Solar Cooking
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A few years later, in another project, I bought some 1 foot square mirror tiles that a hardware store had in a clearance basket. I went to a junk yard and found a half used spool of wire. The wire was about twice as stiff as clothes hanger wire. I cut segments of the wire to make croquet hoops. I hammered some iron rods into the ground to make a stand for an electric griddle. I took the plastic handles off of the griddle and painted the bottom of the griddle with black spray paint. I pressed 40 hoops into the ground around the griddle and leaned a mirror against each hoop so that a noon day sun would reflect to the bottom of the griddle. I would angle the mirrors so that the reflection from the mirrors to hit squarely on the bottom of the griddle. A layer of cooking oil on the griddle would begin smoking in about 1 minute. I had to cook fast, as the focal point would be steadily on the move and I would have to adjust all of the mirrors again.
 
A few years later, in another project, I bought some 1 foot square mirror tiles that a hardware store had in a clearance basket. I went to a junk yard and found a half used spool of wire. The wire was about twice as stiff as clothes hanger wire. I cut segments of the wire to make croquet hoops. I hammered some iron rods into the ground to make a stand for an electric griddle. I took the plastic handles off of the griddle and painted the bottom of the griddle with black spray paint. I pressed 40 hoops into the ground around the griddle and leaned a mirror against each hoop so that a noon day sun would reflect to the bottom of the griddle. I would angle the mirrors so that the reflection from the mirrors to hit squarely on the bottom of the griddle. A layer of cooking oil on the griddle would begin smoking in about 1 minute. I had to cook fast, as the focal point would be steadily on the move and I would have to adjust all of the mirrors again.
 
 
I still use mirrors with the [[Solar Fryer]]. The reflection from the mirrors is not nearly as precise as a true parabola. The focal point is spread out more and makes the [[Solar Fryer]] easier to use. I can count on at least an hour of great solar cooking on a sunny summer day as the mirror's reflection moves across the grill.
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I still use mirrors with the [[Solar Fryer]]. The reflection from the mirrors is not nearly as precise as a true parabola. The focal point is spread out more and makes the [[Solar Fryer]] easier to use. I can count on at least an hour of great solar cooking on a sunny summer day as the mirrors' reflection moves across the grill.
 
I had a piece of low iron glass cut to fit a motorcycle wheel. I use it to cover a pizza when cooking on the grill. Pictures of a pizza cooking on the solar cooker can be seen on the [[Solar Fryer]] article.
 
I had a piece of low iron glass cut to fit a motorcycle wheel. I use it to cover a pizza when cooking on the grill. Pictures of a pizza cooking on the solar cooker can be seen on the [[Solar Fryer]] article.
   

Revision as of 03:10, 18 March 2009

Large Solar Cooker

The Solar Fryer has 67 truck mirrors that have a surface area of 4 square meters.

Scrap titanium and leftover mirror sheets

Mike Pool's solar oven made mostly of the leftover scraps from other people's projects Bread

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Pizza!

Bacon and eggs cooking on the --Solar Fryer--

Bacon and Eggs

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Yellowfin tuna and crab legs Seafood

Freshly baked spelt bread from a solar cooker

Freshly baked spelt bread

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Solar Grilled Shish Kabobs


Hello. I have lived in Canyon, Texas for the last 12 years with my wife and family. We are at a latitude of 35 degrees north and 102 degrees west longitude. I have had an interest in solar energy since my high school days. It was in 1975 that I made my first solar cooker. It was a parabolic reflector made out of carboard boxes, poster board and aluminum foil. It had a diameter of about 6 feet.

A few years later, in another project, I bought some 1 foot square mirror tiles that a hardware store had in a clearance basket. I went to a junk yard and found a half used spool of wire. The wire was about twice as stiff as clothes hanger wire. I cut segments of the wire to make croquet hoops. I hammered some iron rods into the ground to make a stand for an electric griddle. I took the plastic handles off of the griddle and painted the bottom of the griddle with black spray paint. I pressed 40 hoops into the ground around the griddle and leaned a mirror against each hoop so that a noon day sun would reflect to the bottom of the griddle. I would angle the mirrors so that the reflection from the mirrors to hit squarely on the bottom of the griddle. A layer of cooking oil on the griddle would begin smoking in about 1 minute. I had to cook fast, as the focal point would be steadily on the move and I would have to adjust all of the mirrors again.

I still use mirrors with the Solar Fryer. The reflection from the mirrors is not nearly as precise as a true parabola. The focal point is spread out more and makes the Solar Fryer easier to use. I can count on at least an hour of great solar cooking on a sunny summer day as the mirrors' reflection moves across the grill. I had a piece of low iron glass cut to fit a motorcycle wheel. I use it to cover a pizza when cooking on the grill. Pictures of a pizza cooking on the solar cooker can be seen on the Solar Fryer article.


See also

  • Solar Fryer
  • Vegetables An exotic but easy to make recipe called Kelewele
  • Bread Enjoy the great taste and aroma of freshly baked spelt bread.
  • Eggs & Cheese American breakfast classic of bacon and eggs
  • Meat Dishes Summer Solar Cookout of Rib Eye Steaks or Shish Kabobs
  • Seafood For a special occasion - Crab legs or Yellowfin tuna

Since the weather is hard to predict, the Yellowfin tuna is a risk free option. If the weather is not good enough for solar cooking, you can always make sushi.


Contact

mpool@amaonline.com