Do you own a solar oven and how do you like it?

[Radical Activist]

I got a solar oven cook book. When things warm up a bit I'm going to buy or make a solar oven and get cooking. Does anyone have experience with solar ovens you'd be willing to share? I'm most interested in:
a) If you bought one where did you get it and is it working out for you, or
b) can you recommend a guide for making one?

The solar oven will supplement my all-microwave bachelor cooking lifestyle. I'm excited.

[geardaddy]

1. I have a friend who uses one.

You don't even need to worry about if it gets warm out. You just need a sunny day according to her.

[Radical Activist]

2. I was also told

you could use it in the cold. But I'm waiting until it gets a little warmer than this.

[NYC_SKP]

6. The outdoor temp doesn't matter on a clear day, but...

...the low angle of the sun in winter does extend the cooking time. I've baked cookies in winter in my little cardboard Sunspot oven.

[geardaddy]

14. Here's a video my friend just did...

two days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZzUfPcEQMg

[PfcHammer]

3. I can haz solar hot dog?

:rofl:

[Radical Activist]

4. I don't see hot dogs in the book.

It caters to the tofu crowd. But maybe you could.

[NYC_SKP]

5. What? Solar oven, you say? I have several.

"SunOven": I have a couple of these, have cooked tri-tip and pork loins.
With tempered glass and metal and fiberglass construction, they get very hot and should last forever:



"Sunspot Oven": I also use these to bake cookies, it takes about 30 minutes per batch in the summer, over 300 degrees, but you have to prop up the oven to face the sun:



If you're handy, it wouldn't be hard to make one.
Important points are that you use a clear cover and that the cooking space is sealed.

There are lots and lots of links to designs and to recipes.

[Radical Activist]

7. Cool

Thanks. The Sun Oven looks good.

Do you ever have to worry about animals? Squirrels, birds, raccoons and so on. Are they secure?

[NYC_SKP]

10. No animal problems for me... (and a recipe link)

I imagine that a raccoon with a few hours (or friends) could damage one but it would be hard to get through the glass with it's latches.
The glass is thick and the latches keep it tight against a rubber seal to keep it fairly airtight for heat accumulation.
What ever you're cooking rests on a hanging platform that stays level as you tilt the box to face the sun.
Built-in thermometer.

recipes: http://www.solarovens.org/recipes/

[Solon]

8. I built one out of cardboard, aluminum foil, and a single glass panel...

and it worked pretty good at heating food. Of course, I was in a rush, so what I used to absorb heat and for insulation on the inside wasn't, uhm, food safe, so while I cooked quite a few things in it, uhm, I didn't want to get food poisoning. I was lazy, and this was in middle school. Still got an A on my science project though! :)

[Radical Activist]

9. nice

I'm a little worried about building it wrong and giving myself food poisoning one way or another.

[Solon]

11. Well, the best way is to make sure all materials used do not contain toxic chemicals...

that will get into the food. I used aluminum foil as insulation on the inside of the box, basically I double wrapped some cardboard panels with the foil, then painted them black, to absorb and redistribute the heat. Of course, the paint was unsafe, I knew this, and during the science fair, I actually put a warning on the oven saying all food cooked in it was not fit for human consumption. I only had two demonstration foods for it anyways, a single cupcake that I baked, and a small bowl of cheddar cheese that I melted into dip. And I had a food thermometer to measure the temps inside the thing. It got up to almost 300 degrees, not bad for something that was made out of about 10 bucks worth of materials.

Actually, I'm surprised it didn't catch fire, the thing was made entirely of cardboard, after all.

ON EDIT: Looking at an above post, my oven looked a lot like the Sunspot oven pictured above, but mine had reflective aluminum foil on the outside panels instead of being aluminized, and the cooking box had a black interior, the box was also a little bit deeper.

[Radical Activist]

13. that doesn't sound so hard

even for someone with very limited skills at building or cooking things.

[Canuckistanian]

12. It sucks when you've got the munchies at midnight

Do you know how hard it is to make popcorn with a Bic lighter?