I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this statement of the hostel owner in Guatemala where I was residing: “In order to live a more ecological and sustainable life here in the jungle, we would love to make our ecological footstep smaller. The issue is we don’t have the funds to install the required solar array to juice up a solar oven.”
First of all, the only stuff you need to power up a solar oven is the sun, the food you want to prepare, and cooking utensils. Secondly, it depends on what particular solar panels you purchase, of course, but they aren’t that expensive anymore, these days. In fact, the global emphasis on a greener world is such a hot topic that there even is a cryptocurrency with the most suitable name; Solar coin. As a reward, this coin is handed out to all those producing power by means of solar energy. The main goal is reducing the main electricity network derived from fossil fuels. We stand behind the company philosophy of this coin.
I can hear you thinking; “But what can you do with this coin?” In case you are not interested in having any form of digital money whether it is freely gained or not, you can exchange it for another crypto coin and have a go in the crypto casino online. Another idea would be to exchange it for a coin to your liking. We recommend holding on to this coin.
Back to our solar ovens; how do these solar ovens work then?
4 main types
Box cooker
Basically, this solar oven is a regular box. Think about a pizza box, shoebox, etc. The dimensions are plentiful and depend on the number of persons you want to serve.
To achieve an efficient oven the pot and the inside of the box need to be black. That is if you are using a pot.
Next, the box is sealed with a transparent layer. This can be as simple as kitchen film wrap or as sophisticated as plexiglass. The lid of the box is covered with mirror-like material and set at a precise angle to the sun so that the heat is reflected on it.
That way the heat will be absorbed by the black-colored interior of the box. A perfect DIY project for a boring Sunday afternoon.
The disadvantage is the inefficiency in comparison with the other solar ovens.
The average maximum heat obtained is 150 degrees Celsius, resulting in a longer cooking time. The size, immobility, and easy wear down of cardboard boxes make it the lesser chosen kind.
Panel cooker
To portray the whole picture the panel cooker is described here. Many sources never mention this type of oven. A black cooking pot encapsulated by a glass container is positioned on a silver panel on the ground. Of course, it doesn’t need to be a glass container. You can also use a plastic oven bag, just as long as the black pot has an airtight transparent object around it and the transparent material is heat resistant. You can go wild and design anything that you think does the trick.
As the box oven, the panel cooker is a great, cheap DIY project. Moreover, this model is less likely to be a victim of fatigue because of the more solid structure of the components. The moderate temperature measured would be around 200 degrees Celsius.
Parabolic solar oven
Want to cater to a big group of people and surprise them with solar-prepared food?
The parabolic oven is exactly what you need. It’s nothing more than a reflective satellite dish supported by a metal structure that includes a grill.
Extremely high temperatures are reached due to the oversized parabolic reflector that focuses all sunlight directly to one area. Grilling and frying become possible.
The huge structure isn’t very appealing. There is no cover, therefore not suggested to use in the vicinity of children. The big advantage, on the contrary, is the heat generated, to be precise around 350 degrees Celsius, enabling frying and grilling food.
Vacuum tube solar cooker
This device is the brainchild of Patrick Sherwin founder of Go Sun and a proud pioneer of the tube solar cooker.
The story behind his masterpiece is intriguing. One day he was removing his solar water heater on a cloudy day and noticed the inner tubes were still radiating heat. As an experiment, he threw in a hot dog. A few moments later he was eating the best hotdog of his life, they came out perfectly. Almost better than cooking them in a traditional way.
Inspired, he decided to find a way to cook food based on these principles. The birth of the vacuum tube solar cooker, followed soon after.
The inner tube of the solar cooker is made of two different layers of blown glass connecting to each other by means of a vacuum. The U-shaped containers used by the medical world to take blood samples of patients are constructed identically. (Hopefully, your appetite is still intact!) The black outer color of Patrick Sherwin’s life-changing cooker forms the single exception.
Energized by the big ball of fire in the sky and even on grey days the reflectors energize the tube and high temperatures are reached within minutes.
Easy to take with you wherever you go. Children friendly because the tube stays cold from the outside. Unfortunately, not ideal for a substantial crowd
Guidelines;
Make sure you wear sunglasses and do not look straight in the reflectors.
Get more out of your solar oven by placing the oven in the sun and following the sun throughout the day.
Use a thermometer to meter the heat. Let the different parts cool down before touching them
Make sure the oven reaches at least 75 degrees Celsius to cook chicken, to ensure all bacteria are nonexistent.
The best cooking time would be between 10:00 and 15:00 o’clock as the sun is at its most powerful.