Yes, a floor for the fire chamber seems necessary.

Burak

I have been to the workshops this saturday for thermette. In one of the shops I have been the shop owner showed me a semaver that he made. It is a chimney type semaver a little bit larger than the thermette but shorter. The price he asked was 7 USD. It is made of tin. I did not have much time to look for a copper one. If I can find a copper one that will be excellent, but if I can't I think I will buy some of this tin one!

More water capacity and it has a tap on it.

Burak

Considering that I pay over $4 USD almost every morning for a glorified mug of coffee, $7 for a semaver sounds like quite a bargain. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you can find one in copper for a similar (or even double) price I would be very interested in one. Can you post some pics of what you have found in tin?

A friend of mine bought a samovar in Morocco, but she has never used it; the tour guide at the time warned her to use it only as a decoration, saying that the local tinsmiths sometimes used "questionable" materials. (Lead solder, maybe?) Is this an issue? Or is it just a case of western tourists being overcautious?

(Yes, I realise that Turkey is as far from Morocco as I am from the Atlantic Ocean.)

Well I have been in Morocco and I had tea from semavers over there. Indeed I do not like tea and even more further the tea over there is much more different from what we drink. I cannot comment on your friend's semaver but I think the tour guide must have a reason to say it.

Burak

Sorry I have no pics. But when I find a copper one I will take some pictures for you.

Burak

Thought I'd give this post a bump and look for any updated info. I'm looking at the Thermette and the Kelly Kettle as a possible item to send to a nephew who'll be deploying to Iraq soon.
I have a large Kelly Kettle that I've tried on top of a gas range, but not in the great out-of-doors yet. For those who've seen and/or used both - or at least the Thermette - can anyone share their impressions of how the two stack up side by side, now that they've had some time to use them?
Specifically, any impressions on which one is sturdier. Also, on the various flavors of Thermette (copper vs. tin) - is one sturdier than the other? Other than anti-corrosion/good in a salty sea air environment/aesthetics, any major advantages to the copper version? And the handles on the Thermette - is that an advantage over the bail/holding the chain setup of the Kelly Kettle, or does it keep the back of your hand close to the heat and prone to getting singed?
Also, specifically on the base of the Thermette - it looks like that base would give all the advantages of the "volcano" flue effect for cooking - is that correct or just the impression that comes from the ad?
Thanks for any input folks.
Dave