Blast From My Past....Homemade Solar Cooker
Hello sisters,
I found this post from my old blog that shows our homemade solar cooker and thought you might find it interesting.
In the wintertime I cook most of our meals in cast iron cookware on the woodstove (which is our source of heat). It's not only economical (free) to cook that way but it's also fun and can be quite challenging. In the warmer part of the year when the woodstove is not going, I try to use our solar oven as much as possible, which is not as often as I'd like as it all depends on the sun and lack of cloud cover.
After doing much research and reading reviews of those who have made their own, we decided to scrounge around and see what we had to make one, heeding the helpful hints and cautions of those who have done this before. We had an old wash bin as well as some old windows and some aluminum sheets and all we needed was something reflective to line the inside with. Some people have used tinfoil but we ended up using a car reflector that we purchased new so the solar cooker cost $7 out of pocket. Not bad for a cooker that gets almost 250 degrees. (On a good day.)
I found this post from my old blog that shows our homemade solar cooker and thought you might find it interesting.
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In a world that is fast paced everything, we love living our home life in a simple and uncomplicated way. Yes, we do use modern conveniences but as we go through our daily lives we look for ways to do things the 'old fashioned' :-) way or by using the resources that God has given us, thereby saving us money as well as a growing appreciation for the conveniences that we do have.
In the wintertime I cook most of our meals in cast iron cookware on the woodstove (which is our source of heat). It's not only economical (free) to cook that way but it's also fun and can be quite challenging. In the warmer part of the year when the woodstove is not going, I try to use our solar oven as much as possible, which is not as often as I'd like as it all depends on the sun and lack of cloud cover.
After doing much research and reading reviews of those who have made their own, we decided to scrounge around and see what we had to make one, heeding the helpful hints and cautions of those who have done this before. We had an old wash bin as well as some old windows and some aluminum sheets and all we needed was something reflective to line the inside with. Some people have used tinfoil but we ended up using a car reflector that we purchased new so the solar cooker cost $7 out of pocket. Not bad for a cooker that gets almost 250 degrees. (On a good day.)
We lined the inside with insulation, covered it with the solar reflector (which has an insulation quality as well) and put in a rack to lift the pan up for circulation underneath. For the top we put a storm window on as well as the top window with aluminum sheets attached to it as a funnel for the sunlight to be directed inside the cooker.
I borrow the temperature gauge from my (old time:-) propane stove so I can 'guess' at how long something will take based on the average temp it's cooking at. I say 'guess' because I've cooked rice in 2 1/2 hrs yet it's also taken 4 hrs. A person can't be too picky when it comes to solar cooking with intermittent clouds and inconsistent heat, that's why it's best to use things that don't require specific cooking instructions. Whatever you can cook in a slow cooker/crock pot can be cooked in a solar oven provided there is ample sun. In order to really cook, it has to be roughly 200 degrees minimum. (Water boiling point is 212 degrees.)
Much patience and spontaneity is required because there could be times that you have to finish cooking it on the stove if clouds were sneaking by uninvited, thereby stealing the heat. Also, don't open it up very often or else you let all the heat out, no different than a slow cooker. Our solar cooker is rugged and rudimentary but aesthetics are not necessary for cooking and it doesn't affect the taste:-).
There is something very satisfying about doing things the simple, frugal way by reusing what we have and utilizing what God has given us.
Have a joyous day.
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
The biblical gospel...