Kelly Kettle
- Thread starter tim_n
- Start date
It always strikes me as so unwieldy using the top to cook on. One of my friends uses his KK pretty much every day, and Seumas says it's much easier and safer just to use the bottom firepan/ base.
The kettle boils so quickly anyways that using the top is of limited use anyway. Noodles is probably about it really. You could maybe quickly fry an egg or scramble though.
If you get the embers on the no flame but glowing stage, the base makes great toast too
M
The kettle boils so quickly anyways that using the top is of limited use anyway. Noodles is probably about it really. You could maybe quickly fry an egg or scramble though.
If you get the embers on the no flame but glowing stage, the base makes great toast too
M
i just use the base too. You can boil up a brew, then take the kettle off to fry some bacon, stick the kettle back on and yer ready for another brew by the time you've eaten the bacon sandwich
the best slightly different use i'v put a kelly kettle to is chucking three BBQ briquets in the base and you've got warm running water for a few hours
i'v kept mine running all day like that before, gotta keep the water topped up though obviously
the best slightly different use i'v put a kelly kettle to is chucking three BBQ briquets in the base and you've got warm running water for a few hours
i'v kept mine running all day like that before, gotta keep the water topped up though obviously
Got the pot support when I bought my gillie kettle but never used it as it heats even 1.9 litres too quick for a meal to cook. Might try a bit of bacon though as I only like my bacon "soft" not cooked to a crisp.
It's a different case with the big tap on the front thermettes like my 22 pinter, you get a big pan ring that sits either on the hearth part or more usefully on the top. You can keep drawing off and topping up the water for as long as you want with the fire kept going up the chimney to cook on indefinitely.
im amazed no ones either making these over hereof importing them from Spiroloc ( probably spelt that wrong ) in NZ. For a bSe camp it's such a lovely bit of kit.
atb
Tom
somewhere between Salisbury and Oxford in a car scraping the road it's so loaded
With camping gear ...
im amazed no ones either making these over hereof importing them from Spiroloc ( probably spelt that wrong ) in NZ. For a bSe camp it's such a lovely bit of kit.
atb
Tom
somewhere between Salisbury and Oxford in a car scraping the road it's so loaded
With camping gear ...
I've never used a Kelly kettle and I've never seen one in use. I know that you can light a fire with a few sticks underneath but can you use a brass spirit burner underneath them?
Thanks I will take a look. I've never even looked at their site. It's something I've never thought about buying. I've got a SAT and a good few hexie stoves plus a couple of normal camping stove too. I normally use my SAT but I think I might like to give something new a try.
If you're on your own, or you're carrying it, don't buy too big. Mine's huge, happily makes tea for eight, but it's a clunker of a thing to walk with.
M
M
Though Toddy says it can be bulky its main saving grace for exended trips is that you don't need to carry fuel which is heavy. Means you can be self sufficient in the field and boil a lot of water very efficiently and quickly. I use the smaller one and in less than five minutes I can have boiled water for two mugs of tea. Also when using small fuel it tends to boil it to small fine ash which makes for easy clean up. Means minimal impact on the land you're moving through.
Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.
Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.
Just can't see the point, I like the idea but it's a one trick pony. A kettle does the same but it'll double as a container so no dead space for a carry. Perhaps not as efficient as a KK but unless you're down to your last stick it's not really an issue. Plus if there isn't any dry fuel, as has been the case in the north on most days this year, you can always breakout the spirit burner.
Think it was designed for fishermen so as they could have a quick brew without taking to much time out from fishing, fags & booze
to collect fuel and spend time tending. As it's all self contained you don't have to worry about building a fire place. As said I have one, though I'd give it up over my favourite copper kettle. Always makes me happy seeing the glow of reflected flames in it's burnished side, even though it's slower than the K.K.
Do also find the K.K. a great moral booster when on the trail on a driech day. Getting a heat as the flames shoot out the chimney is so much more rewarding than opening a thermos flask. Flasks have their place but always feel they're dead weight when empty compared to some sort of stove. More cups of tea per pound (lb) I think. I like my Stanley flasks but a fire an a brew is nicer and more self sufficient when out for a daunder.
Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.
You can use a spirit burner with a KK too, it's just the efficiency of the chimney effect that makes it a really good way to boil water.
It's not heavy, it's just bulky. If you know where you're going has water on site, then it's brilliant. Unless you're cooking (and it really does speed things up having loads of boiling water) for more than just yourself though, well….put it this way, if I don't need to lug it far, it comes too.
M
It's not heavy, it's just bulky. If you know where you're going has water on site, then it's brilliant. Unless you're cooking (and it really does speed things up having loads of boiling water) for more than just yourself though, well….put it this way, if I don't need to lug it far, it comes too.
M
bbq charcoal works a treat for a slow burn after the water is boiled. bbq the breakfast then back on with the kettle. tea all round
Rocker, Walker, Camper, Husband, Dad
Rocker, Walker, Camper, Husband, Dad
R-Tron is right
I have been using my KK since my better half bought one for me as a birthday pressie. Dark Horse Dave showed us tea making with his when I ran a field archery day earlier in the year, and I knew I wanted one then
Tea/coffee making and warming one's hands are the immediate benefits on a drizzly day, but the cooking works well too, so long as larger pieces of wood are added during the initial burn to make decent coals when making the tea....The best process seems to be make the tea, and then do a little food cooking. I havent yet tried adding charcoal or similar during the tea making but that seems like a very good idea to ensure the heat for cooking. In any case, if the heat starts to fail then it is a simple thing to put some more water into the kettle and put it back on with some more wood. The strong chimney effect then gets the fire back to roaring PDQ, and cooking can continue.
I bought the KK hobo stove and cook set soon after my first burn, and have been very happy with them. This was brunch last Sunday after a round of field archery:
Hot tea, smoked bacon sarny and roasted cherry tomatoes. Yum yum! Note the handy stump, cut off nice and square, in the firepit area. The cook set and hobo stove all fits inside the KK like a russian doll for transport, and I store the tinder and tea/coffee etc in bags inside the body of the KK as well, so it is all in the one KK bag when I need to take it with me.
I have been using my KK since my better half bought one for me as a birthday pressie. Dark Horse Dave showed us tea making with his when I ran a field archery day earlier in the year, and I knew I wanted one then
Tea/coffee making and warming one's hands are the immediate benefits on a drizzly day, but the cooking works well too, so long as larger pieces of wood are added during the initial burn to make decent coals when making the tea....The best process seems to be make the tea, and then do a little food cooking. I havent yet tried adding charcoal or similar during the tea making but that seems like a very good idea to ensure the heat for cooking. In any case, if the heat starts to fail then it is a simple thing to put some more water into the kettle and put it back on with some more wood. The strong chimney effect then gets the fire back to roaring PDQ, and cooking can continue.
I bought the KK hobo stove and cook set soon after my first burn, and have been very happy with them. This was brunch last Sunday after a round of field archery:
Hot tea, smoked bacon sarny and roasted cherry tomatoes. Yum yum! Note the handy stump, cut off nice and square, in the firepit area. The cook set and hobo stove all fits inside the KK like a russian doll for transport, and I store the tinder and tea/coffee etc in bags inside the body of the KK as well, so it is all in the one KK bag when I need to take it with me.
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That looks like a nice snack!
I often just find excuses to fire it up and brew.
Rocker, Walker, Camper, Husband, Dad
I often just find excuses to fire it up and brew.
Rocker, Walker, Camper, Husband, Dad
Today I was sorting out some stuff in my bedroom (I am a classic hoarder) and I came across a box of news cuttings, amongst them was this one from the Coventry Evening Telegraph, dated September 21st 1979 and I quote:
" BUSINESS IS BUBBLING
FOR 'JOKE' KETTLES
Evening Telegraph Industry Editor
A JOKEY decision by a Coventry businessman to make. Irish-style camping kettles has turned into a highly successful venture.BUSINESS IS BUBBLING FOR 'JOKE'KETTLES
Evening Telegraph Industry Editor
A JOKEY decision by a Coventry businessman to make. Irish-style camping kettles has turned into a highly successful venture.
