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Any thoughts on solar ovens?
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05-05-2013 1:15pm#1Just been browsing instructables looking at solar ovens as a green way of cooking food and a potential backup if I run out of solid fuel if the SHTF, one example here:
Looks simple enough even for the DIY inept like myself. The advantages if it functions correctly are obvious - a continual supply of cooked food and warm water for cooking/washing/drinking copious cups of tea.
However I get the impression that these instructions are written by North Americans who of course live in a vast desert by and large, so get much more sunshine than we do.
Does anyone here in Ireland have experience of using this type of oven? Is it not worth the bother considering the frequent cloud and drizzle in which the Emerald Isle is enveloped?Tagged:0
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silentrust wrote: »Sounds ideal, I have a small stove with hexane fuel tablets which we use to boil water and cook small amounts of food occasionally for practice if nothing else - would much rather have one that can make use of scavenged deadwood and twigs but will have to wait until next month's paycheque!
If you want to boil water there is NOTHING better than a Kelly Kettle it burns free fuel, twigs, bits of stick, deadwood, pine cones and most things that can be made to burn including I believe camel dung but then if we had that easily available your solar oven would be a better bet
The only problem is the Kelly Kettle is ONLY for outdoor use and don't be using the hexi stove indoors as iirc the fumes aren't good for you.
The attachments you can get for Kelly Kettle to use it like a stove are of limited use but fit in well with some peoples mode of operation.
I currently don't have a Kelly Kettle as I can't decide which one to get (I really want 2:o) but from experience the small one works well as does the largest but the medium one doesn't have the best flue to size ratio so seems slightly less efficient.
A haybox shouldn't cost much to make its just a box with a lid/door stuffed with insulation. Long term convert an old fridge, even a large cool box can be used with more insulation.0 -
If you want to boil water there is NOTHING better than a Kelly Kettle it burns free fuel, twigs, bits of stick, deadwood, pine cones and most things that can be made to burn including I believe camel dung but then if we had that easily available your solar oven would be a better bet
The only problem is the Kelly Kettle is ONLY for outdoor use and don't be using the hexi stove indoors as iirc the fumes aren't good for you.
The attachments you can get for Kelly Kettle to use it like a stove are of limited use but fit in well with some peoples mode of operation.
I currently don't have a Kelly Kettle as I can't decide which one to get (I really want 2:o) but from experience the small one works well as does the largest but the medium one doesn't have the best flue to size ratio so seems slightly less efficient.
A haybox shouldn't cost much to make its just a box with a lid/door stuffed with insulation. Long term convert an old fridge, even a large cool box can be used with more insulation.
Just had a look at the website, many thanks for this. I like the look of the small one as it seems to me better economy of fuel to heat up small amounts as they're needed - bearing in mind you can always empty and refill it with cold water - just don't use it to run any baths...!
Hot water is a luxury I could really do without losing. Years of public school ice cold showers have taken their toll - perhaps there'd be a way to upscale something like this to a full scale boiler?0 -
silentrust wrote: »Just had a look at the website, many thanks for this. I like the look of the small one as it seems to me better economy of fuel to heat up small amounts as they're needed - bearing in mind you can always empty and refill it with cold water - just don't use it to run any baths...!
Hot water is a luxury I could really do without losing. Years of public school ice cold showers have taken their toll - perhaps there'd be a way to upscale something like this to a full scale boiler?
Just throw money at the problem Get a Frontier Stove and its water boiler attachment although the one review of the water boiler isn't great.
I took a look at the Frontier Stove in that outdoors shop on the quays in Waterford and while I like the design I thought it was a bit thin, but I suppose you have to compromise on weight on an item like that.
The larger Kelly Kettle is the one to get if you are not going to back pack it. Its what has put me off getting one, the little one only boils enough for a mug and a bit of the size mug I use but the bigger ones are just a bit big to carry solo.0 -
Just throw money at the problem Get a Frontier Stove and its water boiler attachment although the one review of the water boiler isn't great.
I took a look at the Frontier Stove in that outdoors shop on the quays in Waterford and while I like the design I thought it was a bit thin, but I suppose you have to compromise on weight on an item like that.
The larger Kelly Kettle is the one to get if you are not going to back pack it. Its what has put me off getting one, the little one only boils enough for a mug and a bit of the size mug I use but the bigger ones are just a bit big to carry solo.
Most interesting, will see if finances allow then give you all a full review.
I take it then your strategy is centred around bugging out? A fortified cabin in the woods where you can survive as the world burns?
