. Especially if they (a lobby CSR or ramp service person) have any experience with luggage. Not that it is important unless a hazmat or an unsuitably packed bag, which I am betting it will be labeled as (fragile/unsuitably packed, that is.)
May 12, 2013, 2:19 pm
#9
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You may also want to pray for it to arrive in one piece.
Last edited by TerryK; May 12, 2013 at 2:42 pm
May 12, 2013, 3:31 pm
#10
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May 12, 2013, 3:34 pm
#11
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Flying in C, weight shouldn't be an issue. If it breaks in-flight... I feel bad for people whose stuff ends up being covered in rotten apple juice. Thanks for pointers - since that farm also does mail order, I'll ask them to pack it up as if they were shipping it. That should do it.
As for the state liquor board... either I'm a complete moron or NJs site is very vague. In either case, this is no different than me bring in 3 or so 24packs of swill - don't see an issue.
edit: found the state limit... no more than 11 quarts without a permit, permit costs $50, so comes to roughly $5/liter. Getting pricey...
How keen is CBP on enforcing the state law?
As for the state liquor board... either I'm a complete moron or NJs site is very vague. In either case, this is no different than me bring in 3 or so 24packs of swill - don't see an issue.
edit: found the state limit... no more than 11 quarts without a permit, permit costs $50, so comes to roughly $5/liter. Getting pricey...
How keen is CBP on enforcing the state law?
Last edited by herzmeh; May 12, 2013 at 3:49 pm
May 12, 2013, 4:21 pm
#12
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I personally would not worry about this. Just declare it on customs form and you should be fine.
May 12, 2013, 5:23 pm
#13
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 11
That's not even close.
Unless it's very light cider.
It's going to be 45 lbs (cider has a density of 1.01 kg per liter, 20 liters would be 20.2 kg or 44.5 lbs) for the weight of the cider, plus the weight of the bottles or cans or box it's packed in plus the weight of the shipping box or suitcase it's packed in.
But to answer the question, as long as it's under 24% alcohol by volume, which it probably is unless it's really high octane cider, you can carry as much as you want, between 24% and 70% each customer is limited to five liters.
Unless it's very light cider.
It's going to be 45 lbs (cider has a density of 1.01 kg per liter, 20 liters would be 20.2 kg or 44.5 lbs) for the weight of the cider, plus the weight of the bottles or cans or box it's packed in plus the weight of the shipping box or suitcase it's packed in.
But to answer the question, as long as it's under 24% alcohol by volume, which it probably is unless it's really high octane cider, you can carry as much as you want, between 24% and 70% each customer is limited to five liters.
Read about it here: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...e/fragile.aspx
Last edited by freightFlyer44; May 12, 2013 at 5:25 pm Reason: correction - it is a United 5 liter limit and not a government one
May 12, 2013, 5:24 pm
#14
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 690
Only if the ullage (the unfilled portion of the container) is large enough to allow significant sloshing. When I pack bottles, they're very nearly full, so unless you knew better, you'd be hard pressed to tell that there's liquid as opposed to, say, rocks. (And, yes, I've carried rocks, too!)
May 12, 2013, 8:54 pm
#15
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Flying in C, weight shouldn't be an issue. If it breaks in-flight... I feel bad for people whose stuff ends up being covered in rotten apple juice. Thanks for pointers - since that farm also does mail order, I'll ask them to pack it up as if they were shipping it. That should do it.
As for the state liquor board... either I'm a complete moron or NJs site is very vague. In either case, this is no different than me bring in 3 or so 24packs of swill - don't see an issue.
edit: found the state limit... no more than 11 quarts without a permit, permit costs $50, so comes to roughly $5/liter. Getting pricey...
How keen is CBP on enforcing the state law?
As for the state liquor board... either I'm a complete moron or NJs site is very vague. In either case, this is no different than me bring in 3 or so 24packs of swill - don't see an issue.
edit: found the state limit... no more than 11 quarts without a permit, permit costs $50, so comes to roughly $5/liter. Getting pricey...
How keen is CBP on enforcing the state law?