Kelly, Ghillie, Volcano type kettles, any advice on which to buy ?

[Silverclaws2]

Sorry, @Silverclaws2
We've rather hi-jacked your thread

Maybe we need to start a fresh on on hobo stoves

No it's lovely I am learning a lot and not only learning but being inspired to do far more with one of these things than origionally envisaged - keep it up folks.

 

[Glow_worm]

Horses for courses as always. A Kelly Kettle or similar is great for car camping especially with a big group or with little ones where lots of hot water is required. I'd never take one out and about for anything less than the above though.

A collapsible stainless steel TLUD gassifier (costing less than a tenner) will fit inside a small stainless (or titanium) cooking pot, and will boil water, and cook food on a few sticks for a fraction of the weight/volume/cost. Half an hour running time with no fiddling or feeding, if you load the thing properly. That's my woodburning hiking outfit of choice.

I imagine most Kelly Kettles are very seldom used- I'll use the word 'novelty' rather than gimmick, they are very practical for a few very niche uses. I've been using mine at home for over the last year to heat water for hair washing (off grid here), but no way I'd take even a small model out and about except for a longer term car camp. For an occasional 'fire fix' I'm sure they do a lot of people a lot of good.

 

[Pattree]

I imagine most Kelly Kettles are very seldom used- I'll use the word 'novelty' rather than gimmick, they are very practical for a few very niche uses.

Then perhaps I’m the exception but I meet an awful lot of other exceptions on my days out.

I use a one pint Kelly Trekker. It heats my washing water beautifully and provides hot water where it is needed in the cooking.

I’m camped in the Berwyns as I so often am. Tonight I shall be making a tomatoe and onion based vegetable stew with rice cooked from scratch on the Kelly.

I don’t use the Kettle for coffee (see pics above) I have a three cup and a nine cup Bialetti which sits on the little Hobo that fits with the Trekker base.

I’ll wash it and load it with water and coffee ready for the morning when I’ll cook porridge. All on a the smallest (120mm dia) Kelly.

I’ve already referred to bread making on my Kelly system.

It’s about as niche a my kitchen at home.

 

[Toddy]

Mine got used daily for months on end....but then I worked outdoors and the KK was easy to use, simplicity itself, utterly reliable, light to carry, didn't need cosseted, used so little fuel, and it kept me and the team happily tea'd, coffee'd and instant souped.....and reheated leftovers on the coals in the base too.

When I was little, and my Dad built boats, he used a tilley stove and Uncle Jimmy would put it into a galvie pail and sit that on the burden boards inside the boat to brew up. Rain, hail, sunshine, gale....Uncle Jimmy could brew up....sometimes under the sail draped over the boom, right enough.
I kind of felt like that using my KK....without the paraffin though, or the galvie pail

 

[Silverclaws2]

What with the growing concern pertaining to the issue of lighting fires on the ground, I have been thinking of a raised portable hearth, for my interest in these kettles to include the consideration of that interest for of course a raised portable hearth comes with these things and a hearth I am more likely to pack given what else comes with the arrangement.

Anyway today I bought a Kelly Scout.

Thank you all.

 

[Toddy]

What with the growing concern pertaining to the issue of lighting fires on the ground, I have been thinking of a raised portable hearth, for my interest in these kettles to include the consideration of that interest for of course a raised portable hearth comes with these things and a hearth I am more likely to pack given what else comes with the arrangement.

Anyway today I bought a Kelly Scout.

Thank you all.

I hope you have a lot of quiet pleasure with it Even just in the back garden, it's a blooming sight less bother than a bbq

 

[Silverclaws2]

I hope you have a lot of quiet pleasure with it Even just in the back garden, it's a blooming sight less bother than a bbq

Well what with myself being devoid of a back garden, I have come to the consideration the local beach is my back garden given am down there daily, to know I will be using the set up on the beach as a bbq + for there is plenty of washed up woody crap to rid the beach of down there. And if not down the beach, there's the cliffs and the woods that line my local portion of the SW coast path.

But thing will in general be living in the back of the car ready for where we drive to and find it needed.

