Kelly Kettle experiences

[anthonyyy]

Santa brought me a one pint Kelly Kettle. A great piece of kit.

I want to fashion my own accessories kit as this is only supplied with the larger Kelly. What is the kit on the 2.5 pint kit like? Is the Grid necessary to allow airflow or how is this achieved?

What are people's experiences with fuel? How do hexi tabs and meths work? What’s the quickest way to get a brew going? I was thinking of storing some thin dry sticks in the kettle for fuel. As it is such a bulky piece of kit I want to use the space in the chimney as efficiently as possible.

 

[Toddy]

Santa brought me a one pint Kelly Kettle. A great piece of kit.

I want to fashion my own accessories kit as this is only supplied with the larger Kelly. What is the kit on the 2.5 pint kit like? Is the Grid necessary to allow airflow or how is this achieved?

What are people's experiences with fuel? How do hexi tabs and meths work? What’s the quickest way to get a brew going? I was thinking of storing some thin dry sticks in the kettle for fuel. As it is such a bulky piece of kit I want to use the space in the chimney as efficiently as possible.

We've just been playing with my new one on the back path
The pot and frying pan are just very lightweight spun aluminium. Plain shaped sides, nothing fancy. The pot handle is one of the basic 'grip to hold' kind, again v. lightweight aluminium and the grid is in two parts chromed steel, each half moon shaped. The accessory kit all fits inside the chimney and fire pot.
We used two sheets of newspaper and some very damp gean and hawthorn twigs and it still boiled two and a half pints (what's that in litres, about one and a half?) in less than five minutes....well impressed!
I haven't tried other firestuffs in it yet, thought about the charcoal for hookah's and incense though. No idea how meths would work.....you'd need to work out some sort of burner I suspect and twigs and grass are just so simple.
Enjoy!

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[oops56]

I use a denatured alcohol stove in mine it is a jiffy heat like a trangia burner i tried the trangia don't burn to good need one or more holes for more air to burn at hi flame got pic be back to get them now i made a pot holder for the top can do two at once and they both boil no wast of heat

 

[Longstrider]

As Anthony says, the space inside the kettle is wasted unless you can find some use to put it to. I have had the 2 1/2 pint kelly kettle for years and I love the thing apart from the fact that it is so bulky. (Thats why I've treated myself and my partner to a 1 pint kettle each in the Group Buy!)
I recently contacted the Kelly Kettle Company with a few ideas that seemed good sense to me. One of these was that they produce a spun aluminium water bottle that fits inside the "chimney" of the kettle once it's all packed with the fire-pan in the base. With a central cap/spout to hopefully avoid getting too much soot around the cap this would put the wasted space to good use. Another idea I put to them was that if the kettle were available with a screw cap instead of the cork stopper, the water for at least the first brew-up could be carried in the kettle itself. I know that this might lead to some pretty explosive problems if someone forgot to undo the cap before boiling up, but it would be no more dangerous than most of the tools and gear we all use from day to day anyway. Use the thing properly and it would be completely safe.
I've never seen any need to experiment with burners and the like in my kelly kettle. A little tinder and a few twigs or even just a few handfuls of dry grass is all it's ever taken to get a brew on. These things run on just about anything that burns, so why pay for fuel? Adding a burner means one more thing to carry too.
With the cook set option, I think the grid is needed to provide the airflow to keep the fire lit. A pan that fitted right across the fire-pan would snuff the flames pretty effectively I think. Not enough air would get in through the hole in the side of the fire-pan, and without any opening at the top, where would the smoke go? Back on itself ands kill the fire!

 

[oops56]

Now longstrider as for one more thing to carry now you said a canteen inside so whats wrong when i put a alum. burner in mine little bracket and a 8 oz. bottle fuel plus it all fit inside plus it will weigh less then your canteen full of water plus you can boil your water for coffee or water for the second bowl noddle but as you are heating water in kettle the pan on top is also cooking what ever in it two birds one stone so as to say. not to say that your idea is good but mine not bad eather[Lets eat]P. S. If you are into freezer bag cooking one way to go at it.

 

[nooky]

Santa brought me a one pint Kelly Kettle. A great piece of kit.

I want to fashion my own accessories kit as this is only supplied with the larger Kelly. What is the kit on the 2.5 pint kit like? Is the Grid necessary to allow airflow or how is this achieved?

What are people's experiences with fuel? How do hexi tabs and meths work? What’s the quickest way to get a brew going? I was thinking of storing some thin dry sticks in the kettle for fuel. As it is such a bulky piece of kit I want to use the space in the chimney as efficiently as possible.

I went to a cooking shop and just bought a steaming rack for a wok it cost about £1.20 ( you could even try a cooling rack?) and used that as the grill tray thing and then just used my normal billy can.
It seems to work alright,its a bit bigger than the fire pit but you could get a smaller one or even cut it in half like the original kelly kettle grill tray.
Andrew.

 

[oops56]

I went to a cooking shop and just bought a steaming rack for a wok it cost about £1.20 ( you could even try a cooling rack?) and used that as the grill tray thing and then just used my normal billy can.
It seems to work alright,its a bit bigger than the fire pit but you could get a smaller one or even cut it in half like the original kelly kettle grill tray.
Andrew.

Why not get a piece of 1 in. wide steel 1/8 thick make a x put on fire pot i did

 

[Chopper]

There I was driving through the local countryside, fancied a brew, so I whipped out me KK and...


away we go...


