Serpo
20th July 2013, 05:00 PM
I am always searching for tools that will perform multiple jobs, tools that will do jobs better or faster, things that can eliminate or combine equipment. When I found the Kelly Kettle I thought found something that just might fit the bill. While I guess Kelly Kettle might categorize themselves in the cooking category of survival gear this versatile piece of gear bleeds over into many other areas, namely water storage and purification, fire starting and gear storage.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kelly-Kettle-300x292.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kelly-Kettle.jpg)
The Kelly Kettle is first and foremost a tool to boil water but it does so in a unique way. It is designed to use any available fuel, from pine needles, pine cones, twigs, leaves, to sticks. This means you never have to carry fuel with you again and maybe more importantly, you never have to run out of fuel again. Pretty much anything that can burn will work. Fill the kettle with water Light a fire in the fire base and the tapered chimney quickly and efficiently transfers the heat energy to the water. Since the kettle has no moving parts like valves there is nothing to fail. As long as you don’t fire it without water it should last a very long time. Since I can fire this thing indefinitely it also means an indefinite supply of boiled drinking water.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/kellycomp-300x168.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/kellycomp.jpg)
The Kelly Kettle comes in three sizes, all of which come in Aluminum and Stainless Steel. The Trekker, the Scout, and the Base camp. I chose the stainless steel Scout because it filled a need in my survival system. I have traditionally used a propane stove and I find myself having to do multiple firings to cook for my family. I am a big fan of freeze dried meals and for those not familiar with freeze dried meals that means boiling water to cook them. The Scout can boil 37 ounces of water at once. This allows me to boil all of the water I need at once. The Scout is 10.2 inches tall when packed, 7.3 inches in diameter and weighs 2.2lbs. A rudimentary calculation shows that it takes up about 7 liters of space in your pack. That might sound like quite a bit for one piece of gear, but keep in mind, out of that 7 liters of space you are carrying 1 liter of water, your cook stove and cook set, plus your utensils and whatever else you can fit in the inside of the kettle. For the minimalist consider the Trail version, it only weighs 1.3lbs and take up 4 and a half liters of space. Once you subtract the propane or fuel bottles you would normally carry and account for the water and gear stowage it is probably near a wash, but the Kelly will run indefinitely.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0089-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0089.jpg)
For the first firing of the kettle I used a bit of pine needles, a few dry leaves, and some sticks. I had filled the kettle to the brim as well. I lit the pine needles, put the kettle on the firebase and dropped the sticks through the top. I probably over fueled the stove a bit as there was some thicker smoke coming out, but nonetheless it boiled the kettle in just about 4 minutes. I was really surprised as to just how little fuel was needed to boil the water. Just a couple of sticks boiled over a liter of water. 4 minutes is about as fast as it would take my high performance LP stove to boil the same amount of water.
It also has a leg up on your typical propane stove in winter cooking. I don’t know if any of you have ever tried an LP stove when it was very cold outside but in some cases the stove won’t work at all and at the very least the stove will work at level of severely reduced performance. Since you are relying on the BTU’s stored in the wood itself and not pressurized gas this is not a problem at all for the Kelly Kettle.
In addition to boiling water, you can also use the kettle to cook directly, whether it be hot dogs on a family camping trip or even small game.
Because the Kelly Kettle is not an open fire it can assist you in starting a larger fire in a rain storm or overly wet conditions. Just get some hot coals started in the kettle and transfer them to a larger fire.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0076-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0076.jpg)
My biggest beef with the Kelly Kettle is not really their fault but our wonderful litigious societies. The kettle really should have a screw on type lid instead of a stopper. Unfortunately, folks who should be Darwin award recipients have forced the use of a stopper. It would be very unsafe to fire this kettle with a cap that could hold pressure. Since we have people in society who can’t or won’t read directions and would blow themselves up, then sue, we are stuck with the stopper. While the stopper does a good enough job at keeping the water in it can be a pain to remove.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0057-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0057.jpg)
My other suggestion would be for the cook set to be stamped for the measurement of ounces and milliliters. As I mentioned, I chose the Scout because my primary use is cooking for a rather large family. My first choice for food on the run and camping is Mountain House and they generally require around 16 ounces per container. It isn’t a huge deal, I just measured out 16 ounces and marked it myself.