 

[Pattree]

It is perfectly possible to run the Kettle on charcoal. Have a look on the website. They do a little split circular grill that fits on the fire base. It doesn’t boil water as quickly using charcoal.

 

[Pattree]

Welcome to breakfast at the “Niche”.

All this fits into my home made Kelly bag.

You can get a waterproof, a first aid kit and a crusader cup in the new tough bag and still have room for coffee, rice, rat pack etc.

(except the fuel)

Breakfast:





I wasn’t sure whether to put this here or in the Hobo thread but I thought @Silverclaws2 might be interested ref. his OP.

BTW
A local ladies” group dropped by:

…… and brought along the old man!

 

[Chris]

All this fits into my home made Kelly bag.

Must be like going to see Paul Daniels with you pulling a tent, a herd of sheep and several miles of dry stone wall out of your Kelly bag.

That's a nice looking setup though. Compact yet functional.

 

[Pattree]

@Chris
Must be like going to see Paul Daniels with you pulling a tent, a herd of sheep and several miles of dry stone wall out of your Kelly bag.

You’ve obviously never played Monkey Island. Look at Gaybrush Threepwood’s back pocket.

 

[Glow_worm]

Looking at your setup the top part of the Kelly Kettle seems unrequired weight and bulk to me though for solo camping, given you can boil water in the pot.... Replace the complete Kelly Kettle with a twig stove which fits inside the pot and you've got a setup which will still do the same.

It's great you've found something which works for you, I'm not knocking it, but I'll still argue it's a niche. Some campsites are shirty about any form of solid fuel burnign, a lot of people wouldn't want the dirty pots, and a lot of people want something they can cook with inside a larger tent in wet weather. Unless there is a real need for a lot of hot water, I can't see the justification of a Kelly Kettle myself other than the fun of using it, so my various examples of various ages by various manufacturers (including a vintage copper model!) stay at home for free hair washes, foot baths and washing up water.

 

[Silverclaws2]

Welcome to breakfast at the “Niche”.
View attachment 96369
All this fits into my home made Kelly bag.

You can get a waterproof, a first aid kit and a crusader cup in the new tough bag and still have room for coffee, rice, rat pack etc.
View attachment 96370
(except the fuel)

Breakfast:

View attachment 96371
View attachment 96372
View attachment 96373

I wasn’t sure whether to put this here or in the Hobo thread but I thought @Silverclaws2 might be interested ref. his OP.

BTW
A local ladies” group dropped by:
View attachment 96374
…… and brought along the old man!
View attachment 96375

That all rather lovely, thank you.

 

[Silverclaws2]

Happened upon this little video this morning describing the history of these things of which I feel others might wish to see

Whisky Fireside Chat #63 - Patrick Kelly of Kelly Kettle​

 

[Pattree]

He’sa great guy and very approachable.

 

[Silverclaws2]

He’sa great guy and very approachable.

Aye, he appears to have that air about him

 

[Herman30]

Unless there is a real need for a lot of hot water, I can't see the justification of a Kelly Kettle

I concur. It is a water kettle for outdoors and nothing more. All the add-ons are just stupid in my mind and that goes for all of the brands.
Look at the origininal use. For the ghillie to make tea for his laird and his fishing company. Or other camping.
Can´t understad why the need to make a simple thing complicated with all the extra add-ons.

 

[Chris]

I concur. It is a water kettle for outdoors and nothing more. All the add-ons are just stupid in my mind and that goes for all of the brands.
Look at the origininal use. For the ghillie to make tea for his laird and his fishing company. Or other camping.
Can´t understad why the need to make a simple thing complicated with all the extra add-ons.

To you it's complicated, to someone else it is versatile. Whilst it's not my choice of cooking/heating apparatus, Pattree seems more than happy with his setup and it clearly works well.

 

[Glow_worm]

But that's what makes it all so interesting, many favoured approaches to the same end.

The huge plus in my mind, is that a Kelly-type kettle will boil water outdoors with reliability in any weather, no matter how much wind. Sometimes that's a great benefit.

 

[Pattree]

To be balanced - I wouldn’t attempt to light it in torrential rain but that doesn’t last long in this country.
Then you are back to a very basic outdoor skill - lighting a fire in the rain.

It’s fun.