Solar Oven - First Issue

[katherine3486]

Glad I found this... Will get my husband to build us one!. God bless and happy cooking!

[AjnaChakraB1]

So overall, it took 6 1/2 hours? 9-3:30? I'm doing a presentation for one of my classes and figured I could throw in this example with the rest of my information. Nice work overall, this project has turned into a trial and error experience for me as well. Much easier in third world countries with high temps. A little more difficult in places like Canada or VT for ex.

[hipofalcon]

@AjnaChakraB1 - overall it took 6-1/2 hours, but typically depending on what you are cooking it could take less time. I would say on average, a 4 lb roast beef or chicken would cook in about 4 hours, but if you leave it in longer, there is no real issue. It's not like you are "wasting" fuel. Bread bakes in less then 2 hours and cakes and pastries in less than an hour.

[MrMissAlien]

keep kooking! Nice!

[amcanmike]

Im going to build one ,this looks like Hamilton,Ont,,where did you get plans,solar.com you said? let me know any info to help.thanks

[MrMissAlien]

Thanks!! Good job!! 

[msskippy7781]

I have succesfully burned my food in a solar oven but the good news is It was only the top layer and did not affect the rest of my dish I too have struggled with what to use for insulation.It should be something that does not put out Toxic fumes I am thinking about coating the outside of my oven with papercrete.

[iulian28ti]

very good video man ;)

[margot980]

Really good work here. The late great Adele Davis advocated long slow cooking, so the 350 goal isn't perhaps a priority, providing you start first thing in the morning.

I wouldn't cook anything near did you say extruded styro foam insulation heated. Must be better and more benign ways to insulate this oven.

I think at this point (0) I go with solarchuck for cardboard.

Really interesting. Keep us posted.

[hipofalcon]

@margot980 - Thnaks for the comment. If you take a look through my videos at the "Solar Oven - 3rd and last rial - a success!", you can see that I ended up using corrugated cardboard for the insulation and worked out all of the bugs by then. For the record, I agree that the long slow cook is best, but in some cases, you need the higher heats for things like cakes and cookies - nice to have it both ways. This oven has hit a temp of 366F as a high, but cooks very well on lower temps. Ken.

[stallybrass]

Great video! I am inspired! I am going to try cooking with a solar oven myself.

[MrLeonard55]

Is that a solar powered train?

[hipofalcon]

@MrLeonard55 - no, most of my stuff is live steam. I did have a solar powered locomotive here once that a friend of mine built, but never got a video of it - maybe next time - Ken

[2005buickallure]

Nice train set! Got any vids of that badboy?

[hipofalcon]

@2005buickallure - Yes, there are vids on my site here and also check out my other youtube account under "mamodbasher". It's all live steam we run here in two gauges - gauge "1" and gauge "O". Thanks for the interest!

[oaney]

Around a 1:20 you mention maybe needing more space between the glass, which sparked a thought... I dont mean to criticize your work, it looks excellent, but I am thinking back to university classes, i took a building materials class. I was shown a chart about the air space between glass panes and its respective insulative properties. The graph was basically an upside down U, meaning it had very little insulative properties at very close distances.... See next post for the rest

[oaney]

@oaney and the insulative properties tapered off the further apart the glass got. The nominal distance (at the top of the U) was somewhere around 0.25 inch (1/4 inch) if i remember correctly... I cant find the chart offhand, but if you are interested, I can get in contact with that professor and see if he still has a copy of the chart.

[hipofalcon]

@oaney - actually, the spce between the panes on this unit is about 3/16", so I am close to that 1/4" that you mention for optimum insulation. I havent bothered to change it, as it actually works well the way it is. Thanks for the comments. Ken.

[oaney]

@oaney

"NOTE: Many consumers are under the false assumption that more dead airspace means greater energy efficiency. However, studies have found that while airspaces less than 1/2" are too small to be effective, airspaces greater than 5/8" allow air currents to develop within the two panes. Such air movement aids in the transfer of heat between the panes, actually reducing efficiency."

Taken from: weathermaster-window(com)/glas­s.html

Take spaces out

[paul8kangas]

Excellent video for practical use of a solar oven cooking a nice juicy 6 lb chicken, carrot, celery, parsley, sage & thyme, on a cold 40 F day in Canada. Yes.

355 degree cooking.

Cooking from 9am to 4pm, so dinner is ready when you get home.

Every home needs one now.

We must break our addictions to Oil, dirty coal & nuclear power.

Youtube: paul8kangas

[214jcf]

Was that a solar heater in your yard? Made with soda cans? I'm making one now. Took forever to get over 200 cans. On the solar oven, can I use thin mirrors instead of Mylar or foil? Someone gave me about 25 16x20'' mirrors. They seems easy enough to cut.

[hipofalcon]

@214jcf No, I think you likely saw my solar PV panels. I haven't done anything with solar heat yet, but it's on my mind for sure. Ken.

[rascalwind]

You need a vent. Your putting steam pressure in the box just as if you were using a pressure cooker. Water at 350 degrees is going to boil, steam and create pressure. drill a small vent hole. You'll still have good temperature, but you won't be popping your seals or loosing your insulation..

