Bought one for Xmas, used it today, crazy quick to boil and used virtually no fuel – black magic I tell thee

Great for a group brew out in the woods

Great things – we’ve two Ghillie Kettles at home and  six Kelly Kettles at work.

Tip: cut the bung or whistle off now. They’re lethal, and I’ve seen one explode.

Bloke at work had one and wouldn’t let me near it after I loaded it with wood and got the petrol blower on it, could have made horseshoes on it 😂

Standard OP here 😂 Prize to see how high you can get the flame

I had to buy him a new base as I warped the original, but as you say Houns it was fun watching the flames shoot out the top.

Use them at work. Was cynical as thought was old skool bushcraft nonsense but totally won over. It’s on my birthday list for home, just got to work out what size I want.

For me the only issue with all this stuff is the borderline naughtiness (or how is looks to others) in an area with a ban on open fires.

Cut the cork off?

How do you pour it if you can’t grab the cork and use the chain? Gloves I guess but I don’t always have those. Understand if you are with people not used to using them but I would say little risk for someone with experience (and some common sense)

Fantastic things. Lovely chilled way to start the day on a campsite in the morning.

Edit. Kida now trained to find dry fluff wood, the holy grail of quick lighting.

Cut the cork off?

How do you pour it if you can’t grab the cork and use the chain?

Just hold the chain?

(@ 14 min 55secs):

I have a Ghillie Kettle. Same thing. I don’t put the whistle-cap on in use, but use it in place for storage. I could remove the whistle altogether yet never let others use the kettle, so it’s zero risk as long as in my ownership.

Also, don’t overfill as scalding water easily bubbles/spatters out if so.

For what it is I really like it. Has served flawlessly for a decade now.

Great for making tea at the beach or wherever. The cork is occasionally useful for carrying it full of water en route to the beach but you do need to leave it out for use and I can see why you’d remove it if it were to be used by an outdoor group or worse still scouts.
Often just use ours in the garden because we can and it makes hot chocolate with the kids a mini adventure with very little effort.

Lives in the van to make a brew after a walk run or ride – if its just me I’ll use a wee wood gas stove though

How do you pour it if you can’t grab the cork and use the chain?

You leave the chain on, and the end of it is cold.

The time I saw one explode was with experienced user/outdoor instructor. He realised too late, used chain to pull the rubber bung end off, and the water flash boiled as the pressure dropped. Huge steam explosion. He’s a nice scar up his arm now.

There have been a few very serious incidents with the bungs being left in.

Do think about removing them.

Also known as a Samovar kettle. And a great bit of kit for hot water about anywhere.

First thing in my fishing bag, days at the beach, exploring in the woods and car camping. It is great at a campsite to heat your water without using your main stoves fuel.

I love mine. Only the smaller version, but great when at the beach or fishing for q cup of tea or two.

I did get all the cooking attachments but not used those yet.

Larch is very good for starting and fueling. Always hanging some branches on stems to keep them dry off the ground.

After 13 years the pan is a bit battered on mine and won’t stack anymore.

For fuel I have trees in my street that produce acorns, every year when they fall off I sweep them all up into a large gorilla bucket from Screwfix. Put them in the hut, when going away just grab a few big handfuls and I find they are great fuel.

After 13 years the pan is a bit battered on mine and won’t stack anymore.

The fire base? They used to be aluminium (my Ghillie is also, and is also now deformed/ill-fitting)

I believe Kelly Kettle changed the fire base to stainless recently because of such deformation? The old fire base should be trivial to reform with few tools.

@p7eaven mines an aluminium one, I think having people stack it together harder and harder to try an stack it hasn’t helped. It’s been reshaped a few times, but don’t want to keep pushing my luck.

De-coked the chimney a few years ago as was worried it was insulating the water 😄

Materials depend on brand.

There’s Ghillie, Kelly, Storm, mK, EcoCooker and more..

There’s multiple sizes – we’ve a 1l and a 440ml. One of ours is painted too.

For me the only issue with all this stuff is the borderline naughtiness (or how is looks to others) in an area with a ban on open fires.

The hobo attachment would blow their minds. 😂 one of the best £10’s I’ve spent. Keeps the kids entertained for ages gathering fuel and keeping it going.

They’re awesome things, but I never seem to use mine. No good for bike packing, and just end up being a faff for camping.

just end up being a faff for camping.

