the kelly kettle

[steamjam1]

No worries at all. I'm kind of in the same boat as you about the size which is why I asked. I got the medium one as a compromise to that issue. I also feel the pain when carrying more parts and pieces which is why I'm making my dogs carry stuff for me now too. lol.

I never considered this until after my reply to you about the coffee can stove. I'm guessing the smokelessness may have everything to do with the lack of a chimney. The lower profile, like a firepit, and wider mouth I think helps to avoid that. When I lived in TX a lot of ppl had Mexican chimineas in their backyards and the taller ones always gave off more smoke.

Less = More right?... :-D

The smokeless-ness of the coffee tin stoves depends completely on the size of the coffee tin, the size of the inner tin, the number, size, placement of the air inlet holes, wood gas jets and the size of the air gap at the bottom. It took me about a year and about 75 tries to get it "right". I once or twice did try a chimney, but I didn't see it made any difference in smoke exhaust.

 

[sl1966]

Less = More right?... :-D

The smokeless-ness of the coffee tin stoves depends completely on the size of the coffee tin, the size of the inner tin, the number, size, placement of the air inlet holes, wood gas jets and the size of the air gap at the bottom. It took me about a year and about 75 tries to get it "right". I once or twice did try a chimney, but I didn't see it made any difference in smoke exhaust.

Yup! Less is more!

Oh that explains why I had smoke coming from my coffee can stoves. I only made like 4 or 5 and then gave them away to homeless people as a way to cook for themselves.

If you wouldn't mind sharing that design, I'd love to see and make a new one again.

 

[steamjam1]

sure. I'll start a new thread about it in a few days (the build pics are here somewhere) so this thread doesn't get hijacked too badly.. :-D

 

[Darth_Muerte]

Are they only available on line? Are their any chain stores that sell them? I don't use banks or CCs anymore, so I need a physical store if possible. If not, I will just do without.

 

[sl1966]

Are they only available on line?

To be honest none of the sporting goods stores around me even heard of them. I ordered mine off amazon.com where kelly kettle usa sells thru.

 

[Darth_Muerte]

Just my luck of course.

 

[sl1966]

Just my luck of course.

Why, you cash only? They seem to sell online only. Try sending them an email and see what they say. Couldn't hurt.

 

[accrete]

I've had the large SS kit for about 3 years now and use it occasionally on dry mornings in camp.

For what it's worth to any who care... The KK will not boil water over an open flame as quick as an equal-volume coffee/tea kettle will. For my test, boiling 1 quart of water in my KK vs 1 qt in tea kettle it was about 8 minutes vs 5 minutes. I realize that with the KK i can boil water AND cook a simple one pot meal on the top of the KK, which i could not do with a tea kettle

If i really want to go crazy cooking with found solid fuel i will bring out the big guns and use our Rocket Stove.

 

[sl1966]

The KK will not boil water over an open flame as quick as an equal-volume coffee/tea kettle will.

Clarify this please. It sounds like you're saying you put the kelly kettle (minus the fire pan) on top of a regular open flame, like a traditional tea kettle. If that's the case, of couse it wouldn't boil as fast because it's not being used as intended. However if you meant you used the kk with the fire pan as intended versus a tea kettle over open flame then I'm with you.

You know that's one thing I never really thought to put to a test. I never timed it, but the 3-5 mins they say on the website sounds about right. My old jetboil would boil 16oz of water in just over a minute. I'm kind of a tea fiend and used it instead of my stovetop kettle when I sometimes didn't feel like waiting.

For cooking purposes it really doesn't matter to me if one is faster than the other so long as I'm not waiting longer than 10 minutes for either to boil. But I've got some free time and am curious to see which is faster since I own a gsi camping tea kettle too. I think I'm gonna test and see ... you know, for science.

 

[accrete]

on clarifying in my experiment...

KK was used as designed with solid fuel (wood sticks) inside KK with 1 quart cold water with long stemmed meat thermometer sticking down from open pour spout per operating instructions.

Tea Kettle with 1 quart cold water was placed on a metal grate above fire created with similar amount of wood fuel and same thermometer inside spout.

The KK is a _slicker_ way to get the water boiling, but old school will do the trick if needed...which was basically all i was saying. Some peeps would have a hard time justifying the cost of the KK. Me? I'm just a camp-gadget-junkie and had to have one

 

[sl1966]

on clarifying in my experiment...

much appreciated! like yourself, i love tinkering with and geeking out on gear. any kind of gear. i think i probably should've said this up front.

i understood what you meant, my bad for not acknowledging it. however, while i was out tonight a thought occured to me. being able to make water hot in a known amount of time is of benefit for medical emergencies of some sort. you know, sterilization, and other stuff i can't think of at the moment.

