Solar Oven

[pengillian101]

http://www.solarovens.org/index.html

[Warpy]

1. Nice unit, but I wonder what the reflector assembly looks like

and how it attaches. The water pasteurization indicator is ingenious.

I've been happy with my Sun Oven, a group that also had a post earthquake program to get ovens delivered to Haiti at cost. These units will contain more than the Sun Oven does, while the Sun Oven holds heat better with more insulation. The Sun Oven also has a thermostat to tell you how hot it is inside the oven, a convenience for bakers.

A cardboard box lined with urethane foam a computer was delivered in, the foam carved out and covered with heavy duty aluminum foil, worked for several years as a solar dyepot setup even without a glass cover. Solar cookers can be really primitive if all you're doing is cooking grains or stews--or dyeing wool. Some are just cardboard covered with mylar or foil and folded into a good reflective position.

They really are ideal for the third world as well as for those of us who live in hot deserts and don't want to roast ourselves along with our food.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I have several large boxes, a few rolls of foil, and a number of...

crockpot crocks and glass-covered dutch ovens, a huge bag of plastic peanuts, and several thermometers.

This year I have a fair amount of time to kill and think I'll finally get around to makling a few solar ovens. Soups and stews should be easy, but I gotta see how a roast works.

(For a lot less than $135 bucks plus the reflector and shipping.)

[pengillian101]

3. Watch this video at their website..

It pretty much shows the components.

Watch WCCO TV's Report on the Solar Oven (top right of the page)

http://www.solarovens.org/index.html

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Saw that, and have seen others, with instructions for homemeade ovens...

although this is the first I've heard they can't do broccoli.

(The thought of turning chicken into a breeding ground for samonella rather than cooking it is scary, but that's why I have all those thermometers.)

[Warpy]

5. As long as the roast fits into a dark Dutch oven

and you've got all day to cook it, it should work. Remember, an uninsulated oven with no glass/plastic cover is not going to get the contents of the pot much hotter than boiling temperature. It's like roasting something in a very slow oven.

You're not going to need the styrofoam peanuts if you aren't going to have a closed box, not really. You just need to fold the box to make the best reflector.

It worked fine for keeping dyepots near boiling (and sometimes over it), but it's not going to do anything but steamed breads.

[pengillian101]

6. Ya know what?

In real life, maybe ever woulda probably needs a new place/


Be Nice and say a prayer.

[marybourg]

7. I built one of these box cookers:

http://solarcooking.org/plans/

(roll the page down, near the bottom) about 20 years ago. It still works and looks great. I don't know about the peanuts, tho. We used crumpled newspapers. I have baked cakes and many wonderful things in it. It's worth building, in my opinion, but not worth paying $135 to buy.

[Warpy]

8. This is also really neat

Soda bottle water pasteurizer: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Soda_bottle_pasteurizer

This is certainly one of those things to keep in the back of your mind in case of a natural disaster when water is scarce and iffy.

[TreasonousBastard]

9. Thanks. Some interesting ideas on that page.

[pengillian101]

10. Wow, man!

You did it. Good on ya.

Do you have a website that we all can drool over?