The Almost Perfect Solar Cooker

The concept for the "Perfect Solar Oven".

As some of you know, solar cooking has been a project of mine since I was a young inventor. I started out by making the type of cookers that you can find plans for all over the internet now. You know the ones, insulated boxes with glass on top. I couldn't heat anything in them. I have a lot of disdain for those things, and it is with great effort that I don't use words that really express my feelings for them and those who claim to use them. It was because of the cookers and the people, that I almost stopped experimenting completely. I even tried the parabolic idea. What a joke.

A "Cooking Jar" heating 1/2 gallon of water.

I did stop for a long time, but then I was thinking about it and it hit me; the reason they don't work is because they can't work for anything more than experimental curiosities. They can heat the air inside, but they can't do much more than that. I have never even been able to heat water beyond warm. Until now, that is. I designed my own cookers and these things COOK! My original idea was that of the "perfect cooker" that I have the cg pic of here. I actually built a version of it, but it doesn't work very well. I also made my "Cooking Jar". These actually work like I expected the perfect cooker to work. I made what I call a hoodie for it and it works really good now.

So how well do the cooking jars work? Without the hoodie, I can heat water in a clear quart jar to about 150 degrees (all of my measurements are in Fahrenheit) in a couple hours. A quart in the black jars to about 176 degrees. With the hoodie I got a black quart jar of water to 184 degrees. I'm still testing with the half gallon black jar, but that has gotten to about 130 degrees. I was able to heat a pint of beans to about 150 degrees in a clear quart jar. I haven't tested with the hoodie yet.

"Cooking Jar" heating 1/2 gallon of water.

I'm still experimenting, but things are looking promising. I hope to try the beans again tomorrow. I have taken pictures of the perfect cooker and the hoodie, but I haven't gotten them out of the camera yet. I'll post them with an update as soon as I get to it. Hopefully in the next couple days.

My Solar Stuff

I hate it when I have stuff to talk about, but can't find a place to do it. An audience I guess. Well, I made this blog to show off my solar "stuff". It's not as simple as solar electricity. There is a lot that you can do with the power of the sun. I mostly get really hot, burn things, and charge things. I've had perennial projects for a long time that include the sun. Short walks in the desert, followed by collapses in the garden. Attempts at cooking weenies or boiling water. It's all solar and depending on the company, it's fun!