Candians - shipping samples to US; who do you use?

[Horatio]

Hi all, I just tried to send a couple of samples to Blackstone from Canada and Canada Post won't accept them for shipping. I've sent them before without any issue and I might simply try a different office. Are any of the couriers any better for this?

Thanks

Greg

 

[dparm]

Does Canada Post classify motor oil as a dangerous material? The USPS does not.

 

[dernp]

Put the sample in a small box.

 

[Horatio]

I'm not yet sure if Canada Post really considers oil a hazardous material or not. So far I haven't found anything online stating that's the case so I think it falls into a grey area where it's up to the discretion of the people behind the counter. The people behind the counter today deferred the decision to a help desk somewhere and the answer they got was that it's a no-go.

I'm tempted to either put it in a box as noted and just put it through as stated or even get a bubble mailer and a whack of stamps and just drop it in a mailbox somewhere. I'd still like to do it without having to resort to trying to slip something past like that.

 

[JimPghPA]

It has been a few years since I worked on a medical project dealing with shipping biological samples within liquid, but there is something about including absorbing material in sufficient amount to absorb all of the liquid if the primary containment were to leak, and secondary means of containing the resulting mix of wet absorbent after it absorbed the liquid.

I have seen cheap combinations of absorbent in insufficient quantity and placement that essentially pay homage to the existence of this rule so as to get the product shipped without adding cost to the shipping by increasing weight and size, but in reality would not do the job of containing the fluid should a leak occur.

One of the things to keep in mind is that should a leak occur, the shipper may be liable for ALL the cost to clean it up. Including replacing equipment, and man-hours. And that can add up to thousands of dollars.

 

[cp3]

Could be new requiremtnt as I have noticed that recently Toromont is including a sealable plastic bag with their sample bottles.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Horatio
Hi all, I just tried to send a couple of samples to Blackstone from Canada and Canada Post won't accept them for shipping. I've sent them before without any issue and I might simply try a different office. Are any of the couriers any better for this?

Thanks

Greg


Use Toromont. Problem solved.

 

[Horatio]

It looks to me like the sampling facility for Toromont is in Ontario; any suggestions on shipping method?

 

[cp3]

Originally Posted By: Horatio
It looks to me like the sampling facility for Toromont is in Ontario; any suggestions on shipping method?


I just drop mine back of at Toromont, they then courier them to the lab. The external bottle has postage on it, as well as the new bags, so theoretically you should be able to just drop them in a mailbox.

I don't see a Toromont listing for Alberta, looks like Finning is the Cat dealer in your area. They have the Caterpillar SOS program as well.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: cp3
Originally Posted By: Horatio
It looks to me like the sampling facility for Toromont is in Ontario; any suggestions on shipping method?


I just drop mine back of at Toromont, they then courier them to the lab. The external bottle has postage on it, as well as the new bags, so theoretically you should be able to just drop them in a mailbox.

I don't see a Toromont listing for Alberta, looks like Finning is the Cat dealer in your area. They have the Caterpillar SOS program as well.


That's all I do, stop at Shoppers Drug Mart and drop it in the mailbox.

 

[Horatio]

That's what I was trying to do; ship from Shopper's Drug Mart.

I heard back from Purolator and their carrier in the US (UPS) says "waste oil samples" are an unacceptable commodity but Purolator will ship within Canada.

Will try others and report back.

Greg

 

[Horatio]

As a further follow-up to this, I spoke with Fedex. They asked that I check the MSDS for the oil and look for the IATA info. In this case it is shown as "Not regulated" so Fedex will ship this as a regular package. I'll report back with results.

Greg

 

[yucca]

I'm not sure if your Cat dealer works the same. But my cat dealer has parts drop boxes all over the state. When I order parts they come to the local drop box from the dealer shuttle service. They also pick up returns, cores and take samples to the dealer lab.

If your dealer does the same stuff find a local drop box to leave your samples in.

 

[MobilinHyundia]

Today I went to Toromont's lab in Toronto. Bought 3 sample kits for $20 each mailing included!!
TAN or TBN is extra - $7.50

Check out Toromont in Toronto.
I will get my UOA results on Monday. CATERMAN blend : 10600km. Ask for TAN and TBN tests too.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: MobilinHyundia
Today I went to Toromont's lab in Toronto. Bought 3 sample kits for $20 each mailing included!!
TAN or TBN is extra - $7.50

Check out Toromont in Toronto.
I will get my UOA results on Monday. CATERMAN blend : 10600km. Ask for TAN and TBN tests too.


That's funky, I buy them from International and the form they come with just says to write on the bottom if you want TBN and TAN, which is all I do. Mind you, they are a bit more than $20.00, so that may be the difference