Storm/Kelly kettle maintenance?

[Bernie]

I'm not sure what sort of maintenance is needed, if any. I bought a second hand Aluminium storm kettle and I've used it a fair bit now. The inside was pitch black. It's not bothered me, but this morning I took it down to the beach to boil water for coffee for the family on the gas cooker I was using to cook the bacon, sausages and eggs. It seemed to take a very long time to boil and I think it might have something to do with the soot build up inside.

I started cleaning it before thinking to take a photo, so imagine the entire inside as black at the worst part you see here:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-KXbPKc4RngE/U_CAOnB7OjI/AAAAAAAAW0U/SkKPHXTlD_w/w395-h701-no/IMAG5800.jpg

I scrubbed it by hand with steel wool and was slowly working the soot off:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ipxA37ddTeY/U_CAUnZNN_I/AAAAAAAAW0g/O5QQQsi5twg/w395-h701-no/IMAG5801.jpg

I left a little on but stopped at this point because I don't like scouring the Aluminium with steel wool - I'm not trying to thin the inner wall after all. :)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ejdVGO2OYqE/U_CELkELBbI/AAAAAAAAW04/yDzA_YdBmYo/w1085-h612-no/IMAG5802.jpg

I recall someone saying they wipe something inside the kettle to make the soot wipe away easily after use. Not sure what that is though.

Does anyone know what other maintenance these kettles need? Should I de-scale the inside chamber or just leave it?

[Valantine]

De-scaling is needed for all kettles, it improves the thermal conductivity. In future try using washing up liquid in the chimney, leave it to soak over night and most will come away with minimum scrubbing.

[midas]

De-Coking Fluid removes soot n carbon.........

[Bernie]

Thanks Midas. I Googled "De-Coking Fluid" but found everything from handwash to Paella rice, but nothing that looked appropriate. Do you have a link handy?

[midas]

Thanks Midas. I Googled "De-Coking Fluid" but found everything from handwash to Paella rice, but nothing that looked appropriate. Do you have a link handy?
No sorry Bernie,many years since I bought some from a motorcycle shop.decoked a bike,n have used up rest when my Semi-Auto Shotgun needed an annual "decoke"to remove baked on carbon.Give your local motorbike shop a call.

[jus_young]

Look for something like 'EGR & Carburetor Cleaner'

[Chubbs]

When I bought a kettle to be used at camp, it was absolutely covered in limescale. I bought some of the stuff below and it worked a treat.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OUST-ALL-PURPOSE-DESCALER-FOR-COFFEE-KETTLE-IRON-LIMESCALE-CLEANER-REMOVER-8990-/350922657956

The kettle was aluminum and the scale was an inch thick in places. It took several boxes of the stuff to move it but you will find that you can buy the same stuff above in Aldi for only 99p a box.

Remember to wash very well after use as I remember Ashley being the first to use the kettle and the water came out fizzy !!.

[Valantine]

use the stuff for de-scaling clothes irons and kettles, available in most cheap shops

[dave budd]

i've managed to accidentally fire clean my kettle once of twice. Normally I use birch or pine in my kettle and they produce a lot of tar, but once in a while I happen to use oak or hawthorn and the extra heat seems to pop a lot of the tar/soot off. Not properly clean, but better than it was. The carburettor cleaner sounds like a winner though. Maybe white spririt or turps would also work, I've used them for thinning birch tar for varnish before?

[FryskKnyft]

How about covering the inside with aluminium foil?

[Tigger004]

I saw somewhere this week that a black coating on pots is supposed to increase conductivity and improve boil times, ah, I remember Mors Kochanski on youtube talking about ideal survival Pots,

Make of that what you will....

[Bobbyblu]

Late reply ;

Taken from the Kelly Kettle FAQ's
Q. Cleaning your kettle
A.

The inner chimney of your kettle should not need to be cleaned (I have never cleaned my own kettle which is now over 20yrs old). We find that the soot tends to dry up and flake off over time and it never really builds up to such an extent that it hinders the performance of the kettle.
Dry hardwoods burn very clean and leave little or no residue. On the other hand however, pine cones can be quite waxy and can leave a sticky residue on the inner chimney wall of the kettle.
If ever you felt that it needed a slight cleaning then:

we know that some wire wool and soapy warm water can be used to gently clean the chimney.....although this will require some elbow power!
Another tip we heard was to spray it with WD40, let it soak for a while and then wipe it off!
Another easy sounding idea is to spray on oven cleaner ...then simply wipe off later with paper towels! (Thanks for the tip Dave) CARE: Please use the appropriate Cleaner for your make of Kettle i.e. Aluminium or Stainless Steel. If you use a cleaner that is not suitable for the metal of your kettle, it may cause corrision.

Perhaps this writer is just lazy… but I like to think that the sooty chimney adds character to ones kettle!

found at the following link : http://www.kellykettle.com/faq?p=1

Hope it helps - for later :)

Martin

[David_JAFO]

hello,
Steradent denture cleaner tabs pop a couple of these inside with hot water, fizz & soak over night :wink:
Regards
David

[Adam Savage]

You want to avoid scrubbing at all, if you can help it. Being aluminium, every time it's used with a clean surface, it will loose a tiny amount of it's thickness. The coke build up prevents this rapid oxidisation, as well as increasing the efficiency of the kettle/pot.
As long as it's not blocking the flow up the chimney, and it's not sticky resin, which could burst into flames, I'd leave it as much as possible. A quick soak and very light rubbing would be more than enough. :)