Heet Powered Kelly Kettle

[FireTamer]

She got it from a Dollar General about 30 miles from where we live. I called some closer stores today but they didn't have the particular brand(Splash) or it wasn't on clearance. I'm keeping my eyes open though.

On the bottle in bold letters it states "Contains Methyl Alcohol". I did a few tests today comparing it to Heet, and my boil times were about the same. No real-world difference.

FT

[zelph]

Great, there is a $ general a mile from me and another about 5 miles. It's a sunny morning, good to get out and stretch!!

[realityguy]

One of our local Goodwill stores had a lot of bottles of it for a long time at $1 each..no one buying it.I waited until it was half off and picked up a lot,maybe 20 bottles..I don't think I've tried it yet.

[zelph]

I 1st checked at wallyworld and their price was 1.77 for the real HEET 12oz bottle. I then went to the dollar general and checked. Their splash version in the 12oz bottle was $1.00 per bottle. So, I'll check occasionally for a price drop. I may even ask if I can purchase a case @ .50 per bottle.

picked up a lot,maybe 20 bottles..I don't think I've tried it yet.

Now is the time for all good stovies to come to the aid of their stoves

[Knotty]

When the Backcountry Boiler first came out, I did some experimenting with various alky stoves inside of it. In the end I found that a ring of carbon felt performed the best. Devin Montgomery, who developed the BCB, heard about it and asked me if he could offer it as an accessory product, which you'll find here called FireFelt: http://www.theboilerwerks.com/order/

Of course it's very easy to make your own.

[zelph]

When the Backcountry Boiler first came out, I did some experimenting with various alky stoves inside of it. In the end I found that a ring of carbon felt performed the best. Devin Montgomery, who developed the BCB, heard about it and asked me if he could offer it as an accessory product, which you'll find here called FireFelt: http://www.theboilerwerks.com/order/

Of course it's very easy to make your own.

That's interesting stuff. I don't remember Devin mentioning the idea came from you, if he did, I missed it. It was interesting to follow Devin's progression while he was doing the forming on his lathe at home. Once he went to cnc I lost interest. After comparing design features I liked what I saw in the Kelly Kettle.

One thing I liked about the use of carbon felt ring was the fact that it could cover the air inlet hole to reduce the air flow. The kettles have a tendency to have a large amount of draft which is good for the wood burning mode but inefficient for alcohol mode. So when using the fire felt keep it right up against the air inlet hole to control airflow. One thing I remember is the felt is flimsy and would want to flop over at the ends. I had to cut a piece to fit all the way around the circumfrence and over lap so I could staple it. I had good intentions to use muffler wrap which is much more rigid and would stand up straight with no problem but at the same time would absorb 1oz of fuel quickly and not get even distribution in such a long piece. DIY is fun!

Thanks Knotty for the idea of using the carbon felt.

[FireTamer]

Maybe I need to play with the carbon felt some more. The first few times I messed with it my times and fuel use were waaaaay off from what I am now getting with the alcohol stove set-up so I just chalked it up as a fail. Maybe it's just the size of the Kelly Kettle Base Camp(huge!).

Zelph, I wonder If you could make a support out of some SS hardware cloth and then attach the carbon felt to it. I also had problems with the carbon felt flopping over(even with ends attached) and moving around during mid-burn.

Knotty, I do remember reading in a blog somewhere where credit was given to someone for the idea of the FireFelt. Great Job!!!

I have since made a carbon felt wrap for the Kelly Kettle. My wife calls it Kelly's dress...lol. I just need a professional looking heat resistant way to tie it, snap it, zip it, or whatever, so if any of you guys have an idea, please post.


I also need to check times and fuel use with the wrap. Too many things to do, not enough day...lol. Oh! the suffering.

NOW! Where did I put that carbon felt?

FT

[zelph]

I just need a professional looking heat resistant way to tie it, snap it, zip it, or whatever, so if any of you guys have an idea, please post

This double sided silicone tape should work, sticks to itself. Reasonable in price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-x-10-1in-x-10 ... 3cceed2e70

Instead of making a ss wire support for the carbon fiber I would use 1" wide fiberglass cloth. I have some that is 3/16 thick. I can't seem to find enough time in the day either. Been preparing for a big plumbing project tomorrow morning. I'm replacing my submersable well pump. I've been fighting a head cold for two days, feel yucky. I'll get over it!!!

Another idea for the kelly dress is to use an inner tube cut to 1/2" strips.(big rubber bands) Your local farm tractor repair store should have an old one laying around.

[timcarouge]

Silicon roast ties would do the trick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLBqgfvkMyM

[zelph]

Nice find tim.

Being that the kettle has no flames that come up the sides of of it, a heat resistant tape is not needed.