[hipofalcon]

@rascalwind - actually the oven is vented - more of a condition of the construction than anything else. The steam readily can be seen venting around the loading door when it's hot. No worries about too much pressure - believe me, this is not a tight structure! Ken.

[MONNIEHOLT]

Great job, thank you for the tips

[Ruth42]

Would you have had fog or steam on the glass due to the moisture content of the food items?

Otherwise, I think what you're doing is excellent. What a way to help the environment. Thank you!

[hipofalcon]

@Ruth42 Actually, the moisture problem ended up being a fault of that foam insulation expanding that pushed the corner of the glass up off of the oven box. It allowed the steam to escape around the outer glass (which was cooler than the inner piece) causing the condensation to form. Once I changed out the insulation for cardboard (see issue 3 video), then all was well from there! Ken.

[LetsCook2gether]

I really enjoyed your video.

I'm also want to buy a solar oven.

Hope you will post more videos.

Wish you happy solar cooking :)

[jdmforyou]

cool man cdn power

[Linguiphile]

Quite impressive that temperature approaches 360F in such cold weather. I'm interested in cooking breads in a solar oven in the back yard. Thank you for the video.

[joe18370]

nice solar panels to ,are they harbor frieght panels nice oven ,i will build iit to.

[1BustedMyth]

Nice unit!

[VilliVanilli]

I was wondering how it would work in the vinter. You just answered my question. Love the windmill and the solar panels...

And whats that I see? An outside model train rail?

I want your backyard! :P

[perazh]

You are doing very well by trying to be self sufficient

I can see your solar panels that are monocrystalline and thin films also and you have wind turbine

Well Done

[pinkytm1]

What no garlic?

[wingnut4427]

have you considered The fiberglass edging ( Weather stripping ) to weal the edges of the oven ? That's a really cool demonstration :D I want to build one. One day :)

[bloggycreek]

Nice oven!  The chicken came out really well!

[Anothercoilgun]

The Sun is just awesome.

[MegaRAMHarddisk]

@Anothercoilgun 'Boom De Ah Dah

[STARFIRESOLAR]

I see you are really into alternate energy. I saw the PV, solar water heating, and the wind power going on! Great Job!

[321ozzy]

Great to see that with such low outside temperatures you can reach high temperatures in the oven.

Could you share some sizes of your oven?

I built a simple version, using carton, but want to built a more professional one.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Regards from Mexico

[gishgos]

@boomtao: many of those people lack the education required to build a solar oven...

[boomtao]

Than to think that finding wood for cooking-fire is a big issue in many poor countries. Most of those countries have plenty of sun!!

[solarchuck]

I teach second grade in the United States and my class makes a solar oven every year. Most of my ovens are constructed of several layers of cardboard.....which works extremely well. Cardboard is cheap and is readily available. I also use ONLY tempered glass, since my oven temps have climbed to 420 degrees F. On January 5, 2009, the outside temp was MINUS 8 degrees F and I still baked chocolate chip cookies in a 300 degree oven.

[GottaLove80s]

@solarchuck I'm making a solar cooker in my Energy Systems class in school, and we also have to cook cookies in our solar cooker. How long did it take them to cook? And do you have any tips on how to make a solar cooker?

[solarchuck]

@GottaLove80s - When skies are clear and the sun is intense, it usually takes about 15 - 20 minutes max to bake cookies....sometimes less. At times however, the sun has been so bright that I've actually burned the food in a short amount of time! My current oven gets to between 350 and 375 degrees F. I've constructed 6 different ovens.....and found that cardboard is the cheapest and best. Also, tempered glass is a must. Many internet sites offer guidelines for building great ovens.

[hipofalcon]

@solarchuck - I don't use tempered glass on this unit. It's now into its 3rd year and the original 1/8" glass panes are still intact, even after at least 3 major falls to the ground during windy weather. Tempered glass is OK, but it is impossible to cut (must be cut before tempering), is typically heavy and expensive - particularly if you are trying to get a piece to an exact dimension. I paid $13 for the two pieces of glass at Home Depot. Ken.

[strive4impact]

I notice the solar panels in the background. They look pretty much like a DIY project... Did you build those or buy them?

[strive4impact]

Man, that just rocks! COngrats on developing a successful model!

[DeviCortez]

Just found the design, almost the same one, in The Halacy's book "cooking with the sun". THough, hipofalcon uses thicker wood I think, and a side door, which I think is superior to taking the glass off to put food in. Any comments, I am always open to advice.....

[DeviCortez]

Hello, I have searched for this design, and cannot find it. Could you, HipoFalcon, or anyone, please enlighten me as to where to get it? thanks!

[Suziko1961]

Wow I am so having my husband look at this video! I live in NSW, Australia and I have just said good bye to the gas oven after having watched this video. I will make sure that I start cooking this way! I am really sick and tired of being a slave to big business. I have started to look at alternative ways to look after my family without constantly putting my hand in my pocket to pay for it ! Thank you so much !

[vwaddict2]

Would you please email me the website to find these plans, or post the website where these plans can be found?

