MYOG – Reflectix Pot Cozy

[Denis Hazlewood]

I have had several PMs regarding the Reflectix pot cozies that I've made for my BPL SUL pots. While eating from my pot I have noticed that the sides of the cozy are warm. It occurred to me that I might lengthen the sides of the top to provide a double layer, increasing the efficiency.

I decided to make a new lid for my Firelite SUL1100 cozy and take photos of the process. Making the cozy body uses the same process, so you can see how it's done.

Firelite SUL1100 with original, short lid, cozy.

SUL1100 and original cozy bottom.

Reflectix and required tools.

Measure cozy sidewall and allow for thickness of top.

Use straightedge to mark cut line.

Roll Reflectix around pot/cozy and mark for cutting length.

Place Reflectix Tape allowing 1/2 tape width for join.

Next, tape inside of joint.

With cozy body on pot, mark cut line for top.

With cozy on pot, slide lid on, leaving lip for thickness of top.

Place strip of Reflectix Tape around perimeter of cozy, leaving 1/2 of tape strip exposed.

Notch exposed edge of tape.

Pull tape tabs over and fasten to top piece.

You now have a Reflectix pot cozy.

I found that I had to trim the sides of the lid up about a half inch to allow for gripping the bottom, in order to remove to lid.

I weighed the cozy bottom and, just constructed, lid for the SUL1100, it was 1.37 ounces. Smaller pots will have lighter cozies. In comparison, Sara Kirconnell's pint sized cozy weighed 1.27 ounces.

I hope this thread will inspire those teetering on the edge, to get out there and MYOG. It's fun and you'll have fellow backpackers asking where you got that cool stuff.

[Chris Martin]

Denis, thank you for the excellent and simple tutorial. I just finished mine and I'm quite happy with how it fits.

As shown below, I gave my lid a shorter skirt, because I want to try using the lid as a pot parka on a super cat stove.

Is there any reason to put holes in the lid for steam to escape?

[Denis Hazlewood]

Chris,

This is the first response I've had to the "Cozy" thread. Good job!

As to the steam hole: I'd leave it out. Escaping steam lowers the pressure and causes a temperature drop. Probably not measurable in our case but there non the less. If your pot lid fits so snugly that it blows off when the pot boils, a hole in the pot lid might be the answer.

Cheers-

Denis

I just noticed your pot has a pouring lip and doesn't seal at all. Ignore the potlid hole comments. I wouldn't vent the cozy at all. I'd put the lid on when done with the fire and let it soak.

[Tom Peterson]

Both of you did a great job. I've made several cozies over the years and even keep oe at my desk at work for cup o' soup and another for my water bottle when I want to keep it cold.

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[Tim Anderson]

It seems at times that this community over-complexifies design elements in the pursuit of unstated goals.
Usually, the simplest, lightest solutions that actually get used are the best. And most can be done at home.
I've used reflectix for :
– cozies
– stove base (with a small circle of ptfe cookie sheet for the place where the stove is placed to avoid melting)
– combination cozy and windscreen (with cookie sheet in the areas the flame can hit)
– pot holder/cozy
Since manufacturers can't sell us something so obviously simple and cost effective that we could do it at home, we DIYourSelfers tend to think that the solutions we provide are technically inadequate, when they are most likely the most appropriate solutions.
Let's continue to innovate ;) appropriately
Tim

[Denis Hazlewood]

I do this stuff for fun and entertainment. Ergo: everything is appropriate.

[Randy Thornton]

Thanks for posting your process – very interesting how you do the tape.

One of things I sometimes do to the edges is seal them closed with some heat instead of using tape. I use the flame from a lighter to heat the bubble between the reflective layers then squeeze it closed. You can get a very clean line this way.

One example where I have used this is a cozy for a Glad twist-lock container used as a cup: the cozy edge fits snuggly at the top.

