Changes: Tennis Ball Cooker

Revision as of 00:50, 9 December 2014

Last edited: 3 May 2012

Tennis Ball Cooker, detail — Split tennis balls orienting individual mirror panels

In early 2008 Webb Mealy began development of a panel cooker, known as the Tennis Ball Cooker. He had seen photos of traditional parabolic style cookers being used in Nepal, and thought he could develop a cooker that would be lighter, less expensive to produce, more easily transported, and with a low profile, so as to be better suited for use in windy areas. The construction of the cooker incorporates the creative reuse of materials. The base panel is made from recycled heavy-weight "gator board" that is 1/2" thick with a tough plastic laminate surface on both sides. Then fifty-six used tennis balls were split and hot-glued onto the panel on approximately 6" centers. Mirrored vinyl film (remnants from a window coating business, available online) was cut into 5" squares and applied to used CD cases. Using a laser, he was able to aim the mirrors at a common focus point (about thirty-two inches above the platform and seven inches in front of the panel's footprint) and then glue them into place using hot glue. The cooking surface, which is thus outside the footprint of the panel, consists of a grill mounted on a recycled african drum stand.

The prototype, working as designed three years later, was stored outdoors (in partial shade, subject to temperatures from 30 degrees F to 90 degrees F and precipitation) for two years to test the weatherworthiness of the design. The mirror material did not degrade or delaminate from any of the CD cases, and the CD cases did not, in nearly all cases, separate from the tennis balls on which they were mounted. The "gator board" platforms failed, however. About half of the hot glue attachments between the tennis ball halves and the gator board failed due to lost adhesion, and another quarter failed due to delamination of the gator board itself. In addition, the gator board warped over time, rendering the orientations of many of the mirrors incorrect. Aluminum sheet or waterproofed and Fiberglas reinforced honeycomb cardboard seems the more durable material for the platforms, and perhaps fast-curing epoxy rather than hotglue for gluing the tennis ball halves to the platform. Storing these cookers indoors, of course, would be ideal, as would storing them in a hanging position, rather than having them stand under their own weight.

Audio and video

External links

Tennis Ball Cooker Webb Mealy describes the project in more detail. Two short videos demonstrate its cooking power.

Contact

Webb Mealy

webb@selftest.net

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+{{GoogleTranslateLinks}}
-[[File:Tennis_Ball_Cooker_side_view.jpg|right|350px]][[File:Tennis_Ball_Cooker,_detail.jpg_.jpg|thumb|340px| Split tennis balls orienting individual mirror panels]][[Video:howto.flv|thumb|300px|left]]
-In early 2008 [[Webb Mealy]] began development a panel cooker, known as the '''Tennis Ball Cooker'''. He had seen photos of traditional parabolic style cookers being used in [[Nepal]], and thought he could develop a cooker that would be lighter and less expense to produce. He was concerned that it should be able to be more easily transported, and with a low profile, be better suited for use in windy areas.
-The construction of the cooker incorporates the creative reuse of materials. The base panel is made from recycled heavy-weight foam core panels that is 1/2" thick with a plastic laminate surface on one side.  Then fifty-six used tennis balls were split and hot-glued onto the panel on approximately 6" centers. A mirrored vinyl film was cut into 5" squares and applied to used CD cases. Using a laser, he was able to aim the mirrors at a common focus point about thirty-two inches above the platform, and then glue them into place.  Cooking pots are suspended above the panel with a recycled drum support stand.
-{{clr}}
+{{Updated|5|3|12}}
+[[File:Tennis_Ball_Cooker_side_view.jpg|right|350px]][[File:Tennis_Ball_Cooker,_detail.jpg_.jpg|thumb|340px| Split tennis balls orienting individual mirror panels]]
+In early 2008 [[Webb Mealy]] began development of a panel cooker, known as the '''Tennis Ball Cooker'''. He had seen photos of traditional parabolic style cookers being used in [[Nepal]], and thought he could develop a cooker that would be lighter, less expensive to produce, more easily transported, and with a low profile, so as to be better suited for use in windy areas.
+The construction of the cooker incorporates the creative reuse of materials. The base panel is made from recycled heavy-weight "gator board" that is 1/2" thick with a tough plastic laminate surface on both sides. Then fifty-six used tennis balls were split and hot-glued onto the panel on approximately 6" centers. Mirrored vinyl film (remnants from a window coating business, available online) was cut into 5" squares and applied to used CD cases. Using a laser, he was able to aim the mirrors at a common focus point (about thirty-two inches above the platform and seven inches in front of the panel's footprint) and then glue them into place using hot glue. The cooking surface, which is thus outside the footprint of the panel, consists of a grill mounted on a recycled african drum stand.
+The prototype, working as designed three years later, was stored outdoors (in partial shade, subject to temperatures from 30 degrees F to 90 degrees F and precipitation) for two years to test the weatherworthiness of the design. The mirror material did not degrade or delaminate from any of the CD cases, and the CD cases did not, in nearly all cases, separate from the tennis balls on which they were mounted. The "gator board" platforms failed, however. About half of the hot glue attachments between the tennis ball halves and the gator board failed due to lost adhesion, and another quarter failed due to delamination of the gator board itself. In addition, the gator board warped over time, rendering the orientations of many of the mirrors incorrect. Aluminum sheet or waterproofed and Fiberglas reinforced honeycomb cardboard seems the more durable material for the platforms, and perhaps fast-curing epoxy rather than hotglue for gluing the tennis ball halves to the platform. Storing these cookers indoors, of course, would be ideal, as would storing them in a hanging position, rather than having them stand under their own weight.
+==Audio and video==
+[[File:howto.flv|350px|none]]
+==See also==
+*[[Helios Array]]
+*[[Prometheus 100]]
 ==External links==
-[http://www.selftest.net/media/solar/ Tennis Ball Cooker site]
+*[http://www.selftest.net/media/solar/ Tennis Ball Cooker] Webb Mealy describes the project in more detail. Two short videos demonstrate its cooking power.
 ==Contact==
-[[Webb Mealy]]<br>
+[[Webb Mealy]]
 [mailto:webb@selftest.net webb@selftest.net]
 [[Category:Solar cooker designs]]
-[[Category:Solar panel cooker designs]]
+[[Category:Solar array cooker designs]]