Kelly Kettle

Last updated
A Kelly Kettle in use. Note the cork stopper is not in the water spout while water is being boiled, this is for safety reasons Kkettle.jpg
A Kelly Kettle in use. Note the cork stopper is not in the water spout while water is being boiled, this is for safety reasons

Kelly Kettle, Storm Kettle, Ghillie Kettle, Thermette, Survival Kettle and Volcano Kettle are trade names for portable devices for boiling water outdoors using twigs and other small combustible materials; these devices consist of a water jacket surrounding a fire chamber which creates an upward chimney draft ensuring efficient and rapid boiling even in windy or wet weather.

Contents

Kelly Kettle and Volcano Kettle are registered trademarks of the Kelly Kettle company [1] [2] [3] which first produced the product in Ireland in the early 1900s. George Marris & Co of Birmingham first produced the "Sirram Volcano Kettle" in England in the 1920s. The Thermette was first manufactured in New Zealand in 1929 and was standard issue for the New Zealand Army during World War II where it was known as a Benghazi boiler or Benghazi burner . Other companies, including the Eydon Kettle Company started manufacture at later dates.

Earlier examples of water heaters using a water jacket include heavier samovar tea urns from Eastern, Central, and Southeastern Europe, as well as the Middle East.

History

Thermal image of a just lit Ghillie kettle, note the plume of hot air resulting from the convection current. Ghillie Kettle Thermal.jpg
Thermal image of a just lit Ghillie kettle, note the plume of hot air resulting from the convection current.

Early examples (estimated at 3,600 years) of devices that heat water surrounding a fire include samovar tea urns from Eastern, Central, and Southeastern Europe, as well as the Middle East. [4] The Kelly Kettle Company first manufactured portable devices of this type in the early 1900s. [5] [1] [2] [3]

George Marris & Co of Birmingham (Brass Founders, Stampers and Piercers) first come to light in the 1800s making iron bedsteads and brass/copper fern pots. They diversified into picnic sets, picnic water-boiling sets and high-end shaving/toiletry sets in the 1880s (The Sirram Spirit Set Registered Design 247422 of Dec 1884) and Camping Stoves with their brand name "Sirram" (Marris backwards).

There was a meeting between one of the Marris family and a New Zealander (almost certainly John Ashley Hart who started the Thermette Co in New Zealand in 1929 - see below) to discuss products and ideas. The original concept of the volcano kettle appears to have been Harts, but he may have been inspired by traditional Mongolian and Chinese hot-pots which had a central chimney. The first Sirram Volcano Kettle was manufactured out of spun copper with brass handles/fittings, it appeared in the late 1920s and was eventually covered by Registered Design No. 731794 of 1928.

Subsequently, the design changed from copper/brass to spun aluminium; there is no record of when this change occurred. The Volcano Kettles were still in production in the late 1960s as the book 'Modern Camping 1968: by Jack Cox' quotes a UK Consumers Association ('Which? Magazine') test of 21 camp stoves which concluded "For boiling water quickly or washing up there is nothing to beat a Sirram Volcano, either at home or abroad".

Production of the Volcano Kettles and picnic boiling sets appear to have ceased in 1970 when Desmo Ltd purchased Hawker Marris Saled Ltd and discontinued the kettle range in favour of focussing on their picnic hamper range. Following the demise of the Sirram Volcano Kettle in 1970, modern versions are now in production by a number of companies around the world. [6]

The Thermette design was registered in 1929 in New Zealand by John Ashley Hart. It was standard issue to the New Zealand army serving in the North Africa during WW2 when it was known as the 'Benghasi Boiler'. [7] In 1939 the New Zealand Army asked Hart to waive his patent so they could make their own Thermettes; he agreed and the device was issued as standard equipment to every small army unit. [7]

A modified version of the idea was created by the Eydon Kettle Company in the early 1970s and sold as the 'Storm Kettle'. [8] Fixed (and portable) rocket stoves used for cooking were developed in 1980s; with variants for heating water [9] and for space heating. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boiler</span> Closed vessel in which fluid is heated

A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central heating, boiler-based power generation, cooking, and sanitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee percolator</span> Coffee brewing device

A coffee percolator is a type of pot used for the brewing of coffee by continually cycling the boiling or nearly boiling brew through the grounds using gravity until the required strength is reached. The grounds are held in a perforated metal filter basket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samovar</span> Metal container used to heat and boil water

A samovar is a metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water. Although originating in Russia, the samovar is well known outside of Russia and has spread through Russian culture to other parts of Eastern Europe, as well as Western and Central and South Asia. Since the heated water is typically used to make tea, many samovars have a ring-shaped attachment around the chimney to hold and heat a teapot filled with tea concentrate. Though traditionally heated with coal or kindling, many newer samovars use electricity to heat water in a manner similar to an electric water boiler. Antique samovars are often prized for their beautiful workmanship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water heating</span> Thermodynamic process that uses energy sources to heat water

Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kettle</span> Vessel used to boil water

A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a lid, spout, and handle. There are two main types: the stovetop kettle, which uses heat from a hob, and the electric kettle, which is a small kitchen appliance with an internal heating element.