It all started when Mr John Grindlay, chairman and managing director of the CMS group in Coventry, who supply the motor industry with components and plastic tooling, was on a fishing trip to Ireland.
'My gillie, .Paddy Kelly, had an ancient and battered kettle known there as a `volcano.' You fill it with water, put sticks inside the hollow centre, put the whole thing on a fiat stone and light it. Within minutes you've got boiling water ready for a brew-up.
"Paddy had been handed down his kettle and didn't know where replacements could be bought.
'The last firm known to be making them went bank-rupt in the late 'thirties.
"So I thought about it, borrowed Paddy's kettle and decided we ought to make some."
With financial backing from Mr Kelly and two Mid-and friends Warwick businessman Mr Frank Ellis and Coventry solicitor Mr Patrick TwistMr Grindlay set about getting the aluminium kettles made.
"We all pitched in £200 which covered the £500 tool¬ing costs quoted by the little firm at Blockley in Glou¬cestershire who make the basic kettle.
-By word-of-mouth we sold the first 70 and ordered 200 more."
His children, Fiona aged eight and Carolyn, aged 10, help to assemble the £10 kettles which are now selling like hot cakes in Ireland.
"It was all a joke tongue in cheek," said Mr Grindlay. "On my last trip to Ireland we had a meet¬ing of the partners. We elected Paddy Kelly as the chairman and it all took place, duly minuted, in Room 19 of the hotel we stayed at! We'd formed the Kelly Kettle Company.
"What it proves, though, is that anyone with a good idea and the right basic business approach can still make a go of ventures like this.
The partners are now con-sidering the appointment of stockists and promotion of the kettles.
In the meantime, there is even a high-ranking Army officer looking at one of the kettles with an eye to using it in his Coventry-made Alvis tank."
" BUSINESS IS BUBBLING
FOR 'JOKE' KETTLES
Evening Telegraph Industry Editor
A JOKEY decision by a Coventry businessman to make. Irish-style camping kettles has turned into a highly successful venture.BUSINESS IS BUBBLING FOR 'JOKE'KETTLES
Evening Telegraph Industry Editor
A JOKEY decision by a Coventry businessman to make. Irish-style camping kettles has turned into a highly successful venture.
It all started when Mr John Grindlay, chairman and managing director of the CMS group in Coventry, who supply the motor industry with components and plastic tooling, was on a fishing trip to Ireland.
'My gillie, .Paddy Kelly, had an ancient and battered kettle known there as a `volcano.' You fill it with water, put sticks inside the hollow centre, put the whole thing on a fiat stone and light it. Within minutes you've got boiling water ready for a brew-up.
"Paddy had been handed down his kettle and didn't know where replacements could be bought.
'The last firm known to be making them went bank-rupt in the late 'thirties.
"So I thought about it, borrowed Paddy's kettle and decided we ought to make some."
With financial backing from Mr Kelly and two Mid-and friends Warwick businessman Mr Frank Ellis and Coventry solicitor Mr Patrick TwistMr Grindlay set about getting the aluminium kettles made.
"We all pitched in £200 which covered the £500 tool¬ing costs quoted by the little firm at Blockley in Glou¬cestershire who make the basic kettle.
-By word-of-mouth we sold the first 70 and ordered 200 more."
His children, Fiona aged eight and Carolyn, aged 10, help to assemble the £10 kettles which are now selling like hot cakes in Ireland.
"It was all a joke tongue in cheek," said Mr Grindlay. "On my last trip to Ireland we had a meet¬ing of the partners. We elected Paddy Kelly as the chairman and it all took place, duly minuted, in Room 19 of the hotel we stayed at! We'd formed the Kelly Kettle Company.
"What it proves, though, is that anyone with a good idea and the right basic business approach can still make a go of ventures like this.
The partners are now con-sidering the appointment of stockists and promotion of the kettles.
In the meantime, there is even a high-ranking Army officer looking at one of the kettles with an eye to using it in his Coventry-made Alvis tank."
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