Kelly Kettle Modifications

[ZDP-189]

I carried out two reversible mods on my 1 pint Kelly Kettle. I added a folding pot stand like is available for the 2pt model and I added a neoprene jacket.

The pot stand can be folded or stashed inside the kettle. It weighs next to nothing and I can go without my Trangia and fuel. Incidentally, a Trangia will not boil a 1 pt. KK; it runs out of fuel first. The slightly weaker Tatonka spirit burner will boil it, but it takes about 18 mins from room temperature and expends a lot of fuel. I have a DIY side-burner spirit stove that is much hotter and takes only 2:30 and expends less fuel doing so. The other advantage is that I can cook and boil at the same time, which is great if making a bowl of ramen noodles topped with a fried egg and spam.

The second mod was a neoprene jacket. The jacket is about 2.5mm thick and has a few advantages: it prevents the delicate KK from getting too badly gouged up; it keeps hot longer; and it allows me to take hold of the hot pot body. Just so you know, it does not result in a significantly faster boil, at least not with a decent fire inside in warm temperatures. Or so says my stopwatch and thermocouple. If it was cold, windy and raining, it might. The jacket slips on and off, has slot for the cork to pop through and is fairly fireproof too.

My next mods will probably be an egg container inside the chimney, a filler filter and maybe a whistle.

What are your volcano kettle mods and accessories?

 

[ZDP-189]

PS, It's not lit in this pic; the instructions say don't boil it with the cork in.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Like it...Keep It Simple

The neoprene jacket similar to the Jet boil?
You could stitch on a canvas handle (Like the JB)

Is your pot Ally or Steel??

 

[steven andrews]

I made this from an SMA tin for my 1 pint Kelly:





It does the job, but a lot of the heat comes straight out of the port. I think that some "battlements" cut around the top of the tin may send the heat up past the pot/mess tin better.

Other Kelly Kettle accessories that I oftern use are

a GB Mini for splitting kindling and some tubing for blowing air into the vent on a still day.
I also have a disc of plywood to use under the fire tray to prevent scorching the ground when I'm out-and-about.

 

[ZDP-189]

I made this from an SMA tin for my 1 pint Kelly:





It does the job, but a lot of the heat comes straight out of the port. I think that some "battlements" cut around the top of the tin may send the heat up past the pot/mess tin better.

Other Kelly Kettle accessories that I oftern use are

a GB Mini for splitting kindling and some tubing for blowing air into the vent on a still day.
I also have a disc of plywood to use under the fire tray to prevent scorching the ground when I'm out-and-about.

I like that mod. I definitely think your pot stand 'battlements' will make a big difference for the same reason the pot stand works on the KK. It just occurred to me that one think I could try on the KK is to fold the tops of the fins over and bond an aluminium plate to the top with high temperature heat sink compound. That would provide a lot of pot contact area and do the job of the JetBoil fins.

I'd also like your blow tube. I'd like to experiment with a blower. A battery powered fan, wind-up fan or Stirling Engine (boffin alert) would be cool. While I'm at it, maybe wood gasification ....

My only other comment about your set up is that's an awful lot of fuel for a 1pt KK. One or two of those sticks should do.

 

[ZDP-189]

PS, A cork base would be nice too.

 

[steven andrews]

My only other comment about your set up is that's an awful lot of fuel for a 1pt KK. One or two of those sticks should do.

The stored kindling is for multiple brews . I use a little of it to get each fire started, supplemented with what I can find at the brewing location.

 

[faca]

hi I´ll never carry this system but I see it´s use.
Perhaps should be a good madification to take out this big and bulky hanger and fit some metalic chain or cable ancherd to 3 riveted poins kettle has? so you get a vertical hanger no horizontal one, all this to improve packing..

 

[ZDP-189]

Niiice idea, faca.

 

[steven andrews]

The rigid handle is an important part of the design. It enables you to hold it out at ninety degrees to lift the kettle off the base without burning your fingers.

 

[ZDP-189]

Is your pot Ally or Steel??

Aluminium alloy.

Interestingly, I discovered tonight why one should not boil the KK with the cork in. (These words do not bode well for the rest of the post.) The cork expands when steamed and could wedge itself in hard enough to pop with a huge spurt of steam and boiling water.

I also discovered that sticking in a whistle is a no-no too. It becomes a steam and boiling water spray nozzle. Drilling extra holes just makes for more steam and boiling water spray nozzles. Drilling enough holes to negate this makes the whistle not work.

This is me after the experiments:

Not really. But it could have been.

I am now looking for a proper kettle whistle. And a new cork.