The Obsession Continues

Part Two: Supplies and Construction

We did it again. We have now cooked 3 meals and a loaf of bread in the solar oven. I almost feel guilty if I don't have something in it, like I am wasting energy. It is also hard to get used to not flipping the "on" switch or somehow turning it on. Below are some of our materials. We used:

1. scrap lumber
2. cookie sheet from the Salvation Army store
3. a picture frame the boys found dumpster diving
4. a new set of hinges
5. a can of black high-heat paint
6. one insulation board, which insulated the box and built the reflector panels
7. Some special tape that conducts heat or something, it is quite expensive and not necessary, but it made the finished project look cooler. We had it for wrapping our hose so it wouldn't freeze this past winter.
8. Various tools, you'd have to ask Sam, maybe I'll have him post.

The pot in the picture was supposed to dictate the size of the oven, but the cookie sheets ended up dictating the size and the pot doesn't fit.

First we made a box at the size we deemed appropriate, not sure exactly how we decide, but we measured once and cut twice. :P

Then we insulated it.

At some point we spray painted the cookie sheets with high heat paint. In hind site, we realized this step should have been done first, so they could dry while we worked on the rest.

The cookie sheets had to be cut to fit the box, because the box is designed to angle toward the sun. It took a few attempts to find a tool that would work.

Last we hinged the picture frame with glass to the top like a door and it almost fit perfectly...more on that in the next post on "tinkering, adjusting and triumph".

It was about 6:30 or 7:00 when we finally completed the project and when placed in the sun heated very little. It was deemed a failure and everybody went inside to get ready for bed. I tried to convince them that in the morning with more hours of sun it would surely work, but they were sceptical.

As you will see in more postings about the solar oven, this one works great after we do a little adjusting and tinkering. Sam is already making plans for an even better one, learning from this project. Altogether we spent less than $40.

Almost As Green As a Clothes Line

Part One: Your Homework

We did it! I didn't want to spend a lot of time posting about the solar oven until it really worked and today was a complete success! It is sooooo cool! I baked bread and made beef stock for Pho soup without using one ounce of nonrenewable energy. It was as simple as the clothes line. Place the clothes on the line in the sun and they will dry. Place the food in the box and it will cook with the small exception that the sun oven was probably a little more involved to construct, but using it is simple.

The weather here in Rogers, AR was in the high 80's low 90's all day with clear sky's in the morning and a few clouds in the afternoon. We were able to get the solar oven slightly above the 250F mark by about 10:30am. I had planned to make a sheet marking the time, outside temp and oven temp, but hey life happens and I'm not super women. We'll do that another day as a school project.

So, now you know it is possible. Here's how to get started. First do a little research and design an oven. Here are my two favorite sites: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/The_Solar_Cooking_Archive_Wiki and http://www.solarovens.org/. The video on the second link is a must see. It is the reason I wanted to start experimenting with a solar oven.

Second, I had a class for the children. We talked about heat and how to best trap it. While Sam was gone to Iraq I put an oven together really quickly and it didn't work, so we talked about why it didn't work. Here is what the kids came up with.

• black absorbs heat, thus the inside of the oven needs to be black.
• the heat must be trapped, like in a closed up car, thus you need a glass or clear plastic lid and it must be as air tight as possible.
• the oven must be angle towards the sun
• reflectors help concentrate and direct the heat and can be made from a variety of shiny objects, including metal, aluminum, or old mirrors.

Third, we put these principles into action and gave them some pencil and paper. They can up with some great designs, including putting the oven on wheels so it is easier to follow the sun through out the day. Samuel designed a solar grill, which was very smart and I found one like his on youtube that actually works. We plan to design one of our own at some point. Ultimately, we used some of their ideas and came up with something mom and dad thought would most likely work and could be constructed with easy-to-get materials.

Next we gathered materials and constructed our solar oven and twittered around with it until we were successful. I will post materials and how-to next time.

Lazy Summer Days

I can see the children happily playing from the kitchen table where I am checking emails and drinking my coffee after only reheating it once. I usually reheat it three times and dump it down the drain figuring after being in the microwave three times it has more radiation than one should really consume. They are really enjoying the time off from school. We "out sourced" their education this past year and they got a huge dose of "real" school. The kind of school where you do a lot of book work and sit in your seats a good part of the day. Don't get me wrong, they still have no idea what public school would be like, but they are appreciating some time off.

The morning chores went well, so I have a clean house. Josiah and Samuel got in a tiff about something and it distracted them from their work, so I got a clean bathroom out of that deal. While the kids finished up Haden and I took a walk together around the church property. He enjoys some special time with his mama. We didn't see Sam much this morning. He got up early for prayer and bible study and then got to work finishing up a construction project on the front of the church. Boy, I sure did marry a handy one. I took him his carrot, blueberry, and strawberry juice and we took a little morning walk. It is nice having him around more after all we have been through with the Army.

So all in all in all it looks to be a nice day. The sun oven is already heated to 150F at 9:40 AM and it is only about 70F outside. I put left over soup in it to heat for lunch. We still don't have it completely sealed or the reflectors, so I am really pleased with it. We are using a make shift reflector right now, but it seems to be working well. Once we get the kinks worked out I will post about the project, including drawings of the children's very clever designs. I can't wait to bake bread in it, for Sam it's all about the chocolate chip cookies.

Have a great day.