Kelly kettle or the ghillie kettle
- Thread starter GrandadInTheWoods
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Mine will be for little excursions to th woods with my lads and excuses to practices with the ferro rods ECT can see pros and cons with them all but leaning more to the ghillie at the moment
The black one is that the nes Kelly ?Someone had a photo of a new prototype Ghillie or Kelly, can´t find it. Can we get it here, the photo that is. That one looked quite interesting, I remember.
Nae bother, found it.
Regarding the question of removing the kettle from the base without burning your hand.
I just let my kelly burn down until its dead then pick it up by the handle, I can't remember ever burning my hand using this method. To pour it just use the chain on the back to tip it up. As for which one is best, of the ones I've seen they all seem to be well made.
Ref the ultralight trekker models I have a miniature kettle of maybe 1 pint capacity made of aluminium but I forget who made it. It is extremely light weight and feels like a coke can when you pick it although it looks very well made. I don't have any more info on it unfortunately, ill see if I can get my Mrs to take a photo of it to post.
I just let my kelly burn down until its dead then pick it up by the handle, I can't remember ever burning my hand using this method. To pour it just use the chain on the back to tip it up. As for which one is best, of the ones I've seen they all seem to be well made.
Ref the ultralight trekker models I have a miniature kettle of maybe 1 pint capacity made of aluminium but I forget who made it. It is extremely light weight and feels like a coke can when you pick it although it looks very well made. I don't have any more info on it unfortunately, ill see if I can get my Mrs to take a photo of it to post.
I have seen some videos where they stuff too much fuel in the kettle. So that when water is boiling there is still foot long flames coming out of the chimney.
I guess they are trying to prove how fast it can boil water. But who is in a hurry when out and about.
Just owned the ghillie kettle so can’t compare. Originally bought the ghillie because they had different types of stopper and I preferred this one.
Now. Ref: @Herman30 You could well be right.
But:
Pictures of the Kelly Kettle in action depend very much on the state of daylight when the photo is taken.
It
Above is an evening shot.
Below is full daylight. The state of the fires are not much different.
Like any tool, you learn how to use it.
I start mine with a spark and tinder in the fire pan base, then a few flakes of wood. Then I put the kettle onto the base and blow up a good fire via the chimney effect. A few long thin sticks down the chimney are designed to burn away before boiling and I drop a few short pieces in just before I lift the kettle clear to be ready for cooking.
That way I don’t get a cascade of burning wood as I take the kettle from its base.
Edited to add. I don’t use any form of stopper or whistle but I’ve kept a short piece of the cork chain for pouring. I never carry water in the kettle.
Four to six minutes of attention isn’t arduous. There is no rush to be doing anything away from the fire and plenty to do around it. No need for a whistle.
Edited again to say that if you must have a one handed pour then you could try using a decent pot gripper. That’s what my first Eco-Trek (African version) used.
But
Practice cold first so you can anticipate weight, grip and balance.
But:
Pictures of the Kelly Kettle in action depend very much on the state of daylight when the photo is taken.
ItAbove is an evening shot.
Below is full daylight. The state of the fires are not much different.
Like any tool, you learn how to use it.
I start mine with a spark and tinder in the fire pan base, then a few flakes of wood. Then I put the kettle onto the base and blow up a good fire via the chimney effect. A few long thin sticks down the chimney are designed to burn away before boiling and I drop a few short pieces in just before I lift the kettle clear to be ready for cooking.
That way I don’t get a cascade of burning wood as I take the kettle from its base.
Edited to add. I don’t use any form of stopper or whistle but I’ve kept a short piece of the cork chain for pouring. I never carry water in the kettle.
Four to six minutes of attention isn’t arduous. There is no rush to be doing anything away from the fire and plenty to do around it. No need for a whistle.
Edited again to say that if you must have a one handed pour then you could try using a decent pot gripper. That’s what my first Eco-Trek (African version) used.
But
Practice cold first so you can anticipate weight, grip and balance.
Last edited:
I don’t have any problem lifting or pouring my Kelly Kettles but for those of you who do: this works.
I’ve just lifted and poured both kettles from full to empty. I would recommend aluminium grippers with the broadest gripping face that you can find - but most of mine worked fine on either kettle.
I’ll try it with a fired up kettle as soon as maybe but I don’t anticipate any problem.
I’ve just lifted and poured both kettles from full to empty. I would recommend aluminium grippers with the broadest gripping face that you can find - but most of mine worked fine on either kettle.
I’ll try it with a fired up kettle as soon as maybe but I don’t anticipate any problem.
