About the size of a Primus Litech 1 1/2 litre kettle, this quick-boil copper kettle with tinned inner surfaces was made by Thompson, Ritchie and Co, 34 Victoria Street, London. In a pine box set together with spiritburner and spare wicks (I'll feature the set in the Stove Reference Gallery when I've repaired the wick height-adjusting mechanism) I'd judge it's from the Edwardian era. Sits on a Svea 123 well The 'quick-boil' feature (my terminology, because the kettle's not so marked) is achieved by channelling heat from the flame up those tapered tubes, installed radially bottom to top. Same principle as the boiler tubes in steam locomotive boilers and just as efficient Boiling times are noticeably quicker than the Litech, but a real benefit too is that although the concave base offers a decent measure of windshielding, siphoning off heat up the 'boiler tubes' means there's less reflected down onto the stove top, so it offers the best of both worlds. Peculiar to see the burner flames 'through' the kettle Maker's mark ... ... and a number on the handle The lid is a little gem, the tin lining still reasonably preserved and the porcelain knob intact Size comparison with Primus Litech (1 1/2 litre). The copper kettle is about twice the weight John
wow! what a gem! (love finding old kettles - but my collection is rather modest at this point... the oldest is an early Revere, circa late-1920s, so nothing antique)
Hi John, That is wonderful! What a find. A multi-tube boiler. Makes a Kelly Kettle look so inefficient. Best Regards, George.
Hey, no risk of a casual net surfer ending up here right? It's as well, because nobody but CCS people would understand what prompted me to photograph the inside of a kettle boiling ... John
Hi John what a real beauty that has to be the best kettle i have seen. i am a great fan of steam engines and have built several models from kit form. i will agree 100% with your terminology the tubes do use the boiler tube princible giving more surface are for the heat, and in one of your pics we can see it working. This kettle sure would increase the boiling time which makes it a superb kettle for a spirit stove i wonder how quick it can boil a pint of water compared to the Primus litech that sure would be a great test if you have not yet done it
Mr Optimus said: Oh heck! Last time I indulged in boil-time stove comparisons it only convinced me that the longer a stove takes to boil water (within reason), the more chilling-out time it confers on the user. Nevertheless, it would be as well to establish that the boiler tubes really do speed things up and not guess that they do. I think you've hit the nail on the head, Brian, with your reminder that the kettle was designed for a spirit stove. Getting the most out of the relatively feeble (compared with a pressure stove output) flame of a spiritburner was surely the motivation. With my Drew & Sons kettle and spiritburner, the flames spill around and up the sides of the kettle. Can't be as efficient as directing those flames through tubes within the kettle. A colleague at work (Lancs Fire&Rescue) tells me he's trialling a new thermal-imaging camera. The ones our fire crews have at the moment are monochrome and don't have a recording facility, but this one does and has colours to define the temperature variations. I see if I can borrow it. Should prove interesting to portray heat transfer with various kettle/pan/stove combinations. John
Nice! I just have one thought... If this was indeed meant for an alcohol stove, could the extra heat from a hotter stove somehow melt the solder on those tubes ? Classy kettle, either way!
bajabum said: Not unless it ran dry. The water's always going to keep the base temp around boiling point at most. John
I fixed the stove, featured with the kettle and box here Kettle and meths stove set, early 1900's John
CCS member 'Trojandog' found another one! Same manufacturer and 'boiling tube' quick-boil feature, but slightly larger capacity with some interesting differences Trojandog's Thompson, Ritchie & Co. kettle John
