Kelly Kettle

Medium Kelly Kettle Complete Kit
Made by the Kelly Kettle Company, Co Mayo, Ireland



There is nothing better than a hot cuppa to warm you up and lift your spirits, especially first thing in the morning when the chill is still biting and you’re just out of your sleeping bag, and when you can cook your breakfast, make a drink and get hot water for washing etc, all from the same piece of kit it makes life that much simpler. The Kelly Kettle is designed to do just this on a minimum of fuel and in a short space of time.

I received the medium kettle (1.75 pints) with cook set, sold as a complete kit in a drawstring bag, and over the past 2 weeks I have used it extensively. I wanted to see how versatile this item could be and whether it could give me more than a cuppa and a boil in the bag dinner.

Kettle Specs
1. Kettle Height 28cm / 11inches (packed)
2.Kettle Diameter 18.5cm / 7.3 inches (widest point at Rim of fire Base)
3.Kettle Capacity 1.75pints (UK) / 1ltr
4.Kit Weight 2.64lb / 1.20kg
 
Pot specs
1. Capacity: 30oz (UK) / 0.85ltr
2. Diameter: 133mm / 5.23inch
3. Height: 75mm / 2.95inchs
4. Weight: 0.57lb / 0.258kg


Kit Contains
1. 1.75 pint kettle
2. Fire Base
3. Pot support
4. Cook set including: 2 piece grill, pot with lid which doubles as a frying pan & the “Gripper handle”.
5. Drawstring carrying bag.

It is very simple to use and the fact that you can burn any naturally occurring fuels e.g. grass, leaves, twigs etc means that you don’t need to collect a lot to cook/boil on it.


(A few twigs, dried grass, thistle down and a few cones are all that’s needed to get it started)

Just light a fire in the base (I used my fire Steel), put the kettle on top and when you need to add more fuel either put it down the chimney or through the draught hole. You have to be very careful you don’t get caught by the flames as they can be hard to see sometimes.
As the whole fire is contained it means that you can use it in any weather conditions. I was able to get the kettle going quite easily and much easier than a conventional fire, in high winds and when it was raining, although I did have to find dry enough fuel to start it.



When first seen it may look “Bulky” but once you get used to packing it, the space taken up isn’t really a huge amount as the whole kit can be stored inside the kettle itself.
Made from aluminium and weighing in at 2.64 pounds including the cooking kit, I personally do not think it is a lot of weight for the amount of work it does, of course you needn’t take the whole kit with you and the kettle can be bought separately, the weight can be reduced again by leaving the fire base behind. You can then raise the kettle up on a non combustible surface with a few rocks etc and use it normally.

It is strong and robust and its doubled wall chimney makes it very fuel efficient a small bundle of twigs is all that is needed. The large inner surface design means a full kettle of water takes about 5 minutes to boil, and its ability to retain heat is excellent, so a second boil takes around 3 minutes.

The ‘medium’ kettle holds 1.7 pints of water. I can get 4 decent drinks when using my standard enamel tin mug. When there are more people to boil for, or you need extra water for something, you can fill up the pot as well; this gives another 1.5 pints (3 mugs). Once boiled you take the kettle off the base holding the handle at 90 degrees to avoid getting burnt, you then lift the cork/chain to pour.

I had a lot of fun with the cooking set. Trying out all the things I would find ideal on a trip. Although you couldn’t cook a 3 course meal on it you can use it to produce a variety of food for 1 or 2 people at a time. I was able to cook a good breakfast on it but found it a little difficult as each item had to be cooked separately. The cooking set is really more suited to quick cook pan items like, dried noodles, beans, soup, eggs or bacon can also be cooked easily.





There are few ways to use the cook set.
1. With the pot rest inserted into the chimney, place pot on top to boil or re-heat /re-hydrate food.
2. I used the lid of the pot as a frying pan and heated it over the 2 piece grill and worked well.
3. You can heat the pot up on the grill.
4. If using smokeless fuel you can use the grill as it is.


The Gripper handle is an excellent tool for getting the pots on and off I even used them to remove the pot stand from the chimney of the kettle.

The only problem I had was using the pot lid as there was no way I could get it off the pan when hot apart from using a cloth.

There are only a few simple rules to remember for trouble free use,
1. Keep the handle of kettle at 90 degrees when lifting or you can get burnt.
2. Don’t fill the kettle right to the top as it will boil over.
3. Don’t let it boil dry.
4. Never to boil the kettle with the cork in!!!

But these are all in the little instruction leaflet that comes with the kettle and once you’ve used it a few times you get the knack of getting it on and off with no trouble.
Another thing to mention is that even though it comes with a cork the kettle isn’t designed to be a water carrier and will leak when carried over long distances (also mentioned in the leaflet.)

When you’re done and it’s time to pack the whole thing fits into its own drawstring sack making it tidy and secure and keeping your rucksack and other bits of kit dirt and soot free.


(Complete Kit Stowed in the Kettle) (Inside its Travel Bag)

The kettle is sturdy, compact and energy efficient. The cooking kit is a handy addition especially for one person; I cooked bacon, sausage, fried egg, poached egg, beans, porridge, packet noodles and reheated stew on it, they were all quick and easy to cook as long as I kept the fire going and topped up the water reservoir.

However its main advantage is that it can boil water very quickly, it takes my 3kw electric kettle 2 ½ minutes to boil the same amount of water (1.7pints of 1 litre), and on the gas 7 minutes, so you can see how efficient it really is.

Overall I think it is definitely worth getting one. A great piece of kit and well worth the space it takes in my rucksack. It means there is a hot meal as well a drink when I need one without much effort, and also water to wash myself and the dishes. I personally will be taking it on my next camp.

The Kelly Kettle is perfect for anyone planning a base camp, going hunting, fishing etc or going to a place where open fires are not allowed (as the fire is contained within the fire base).

It is also ideal for keeping in the car or house where it comes into its own in a power cut or breakdown.

The Kettle comes in 3 sizes 1.42ltr / 1ltr / 0.57ltr, so there is a size to suit different occasions, it also comes with or without the cooking kit, which can be purchased separately.


Cheers