Solar Cookers
Decide which to use - get a Solar Cooker you will use often...There are many different Solar Cookers that will help you start cooking in the sun. You can make your own with one of the many designs on the internet. This can be fun, though often costs more than you expect and the results are unreliable. Even among commercially available units there is only a few that work properly.
Our research has shown that buying a quality Solar Cooker reaps dividends - it is the poor designs & quality of various solar cookers that has kept solar cooking a little-known venture...
Panel Solar Cooker -
Examples: Scorpion Solar Cooker
Good Points - Very Small, Cheap
Bad Points - Doesn't get very hot, Can't bake, Takes long time to Cook, Doesn't keep food hot
Solar Oven Cooker -
Examples: Australian Edition Sun Oven, Global Sun Oven, Tulsi Oven
Good Points - Hotter temperatures, Some designs keep food hot with good insulation. Many add extra reflectors to gain more heat.
Bad Points - Most can't bake (bread etc), Most take a long time to cook. Can be heavy and fragile. Some have extra reflector inserts which are fiddly. Some have lids that make access to the food difficult.
Parabolic Solar Cooker -
Good Points - Very Hot temperatures
Bad Points - Dangerous (can cause blindness / wind hazard), Very Big, Expensive, Must be refocussed often, can burn food, do not cook food evenly.
Hybrid Solar Cooker-
Good Points - Can cook with electricity
Bad Points - Defeats the purpose, poor solar cooking ability and electric cooking is not ideal outside.
Panel Solar Cooker - Very basically the suns rays are directed at the food either in a pot or in a bag and heat up the food slowly. Good for warming / slow heating / emergency use only.
Solar Oven Cooker- The Suns rays heat the food and the glass lid traps the heat. This creates an 'oven' effect to warm the food more evenly. Many solar ovens add extra reflectors to gain extra heat.
Parabolic Solar Cooker - The reflectors amplify the rays of the sun many times over to create a very intense heat. These cookers get very hot but do not retain any heat meaning the results vary dramatically and they need constant supervision.
Solar Cookers come in a wide range of sizes and shapes. Some solar cookers are great for warming and slow cooking, while others get very hot very fast but are more like a BBQ / grill than an oven. Very few solar cookers are useful on a day to day basis. We have found that a compact unit that gets high temperatures, is easy to use and well insulated is vital for good and reliable solar cooking.
The best combination of these we have found is the Sun Oven ® range of solar cookers. Be sure to get the genuine article though as there are some cheap imitation units being peddled in Australia.
The best combination of these we have found is the Sun Oven ® range of solar cookers. Be sure to get the genuine article though as there are some cheap imitation units being peddled in Australia.
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