The idea of a Brew-kit is to have a pocketable way of making Tea. People have tried hexamine tablets - tiresome in my book. Those really nifty little stoves made from a Pepsi can, or a Swedish Army Trangia - both good but slow. The best option is the power of the small gas canister stoves - much the best. I thought I'd press my
Kelly Kettle into service.
I'm told the KK started out as a brew kit for Irish seaweed gatherers; its fairly windproof, it can be carried full of water, and fuel can be gathered as and when you need it. That last bit can prove a bit problematic, there's always wood, just sometimes not a lot of it is dry. So here's an option I thought I'd try out
I took an old air rifle pellet tin and filled it with rolled corrugated cardboard to make the wick
I broke up a few Nightlights, any small cheap candle will do
Melted them in the Microwave
Poured the wax over cardboard - if I was smart I'd have used one or more of the wicks to make it easier to get the cardboard to ignite
As you can see it was a bit of a struggle to get it up to full burn
Still not burning strongly
Once it was finally ablaze it produced a decent amount of heat, but from cold tap water to a rolling boil did take 12 minutes from lighting to boiling, which isn't that quick in anyone's book.
I'm hoping that the now pre-chared cardboard will get fully alight a bit quicker next time. We'll see?
More soon
SBW
