Talk:Billycan

Question

Who can tell me the name of something that is also used to boil water, but has a fire chamber contained within it? You use small twigs, bark, etc. stuffed into the chamber, and the water chamber is actually surrounded by the chimney; the water gets heat not just from the bottom, but the sides as well, and boils quickly. I think this item may have been used in Ireland, or perhaps in Europe.

• Sounds like a Kelly Kettle. Rwxrwxrwx (talk) 10:14, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

Billycan

Device for heating water on open fires... In Australia it's called a "choofer" or "chuffer"- probably because of the sound it makes. Bushmen made these boilers from discarded metal drums (44 gallons or smaller) and connected galvanised pipes to the two holes- standard thread. Cold water is poured into the lower hole near the heat source- say an open fire. As it heats the water rises and is forced out of the higher hole. The only difference is that the heat source is not enclosed. It would seem that settlers from Europe may have improvised this version with available material in ' the colonies'. vicpreece@yahoo.com.au Wollongong Australia. Diagram available...

--Vicpreece 17:48, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Why "billy"?

Can anyone elaborate on why it is called a billy can? Was it named after somebody named William? Paul Turvey

What is a billy can?

There's nothing in this article that tells me what makes a billy can different than a pot, a dutch oven, a tea pot, a tin can or any other open vessel that can hold liquids... I'd like to know. Pimlottc 11:17, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

• You're right, there is nothing different about a billy; it's just another word for a pot. But maybe its Australian cultural significance makes it worth talking about. Rwxrwxrwx (talk) 11:02, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Enamel billy-can used for milk

The article makes no mention of the fact (And I can't, cos it'd be Original Research!) that in the 1950s, milk was often home-delivered in the mornings by the milkman (aka "milko") from his horse-drawn cart, who filled the billy-can - usually one with a speckled, baked enamel finish - that we left outside for him overnight. The can had a capacity of about an Imperial quart, or two Imperial pints, thus approximately 1.2 litres. For this usage, the can needed a matching lid to keep the contents clean and safe from random sampling by assorted pests, such as possums and snakes.

This system was in place both in the outer suburbs of Adelaide, SA and Launceston, Tas, until the ubiquity of bottled milk with aluminium foil caps made it uneconomical to continue. For a time, both styles of delivered milk were available, due not only to consumer conservatism but also noticeably different tastes.

Somebody may find a suitable secondary source for this information; I'm just relaying my own experience. Yoyo (talk) 05:36, 19 June 2015 (UTC)

The "Modern billies" section — are these really billies?

There's a whole section named "Modern billies" that don't seem to be billies at all. For example:

• "Non-stick finishes are common"
• "In order to save fuel and speed-up cooking, some modern billies have heatsinks integrated into their bases"
• "Some manufacturers produce 'integrated cooking systems' consisting of one or more pots and a stove, designed to work as a wind-resistant integrated unit"       (previous versions of this page mentioned 'Jetboil' explicitely)

It's my impression that what distinguishes a billycan from other types of pots is: 1) it's intended to be used with a wood fire, and 2) the handle is on top (or there's no handle).

The pots described in this section are intended to be used with a gas fire, and the pot handles are on the side. I think the section talking about Jetboil-type pots should be removed. --Hirsutism (talk) 15:07, 28 September 2015 (UTC)

I agree. There are no references for any of the claims made about these "billies". The first sentence, which is referenced, could be moved to the previous section and the whole "Modern billies" section deleted. Mark Marathon (talk) 21:13, 28 September 2015 (UTC)

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