So you want to build a solar oven? Good Luck!
There are kits you can buy, or you can buy more heavy duty materials to make it last longer. Well I'm broke as balls; you know "welfare budget" and all, so I wanted to figure out how to do it with found objects, things I had around the house, and minimal purchase, but from things only found at the local dollar store. Information about the benefits and blah dee blah of solar ovens will come in a different post.
Pictures will come as I make it happen, and so I'll write this sort of like a diary...
Day 1: 10/7/2012
Dear Diary,
Today I want to build a solar oven. I've seen examples and web pages and want to see about building one of my own.
I have a lot of cardboard boxes around here, let's see what i can come up with.
I made from parts of 1 box, a 15" x 15" with 6" sides. I taped it with duct tape, just to hold it together, so i could have my hands free.
The great thing with this is that I can always build the sides up by gluing and taping more cardboard. Perfection and beauty not required.
I want to essentially paper mache the cardboard to make it more durable. So I made home made Mod Podge like this:
1 Pint Mason Jar
1 Bottle All-Purpose White Glue (Like Elmer's, but a generic brand will be just fine. It needs to be non-toxic. This type of glue does not release under heat.)
Into the jar, I poured the bottle of glue, which a typical bottle will be just a little less than half of the jar. I filled the rest with water, put on the lid, shook, a voila; home made mod podge for a fraction of the price. I think I paid 37 cents for mine from the clearance shelf at Walmart.
I used brown paper shopping & lunch bags, because that's what I have at the moment, and pasted on a layer on the box and I'm letting that dry tonight.
I also am using a cooling rack with a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the top, duct taped it in place, and have the bottom pasted with brown paper too. I'm letting that dry tonight as well. That will be the base of the "cooking" part of the oven, where I'll be pasting aluminum foil.
The Outside box is larger than the inside box. I'll be crumpling newspapers to put in between the two. The air between them as well as the newspaper will insulate allowing the cooker to be more efficient with less heat loss.
That's all I've done for tonight. I'll check back tomorrow.
*Disclaimer* There are fantastic free plans, and kits out there available over the internet. This is not the ONLY right method. This is an experiment. If it works, great. If it doesn't, well, we'll try something else.
There are kits you can buy, or you can buy more heavy duty materials to make it last longer. Well I'm broke as balls; you know "welfare budget" and all, so I wanted to figure out how to do it with found objects, things I had around the house, and minimal purchase, but from things only found at the local dollar store. Information about the benefits and blah dee blah of solar ovens will come in a different post.
Pictures will come as I make it happen, and so I'll write this sort of like a diary...
Day 1: 10/7/2012
Dear Diary,
Today I want to build a solar oven. I've seen examples and web pages and want to see about building one of my own.
I have a lot of cardboard boxes around here, let's see what i can come up with.
I made from parts of 1 box, a 15" x 15" with 6" sides. I taped it with duct tape, just to hold it together, so i could have my hands free.
The great thing with this is that I can always build the sides up by gluing and taping more cardboard. Perfection and beauty not required.
I want to essentially paper mache the cardboard to make it more durable. So I made home made Mod Podge like this:
1 Pint Mason Jar
1 Bottle All-Purpose White Glue (Like Elmer's, but a generic brand will be just fine. It needs to be non-toxic. This type of glue does not release under heat.)
Into the jar, I poured the bottle of glue, which a typical bottle will be just a little less than half of the jar. I filled the rest with water, put on the lid, shook, a voila; home made mod podge for a fraction of the price. I think I paid 37 cents for mine from the clearance shelf at Walmart.
I used brown paper shopping & lunch bags, because that's what I have at the moment, and pasted on a layer on the box and I'm letting that dry tonight.
I also am using a cooling rack with a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the top, duct taped it in place, and have the bottom pasted with brown paper too. I'm letting that dry tonight as well. That will be the base of the "cooking" part of the oven, where I'll be pasting aluminum foil.
The Outside box is larger than the inside box. I'll be crumpling newspapers to put in between the two. The air between them as well as the newspaper will insulate allowing the cooker to be more efficient with less heat loss.
That's all I've done for tonight. I'll check back tomorrow.
*Disclaimer* There are fantastic free plans, and kits out there available over the internet. This is not the ONLY right method. This is an experiment. If it works, great. If it doesn't, well, we'll try something else.