Mileages vary! One of the least faffy things I’ve ever used camping. I just take a sack of dry twigs and wax firelighters with me, light a bundle, put the kettle on and bingo, hot water minutes later.

and just end up being a faff for camping.

I rarely take mine camping.

It lives in the car boot, ready for impromptu brews at the end of a day, and it has to go out with the canoes (that’s the law).

Also got one at work the size of a small bin that holds enough water for a dozen mugs, can shove branches in that one.

Yeah, it’s great. Mostly though it’s for my kids making hot chocolates. Also used at 24hr races where you need endless brews.

In a sort of similar vein but for cooking, I fancy one of these, have heard good things

The Horizon Rocket Stove™

I just take a sack of dry twigs

Thats always felt like cheating to me. Kind of the point of the these things to me has always been the land on the route provides the fuel. So if you are not camping in woodland you pick up what you need at the last opportunity before you stop.

^
Never felt a ‘cheat’ for hoarding twigs before! The novelty of being so is amusing to me.

I usually get them when they’re dry and fill the (fairly roomy) sack that that the kettle came in. Always seem to get an opportunity to camp when it’s pissing down, so having dry twigs is forward planning. Of course they aren’t going to last forever so a multi-day camp will see me using small handfuls of the dry twig store as starters, and then adding damp ones down the chimney.

I trust that you use the bow/drill and Fomes fomentarius method for making fire? 😉

#notapurist
#matches
#zippo
#tinderbox

I do like to harvest fat wood. Tend to store that too. Also really rate the ‘wood wool’- type firelighters

Very useful to light a small wood-gas stove, which is great but I’ve had issues getting it going in the damp.

damn! something else i never knew i needed but now do! cool!

You can get a nifty wee top rack to put on top to cook using a pot or frying pan

Tip: cut the bung or whistle off now. They’re lethal, and I’ve seen one explode.

Pretty sure mine only has the whistle, dont see how that would be able to explode, though you cant carry water in it either.

I take Babybelle cheeses to eat, and the wax cases make good firelighters for the kettle. Also a telescopic tube to blow air into the fire to get it going.

I collect the wax off babybel eaten by the kids for this purpose too.

After this thread made me aware of these things I HAD to have one, and bought a 0.75L Ghillie. Used it today for the first time, great! Family day at the beach and I’d planned to keep everyone warm with hot food instead of the usual sandwich. I’d taken a variety of gas stoves and the Ghillie to try. Would have had my wood gas stove too except in couldn’t find it. Glad I had the Ghillie, it was pretty breezy and gas stoves were going to be a pain to keep lit. After several minutes trying to get my cigarette lighter to stay lit long enough to light a piece of card I instead managed to light a butane stove and keep it lit just long enough to light the card and get the Ghillie going. Hooray! Once lit though it was clearly the best for a windy day and I easily kept it going for hours doing endless amounts of super noodles, pasta, tea, cuppa soup and the kids favourite… Hot chocolate! I’m sold, love it. Hope I find my wood stove though. . I’ll be peeved if I’ve lost that.

Of course this thread has made me want one – but I don’t need one and would probably get bored of the faff.

Will stick with the Jetboil for now

I was thinking about it this morning, gas is obviously easy (if it’s not too windy). The Ghillie did need constant feeding… Two/three twigs every minute. More and it smoked for 30 seconds, less and it started to cool. It was fun and I’ll use it again but not every time. Had I been able to use gas yesterday I met have had more time for sand castles!

I think the kelly kettle use makes sense if you very, very frequently are having a brew in the wilds, in a place with relatively easy supply of dry twigs to hand. In that case you are making the decision for economic or environment reasons. Or both. Other than that it’s for the ‘romance’ of the method I guess. Gas ultimately is less faff and your kit packs away smaller. I ‘need’ gas in many situations but ‘want’ the kelly kettle solution too for when it makes sense.

I put it above but don’t think it got an answer – In your mind, would a kelly kettle be breaking the no campfire rules in the Cairngorms (and other areas)? To me it is different as much more controllable and can be setup on a non combustible surface. But I can see how others who came across you would feel different.

Just watched the video on how it works on the Kelly Kettle site – says the bung is only for use for storage and should be removed when in use…are people keeping it in to try and get a faster boil perhaps?