KELLY KETTLE KEEPS YOU IN HOT WATER WORLD WIDE

There are a few things in life we can all agree on. Hot water is great ,unless your front and center in a congressional hearing. Or the guest of honor at a South Seas Island cannibal cookout. How do say "What's for dinner?" in MAORI. Although both situations would be disagreeable,  I believe it would be better to get indigestion then to give it. Which brings us to good hot water. I got my KELLY KETTLE for Christmas. And perhaps like you, I had heard of them but had never bought one or even seen one. But the idea seemed kind of cool. Hot water on demand while camping. Immediately I had some questions.

Some questions?   Actually quite a few questions.  Like: What is a Kelly Kettle and how does it work? Can I boil a partial kettle of water?  How do I clean the kettle?  How is it best used?  What is the best fuel to burn in it?  And last but not least, Is it green?

1 What is a Kelly Kettle and how does it work?

2. Can I boil a partial kettle of water.

3 How do I clean the kettle?

4 How is it best used?

5 What is the best fuel to burn in it?

6 Is it green?

1    WHAT IS A KELLY KETTLE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

  

The kettle is a essentially a double walled chimney with water contained in the chimney wall. There is a fire base on the bottom that looks like a pan with a whole in the side. Simply start a fire in the base using sticks and twigs and in 3 to 5 minutes presto, hot water in the water chamber for all your camping needs. They are made of stainless steel or aluminum. At first glance you will be more than impressed with its extra heavy duty construction. With an emphasis on extra, it's built to last.  There is nothing worse than a piece of equipement that has to be replaced to often, no matter how useful it is. I look forward to using mine for years to come. Best of all there is no mechanical moving parts. Complexity breeds fragility.

2    CAN I BOIL A PARTIAL KETTLE OF WATER?
The short answear is no. You need to see the water boil at the spout. First time use I put in 33.8 oz of water, one liter bottle. I think it will hold a little more. When all else fails read the directions. I could easily see the water boiling. This gave me enough water for a meal of noodles and 2 cups of hot beverage. Remember never to place the chimney over a fire without water in it.   One extra welcome benefit is the leftover fire in the base on a cold day.

3    HOW DO I CLEAN THE KETTLE?

You don't have to but if you insist, one of the best ways sounds like spraying oven cleaner on the inside of the chimney. Where the fire rises not where the water goes.  Read the label on the cleaner and use as directed,  you don't want to cause corrosion on your alluminum or steel pot. I just scrubbed mine with dry leaves, to get the worst of the residue off. That being said Mark Marshall in the US points out heat is infared electro magnetic energy which is absorbed better by a black surface. At least you know now why that black truck you bought gets hot so fast and stays hot so long. So clean if you must. As for the water chamber, we all know the best sanitizer is boiling water so it is self cleaning.

4     HOW IS IT BEST USED

Boiling water was it's original use. Now with several sizes and many accessories, with a variety of pot supports and hobo stoves. In addition to complete cooksets you are ready to take on all your camp cooking needs. They even have an accessory water stopper that whistles when the water is hot.

5     WHAT IS THE BEST FUEL?

The quick answer is whatever is closest,and most abundant.  I like grass and leaves crumbled up followed by pine cones and finish up by feeding longer twigs in from the top. The first time I lit my kettle was after several days of heavy rain. Here is a tip from the KELLY KETTLE website. Use whatever you have that will start the fire. Then start feeding in longer wet sticks.(leave them sticking out the top of the chimney). The heat from the smaller fire will dry the sticks, and as the bottom of the longer pieces burn they will gravity feed down, . TRY IT IT WORKS!

6     IS IT GREEN?

The website says it's carbon neutral-no trace green camping. Definition = green or sustainable living, a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individuals or society's use of the earths natural resources and one's personal resources. I believe that to be an accurate description of the KELLY KETTLE!!!
　

I'LL TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT

Just as their website says it will boil water in 3-5 min. using sticks, dry grass, bark, pine cones and even animal dung. That's always good to know. What was surprising was how little fuel it took to boil water. Once you start the fire in the base then putting the chimney on. Cool air is sucked in from the bottom,hot air doing what hot air does flows out the top, causing it to burn much hotter than a conventional fire.

WHY NOT GAS CANNISTERS?

With the KELLY KETTLE there is no buying of or replacement of fuel.  Nor is there any storage of combustionable materials. No carrying of multiple cannisters with you when weight and space are at a premium. Consider the problems of traveling to a foreign country. Not just getting there and back, but the availability of fuel when your are there. The KELLY KETTLE is truly a world class traveler. Just right for your next expedition and yes they do ship internationally.

WHY NOT A CAMPFIRE?

Campfires are inconvient and generally inefficient for cooking. Two of the Kettles strong points are, heating water in 2-3 min. and burning a small amount of scavenged local wood. Chances are you had to transport that campfire wood,or buy it from an expensive local source. Keep in mind campfires are often prohibited because of high wind , drought or other environmental reasons.

DID'NT BURN GOOD IN THE WIND (IT BURNED GREAT)!!

Kelly Kettle doing double duty as a wind sock.

With many stoves wind is their cyptonite, not so with the KELLY. The 2nd. day of my test the wind picked up. Our hero lit the stove with just one match, the stove burned better than ever. ( As you can see in my photo KETTLE bag doing double duty as a wind sock.)

SUMMARY

KELLY KETTLE meets or exceeds all the claims of the manufacturers, and I'm sure to get many years of service from it. Anybody who ventures into the outdoors, should give serious consideration to the KELLY KETTLE. They have an informative website that can answer these questions and many more. kellykettle.com

If you have any questions or comments please put them in the comment section below. If this review has been helpful please share it with a friend.  Thanks

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