TSA took away my Star San

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Bilsch said:
Phosphoric acid will attack aluminum so please don’t take starsan on an airplane. It would be completely irresponsible. And don’t compare this to the amount in a soda which is like 0.nothing compared to the concentration in starsan.
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Are you being serious?

Boeing anodizes all their aluminum in phosphoric acid, and it doesn't attack aluminum oxide very well at all. I guess if you bring 100% consentrated phosphoric onto a plane, remove some of the plastic paneling, scrape the paint off, use a wire brush to remove the oxide layer, and then soak that bare aluminum for several hours you MIGHT get a shiny spot
 
Go up in the bag pits, and you will find plenty of worn/polished, unprotected aluminum. I hate the TSA, but they did the right thing here. And Boeing does not use concentrated phosphoric acid, and definitely not for several hours.
 
I don't understand this thread at all.

The TSA regulation specifically calls out corrosives, the SDS for Star San correctly identifies it as corrosive, it can't fly. You have to click "accept" right after you read those words in the app while you check in.

You could take a train, or mail the Star San, or anything other than discussing ways to smuggle a prohibited substance onto an airplane. I don't think we are even allowed to discuss removing ethanol from solution via controlled heat and condensation on this forum, lol.
 
RPh_Guy said:
Murphy's Law states someone will accidentally drink it.
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images
 
Hoppy2bmerry said:
Much ado about a zombie thread. :inbottle:
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8 years... The bones have turned to dust.
But irresistible to turn down a TSA thread.
Yes.. They got this one right, but counter that with the countless confiscated little jars of over-the-ounce limit ********...
Anymore, flying is a headache I try to avoid.

Sebastian Maniscalco describes it perfectly...
 
TheMadKing said:
Are you being serious?

Boeing anodizes all their aluminum in phosphoric acid, and it doesn't attack aluminum oxide very well at all. I guess if you bring 100% consentrated phosphoric onto a plane, remove some of the plastic paneling, scrape the paint off, use a wire brush to remove the oxide layer, and then soak that bare aluminum for several hours you MIGHT get a shiny spot
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What’s next, you going to tell us how safe it is taking mercury on an aircraft? Anyway I think you need to go back to google and read a little more. Anodizing is for smaller parts that fit in a tank and uses electrical current in an weak sulfuric acid (not phosphoric) bath where the acid is simply the electrolyte. The main process for aircraft is called alodine coating where the weak phosphoric solution containing chromic acid forms a conversion coating on the surface of the aluminum preventing further corrosion. Does starsan happen to have any chromium in it that I missed? Doesn’t look orange/brown to me.
Anyway the conversion coating is only good at slowing down corrosion from humidity and salt etc not direct attack by concentrated acids. If you were to spill starsan in an airplane hold it would seep into every seam and joint and slowly go to work weakening the structure. I know a little bit about this having a BS degree in aviation technology and an A&P ticket since 1987.
 
Bilsch said:
What’s next, you going to tell us how safe it is taking mercury on an aircraft? Anyway I think you need to go back to google and read a little more. Anodizing is for smaller parts that fit in a tank and uses electrical current in an weak sulfuric acid (not phosphoric) bath where the acid is simply the electrolyte. The main process for aircraft is called alodine coating where the weak phosphoric solution containing chromic acid forms a conversion coating on the surface of the aluminum preventing further corrosion. Does starsan happen to have any chromium in it that I missed? Doesn’t look orange/brown to me.
Anyway the conversion coating is only good at slowing down corrosion from humidity and salt etc not direct attack by concentrated acids. If you were to spill starsan in an airplane hold it would seep into every seam and joint and slowly go to work weakening the structure. I know a little bit about this having a BS degree in aviation technology and an A&P ticket since 1987.
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Oh well why didn't you say you have a BS degree.. My apologies.

I have been on 20 flights so far this year so I basically have a PhD in airplanes

My point was that it's probably time to go outside and recalibrate your "things to be worried about" meter. Star San structurally weakening an airplane while theoretically is possible, should not be in the top 1000000 things that keep us all up at night.
 
TheMadKing said:
Oh well why didn't you say you have a BS degree.. My apologies.

I have been on 20 flights so far this year so I basically have a PhD in airplanes

My point was that it's probably time to go outside and recalibrate your "things to be worried about" meter. Star San structurally weakening an airplane while theoretically is possible, should not be in the top 1000000 things that keep us all up at night.
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Yeah, I've been repairing airplanes for the last 47 years, and my BS meter is about pegged out.
Go to Boeing with your "PhD in airplanes" and see if you can land a job. They probably won't hurt you, but you will be laughed off the property at least.
 
