JustAPrepper
11-29-2011, 09:46 PM
Since we've been talking about Solar Ovens I went to another board I participate on and found this old post I made. This is something I made last April and might be worth considering since it's easy to make. I'm still not convinced it will actually "cook" but it definitely "heats". Basically a copy/paste of my old post...
__________________________________________________ ________________________________
I'm calling this a Cooker because I'm not convinced it will actually work as an Oven.
I got the idea from here - Plans for Solar Cookers -- The Solar Cooking Archive (http://solarcooking.org/plans/). Went to Wallyworld and bought the car shade. They had two kinds. "Regular" size that was a little flimsier and "Jumbo" size that was quite a bit thicker and more heavy duty. I tried running a bunch of scenarios through my mind and opted for the Jumbo. My thinking was I could get a larger heating area and the thicker material might last longer. I'm thinking now I should have gone the other way.
The Jumbo is pretty Jumbo, lol. And, the thicker material was pretty hard to work with. I didn't want to go through the hassel or time of sewing the Velcro to it yet since I wasn't sure how this thing would work so I improvised and used Binder Clips. I wrestled with this thing for almost an hour trying to get it in the shape I wanted while trying not to let the clips pop off. As it turns out, I still had to clip the ends of both sides back because there was just too much material to work with. I didn't see the need for putting it on a bucket like the link shows but I did use a kitchen towel in the bottom because I didn't want my little rack to poke holes in the mylar with the weight of the pot. I filled my large granite ware pot with two gallons of *cold* tap water. I wanted to put a *load* on this thing and see exactly what it would do. And, I was hoping to actually cook some fresh corn I bought at Publix this morning.
It was pretty windy today so I opted to put it on the ground (at first) instead of the table I normally use for our Solar Oven. I checked it every 30 minutes to check the sun (you need to adjust the ovens as the sun tracks across the sky) and test the water temperature. I should have checked the cold water temp so I knew my starting point but I didn't think about it. I started off using my cheap candy thermometer that I have never used before to measure the water temp. Not happy with the results I later switched to my digital meat thermometer because I trust it more. Then I moved it from the ground to the table as you'll see in the results below. I set everything up at 2:30 this afternoon in fairly breezy conditions. I also used a lid on my pot because that's how I cook things in my Solar Oven but the link shows a small pot with no lid inside a clear baggie. The results are as follows:
3:00 - 94 degrees (candy thermometer)
3:30 - 100 degrees (candy thermometer)
I wasn't happy with the progess of the temperature increase so I came back in and checked the link again. That's where it dawned on me. The rack the guy used actually raised his pot off the bottom of the cooker that allowed reflection to the underside of the pot. The only thing I had big and strong enough to hold that pot was my Turkey Roasting Rack so I had to dig it out. The only way the pot would fit without fear of tipping was to turn the rack upside down and in order to get a better reflection I moved everything to the patio table.
4:00 - 102 degrees (candy thermometer and raised pot)
4:30 - still 102 degrees but I was starting to notice tiny bubbles inside the pot so I was thinking the water was probably warmer. I came in and got my meat thermometer and it read 111 degrees.
About 4:55 a bank of clouds moved in so I brought everything in and tested the water for the last time. It had actually fallen to 109 degrees according to the meat thermometer.
So far, I'm actually pretty impressed with this thing considering it only cost me $8.00. Considering what it is, heating two gallons of cold water is probably no easy task. Reaching 111 degrees in three hours is still pretty impressive. Solar Cooking takes lots of planning and it's very difficult to cook a full day's worth of meals with just one oven. I've been wanting a second one but there's too many other things to get right now so I thought I could probably get by with something I could use as a heating element while saving the Oven for actual baking or true cooking.
Tomorrow I am going to try again but not use the lid and go off the same principle as the Solar Water Bags I have. Clear on one side to allow the sun to pass through and hit the black back side. Probably why the guy in the link used a clear baggie and no lid. Sometimes I learn the hard way...
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER1.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER3.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER4.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER5.jpg
Next days post...
Similar air temps, similar sun conditions, just slightly less breeze but still enough to wave the trees around a bit.
I set the Cooker out at the exact same time. Only difference is I used the same water (I didn't see any reason to dump out two gallons of perfectly good water) so it wasn't exactly cold from the tap, it was actually room temperature, 84 degrees. Yeah, I know, a little warm but I was working on the Redneck Air Conditioner and didn't want any A/C or fans blowing around so it was pretty warm in here today. The big difference is I also used Saran Wrap over the top instead of the black lid. A noticeable difference between yesterday and today.
2:30pm - room temperature - 84 degrees
3:00 - 93 degrees
3:30 - 100 degrees
4:00 - 109 degrees
4:30 - 116 degrees
5:00 - 122 degrees
Tomorrow I will test some Quart Jars I spray painted with black paint (a Wendy DeWitt inspiration).
