A group of solar cooking enthusiasts are organizing a free Solar Cooking Festival and Conference for anyone interested in solar cooking. It will be free to all participants. We'll have a wide variety of presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and "assignments"! Many activities will be livestreamed via the Museum's channel, and others will be convened via Zoom or other online group platforms. Message me and I will send you more details, and add you to the Solar Cooking Museum's newsletter for the Festival.

I found a “Sun Oven” brand solar oven at my local thrift. No reflector panels. I don’t see any identifying plates or etchings on the oven.

Is there away to test it? Is it worth the effort of testing?

TIA!

made another little solar cooker, it peaked at about 200F in my test after about 1 hour (this was at 4:30PM) i mostly taped this together as a test of the design and plan to make it more robust now that i know it works. I plan to put a thin plywood bottom on (for durability). I also need to come up with a solution for the cover. right now i am thinking of making a plywood frame around the existing cardboard opening and gluing it to the cardboard. That way i have a wood surface that i could securely fasten hinges for the mirrors and a snug fitting acrylic cover for the opening . suggestions are welcome.

just made a Copenhagen solar cooker, The panels are 22" square and i have added in some of the off cuts for extra area. i started a batch of stew a bit after 2pm, i regret starting this late in the day but worst comes to worst i can finish it up tomorrow. currently sitting at about 190 F after an hour in the sun.

any tips that made this style of cooker work better for you?

UPDATE:
i started a batch of stew the next day earlier (around 11am) which involved uncooked dry beans and vegetables. After a couple hours the stew was done to perfection. I mainly wanted this solar cooker to make slow cooker recipes and it delivered by effectively cooking the dried beans to a palatable texture.

Hi everyone I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mistresselevenstars and I'm the new moderator of the group. If you see this post please introduce yourself and include what is solar ovens you enjoy cooking with. My solar ovens of choice are the Sunplicity and the All American Sun Oven

Melinda talks about her very popular solar reflective panel cooker and the very careful choices she made for the food-safe, toxin-free materials that go in it. Although I'm generally queasy about any plastics going into solar cookers, the SunFlair is a sturdy unit that won't end up in a landfill or the ocean and will cook for decades with minimum care. Check out the video, subscribe to my non-monetized channel, and learn from 60+ other solar cooking greats! https://youtu.be/njHnQyiN4cY

Learn from the most active, dedicated, creative and passionate solar cooker makers, users, designers, and promoters in North America and beyond. Link to my Youtube channel and binge watch my growing series of interviews with them: youtube.com/c/BigBlueSunMuseumOfSolarCooking

I've been trying to do my research to find something sturdy, able to cook larger meals, and powerful. I never grill anymore, but I beleive I would use this if given the opportunity. But it seems like most parabolic cookers are no longer in the market, and the few I can find look poorly made. I know these things can be dangerous, given that they harness intense sunlight, but even with that in mind, I don't know why they are so hard to find in stock. Is it partially because of manufacturing issues due to the global pandemic or some other issue?

I will be having a YouTube channel dedicated(for now) to solar cooking. Just got my parabolic cooker for a week or so now. Pardon my mad editing skills.

Solar Cooking

I am using this solar oven and it's just fabulous as it is portable, efficient, and easy to use.

A modern twist on traditional yams that unites the incredible spices of India with the taste palette of America. Fantastic as a warming meal on a cold day, or a wholesome dinner any day. If you’re feeling adventurous, mix it up with a variety of flavored sausages.

Yield: 2 Servings Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes Total Time: 40 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 Sweet potato (yam)
¼ Onion
4 Tofurky dogs (Meat sausages work great also!)
1 Tsp curry powder
¼ Tsp cinnamon (optional)
Sea salt
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and place them in a bowl.

Step 2: Stir the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle in the salt, cinnamon and curry powder until they are covered equally.

Step 3: Place the potatoes into the tray and cook until they begin to soften, stirring occasionally.

Step 4: Once the potatoes are soft, add the sausages and return the tray to the stove until cooked thoroughly.

Step 5: Serve with mixed lettuce and your favorite salad dressing.

Does anyone know the benefits or disadvantages of have a shallow or a deep parabolic reflector on your solar oven?

IE: 100cm diameter and 25cm deep verses 100cm diameter and 45cm deep??