This is fascinating! Can I ask, is that 200 F or 200 C? I'll have to watch your other videos, but can you tell me from your experience, how long it takes to cook specific things? Eg, cook frankfurts 20 minutes, potatos 340 minutes etc.
It's 200 F. basically, if you use a box oven, preheating it for 30 to 60 min before cooking will help speed things along. If you preheat an iron skillet with clear glass lid, you can cook eggs in about 15-30 min, depending on how well you want them cooked. Potatoes, depends on how big they are, using smaller ones naturally cooks faster. you can do some research at solarcooking,org
that is where I learned the basics. Each oven and cooker are different because of their nature
Clear dome makes a nice clear oven like you described. they are a bit pricey, but nice if one has that kind of money to put out. they have a round one with a flat top and a square one.
Good video. I think the idea of the slant-faced oven is that except at the equator, the sun never shines directly overhead at noon, so the slant just gives you a design that will work more often without pivoting the entire box. Without a levelator...the free-swinging shelf that allows the food to stay level and thus not spill... this is even more important for acquiring highest temps. The ideal "box oven lid would be a dome where the shadows from the walls are smaller and the food can be higher.
The disadvantages of ovens with levelators is that you can't cook as much in them because of lack of space. That is why I stick with my large box ovens, they will hold a whole meal from meat, veggies to dessert and breads, and I don't have to lay out several hundred dollars on them either, :)
That's one reason I began posting vids cause alot of folks just don't have the money to buy the more expensive ones that hold less. a person can build a huge wooden slantfaced that holds more for 100.
Yes, free is good. Another advantage to your box ovens is that with the Reynold's wrap lids, you can actually place the food higher by pushing the black pot up a little and bowing the plastic bag. This is not possible with glass. The levelator does come out easily since it is just resting on two screws and that gives you more room. There is an optimal combination of size and amount of food, insulation, sunshine, direction, reflection, amount of black, and angles that is at work behind designs.
I made my large oven pretty big so I can actually stack pots in it, & they don't touch the plastic if I do it right. I start the meat items first, let them cook for an hour or so, then add a casserole or rice, then after another hour, put the bread/bisquits & cake in. Because the previous foods are good and hot the cakes and breads cook fast cause heat is steady all around from the food radiating heat back out to the oven along with sun shining in no big temp drop when I add them.
Well, you are a better cook than me. I typically just dump everything in the pot and "set it and forget it." My beans and rice turns out fine that way even though the beans take a lot longer to cook than rice. The rice just gets some split ends, but it tastes just fine. Also, not being a good cook, I need to check on stuff, stir, taste, think about it.. all the while losing heat, so a more efficient oven is more important for my abilities. I also cook on a lot of marginal days with Sun Ovens.
The hotter ovens are great to have because they function more like your oven inside the kitchen. I remember when I first started solar cooking I kept looking in the oven every 15 min & wondered why it was taking so long, LOL, well DUH, KEPT LETTING ALL THE STORED HEAT OUT, LOL. So the hotter ones are good when you don't have much patience. Everyone finds an oven that works for them, that is why I encourage people to use more than one or two, some are better for some things, some, for others.
Exactly. Either way, you usually need to devote some time to the solar cooking art cause the sunshine is never constant. One day it is partly cloudy, and the next sunny and this is the biggest factor. Today was a cloudless day and I cooked steel cut oats, lentils and rice, and potatoes and carrots, all within 2 hours...smaller portions though. I boiled water in my panel cooker and used the Sun Ovens for the food, but anything would have worked today. Other days, the same food would take 4 hours.
This is fascinating! Can I ask, is that 200 F or 200 C? I'll have to watch your other videos, but can you tell me from your experience, how long it takes to cook specific things? Eg, cook frankfurts 20 minutes, potatos 340 minutes etc.
47xxyOz 2 years ago
It's 200 F. basically, if you use a box oven, preheating it for 30 to 60 min before cooking will help speed things along. If you preheat an iron skillet with clear glass lid, you can cook eggs in about 15-30 min, depending on how well you want them cooked. Potatoes, depends on how big they are, using smaller ones naturally cooks faster. you can do some research at solarcooking,org
that is where I learned the basics. Each oven and cooker are different because of their nature
solarcookingnut 2 years ago
were do you get all your ideas
soonerfan6 3 years ago
Clear dome makes a nice clear oven like you described. they are a bit pricey, but nice if one has that kind of money to put out. they have a round one with a flat top and a square one.
solarcookingnut 3 years ago
Good video. I think the idea of the slant-faced oven is that except at the equator, the sun never shines directly overhead at noon, so the slant just gives you a design that will work more often without pivoting the entire box. Without a levelator...the free-swinging shelf that allows the food to stay level and thus not spill... this is even more important for acquiring highest temps. The ideal "box oven lid would be a dome where the shadows from the walls are smaller and the food can be higher.
dkw12002 3 years ago
The disadvantages of ovens with levelators is that you can't cook as much in them because of lack of space. That is why I stick with my large box ovens, they will hold a whole meal from meat, veggies to dessert and breads, and I don't have to lay out several hundred dollars on them either, :)
That's one reason I began posting vids cause alot of folks just don't have the money to buy the more expensive ones that hold less. a person can build a huge wooden slantfaced that holds more for 100.
solarcookingnut 3 years ago
Yes, free is good. Another advantage to your box ovens is that with the Reynold's wrap lids, you can actually place the food higher by pushing the black pot up a little and bowing the plastic bag. This is not possible with glass. The levelator does come out easily since it is just resting on two screws and that gives you more room. There is an optimal combination of size and amount of food, insulation, sunshine, direction, reflection, amount of black, and angles that is at work behind designs.
dkw12002 3 years ago
I made my large oven pretty big so I can actually stack pots in it, & they don't touch the plastic if I do it right. I start the meat items first, let them cook for an hour or so, then add a casserole or rice, then after another hour, put the bread/bisquits & cake in. Because the previous foods are good and hot the cakes and breads cook fast cause heat is steady all around from the food radiating heat back out to the oven along with sun shining in no big temp drop when I add them.
solarcookingnut 3 years ago
Well, you are a better cook than me. I typically just dump everything in the pot and "set it and forget it." My beans and rice turns out fine that way even though the beans take a lot longer to cook than rice. The rice just gets some split ends, but it tastes just fine. Also, not being a good cook, I need to check on stuff, stir, taste, think about it.. all the while losing heat, so a more efficient oven is more important for my abilities. I also cook on a lot of marginal days with Sun Ovens.
dkw12002 3 years ago
The hotter ovens are great to have because they function more like your oven inside the kitchen. I remember when I first started solar cooking I kept looking in the oven every 15 min & wondered why it was taking so long, LOL, well DUH, KEPT LETTING ALL THE STORED HEAT OUT, LOL. So the hotter ones are good when you don't have much patience. Everyone finds an oven that works for them, that is why I encourage people to use more than one or two, some are better for some things, some, for others.
solarcookingnut 3 years ago
Exactly. Either way, you usually need to devote some time to the solar cooking art cause the sunshine is never constant. One day it is partly cloudy, and the next sunny and this is the biggest factor. Today was a cloudless day and I cooked steel cut oats, lentils and rice, and potatoes and carrots, all within 2 hours...smaller portions though. I boiled water in my panel cooker and used the Sun Ovens for the food, but anything would have worked today. Other days, the same food would take 4 hours.
dkw12002 3 years ago