Jim:
I finally heard from manufacturer. They wrote: “Firstly, my sincerest apologies for the delay in coming back to you – I was traveling a lot over the past week so apologies again.
All of our kettles are manufactured by skilled tradesmen. During the spinning process a small amount of grease is applied to one side of the aluminum sheet to make spinning easier – particularly when attaching the spout for pouring. This greasy side should be the outside of the kettle and this is subsequently wiped clean. I have seen two occasions within the past
two years where this greasy side seems to have ended up forming the inside of the water chamber (totally human error, I’m afraid).
In this case, we have successfully cleaned the kettles by either boiling the kettle using washing up liquid or alternatively, filling the kettle and using a little bit of Milton (as used to sterilize baby’s bottles) – let
stand for about 30 minutes and then boil the kettle. Any lubricant should come clean with either of the above methods.
If it does not work, come back to me and I will immediately replace the body of your kettle for you – I will just need your full shipping address and the size of your kettle (2.5 Pint or 1 Pint).
Please accept my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused due to this error.” I was glad to hear this. – Jesse [JWR Adds: Sounds like good customer service to me.]
Mr. Rawles,
In response to a post concerning aluminum particles emanating from their Kelly Kettle (Volcano Kettle) I thought I’d dig around and see if anyone made a stainless steel one. One of the first things I did find out was that in the country of origin for this product (New Zealand) they call it a Thermette. It’s also commonly called a “Volcano kettle” [or a “Benghazi Boiler”]. I think I’ve stumbled upon boilers/cookers like this before some time ago when looking at small pack stoves. Here’s what I’ve found so far: Copper Thermette, and Tin Thermette.
Unfortunately, I never did find a stainless steel one. Please let me (and us all) know if you find any others. Thank you so much! – Tanker