<i>Hibachi</i> Japanese heating device

The hibachi is a traditional Japanese heating device. It is a brazier which is a round, cylindrical, or box-shaped, open-topped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal. It is believed hibachi date back to the Heian period. It is filled with incombustible ash, and charcoal sits in the center of the ash. To handle the charcoal, a pair of metal chopsticks called hibashi is used, in a way similar to Western fire irons or tongs. Hibachi were used for heating, not for cooking. It heats by radiation, and is too weak to warm a whole room. Sometimes, people placed a tetsubin over the hibachi to boil water for tea. Later, by the 1900s, some cooking was also done over the hibachi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trangia</span>

Trangia is a line of alcohol-burning portable stoves manufactured by Swedish company Trangia AB in Trångsviken. These stoves are designed primarily for backpackers, with a focus on light weight, durability and simple design. The company began in 1925, selling cookware. The Trangia stove was developed by 1951. Trangia stoves were initially preferred to kerosene (paraffin) pressure stoves because they required only one type of fuel. Trangia's selling point is that the entire packaged stove, including pots, is not significantly larger than a standard camp cooking pot. For this reason the Trangia has retained much of its popularity despite the development of alternative stove fuels and designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket stove</span> Type of stove

A rocket stove is an efficient and hot burning stove using small-diameter wood fuel. Fuel is burned in a simple combustion chamber containing an insulated vertical chimney, which ensures almost complete combustion prior to the flames reaching the cooking surface. Rocket stove designs are most often used for portable stoves for cooking but the design is also used for large, fixed stoves in institutions, and to make rocket mass heaters for heating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam generator (railroad)</span>

A steam generator is a type of boiler used to produce steam for climate control and potable water heating in railroad passenger cars. The output of a railroad steam generator is low pressure, saturated steam that is passed through a system of pipes and conduits throughout the length of the train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric match</span> Device using electricity to ignite a combustible compound

An electric match is a device that uses an externally applied electric current to ignite a combustible compound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric water boiler</span> Consumer electronics appliance

An electric water boiler, also called a thermo pot, is a consumer electronics small appliance used for boiling water and maintaining it at a constant temperature in an enclosed reservoir. It is typically used to provide an immediate source of hot water for making tea, hot chocolate, coffee, instant noodles, or baby formula, or for any other household use where clean hot water is required. They are a common component of Japanese kitchens and the kitchens of many East Asian countries but are found in varying use globally. Smaller units are portable. Some thermo pots are designed with a feature that can purify water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boiler (power generation)</span> High pressure steam generator

A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying heat energy to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure but, at pressures above this, it is more usual to speak of a steam generator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooker</span> Index of articles associated with the same name

Cooker may refer to several types of cooking appliances and devices used for cooking foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant hot water dispenser</span>

An instant hot water dispenser or boiling water tap is an appliance that dispenses water at about 94 °C (201 °F) (near-boiling). There are hot-only and hot and cool water models, and the water may be filtered as well as heated. Instant hot water dispensers became popular in the 1970s. Instant hot water dispensers are very similar to portable shower devices; the latter is fitted with a heating element and quickly heats up water, once a switch has been activated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiator (heating)</span> Heat exchanger for space heating

Radiators and convectors are heat exchangers designed to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of space heating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BioLite</span>

BioLite is a New York City-based startup company that produces off-grid energy products for outdoor recreational use and emerging markets. The company is known for its wood-burning stoves that use thermoelectric technology to create usable electricity from the heat of their fires. It was founded in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benghazi burner</span>

The Benghazi burner or Benghazi cooker was an improvised petrol stove or brazier used by British Army troops and their Commonwealth and Imperial allies in the Second World War, during and after the North African Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wash copper</span> Type of wash house boiler

A wash copper, copper boiler or simply copper is a wash house boiler, generally made of galvanised iron, though the best sorts are made of copper. In the inter-war years they came in two types. The first is built into a brickwork furnace and was found in older houses. The second was the free-standing or portable type, it had an enamelled metal exterior that supported the inner can or copper. The bottom part was adapted to hold a gas burner, a high pressure oil or an ordinary wood or coal fire. Superior models could have a drawing-off tap, and a steam-escape pipe that lead into the flue.

References

  1. 1 2 "Case details for Community Trade Mark E5001078". United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office . Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  2. 1 2 "Case details for Trade Mark 2148045". United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office . Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  3. 1 2 "Case details for Community Trade Mark E5576285". United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office . Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  4. Akhundov, Tufan (Autumn 2000), "Birth of the Samovar?", Azerbaijan International, pp. 42–44
  5. "Kelly Kettle". Kelly Kettle Company. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  6. "George Marris & Co (Sirram)". Classic Camp Stoves. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  7. 1 2 "Thermette's History". Thermette. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  8. "The STORM Kettle". Eydon Kettle Company. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  9. "Rocket Stove Water Heating System (Set)".
  10. "Rocket Mass Heaters".