Holy crap! That is some fine craftsmanship there!

Anybody have anything new to report on the Kelly Kettle or Thermette - or similar device?

Anybody tried using the Kelly Kettle or the Permette with a camping stove?

Thanks.

I just got back today from a week camping at a music festival and used the Thermette to heat the water for my showers. They charge for showers at the festival and I have everything to do my own showers.

Mostly I used it as intended with forest debris (sticks) to heat the water. It takes about 5-min to heat the water to a boil. But I also used it a few times on top of my Coleman propane stove. I noticed it took a long time to boil the water, So the second time I used the propane stove I timed it. It took 9-1/2 –min to get a boil, and it was a very mild boil as compared to when it boiled with the wood. With wood it would shoot out water like a volcano.

It’s good to have options with it and have it work with different heating methods, but I ended up going back to using wood becasuse it's faster & more fun to use.

Good reply, thanks.

I love the idea of using found fuel but except for car or canoe camping, the things just seem too bulky and heavy. Am I missing something?

Nope, you aren't missing anything. Other than a sherpa. Honestly, they aren't something I want to hump, even if I think they are extremely cool.

I guess that’s important if all you do is long-distance backpacking. But I do a lot of car camping and also in a disaster situation I can boil water a lot faster then 3 people could ever drink it. And I can do it for no fuel cost at all. To me it’s a useful item. It also allows me to use it as a wood camp stove.

BobS, I want to get a Thermette for my car kit, car camping, etc. They are a bit expensive but I like their performance reviews and the use of found fuel should make it "pay for itself" after many uses.

How have you dealt with packing the unit in a car, avoiding soot transfer, etc.?

Did you get the whole cook kit?

Thanks.

It comes with the whole cook kit, Kelly Kettle’s sell it as an extra item. This may make the price closer to each other. But I would suggest that you either make or find someone that can make an aftermarket handle for the Thermette. I would not buy one and use it without a new handle. I can’t understand why they put such a poor quality handle on it?

Also if you like things that look great and look impressive the Thermette may not be for you. It’s not an item that is made to look good, but if you want something that works great and are willing to overlook its rough look it may be for you. It is a great performing item. I would say it works very well, better then advertised. The great thing about it is that the more the wind blows, the faster it boils the water. The wind makes the chimney effect work even better. In fact when the wind wasn’t blowing hard, I pointed one of those portable fans that have soft plastic blades (bought at the dollar store for $1.00) at the opening in the base. Doing this I was able to get the boil time down to 3-min or so. Not too bad for ½ gal of water. We used it to heat water for 3-people to take showers, it worked great.



The handles are its weak point, if you can fabricate new ones it’s a great item, if not you will be disapointed in it.




As far as packing it I used the cardboard box it came in, I reinforced it with duct tape and cut part of one side out for the new handle.

But I decided last week (while camping the whole week with it) that I’m going to make a wood box for it out of 1/8 inch plywood. I have lots of wood in the garage and I’m will put a hinge and a latch on it. It rained a little every day and I want to make a box for it that can handle rain. I have a friend that owns a lumber yard and has a dip tank with Woodlife wood preservative in it (like Thompson’s Water Seal only much better) I’m going to drown the box in it for a few hours to really let the preservative soak in. then give it several coats of polyurethane.

I just took a picture of it sitting in the original box with one side cut out, here is the picture.




I will also post a picture of the wood box I make for it when I get it done.

My emergency plans are as follows:

Plan A, drive out.
Plan B, walk out.

If I'm ready for B, and keep my tank at least half full, I've got A covered. I always assume that my infernal combustion engine has died in anything where I need to bug out.