It makes sense to me. My stove is in my kitchen, and I can see my Kitchen from my living room. I have 3 children. There is almost always at least one playing in my backyard at any given time. I can keep an eye on my indoor stove, but to have to sit outside while the Sun slowly cooked my food wouldn't work so well.
That being said I really want to try one just to test the concept. Just today i was testing a small solar widow heater and was getting 165F air out of it with 77F ambient air going in today. I was suprised to get that high a temp from a small design.
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there is a shortage of sunny balconies in most slums and forests too for that matter.This is the point . Because the forests have been cut down for cooking firewood. Women have to now walk miles from their villages to find firewood. Believe it or not there are now thousands of solar cookers in use mostly in India and Africa. No one is suggesting someone is going to set one up at the local Hilton Hotel balcony.
As for saying you cant leave one unattended because you have children makes no sense. They are no more dangerous than your usual electric or gas stove. In fact they are less dangerous. as they cant get to the temperature that a gas or electric stove can if a control is turned on fully and left unattended. Solar ovens/cookers need some turning every half hour to reorient them If not done the oven will lose heat and then would be in failsafe mode. The only solar cookers that can be dangerous are the over 6ft dia parabolic reflectors .They can produce temperatures of over 1000 deg F in seconds.
No great carpentry skills are needed to make a simple box with a glass top and simple flat sided reflectors covered with reflective metal.or mirrors. There are many many web sites that give all the information needed to build simple solar ovens/cookers..Leave a comment:
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Imho
I think that for what they charge for anything that they can say is "Green", you should definetly go the DIY route. Now you must keep in mind that this is coming from me and I have enough materials in my shop and the skill to build one right now. Now maybe you don't hoard building material like I do and need to purchase everything off the shelf. Maybe it would just be easier for you to buy one premade.
I would like to make one but I have small children and couldn't leave it unattended. I trust my kids not to touch it, but I don't trust their freinds.Leave a comment:
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Think a bit - If a solar oven is the only means of cooking it is one thing - if it is a toy then it is quite another thing. The climbing expeditions would be a perfect use. They will have labor plenty to carry it all and do the cooking - no problem.
Somewhere I saw that even using the cooker for one meal a day saves soooo much pollution - whoopee but it don't really work that way - getting people to change over would not be easy. Maybe 90% of people wouldn't have a nice sunny balcony to set the thing on - there is a shortage of sunny balconies in most slums and forests too for that matter.
If it is going to be used by your Zulu in SA or Indian peasant then it can be made of what ever works.
Nice country club thing though.Leave a comment:
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How does location make a difference to weather you buy one or build one?? And how does the it matter who is the end user.?
You mean if if its going to be used by Lady Whatnot in Mayfair it has to be professionally built so it looks ok next to the Bentley on the estate? but if its to be used by a Zulu in the middle of Africa it ok if it made from old packing boxes ?
Solar cookers have been used successfully at the base camps of mt everest. I dont know if they were all professionally designed and built or put together by Mongolian monkeys from parts from a chev corvair. Mabe some of each. ??Leave a comment:
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You should specify the location and who the users will be - 3rd world or in France. It makes a very big difference!Leave a comment:
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DIY solar oven ?
What do you think is the best choice : DIY solar oven or buy one to professionnals ?
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