Shipping motor oil via USPS?

[CZroe]

I've been googling and I can't find anything conclusive about shipping motor oil in the mail. If it matters, I need my brother to ship me three jugs of Shell Rotella T6 Full Syntehtic. It had a killer deal after rebate and there are no Advance Auto Parts stores nearby. I could have had it shipped but my brother was going to be shipping me large packages anyway and he was able to go ahead and take care of the rebate faster by picking it up in GA.

I see restrictions on flammable items but I also see that people ship wine all the time by claiming that it is olive oil. Olive oil is also flammable, and so is typical paper packaging, so where is the line drawn? Gasolene, sure, but that is obviously more flammable than oil, especially full synthetic that is supposed to resist burning.

Amazon sells it but AFAIK they (and AAP) would ship that particular item by UPS/FedEx. I'm specifically interested in USPS.

 

[vshah]

i do it for used oil analysis, it is allowed. here's the letter from blackstone labs' site explaining why:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/postal-letter.php

 

[sjwaste]

Yep, was going to say, you can ship it to Blackstone for analysis. Not sure if there's a limit on quantity or not. I mean, I guess motor oil is flammable, but you'd really need a rare set of circumstances for that to be an issue. If that's the case, USPS should stop letting me order cases of paper towels/toilet paper.

 

[BoomerD]

New (unused) motor oil doesn't have a hazard class rating.

Package it well in plastic bags to help prevent any leaks, and for domestic shipping, you're fine. Not sure about international regs though...contact your local post office if you're sending to another country.

 

[geno]

I've sent transmission fluid and brake fluid (which is definitely flammable) and yes, the postal workers knew exactly what was in there and there was no issue. As mentioned above, wrap them in thick (not like saran wrap) plastic and be sure it's spill proof (don't just tie a plastic bag around it) and you'll be all set.

 

[0roo0roo]

i'm not sure motor oil is that flamable.

 

[BoomerD]

i'm not sure motor oil is that flamable.

It'll definitely burn, but unused motor oil doesn't meet any of the requirements to be classified by the DOT as "hazardous."

Flammable liquids included in Class 3 are included in one of the following packing groups:

* Packing Group I, if they have an initial boiling point of 35°C or less at an absolute pressure of 101.3 kPa and any flash point, such as diethyl ether or carbon disulfide;
* Packing Group II, if they have an initial boiling point greater than 35°C at an absolute pressure of 101.3 kPa and a flash point less than 23°C, such as gasoline (petrol) and acetone; or
* Packing Group III, if the criteria for inclusion in Packing Group I or II are not met, such as kerosene and diesel.

 

[0roo0roo]

probably with a difficulty.
thought there was a video of someone tossing a match into a puddle out there.