[Kevin Beeden]

Denis,

I think Tim was being complimentary…

The only comment I'd make on your instructions compared to the way I did it was to note that you cut triangles out of the tape that hold the base/lid circles in place.

I simply cut down to the centre of the tape, and overlapped the resulting tape tabs.

Yours will be marginally lighter… ;-)

I think a halfway house is probably optimal; cut a V-shaped piece out between each tab so that the edges of the tabs meet perfectly when folded down. The width of the tab and the V-piece could be calculated from the radii of the cosy and width of folded tape. Now I'm making things overly complicated…

[Denis Hazlewood]

I think I cut triangles cause it's what I see in the mirror every morning while shaving.

[Ian]

I wish I'd seen this thread before I built my cozy. I ended up using >dozen 1" tabs of tape to put the top and bottom on. It would have been easier and lighter to use what you've shown here. Well done sir.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

COOL!

I'm a "Freezer Bag" cooker so I use a Velcro-closing fleece bag cozy to hold teh freezer bags for my meals.

Your concept is great for those of the "pot cozy persuasion".

[And E]

I've made freezer bag cozies with reflectix too. It works great. Food stays piping hot during the rest/rehydration time.

[Derek M.]

Just curious… Where's the best place to buy this reflectix material? After a cursory look online, it looks like most of the reflectix available is either in the form of a windshield reflector or a large roll.

Does anyone have a good source to recommend where I could buy a small amount of reflectix (as in only a few square feet)?

Thanks for your help!

[Ken Thompson]

My local Ace Hardware sells it by the foot.

[Jerry Adams]

Home Depot? Lowes?

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[robert v]

Just a heads up. I have gotten quite a few reflective bubble mailers for free from places that transport insulin. Check with hospitals, or other related industries.

[alex hansen]

inspired by this thread i finally forked over the 7 bucks for a car window sun shade. BTW, i got mine at walgreens, it was half the price of O'Reilly auto parts. decided to skip the 3 dollar reflectix tape and opted for standard packaging tape

weight break down:
pot and lid by itself w/ cutouts glued on, 130g
top and bottom coozy by themselves, 24g
whole kit, 154g
whole kit minus lid, 115g

i feel like i may be able to skip the lid since the coozy lid should work just fine as a lid. anyone think it will melt with an esbit tab under the pot?
the lid coozy sits tight over the bottom coozy so i dont need a stuff sack to keep my cookset together.

[Denis Hazlewood]

Most likely it will melt, if not burn. The cozy should be built to slide over the pot after it is removed from the stove. The Reflectix system is to keep the pot from cooling so fast, after the stove does its work.

P.S. I really like the red material you used. They don't call me 'Red Leader' for nothing. PM me if you like.

Be safe.

[Mark Fowler]

I use reflectix for the lid on my Evernew 900ml pot using a gas stove so an esbit shouldn't worry it too much. I find that the reflectix shrinks slightly and then stabilises after the first couple of boils tending to go slightly conical.

Using reflectix as the lid should ever so marginally improve efficiency as the lid of a pot is one area that only radiates heat out rather than potentially conducting heat into the pot like the base and sides.

[alex hansen]

I will do a test boil to try it out today, assuming my son takes his morning nap like he is supposed to

[alex hansen]

I tested the coozy lid over the stove and experienced some meltage with an esbit stove. Couple thoughts on the test though…
I wasnt able to set my wind screen up as intended. I used my stove top as a burn surface and the pot stand was the stove top on my gas range. As a result, the wind screen was too high around the pot base.
At the same time, the lid coozy covers more than half of the depth of the pot. And there was significant overlap between wind screen and lid. I think if they were farther from each other. Melting might not occur.

I will make a new lid and test next week.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

It's often recommended you make the cozy a skootch oversize to accommodate the pot which will expand when heated. I made a loose-ish cozy for my grease pot (the infamous $7 aluminum pot @ K-mart) and it was pretty tight when I first used it. Seems to fit snugly now, but if I were to make it again, I'd add another mm or two to the circumference.

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