Returning to the topic at hand one of my survival buddies from back in Blighty says that solar ovens are useless for bread apparently, so perhaps another reason to get one that runs on twigs.0 -
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silentrust wrote: »Most promising! I have toyed with the idea of buying a hydrator but so far only growing enough strawberries to be eaten immediately. Let's hope one day there is a surplus! :-)
LOL you obviously haven't been gardening long!
Some fruits are best eaten immediately!
The problem is Plan A) Grow enough food to survive soon becomes plan
God that was good lets eat it now. You really need a few years experience before you can grow enough to satiate Plan and have enough left for the primary Plan A), unless of course you don't have any taste buds. 0 -
LOL you obviously haven't been gardening long!
Some fruits are best eaten immediately!
The problem is Plan A) Grow enough food to survive soon becomes plan God that was good lets eat it now. You really need a few years experience before you can grow enough to satiate Plan and have enough left for the primary Plan A), unless of course you don't have any taste buds.
Only for a year or so I'm afraid, my SO really is the expert. She does it to save money and because she is a flower child. I do to batten down the hatches come the Apocalypse - having said that I have seen dried strawberries but agree they're probably best eaten off the bat...
...Anyone had experience making jams? That's what I'd like to do next. Have bought some jars just for the purpose.0 -
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If it can be done in west Dublin in May, there shouldn't be any reason anyone else can't do it!
If vegetables like carrots or parsnips can be cooked there really isn't going to be a problem with meat. As you can see my whole setup is quite flimsy really, i have a few ideas to make it a bit sturdier but as this is 'Survivalism and Self Sufficiency' i'm running with the cheap and cheerful philosophy for the moment. I left the pot out today from 11am until 6pm as i was worried about the veg being overdone. I didn't need to leave it out so long and cooking time could have been shortened by at least an hour.
The oven bag i got in Supervalu, the other materials were to hand and whatever little technical knowhow came from solarcooking.org
It looks like it will be another fine day tomorrow, i'll try chicken drumsticks or thighs. Anyone else going to give it a shot?0 -
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Another nice sunny day. I tried putting chicken thighs into the pot this time around. I left them out at 12 midday when it was intermittently overcast and initially was resigned to failure, but as the evening turned out so well i needn't have worried. I used a similar setup to the last couple of days with one or two minor variations. I put the pot with the chicken into 2 oven bags this time, again all under the glass dome. I placed a few stones under the pot inside the bags to support it off the tinfoil reflector base. Both tricks are supposed to improve performance. I had to resite the whole oven setup once in order to better catch the sun. I finished up at 6.30pm and was relieved to find perfectly cooked chicken.
Apologies for the food porn which follows...
Anyway, i think the matter is settled. Also i don't want to keep posting food pictures here. You can easily make and successfully use a basic DIY solar oven in Ireland... in summertime. I take the point about the Primus Litec pot, but from what i've read any dark ,ideally metal and thinwalled, pot should do the trick. Now i just wish i had tried all this out last year during the heatwave.0 -
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...I take the point about the Primus Litec pot, but from what i've read any dark ,ideally metal and thinwalled, pot should do the trick. Now i just wish i had tried all this out last year during the heatwave.
LOL I was just pulling your leg about the Litec pot. Surprised no one else noticed it. tbh it just shows that you are more prepared than the average Irish citizen
There are areas where you can get away with using everyday items and others where specialist equipment pays dividends.
At one level a heavy cast iron dutch oven is a good S&SS item and at the other extreme a lightweight Litec pot is what you need. I'd have both because I want to be able to have that choice in how I survive if the need arises, bug in or bug out.
A solar oven is just another of those options we do not have ideal conditions every day of the year but its another option when its sunny and very handy if fuel is in short supply. Another point is that a solar oven doesn't leave a footprint like a cooking fire does (smoke and the fireplace).
For me its not about having one answer its all about having as many options as possible.
Ditto - good work! Its one thing having an option its another to prove it works.0 -
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Kevhog1988 wrote: »just heated a small bottle of water so far.
Thats a really good thing to try with because you can work out the amount of energy you are getting from the sun.
So you could compare different solar ovens efficiencies at different times of day etc.
To put an actual figure on the energy used the calculation is....
The specific heat capacity of water is 4,200 Joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg°C). This means that it takes 4,200 J to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2gjtv4/revision/5)
But really for comparison you'd just want to know how long it took a solar oven to raise say 100ml (100grams) of water by say 10 degrees.
Why would you do that - well its day 30+ of restrictions 0
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