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Catenary reflector hack backyard solar cooking just for fun!
Solar cooking with mylar foil on cardboard and a big sheet of aluminum foil building insulation.
On the washing line. Requires a day with no wind or a sheltered location.
low tech 6 clothes pegs catenary reflector
As we are close to the beach every morning is misty or some cloud cover. I was getting a bit fed up with long cooking times, so rigged up a caserole serving tray to hold pyrex containers with a black ceramic bowl inside.
hologram mylar gift wrapping stuck on cardboard
Corning pyrex now has flat silicon lids with borosilicate insert, which can form a seal for cooking. This is a flat lid, so it can fit inside solar ovens close to the top glass. Press down on the rim at the lip to open or close the lid and form a seal. Very convenient for solar cooking. Matt black ceramic bowl heats at the top rim first.
Cooked porridge with ground almonds 1 hour. Beans 2 hours. Rice cooking now for dinner at 3pm.
The clothes pegs surprisingly have stayed in place all day. I raised the lowest point of the sides with some sticky tape just for the time being, and it didn't matter which direction the hills hoist swung after 9am.
So thought I would put up this entirely UNSCIENTIFIC backyard hack solar reflector, with no measurements, and 6 clothes pegs 10 cents, reflector foil $4. No idea where the focal area was, in the middle somewhere, probably a few cms above where I hung the bowl. Just threw it together and hoped it would work. And it did!
hanging cooking pot over mylar and foil washing line reflector
beans in a matt black ceramic bowl, sealed into a pyrex container with a silicon lid
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Last edited: 24 November 2014
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Cupcake Solar Cooker set up
Helen Dawson began solar cooking in 1984, and has used various homemade solar cookers. She lives in Karingal, Victoria, Australia and is the designer of the Cupcake Solar Cooker.
External Links
- July 2014: Keep Solar Strong: Protect the Renewable Energy Target - Solar Citizens
See also
Contact
Helen Dawson
6 Lingi Crt
Karingal, Victoria 3199
Australia
Email: hdawsond@yahoo.com.au