 

[steamjam1]

Me? I'm just a camp-gadget-junkie and had to have one

I'm so happy I'm not the only one! I have more camp gadgets and doohikies in my storage locker then is logical for one person.

When I saw the Ghillie Kettle I had to try it out. I tried it with a wood fire, chunks of pres-to-log, about 6 types of alcohol stove, a russian built gasoline primus stove (this was an EPIC fail that nearly burned my house down) Anyways it does take the ghillie longer to boil water then say my normal old tea kettle. But when the weather is terrible and and I'm out there in the sticks, the ghillie is the first thing I reach for.

The only real difference between the Ghillie and the Kelly is the Kelly comes with the cork plug for the spout, and the Ghillie comes with a SS tea kettle style whistle cap for the spout.

 

[sl1966]

I'm so happy I'm not the only one! I have more camp gadgets and doohikies in my storage locker then is logical for one person.

A few years ago I pared down all my belongings; the hardest thing to part with was all the camping gear I owned. I kind of found a way to strike a balance and only had to part with some of it. I kept most of the actual needed gear which is now being used in my travel trailer kitchen including a small contingent of items exclusive to tent camping.

To this day it's still an absolute torture to walk into an REI or shop at any online source for camping goods. There was a time when I couldn't walk out of REI without dropped 200-300 easy on stuff I thought I needed, but in reality only wanted. This made backpacking or carcamping kind of an ADD nightmare on what to take. I kind of found a way to get my fix watcing youtube reviews while listening to the voice of reason on why x, y, or z was good, bad, or ugly now.

The KK was the perfect replacement for my jetboil because it didn't require fuel cannisters and also cooked in storm conditions.

 

[steamjam1]

There was a time when I couldn't walk out of REI without dropped 200-300 easy on stuff I thought I needed, but in reality only wanted. This made backpacking or carcamping kind of an ADD nightmare on what to take.

I was like that too with vintage camp gear....

 

[gypsychic]

sure. I'll start a new thread about it in a few days (the build pics are here somewhere) so this thread doesn't get hijacked too badly.. :-D

Hi:

Was a thread ever started about making coffee tin stoves and a discussion of good designs by those who have made them? I'm looking through the cooking forum and did a search but it's not readily apparent. I know I can try YT but in the previous discussion Steamjam1 made a reference to many iterations of the design-I can't seem to find the exact # as I'm glancing back. I just thought it would be nice to see some pics and instructions from someone experienced.

Sorry if I just can't find the thread. Thx for your help.

Cheers all,

GypsyChic

 

[highdesertranger]

I can't even remember all the post in this thread and don't want to read the whole thing at this point. but I still want a Kelly kettle. highdesertranger

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I just now read this whole thread. I want a kelly kettle also! But, I can't really own anything that won't fit in my (big sprinter extended high top 2500) van. Now I have a jetboil, and it's awesome. I've made a few coffee can stoves, but I also am the kind of guy who has to make 75 of them before I'll get the design right. Then I'll be bored. So I"d like to see a truly definitive, ideal coffee can stove. One thing I was considering was to use a smaller coffee can, for the space savings. It's almost always possible to find fuel for a coffee can stove, I can get a handful of twigs in a minute or 2. Of course I can run the jetboil inside the van. I wouldn't want to try to burn twigs in the van. The real reason I'd prefer a coffee can stove to a kelly is the cost. If I needed to throw stuff out, I'd feel better about giving/throwing away a home made coffee can stove, since I could always make another if needed.

 

[sl1966]

But, I can't really own anything that won't fit in my (big sprinter extended high top 2500) van.

Now that I've been living in my rig for a while I can say that the KK is beyond worth it. I ran out of propane a couple of times and I'm glad only one of those times took place when everything was closed. I broke it out and was able to finish cooking dinner and then breakfast the following morning. Even in the semi high desert I found more than enough natural fuel to keep it going for days.

 

[Willy]

No reason not to use a KK over a regular propane burner. In fact, due to the HUGE surface area that contact the flame, I reckon that water should come to a boil considerably faster. ..Willy.

 

[sl1966]

No reason not to use a KK over a regular propane burner.

I don't disagree with you at all about it. I just use propane because the stove is inside my trailer versus the KK. It was still summer when I ran out of propane, and the temps at night are dipping below freezing where I'm staying now.