Which volcano kettle do you own and why?

[Stanleythecat]

Hi All

I was wondering which volcano kettle do people owned and why?

My Boss has been made redundant after 22years as a trees and woodland officer. Its a sad loss and we are looking to get him a gift. He always looked upon my Kelly Kettle with envy and I think one might get some use, however I was wondering if the other brands were any better? For instance I'm a little frustrated with the cork on mine, it can easily fall out so I tend to carry the water seperately.

Would be really good to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks

Leo

 

[Andy80F]

I preferred the Ghillie kettle only because of the whistle instead of the cork however this does not allow for water carrying and there does not seem to be a screw cap for any of the various kettles. Apart from that there seems little difference between them.

I wonder if the kettle would be up to a bit of light engraving which would be a nice touch as a presentation gift the base certainly would but suspect the main kettle part might be compromised by creating a weak-spot.

Andy

 

[Lurch]

My Boss has been made redundant after 22years as a trees and woodland officer.

Man, that sucks.


I think that none of the volcano types have a secure stopper deliberately. It's bad enough when the cork gets left in on a boil, if it was a sealed screw cap you've just made a steam bomb.

 

[ged]

Another vote for the Ghillie. If I were going to buy again I'd get the stainless one instead of the aluminium one, it has a bigger capacity for about the same volume of kettle and I think it would be able to take more abuse. For example it would be relatively safe to use it less than completely full, if you do that with an aluminium one there's a good chance of melting it. I might just get another one anyway.

 

[treefrog]

I have a Eydon 'storm kettle' as I thought the quality looked better than 'Kelly Kettle'. I got the 'Popular' model was the right size at 1 litre. It now comes in a black finish, but I don't know how durable it is.
http://www.eydonkettle.com/stormkettle.html

 

[Lurch]

Another vote for the Ghillie. If I were going to buy again I'd get the stainless one

I don't think Ghillie do a stainless one.

 

[ged]

I don't think Ghillie do a stainless one.

You might be right! I can't find one now, but I could swear that when I was looking at them a couple of years ago there was a stainless one with a 2.5 litre capacity (I think -- something like that) that was about the same external dimensions as the 1.5 litre aluminium one that I eventually bought. At the time I thought 2.5 litres (or whatever it was) would be a bit too big (mostly because I thought it would take too long to boil) so I went for the 1.5 litre one that I have. My feeling now is that because they boil so quickly, 2.5 or even three litres wouldn't be too big at all, especially since if it was stainless you could boil it when it was less than completely full.

Anyway, I've made a pattern for a stainless one that I plan to make, and I've bought the stainless sheet for it, so I just have to get around to cutting it out and welding it all up.

 

[Chrisj]

I've got a large Eydon one and a small Ghillie. If I was buying again I would probably get both Ghillies. My Ghillie just seems better quality and finished to a higher standard. Plus you can leave the whistle on which stops bits falling down the spout but you can't leave the cork in the Eydon.

 

[beermaker]

I've got a Kelly Kettle and I bought my dad the same for christmas last year. Mine was a gift and I haven't looked at others really. I'm more than happy with the quality of the Kelly Kettle and it's had three years now of quite tough service and it has stood up to it really well. Would be interested to see other manufacturers though just out of interest.

On a similar note - have often fancied fabricating one out of copper or stainless steel. Anyone ever tried this?

Cheers
Phil

 

[ged]

... often fancied fabricating one out of copper or stainless steel. Anyone ever tried this?

Lots of people have made them, try a search like this:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/search.php?searchid=697528&pp=&page=2

 

[drewdunnrespect]

mine is a kelly kettle 2.5 litre and is ausome

 

[StormKettle]

I've got a Kelly Kettle and I bought my dad the same for christmas last year. Mine was a gift and I haven't looked at others really. I'm more than happy with the quality of the Kelly Kettle and it's had three years now of quite tough service and it has stood up to it really well. Would be interested to see other manufacturers though just out of interest.

On a similar note - have often fancied fabricating one out of copper or stainless steel. Anyone ever tried this?

Cheers
Phil

The original Kettles were made from copper in New Zealand and Ireland, will be worth giving it a go!

 

[bojit]

A friend of mine has a Kelly ,Great bit of kit.
He once tried to make a better fitting plug from hardwood and
a rubber bike inner tube .
Almost lost his head when the bung shot out ripping the chain off
he never did find it again .(mabe just as well )
he went back to keeping the water in a bottle after that.
however that Poppin one looks good for one person use!


Craig.........

 

[tombear]

Heres mine

from right to left

Small Kelly, doesn't boil enough for me in most circumstances so never got used much. Never like the bail handle, makes it hard to pack and someone always forgets theres a lot of heat coming up from the chimney.

Eco kettle, first one I got, not very well made and using the pot lifter was always a pain in the bum. 1.75 pints

22 pint New Zealand made stainless steel job, which I love to bits, great for base camps and emergencies at home. Can be brought to the boil in well under 15 mins. The only downer was the cost of shipping.

Old NZ production copper Thermette, now sadly made to a lower standard in China, 4 pints and slips neatly into a PLCE side pocket with a wrap of carry mat, in my opinion the one to get IF you can get a old one. I've used a full sized Kelly and I much prefer this one. I've heard if you have huge hands or are especially clumsy (I've big paws and am cackhanded and have never managed it) you can burn your knuckles on the tank but personally I find the folding handles on the side great. The spout is quite narrow which is good for pouring but bad for filling unless you carry a small funnel.

Just my two pen'ath

ATB

Tom