# Portable Solar Oven



## 98dot6 (Feb 10, 2015)

The Sunflair Solar Ovens are really nice. What I like about them is that they are very portable and lightweight and come with collapsible cookware so its easy to take with you. This oven gives off no smoke and best of all you can do other things while your meal is cooking instead of tending a fire. You can bake potatoes, cakes, cook whole chickens, steaks, MREs, boil and/or pasteurize water with it, and much more. In a Doomsday / Survival scenario, if you had this solar oven with you, you would always be able to cook and boil or pasteurize water. I like cooking with mine just to practice using it as a prep, but it also saves energy and avoids heating up my kitchen.


----------



## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

I am curious. Under ideal conditions, how does the cooking time compare to an oven?


----------



## 98dot6 (Feb 10, 2015)

It takes about twice as long. I think it can get up to like 275 degrees max. As long as you have sun though, you can even cook in the winter in cold temperatures.



Arklatex said:


> I am curious. Under ideal conditions, how does the cooking time compare to an oven?


----------



## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

My experience with solar ovens is this:
You have to adjust the angle of the oven every 15-30 minutes because the sun moves.
The most modest cloud in the sky can drop the oven by 100F.


----------



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

I really like my All American sun oven. It gets up to 350 degrees and cooks as well as any conventional oven - better, actually, as the food never gets dried out. BUT..... it is bulky. I've looked at the collapsable oven and it sure seems nice to put in a pack or car. But it doesn't get as hot. I think you have to see it more as a "slow cfooker". Nothing wrong with that at all, but it just depends on how you want to use it. I've thought of getting one for the cabin so I don't have to haul the bigger oven around. Wind can be a problem for any of them, and I would think that the lighter weight oven would have a bigger problem with wind..

All American SUN OVEN® | Sun Oven® | The Original Solar Oven & Solar Cooker


----------



## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Looks like something similar could be made out of windshield reflectors. Maybe an umbrella lined with aluminum foil?


----------



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> Looks like something similar could be made out of windshield reflectors. Maybe an umbrella lined with aluminum foil?


You absolutely can cook with a reflective sunshade. I went to a solar cooking expo one day and saw a lady cooking biscuits with a windshield reflector, and also with some pieces of reflective poster board. The portable oven has a clear front that zips closed. The sides reflect sun energy into the cooker and the food basically steams and bakes. The sealed chamber is what does the trick. The umbrella would be more like a parabolic cooker that focuses the energy at a focal point above the cooker - like a dish receiver. Parabolic cookers are pretty impressive - and scary! You can start a fire instantly with them, and they can really get a dish to sizzle. You can make one out of a satellite dish. I have a couple that I am going to make with metallic paint. Here is a guy making one with reflective tape.


----------



## 98dot6 (Feb 10, 2015)

It is true that the collapsible ovens do not work as well as the non-collapsible ovens. The dish types can even get up to like 750 degrees. But in a Bug-Out situation, the collapsible types would be invaluable. They are slow cookers, and you can let them simmer for hours, moving them occasionally while you do other stuff, and you don't have to worry about tending a fire.



RNprepper said:


> I really like my All American sun oven. It gets up to 350 degrees and cooks as well as any conventional oven - better, actually, as the food never gets dried out. BUT..... it is bulky. I've looked at the collapsable oven and it sure seems nice to put in a pack or car. But it doesn't get as hot. I think you have to see it more as a "slow cfooker". Nothing wrong with that at all, but it just depends on how you want to use it. I've thought of getting one for the cabin so I don't have to haul the bigger oven around. Wind can be a problem for any of them, and I would think that the lighter weight oven would have a bigger problem with wind..
> 
> All American SUN OVEN® | Sun Oven® | The Original Solar Oven & Solar Cooker


----------



## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Something to consider for the collapsible ones is they should work well for boiling water.


----------



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

HuntingHawk said:


> My experience with solar ovens is this:
> You have to adjust the angle of the oven every 15-30 minutes because the sun moves.
> The most modest cloud in the sky can drop the oven by 100F.


Just depends. When I am using mine, I will set it ahead of the sun a bit. I then move it about every 45-60 min. Preheating helps. You can also time your cooking. For example, if I want my lunch to be done after I get home from church, I can set the oven ahead of the sun so that it reached max temp an hour before I come home. It will then slowly cool down a bit but still be great eating without tending for several hours.

I have found it to be a tremendous help on holidays when my regular oven is full. I've cooked small turkeys, whole chickens, ribs, meatloaf, veggies, and baked goods. One day I conducted an experiment cooking two older roaster roosters. One in the regular oven and one in the sun oven. I maintained equal temps and equal cooking times. By far, the sun oven bird was more tender and moist than the one cooked in the regular oven (covered baking pan). The flavor and moistness can't be beat. Yes, you do have to tend it a bit, but nothing like open fire cooking, or even Dutch ovens for that matter. (I love my Dutch ovens, but I have burned stuff in them. Can't do that in a sun oven.) AND.... you don't have to contend with fire, smoke, or fuel.


----------



## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Will my tin foil hat work?


----------



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Camel923 said:


> Will my tin foil hat work?


Yup. Just be sure you aren't wearing it!


----------



## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

RNprepper said:


> Just depends. When I am using mine, I will set it ahead of the sun a bit. I then move it about every 45-60 min. Preheating helps. You can also time your cooking. For example, if I want my lunch to be done after I get home from church, I can set the oven ahead of the sun so that it reached max temp an hour before I come home. It will then slowly cool down a bit but still be great eating without tending for several hours.
> 
> I have found it to be a tremendous help on holidays when my regular oven is full. I've cooked small turkeys, whole chickens, ribs, meatloaf, veggies, and baked goods. One day I conducted an experiment cooking two older roaster roosters. One in the regular oven and one in the sun oven. I maintained equal temps and equal cooking times. By far, the sun oven bird was more tender and moist than the one cooked in the regular oven (covered baking pan). The flavor and moistness can't be beat. Yes, you do have to tend it a bit, but nothing like open fire cooking, or even Dutch ovens for that matter. (I love my Dutch ovens, but I have burned stuff in them. Can't do that in a sun oven.) AND.... you don't have to contend with fire, smoke, or fuel.


Thank you for that post! You may have sold me on solar cooking. I like to have plenty of options for off grid cooking. 


HuntingHawk said:


> Something to consider for the collapsible ones is they should work well for boiling water.


This is a great point also!


----------



## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> Thank you for that post! You may have sold me on solar cooking. I like to have plenty of options for off grid cooking.
> 
> This is a great point also!


I absolutely think my sun oven is one the best purchases I ever made. I use it a lot. I am soooooooo set for alternative cooking. Solar oven for sunny days, Dutch ovens for cloudy days. Horse manure fuel blocks. Throw in a DIY parabolic cooker and I am set. One of my goals this year is to get a methane generator up and going for free cooking fuel that can be piped into the camp stove. There is no need to scrounge for firewood along with all the crazy zombies if you have the sun!  (And manure and methane!)  
I really do think I will pick up one of those collapsable ovens, though. Would be great for BO or for travel.


----------