__________________________________________________ __________________________________
^^^Which I did but have to see if I posted about it. I tried cooking chicken broth with spare chicken parts, celery and carrots. I think I got rained out and never completed the cooking process.
__________________________________________________ ________________________________
I'm calling this a Cooker because I'm not convinced it will actually work as an Oven.
I got the idea from here - Plans for Solar Cookers -- The Solar Cooking Archive (http://solarcooking.org/plans/). Went to Wallyworld and bought the car shade. They had two kinds. "Regular" size that was a little flimsier and "Jumbo" size that was quite a bit thicker and more heavy duty. I tried running a bunch of scenarios through my mind and opted for the Jumbo. My thinking was I could get a larger heating area and the thicker material might last longer. I'm thinking now I should have gone the other way.
The Jumbo is pretty Jumbo, lol. And, the thicker material was pretty hard to work with. I didn't want to go through the hassel or time of sewing the Velcro to it yet since I wasn't sure how this thing would work so I improvised and used Binder Clips. I wrestled with this thing for almost an hour trying to get it in the shape I wanted while trying not to let the clips pop off. As it turns out, I still had to clip the ends of both sides back because there was just too much material to work with. I didn't see the need for putting it on a bucket like the link shows but I did use a kitchen towel in the bottom because I didn't want my little rack to poke holes in the mylar with the weight of the pot. I filled my large granite ware pot with two gallons of *cold* tap water. I wanted to put a *load* on this thing and see exactly what it would do. And, I was hoping to actually cook some fresh corn I bought at Publix this morning.
It was pretty windy today so I opted to put it on the ground (at first) instead of the table I normally use for our Solar Oven. I checked it every 30 minutes to check the sun (you need to adjust the ovens as the sun tracks across the sky) and test the water temperature. I should have checked the cold water temp so I knew my starting point but I didn't think about it. I started off using my cheap candy thermometer that I have never used before to measure the water temp. Not happy with the results I later switched to my digital meat thermometer because I trust it more. Then I moved it from the ground to the table as you'll see in the results below. I set everything up at 2:30 this afternoon in fairly breezy conditions. I also used a lid on my pot because that's how I cook things in my Solar Oven but the link shows a small pot with no lid inside a clear baggie. The results are as follows:
3:00 - 94 degrees (candy thermometer)
3:30 - 100 degrees (candy thermometer)
I wasn't happy with the progess of the temperature increase so I came back in and checked the link again. That's where it dawned on me. The rack the guy used actually raised his pot off the bottom of the cooker that allowed reflection to the underside of the pot. The only thing I had big and strong enough to hold that pot was my Turkey Roasting Rack so I had to dig it out. The only way the pot would fit without fear of tipping was to turn the rack upside down and in order to get a better reflection I moved everything to the patio table.
4:00 - 102 degrees (candy thermometer and raised pot)
4:30 - still 102 degrees but I was starting to notice tiny bubbles inside the pot so I was thinking the water was probably warmer. I came in and got my meat thermometer and it read 111 degrees.
About 4:55 a bank of clouds moved in so I brought everything in and tested the water for the last time. It had actually fallen to 109 degrees according to the meat thermometer.
So far, I'm actually pretty impressed with this thing considering it only cost me $8.00. Considering what it is, heating two gallons of cold water is probably no easy task. Reaching 111 degrees in three hours is still pretty impressive. Solar Cooking takes lots of planning and it's very difficult to cook a full day's worth of meals with just one oven. I've been wanting a second one but there's too many other things to get right now so I thought I could probably get by with something I could use as a heating element while saving the Oven for actual baking or true cooking.
Tomorrow I am going to try again but not use the lid and go off the same principle as the Solar Water Bags I have. Clear on one side to allow the sun to pass through and hit the black back side. Probably why the guy in the link used a clear baggie and no lid. Sometimes I learn the hard way...
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER1.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER3.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER4.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh140/Julie-Girl/MISC%20SHTF%20PHOTOS/SOLARCOOKER5.jpg
Next days post...
Similar air temps, similar sun conditions, just slightly less breeze but still enough to wave the trees around a bit.
I set the Cooker out at the exact same time. Only difference is I used the same water (I didn't see any reason to dump out two gallons of perfectly good water) so it wasn't exactly cold from the tap, it was actually room temperature, 84 degrees. Yeah, I know, a little warm but I was working on the Redneck Air Conditioner and didn't want any A/C or fans blowing around so it was pretty warm in here today. The big difference is I also used Saran Wrap over the top instead of the black lid. A noticeable difference between yesterday and today.
2:30pm - room temperature - 84 degrees
3:00 - 93 degrees
3:30 - 100 degrees
4:00 - 109 degrees
4:30 - 116 degrees
5:00 - 122 degrees
Tomorrow I will test some Quart Jars I spray painted with black paint (a Wendy DeWitt inspiration).
__________________________________________________ __________________________________
^^^Which I did but have to see if I posted about it. I tried cooking chicken broth with spare chicken parts, celery and carrots. I think I got rained out and never completed the cooking process.