Must remember not to use diesel in it!!

Only Joking

 

[Graham_S]

i keep some split kindling in the chimney of my kettle when it's packed.usually enough to get the kettle going a couple of times. (i find that if you have decent kindling you can use less suitable fuel)
i just used mine this weekend at the "brass monkey" scout camp for my morning brew. very handy.

 

[Longstrider]

Choppers pictures demonstrate perfectly one problem that I see folks having with their KK's, and thats what to do with the cork whilst brewing up.
As we all know, leaving the cork in the spout is NOT a good idea, and as a result most folks seem to just have it lay on the ground (just like in the photo) beside the kettle ready to use to tip the kettle with once boiled. The trouble with this is that you can inadvertantly transfer muck and bits from the ground to the cork. I actually saw one guy drive his cork into the ground by kneeling on it whilst feeding twigs into the kettle. You finish using the kettle and put the cork back in the spout, dropping muck inside the kettle.

What I do with mine is to pick a small "Y" shaped stick out of my fuel twigs and stick it in the ground like a mini version of a fishermans rod rest. With this stick at an agle to the vertical, I can hang the cork chain over it, leaving the cork to dangle in mid air whilst the kettle boils. This keeps the cork clean and helps to stop it being trodden or knelt on. It makes it easier to find when you want to pour the kettle too.

Just a little tip that I hope you might find helpful....

 

[oops56]

Now i see no need to put i anywere why not just hold it tell water is done does not take that long right 2 min. at the most

 

[lardbloke]

What I do with mine is to pick a small "Y" shaped stick out of my fuel twigs and stick it in the ground like a mini version of a fishermans rod rest. With this stick at an agle to the vertical, I can hang the cork chain over it, leaving the cork to dangle in mid air whilst the kettle boils. This keeps the cork clean and helps to stop it being trodden or knelt on. It makes it easier to find when you want to pour the kettle too.

Just a little tip that I hope you might find helpful....

Thats a briliiant idea.

I prefer to keep out of the way when the KK is doing its thing. I usually get it started and then I try and beat the KK boiling its water before I can set up the tarp or the Hennessy. I have found in the past if I try and hold the chain, I get a face full of smoke or end up doing something stupid like jeking the chain to make it sit better and knocking the Kettle over, so I leave well alone.

 

[falcon]

The Y shaped stick is a good idea........I just lift the handle and thread the cork through so that it is draped behind the handle but held off the ground while boiling. Then when it boils, I lift the handle slightly to retrieve the chain so it can be used to pour out the water. It's easy once you've got the knack but the Y stick may well be more straightforward.

 

[soa_uk]

I've a 2 1/2 pint one; whilst I have taken it out into the woods, I *do* think it's better suited to the car...

I carry some newspaper and split firewood in it (we heat the house on wood and coal, so not normally short of sticks).

I reckon 5 minutes to boil, but it boils much better in the wind...

If I was camped up for 2-3 days, I'd move heaven and earth to take it, as I can't imagine a faster way of boiling huge quantities of water for purification, cleaning, washing, shaving etc. I guess it would have to strap on the back of the pack...

 

[steven andrews]

I reckon 5 minutes to boil, but it boils much better in the wind...

It's nice to find a method of boiling water in the outdoors that is actually quicker on a windy day!

Kelly Kettle.. :You_Rock_

 

[Wettstuff]

Longstrider, great idea i'd never have thought about using a y shaped stick. Since getting mine in the group buy (nice one Graham) i seem to use mine more than the lecky kettle in the kitchen, use it at work all the time too. Do alot of agricultural fencing so not always near a power source, as theres always 3-4 of us there is normally a spare cup floating about so i leave the cork in the un-used mug. Now you've mentioned a y shaped stick though i can leave all the un-used cups etc at home. Great idea, less stuff to cart about.
:You_Rock_

Mark

 

[oetzi]

I am considering buying one of these for myself.
Can someone please give me the measurements of the 1-pint kettle? Outside diameter and height plus more important the inside dimensions (because I think of putting a Platypus folding bottle inside)
Thank you

 

[Longstrider]

Hi Oetzi,
Have just measured my kettle.....

Overall height.... 260mm
Width of base......143mm
Greatest Width ("Back" of base to tip of cork stopper when in spout).... 150mm

Capacity of internal "chimney" area allowing room for the fire-pan to be fitted into the base of the kettle is 1 1/2 pints. I measured this by noting where the fire-pan went up to inside, capped the chimney with clingfilm, inverted the kettle and filled with water from a measuring jug until it got to where the fire pan goes. Bear in mind that this does not mean you will be able to get a water bladder containing 1 1/2 pints in there, but I should think that one holding only a pint would fit. A pint of water is just what you want to fill the kettle, and it's also the perfect amount to fill a crusader type mug with steaming hot tea!
Also bear in mind that the internal chimney is a chimney! It gets very dirty in there with soot and sticky residue especially if you burn twigs of resinous wood, and this will lead to the water bladder getting pretty messy unless you put it inside in a seperate plastic bag or similar.

Whatever you think of the sizes and the bladder idea get yourself a Kelly and you'll love the simplicity and efficiency of the thing.

 

[oetzi]

thank you very much for the facts :You_Rock_

 

[Schwert]

I really like the Y-support idea for the cork. Brilliant.

I have both sizes of the Kelly now and would not trade them off for anything.