All in all the Kelly Kettle has replaced LP in my family bag. It performs just as well as propane stoves I am used to and I don’t have to carry or run out of fuel. It is a piece of gear that serves more than just one purpose, and that is what I aim for when considering survival gear. I also look forward to an upcoming ultra-light version that might have a shot in my personal bug out bag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSfWYJWhyEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSfWYJWhyE
http://tinhatranch.com/kelly-kettle-camp-kettlestove-never-run-out-of-fuel-again/
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kelly-Kettle-300x292.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Kelly-Kettle.jpg)
The Kelly Kettle is first and foremost a tool to boil water but it does so in a unique way. It is designed to use any available fuel, from pine needles, pine cones, twigs, leaves, to sticks. This means you never have to carry fuel with you again and maybe more importantly, you never have to run out of fuel again. Pretty much anything that can burn will work. Fill the kettle with water Light a fire in the fire base and the tapered chimney quickly and efficiently transfers the heat energy to the water. Since the kettle has no moving parts like valves there is nothing to fail. As long as you don’t fire it without water it should last a very long time. Since I can fire this thing indefinitely it also means an indefinite supply of boiled drinking water.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/kellycomp-300x168.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/kellycomp.jpg)
The Kelly Kettle comes in three sizes, all of which come in Aluminum and Stainless Steel. The Trekker, the Scout, and the Base camp. I chose the stainless steel Scout because it filled a need in my survival system. I have traditionally used a propane stove and I find myself having to do multiple firings to cook for my family. I am a big fan of freeze dried meals and for those not familiar with freeze dried meals that means boiling water to cook them. The Scout can boil 37 ounces of water at once. This allows me to boil all of the water I need at once. The Scout is 10.2 inches tall when packed, 7.3 inches in diameter and weighs 2.2lbs. A rudimentary calculation shows that it takes up about 7 liters of space in your pack. That might sound like quite a bit for one piece of gear, but keep in mind, out of that 7 liters of space you are carrying 1 liter of water, your cook stove and cook set, plus your utensils and whatever else you can fit in the inside of the kettle. For the minimalist consider the Trail version, it only weighs 1.3lbs and take up 4 and a half liters of space. Once you subtract the propane or fuel bottles you would normally carry and account for the water and gear stowage it is probably near a wash, but the Kelly will run indefinitely.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0089-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0089.jpg)
For the first firing of the kettle I used a bit of pine needles, a few dry leaves, and some sticks. I had filled the kettle to the brim as well. I lit the pine needles, put the kettle on the firebase and dropped the sticks through the top. I probably over fueled the stove a bit as there was some thicker smoke coming out, but nonetheless it boiled the kettle in just about 4 minutes. I was really surprised as to just how little fuel was needed to boil the water. Just a couple of sticks boiled over a liter of water. 4 minutes is about as fast as it would take my high performance LP stove to boil the same amount of water.
It also has a leg up on your typical propane stove in winter cooking. I don’t know if any of you have ever tried an LP stove when it was very cold outside but in some cases the stove won’t work at all and at the very least the stove will work at level of severely reduced performance. Since you are relying on the BTU’s stored in the wood itself and not pressurized gas this is not a problem at all for the Kelly Kettle.
In addition to boiling water, you can also use the kettle to cook directly, whether it be hot dogs on a family camping trip or even small game.
Because the Kelly Kettle is not an open fire it can assist you in starting a larger fire in a rain storm or overly wet conditions. Just get some hot coals started in the kettle and transfer them to a larger fire.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0076-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0076.jpg)
My biggest beef with the Kelly Kettle is not really their fault but our wonderful litigious societies. The kettle really should have a screw on type lid instead of a stopper. Unfortunately, folks who should be Darwin award recipients have forced the use of a stopper. It would be very unsafe to fire this kettle with a cap that could hold pressure. Since we have people in society who can’t or won’t read directions and would blow themselves up, then sue, we are stuck with the stopper. While the stopper does a good enough job at keeping the water in it can be a pain to remove.
http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0057-300x199.jpg (http://tinhatranch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0057.jpg)
My other suggestion would be for the cook set to be stamped for the measurement of ounces and milliliters. As I mentioned, I chose the Scout because my primary use is cooking for a rather large family. My first choice for food on the run and camping is Mountain House and they generally require around 16 ounces per container. It isn’t a huge deal, I just measured out 16 ounces and marked it myself.
All in all the Kelly Kettle has replaced LP in my family bag. It performs just as well as propane stoves I am used to and I don’t have to carry or run out of fuel. It is a piece of gear that serves more than just one purpose, and that is what I aim for when considering survival gear. I also look forward to an upcoming ultra-light version that might have a shot in my personal bug out bag.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSfWYJWhyEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCSfWYJWhyE
http://tinhatranch.com/kelly-kettle-camp-kettlestove-never-run-out-of-fuel-again/