Also I am wondering what effect high humidity will on the effectiveness of solar ovens?

Thanks

Jay B.

Maui Hawaii

[MaxSachs]

Wow, solar panels, solar oven AND a windmill? I am very impressed. Has your city been bothering you about zoning regulations? I have been looking to set up a wind generator in my back yard.

[cdltpx]

You missed the solar air heater and solar water heater this man is wise to invest in these things it is a great way to retire by having the sun work for you.

[kulturvultur]

i'm in Toronto, so I've been wondering how the solar cookers work in our climate...how cold have you used it in and what temps were you able to reach on the coldest day? it's awesome btw!!

[hipofalcon]

Thanks for the positive comments. Actually I reached the highest temps in March and April. Strong sun and clearer skies. 380 F in March. During the summer, 350F was about average. Either way, it has cooked everything that you could possibly cook in a regular oven - but of course, energy free! Ken.

[TheRealInvaderZim]

A very well documented example of solar cooking,especially from the northern latitudes-what more could you want, a nice meal from solar power with snow on the ground.Two things I want-a wood oven for pizza and bread and a oven like yours,please update,about insulation problem and solutions!

[spaceshuttle94]

does anyone know how to keep the heat in a solaroven mine tops out @170 F or 80 C?

[geminitool]

Please tell me how/where to get these plans. This is the best solar oven I've seen. Great job!

[mail4asim]

Very nice video. Thank you for sharing your experience and the details. Love that you give data in both American standard and metric systems. That was a big help.

[99cachorro]

To deal with the steam, I made my solar oven glass in two pieces for each layer and just split them about an eighth for each layer. The steam escapes nicely

[rigoletto68]

Very Nice...thank you! In Texas we just clean a patch on the ground during the 104 degree heat and cook right there....lol...just kidding...I really like your video..thanks for sharing it.

[jeremusic]

to stop the fogging, seal your glass on a low humidity day, with a silica gel pack inside.

[wherecanIfindutube]

Your first solar box oven?  Impressive!

I was wondering if you have any estimate on the lifespan of your Mylar reflectors? Do you expect to replace them anytime soon?

350 degrees F. is awsome. I've yet to break 275.

[hipofalcon]

Actually, I just replaced the Mylar (or most of it). It was damaged due to moisture on the reflectors. I put it away without drying it and where the moisture had gathered, the Mylar was marked. I won't do that again. I think that if you clean it carefully and store it away closed up, 3 years would be a good estimate of Mylar longevity. Ken.

[steviebboy69]

well, that worked well.

i am going to buy one ready made i think. i was amazed at the temp you got in there. considering the outside temp.

gee at that time of year its like up to 40 degrees celcius.

even now the second month into autumn it got to about 28.c today nice sunny weather.

[cdltpx]

Another great project is a solar air heater I would like to build one to reduce heating and to dehydrate food in the summer. The low cost project is built from aluminum cans glued together I want to use tallboy cans to increase collector surface area with less work. I have an example in the favorites. All from discarded items absolutely free energy. If it goes well I hope to sell them at the flea mkt.

[cdltpx]

You can get a great collector from a broken tv set go to a repair man I did he gave me one. He never realized that these were so good at concentrating solar energy we placed the collector above a pinecone in his yard it immediately combusted with 5 pm winter sunlight. His son decided to use this as his science project and won 1st place the teacher asked that the project be left at the school for later projects. The tv repair man placed a collector above his solar water heater and had good result

[inetprez]

Getting ready to build one of these and a parabolic one as well. Can you please post the plans you used when you are comeplete? Thanks!

[cdltpx]

Aren't the emergency blankets made of Mylar? If so WMart sells them for $2. I built one once out of things around the home and it worked but only once it was difficult to seal. I have a bunch of those satellite dishes and coated one with emergency blanket material it focused the light to where it was hot but I didn't stick around to see if I could get flame.

[hipofalcon]

Yes, those blankets are Mylar. Also, just plain heavy-duty aluminum foil (25ft for $1.99) will work well. You could conceivably build one of these box ovens for about $30 or less, and they work very well. I would like to try a parabolic cooker one day too.

[cdltpx]

Thank you for your video you answered a lot of questions. I am shocked a DIY project cost so much money and time. And it appears that you are a talented builder so my belief that I will build my own has all but evaporated. I just think these should be sold a better offer than just under $200usd. If the company that built them made an infomercial they could mass build and sell them comparable to the current price of a microwave oven. Imagine the carbon footprint that would remove.

[hipofalcon]

Don't be discouraged from building one yourself. The cost is not what it seems. I almost have enough to build a second oven, as it is difficult to buy things like insulation and Mylar in small quantities. Also, I am not really a talented builder, just a normal DIY guy like many others. There a huge variety of designs that cost very little. I am working on some refinements to this cooker and plan on putting together a full set of instructions to build one, as soon as I am sure that it's right.

[ronnielee33]

go on the solar cookers international website, look under archives for inexpensive cookers you can build--hipofalcon has built an awesome cooker, but you can also build them far more cheaply. in the past, on the google site, one young lady experimented with an old discarded microwave that had shiny stainless steel sides- Don't give up!