Thread: Eco Billy

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpOvF63mhVQ]Eco billy - YouTube[/ame]


There's another version called the "Kelly Kettle" , I've got a KK and it's excellent!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCR-ie9H_w

An Eco-Billy is a Billy Can which incorparates a small fire box and a flue. The fire box and flue are surounded by a water jacket.
You place leaves and small twigs in the fire box and ignite them, The heat generated in the fire box & flue transfers to the water.

There's another Australian version, the Aussie Bush Kettle.
It was made in Drouin, VIC but I think the guy died and the business was sold on some years ago.

Aussie Dingo Bush Kettle - for camping & outdoors

I have a basic version of the original and found an original in it's wooden box with 4 mugs, water container, tea, coffee & sugar containers etc. at a trash & treasure market a while ago.

The Kelly Kettle seems to the original kettle of this design dating back to 1890
http://kellykettle.com/history-of-the-kelly-kettle.html


Colin

What ever you do - Don't forget to put the water in.

Martyn

Great little billy. A mate and I have goes at who can get theirs to smoke the most. Even if fuel is wet, by using a 1/4 of a hexamine tablet there is enough heat to get the twigs on there way.
It makes stopping for a stretch an ideal length of time, and provides some movement collecting twigs and leaves.

Originally Posted by newhue

Great little billy. A mate and I have goes at who can get theirs to smoke the most. Even if fuel is wet, by using a 1/4 of a hexamine tablet there is enough heat to get the twigs on there way.
It makes stopping for a stretch an ideal length of time, and provides some movement collecting twigs and leaves.

Yep, just about the perfect stop time, collect some twig boil a couple of billies, tea/coffee, chunk of fruit cake and then on your way again.

Once the billy has boiled a size 9 on the embers fixes them up nicely.


Martyn

They also smoke out the whole area so need to be set up away from campers etc.

I had hoped the guy demonstrating the billy would have put on a shirt at some stage - was not a pretty sight

Originally Posted by garrycol

They also smoke out the whole area so need to be set up away from campers etc.

That depends on the fuel you use. Dry twigs don't smoke much. Maybe the reason they are so often seen smoking so much is that they are capable of sustaining a fire with pretty awful fuel that wouldn't be suitable for an open fire.

It is easy to make them smoke a lot, but it isn't all that difficult to have a fairly clean fire.