Dave Sarber said:
Yeah, I've been repairing airplanes for the last 47 years, and my BS meter is about pegged out.
Go to Boeing with your "PhD in airplanes" and see if you can land a job. They probably won't hurt you, but you will be laughed off the property at least.
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So um yeah... that was 100% sarcasm... which means not in the least bit serious

Y'all need to chill out and lose the self-importance and the internet bravery. We're talking about sanitizer related to brewing beer and I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't interact with someone in person like this.

If so, let's get a beer. I live in Gainesville, Ga and I'd be happy to chat in person and learn all about your credentials and expertise on airplanes, it sounds interesting.
 
When my daughter, 12 at the time, visited DC with a school trip, they confiscated her little bottle of hair gel at Capitol building. I feel safer every day, haha.
 
TheMadKing said:
So um yeah... that was 100% sarcasm... which means not in the least bit serious

Y'all need to chill out and lose the self-importance and the internet bravery. We're talking about sanitizer related to brewing beer and I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't interact with someone in person like this.

If so, let's get a beer. I live in Gainesville, Ga and I'd be happy to chat in person and learn all about your credentials and expertise on airplanes, it sounds interesting.
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Nope, the thread is about TSA taking a very corrosive substance from someone's luggage. You jumped in with your lack of knowledge and stated that spilled StarSan was not in the least corrosive or dangerous to the airplane.
Remember the Aloha 737 that decided to turn convertible in midair? That was caused by corrosion in the skin laps caused by nothing more corrosive than water.
 
TheMadKing said:
I have been on 20 flights so far this year so I basically have a PhD in airplanes
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pfft! the average person on my team has endured more than 20 commercial flight segments before the end of Feb on any given year. 20 flights gets you zero creds from flying road warriors, though it might get you admiration from one of the DYKWIA gate lice

:tank:
 
Dave Sarber said:
Nope, the thread is about TSA taking a very corrosive substance from someone's luggage. You jumped in with your lack of knowledge and stated that spilled StarSan was not in the least corrosive or dangerous to the airplane.
Remember the Aloha 737 that decided to turn convertible in midair? That was caused by corrosion in the skin laps caused by nothing more corrosive than water.
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Judging by the grand canyon, water is pretty dang corrosive

FWIW I ship hazmat for a living and know very well the relative dangers of materials. On the level of dangerous materials routinely transported on airplanes, Star San doesn't rate. It's all relative and based on your perspective. Should it be in your suitcase? No, I never disagreed that that was a bad idea. Should this be a major safety concern? No, absolutely not.

Cheers bud, I hope you lighten up some day
 
Rodent said:
pfft! the average person on my team has endured more than 20 commercial flight segments before the end of Feb on any given year. 20 flights gets you zero creds from flying road warriors, though it might get you admiration from one of the DYKWIA gate lice

:tank:
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Hey to be fair a lot of mine are international. Travel to sub-saharan Africa is no picnic!
 
I was detained and interrogated seven hours by TSA thanks to Aunt Edna's peach cobbler. I tried to explain to them it would be a good structural adhesive in case someone tried to bring StarSan on the plane......
 
TheMadKing said:
Judging by the grand canyon, water is pretty dang corrosive

FWIW I ship hazmat for a living and know very well the relative dangers of materials. On the level of dangerous materials routinely transported on airplanes, Star San doesn't rate. It's all relative and based on your perspective. Should it be in your suitcase? No, I never disagreed that that was a bad idea. Should this be a major safety concern? No, absolutely not.

Cheers bud, I hope you lighten up some day
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If you ship hazmat for a living you should know that the problem lies in the fact that the starsan is considered a hazardous material and was not properly identified. The other dangerous goods that you refer to being on planes are properly packaged, labeled and stored accordingly. A suitcase is not proper packaging for a corrosive item that is identified as such by the manufacturer's sds sheet.
 
mkelly601 said:
If you ship hazmat for a living you should know that the problem lies in the fact that the starsan is considered a hazardous material and was not properly identified. The other dangerous goods that you refer to being on planes are properly packaged, labeled and stored accordingly. A suitcase is not proper packaging for a corrosive item that is identified as such by the manufacturer's sds sheet.
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Damn you're right... what was I thinking, I shouldn't have defended his use of a suitcase as proper packaging! Or... maybe that's why I agreed that the suitcase was a bad idea in the text you quoted.

Every opinion expressed on the internet does not need to be the most conservative opinion possible either. Star San in your luggage will not cause a plane to disintegrate in mid-air as some of these hysterical opinions have implied.

What if I told you that I routinely carry full glass carboys, I brew in open toed shoes sometimes, I have used propane in my garage during the winter with the door only slightly open, and one time, I actually moved a kettle of boiling wort with a friend! I'm basically the safety devil and should probably be stoned for my insolence.

Life's too short to wear both a belt and suspenders.
 

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