Solar Cooker?

[Natasha]

Anyone?

I'm looking at this one:



www.solavore.com

It's $230ish. If you figure using the oven costs a quarter per hour, it would take roughly a thousand uses to break even, so it's not exactly a savings, but it's green and looks like fun.

[merigayle]

Curious George made on, you should do that

[Natasha]

Curious George made on, you should do that

I'm torn!! There are a lot of plans for cheap ones, but I've got a lot of crap left over from cheap projects just like this.

[merigayle]

I'm torn!! There are a lot of plans for cheap ones, but I've got a lot of crap left over from cheap projects just like this.

I think you could easily make one.

[caribougrrl]

my parents made one once from a plan in Harrowsmith magazine circa 1984

I think they used it exactly once.

[Natasha]

I think you could easily make one.

I guess I should try. All I need is a reflective sun visor, I have all the other parts.

my parents made one once from a plan in Harrowsmith magazine circa 1984

I think they used it exactly once.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid would happen. If I spent a bunch of money on something I think I'd be sure to use it.

[Run Amok]

My recollection is that is basically a crackpot powered by the sun. So, if you have a cockpit today and don't use it,I probably wouldn't bother. But if you use and like a crock pot, I think you'd be more likely to use it. But, yeah, I'd lean towards making one

[caribougrrl]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid would happen. If I spent a bunch of money on something I think I'd be sure to use it.

eventually the styrofoam and glass and mirrors were re-purposed

[diablita]

My recollection is that is basically a crackpot powered by the sun. So, if you have a cockpit today and don't use it,I probably wouldn't bother. But if you use and like a crock pot, I think you'd be more likely to use it. But, yeah, I'd lean towards making one

This is a fun auto-corrected post.

[Run Amok]

damned auto correct!

[Natasha]

OK, I made one out of a reflective windshield cover and some other supplies. Cost me about $11. I don't think it's all that cost effective because it uses a plastic roasting bag, and unless I reuse them, they run about 50 cents apiece. But it worked ok. I heated up a can of chicken noodle soup. Tomorrow I'm going to start in the morning and try to make some pinto beans from scratch.

They have versions that are parabolic and can reach temps up to 500 degrees F.

[merigayle]

Cool! Keep us posted.

[Natasha]

I made pinto beans and cornbread. I left the pinto beans out there all day, and they still weren't soft, so I brought them in and cooked them for a couple of hours on the stove. They ended up tasting great. But I was disappointed that I couldn't cook them entirely with the sun. After some reading, I made a couple of adaptations to my cooker and I think it's working better. I've fried an egg, made a 2-person strata, and some brownies so far. Next I'm going try making veggies. Supposedly they're healthier because they retain more vitamins being cooked at low heat.

It's just something to mess around with, but it's fun.

[caribougrrl]

I'm impressed by your successes!

[Ice Cream]

I need a cockpit for the kitchen, too.

[Dagstag v 2.0]

I need a cockpit for the kitchen, too.

One with autopilot, for when I get home after a really draining work day.

[ihop]

I'm impressed by your successes!

1!

[Natasha]

Success is a relative term. I think my cooker is getting up close to 200 degrees F, but no more. I might try making a box cooker and see if it works better.

[merigayle]

Seems like a fun experiment, like when we go to Death Valley and people see what food they can cook on their dashboards, like chocolate chip cookies, eggs, etc.