I am going to build the solar cooker, thanks to all of the great responses I received. Please if anyone else has had experience in cooking with a box solar cooker, please send a reply, I need all the help I can get

-- lcbenson (lcbenson@bellsouth.net), July 12, 1999

Answers

We made one of these last summer, using the second set of instructions in this link

I tested it out in February of 1999 several times, starting with something I felt simple like Bisquick bisquits. It simply never did the job. Even in Texas there wasn't enough force from the sun to heat the oven high enough. It never got over 200 degrees. The only success stories I've heard are from those who have used it in summer. I'm sure I could fry eggs on my car hood in summer around here.

If anyone has successfully used a home-made version in winter, I'd like to hear from them also.

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), July 12, 1999.

My experience with solar cookers, in New England in the summer, has also been less than satisfactory, or at least very unpredictable. The skies tend to be hazier in the summer, so the cooker may still not heat up properly even if ambient temperatures are much higher. (I'll admit to having used a very crude design.) Seems like solar cookers should generally be avoided for cooking that is necessary to kill pathogens (like meats) unless you can ensure thorough cooking, such as by use of an oven thermometer.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), July 12, 1999.

I'm in Austin, and I was able to cook rice - was it in February? God, Y2K Time Flies.

BTW, in the link Anita supplies, plans are now available for Pizza Box solar cookers.

lcbenson: simply think of them as Black & Decker toaster ovens that only get to 275o, and don't have the browning element, and take four times as long to cook with, but work for free and are portable.

Make sure you get one of those cheap thermometers at Walmart or wherever so that you know how hot yours is getting.....

-- Lisa (lisa@work.now), July 12, 1999.

I made a solar oven on Sat. It looks like the one attached to the house. I found a stainless steel kitchen sink and surrounded it with lumber to create the sloping shape. I also found a piece of tempered glass with alum track attached which is now hinged for the lid. I used woodstove door rope as a weatherstrip, and alum. sheeting to waterproof, then sealed all cracks and joints with high heat silicone. I cooked 4 eggs and onions inside a blue pyrex casserole dish in 2 hrs at approx 150 degrees. Next, I put flat rocks in the bottom; this brought the temp. up to 185. I cooked 1/2 chicken, potatoes,and onions in a clear lid casserole dish in 4hrs. The chicken was almost done. I also noticed that clamping the lid down tight helped raise the temp. -----I need to work on a more efficient reflective system (solar panels) and sealing the lid better.

-- KoFE (Your@town.USA), July 12, 1999.