How to aim your solar oven for maximum cooking temps

[jesus77755]

Great info!!!

God Bless You!!

[kenfo0]

"How to aim your solar oven for maximum cooking temps ">>>>er, at the sun?

[solarcookingnut]

@kenfo0 LOL, wellllll, this is to help people understand how to get better results. Many will just aim it where there is no shadow on either side. The problem lies in if they go off and forget about it, cooking can slow down too soon. Aiming it ahead about an hour will help get the food done at a reasonable time. some people I have watched videos, and LOL, I understood WHY they failed before the video was going to end. so, just trying to help out a little, :)

[kenfo0]

@solarcookingnut I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm not into all the hippie baggage (sry), but I respect people trying new and different things and solar cooking looks interesting. I'll give your method a try. I am concerned about food poisoning with certain food types. Will read up a bit then try it out.

[HomeworkHelper1]

The shadow is slanted, at what point should the shadow be two inches wide? The middle? The back?

[214jcf]

Can you use solar oven in winter? (provided there's sun of course)

[solarcookingnut]

@214jcf Absolutely! it has nothing to do with outdoor temps, it has to do with how much you can concentrate the suns rays inside the oven. The more reflectors, tighter the seal of the oven, and amount of hours you have of direct sun, the better. I have cooked meals in late fall, but where I am the sun drops behind the hills and I don't see no usuable sun until late february.

[annxiong]

do you have any advice on increasing efficiency for this exact solar cooker model.

[solarcookingnut]

@annxiong Make sure the oven is tightly sealed so heat doesn't escape. Also, adding more reflectors will increase temps inside. Using ceramic tiles painted with non toxic flat black paint will help with heat retention. I just lean mine up along the back of the oven wall where the sun hits them directly.

[iranianboy123]

what angle should the flaps be at?

[solarcookingnut]

@iranianboy123 the angle depends on the angle of the sun. simply put, you can adjust the reflectors as the season changes. I have no set rule on what angle its at because the sun changes its height in the sky over time. all my reflectors are adjustable so I have the proper maximum angle at any given season.

[narcovice]

never did have that kind of solar oven not either available in america or make your own out of shiny tinfoil

[narcovice]

thanks for the tip i do it diferently ill make a video soon

[narcovice]

isent the food suposed to be in the sun where its reflected

[solarcookingnut]

the food is in the sun. the goal though, in solar cooking is getting sun to hit as much as the interior as possible, not just the food. you want the sun hitting the walls as much as possible, and the reflector to either hit the food vessel or the front wall which is shaded more. while it is true you need sun to hit the vessel, you still need the sun to heat up the areas around the vessel for even cooking in a solar oven.

[solarcookingnut]

Various ovens and cookers work in several different ways. If you have a cooker where the vessel isn't enclosed in a bag or box, like a parabolic that uses a focal point to hit the pan, then that particular way of cooking indeed needs to have the sun directly on it. Box ovens work in several other ways, direct and trapped heat.

[rosrychaplet]

cool a home made solar oven with explanations on how to position it.

[mamabaig]

So I have questions.... Is it painted black on the inside? How hot does it get? I just started making bread everyday for my family of 9. I am thinking that using my oven everyday inside will be a killer in summer!  Which oven of yours will best cook loaves of bread? Wouldn't painting the outside of the box black help it get hotter inside???

[solarcookingnut]

It is painted 3/4 of the way black, the floor part, and halfway up the sides. this helps it to absorb and increase temps and keep them up. On a really clear day, 250. If I put more reflectors, it will reach 300-325. I bake everything in this one. when I bake loaves of bread in this one, I use smaller loaf pans since it will be a slower bake. Painting a double box oven black on the outside makes no difference at all because of the air space between the walls.

[solarcookingnut]

The only time painting a solar oven black would help is if it was completely made of sheet metal and painted inside and out.  those reach pretty high temps. One would have to be careful though for one could get burned if they touched the outside of a black metal solar oven.

[mamabaig]

You're awesome!!!! Thanks for all the tips!

[apia6000]

Thank you for the answer. (Apostolos, Greece)

[apia6000]

Could you please tell me about the air of the isolated space between two boxes, do you know if there is any significant temperature arise? What is the right (perfect?) thermal isolator for this air gap? And could you please tell me for the max temperature inside your cooker? Thank you.

[solarcookingnut]

Having about 2 or more inches between the boxes with lightly wadded up newspapers between the walls leaving air spaces really helps to keep the inner box, the oven part insulated. The maximum temps in my box ovens has been 250 with one reflector. to increase the temps, you can add more reflectors. Cooking in the 200 range makes food cook slower and make them taste alot better than at higher temps. Meats are alot more tender too.

[kubitza12]

sorry i'm the stupid one. i shouldnt have written that other comment. when i researched it more i found out it was more than just aiming it at the sun. SORRY MY BAD

[solarcookingnut]

apology accepted. I appreciate it.

It is my goal to help everyone interested in solar cooking to be successful, and sometimes when people do research, they don't do it thoroughly enough, that is why I make the videos. I hope you decide to get into solar cooking, and thank you again for the apology.

[solarcookingnut]

I would have to see it before I could help. One key point is keeping it air tight at the top so heat doesn't keep leaking out. Another thing, is what is the interior like?

Post a general description of how its made, and maybe I can help.

posting a video to show it better would help.

[spaceshuttle94]

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