OT Kelly Kettles

[barney]

Appreciate they aren't Bikepacking kit but someone in work gave me an old Kelly Kettle as a freebie.

I'd never even heard of them before, think it'll come in handy to have in the car after walks or a paddle.

Anyone got one or had one? Any tips or hints on usage or cleaning etc. muchly appreciated.

So far I've only had a play in the garden boiling water for a coffee and frying an egg on the top using the pan holder.

Cheers

[Cheddar Man]

To be honest, why clean it? Mine has had a couple of years use now, maybe a quick wipe to get rid of some soot, otherwise all good.

I really enjoy using mine, mostly on the beach after a paddle board, and I just to tend to leave it in the boot under the board with some coffee and milk powder in case of emergencies. There is something wonderfully old skool about them, but not that packable.

Worth a look on here if you haven't already... https://www.kellykettle.com/

[Jurassic]

I have a large one and a smaller one, both bought for canoe camping. They work well enough for boiling water if you have a source of dry fuel (pine cones work particularly well) but I tended not to use mine much latterly based on the fact that there is rarely a source of dry fuel in the west of Scotland and taking fuel with you makes them not worth the bother (may as well use gas/petrol/meths/ whatever). As far as cleaning goes, I never cleaned either one and I'm not dead yet! I never had the cooking attachments as everyone I know who did have them said not to bother as it wasn't a practical option. Fun and satisfying to use in the right circumstances I'd say but maybe a bit of a novelty or niche option.

[Loki]

I have their M-kettle and a larger 1ltr kettle, I love them, only used the large one a few times but the M-kettle is used often

[darbeze]

Had one for years until it literally dissolved.

Great fun and really lovely to sit around while it roars.

One word of caution. Never boil water with the cork/stopper in... My son suffered 2nd degree burns when someone forgot that on a Scout camp and it exploded over him pouring boiling water over his lap and thighs.

He made a full recovery, but a very unpleasant experience...

Si

[Cheeky Monkey]

Have an mKettle, barely use it but it occasionally rolls around in the back hatch of a canoe so I guess it's always there if I need it. Used several of the larger ones as brew stations whilst trail building. Great for that, particularly on FC land where wood is plentiful.

Never cleaned one but they do get very sooty. A carry bag is handy.

Never boil with the cork in but some come with whistles which you can / should leave on.

There's a small knack to lifting and pouring the bigger ones using the wire handle and chain. Don't lift or place it on the fire pot holding the handle like you would on a bucket, unless you have asbestos hands / foundry gauntlets.

A box of good fire starting material is handy to reduce faff of lighting, unless you like the romance of fire-making. Folks use all sorts - plastic shreds, paper, esbit blocks (bits), shavings, cotton wool, impregnated with paraffin wax etc etc etc.

Relatively impractical, heavy, bulky things but there is something about them and fun with kids, where they're not being carried (car camp) or if you just love making little fires and hearing the roar of flames.

[Jurassic]

Strips of old inner tube cut up work really well for lighting initially. It stinks when burning obviously but will light even when wet and takes up relatively little space and soon burns off allowing the fire to start and smell to dissipate. Most of us have old inner tubes lying about that will never get repaired so it can be a handy source of fuel for starting up the Kelly and only very small amounts are needed.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Strips of old inner tube cut up work really well for lighting initially. It stinks when burning obviously but will light even when wet and takes up relatively little space and soon burns off allowing the fire to start and smell to dissipate. Most of us have old inner tubes lying about that will never get repaired so it can be a handy source of fuel for starting up the Kelly and only very small amounts are needed.

You're a marked man fella.

[Jurassic]

Strips of old inner tube cut up work really well for lighting initially. It stinks when burning obviously but will light even when wet and takes up relatively little space and soon burns off allowing the fire to start and smell to dissipate. Most of us have old inner tubes lying about that will never get repaired so it can be a handy source of fuel for starting up the Kelly and only very small amounts are needed.

You're a marked man fella.

Yeah I know. No doubt the old inner tube would be better off being recycled into wallets or bike bags but I'm sure most people don't bother and a few 5cm long strips burnt in a Kelly kettle hopefully won't be that significant in the overall scheme of things. I take your point though.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Hey, it's not me that's gonna stab you in the eye with a recycled bamboo fork, it's little Greta *


* this isn't a winky face, it's someone having been stabbed in the eye with a recycled bamboo fork

[Cheeky Monkey]

My other fallback is plastic (wrappers, strips of bottle etc). Good job I didn't mention that

[UnderTheRadars]

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topi ... t-12194627

[fatbikephil]

I know someone who turned one into a latte / cappuccino maker - he drilled a hole in the cork bung shoved a bit of steel pipe into it with a flexible tube on this to steam heat the milk as the kettle boiled. It was a bit 'exciting' to say the least but worked very well. Then one day the tube got kinked and the cork bung ended up being blown out with dramatic results. Fortunately the only injury was a bruise on his forehead from the rocket propelled bung.... We didn't try it again.

[samwise]

You can know get a green whistling cap that's safe to leave in whilst boiling. (edit - I see CM already mentioned these! )

https://www.kellykettle.com/accessories ... ly-kettles

I usually leave my upside down if not using it for a while just to drain/dry but never clean it.

[Cheeky Monkey]

I've always used kettles from these guys:

https://www.ghillie-kettle.co.uk/

Good stuff and they don't supply with a bung, always a whistle (IIRC).

[Shewie]

I've got a couple knocking about somewhere, one resembles a golf ball it's got that many dents in it.

Used to use them for day paddles and sometimes a woodland walk, a bit of a lump in volume but not overly heavy, not really something you'd take on a multi day trip as they're a bit of a one trick pony. Okay'ish for cooking on if you don't mind small portions, the KK fire bowls don't like sustained fires in them as they get a bit soft and don't stay round for very long, making them a bit tough to nest after a while.

Like others said it's handy to carry strips of old inner tube, birch bark or firelighters even, just anything to help it get going, once they're away they'll burn pretty much anything

[barney]

Cheers all, yes I had heard about the dangers of leaving the bung in.

Reckon it'll just stay in the boot of the car for post walk/ride brews.