The Sendai Airport During the Great Quake & Tsunami

The Sendai, Japan Airport as the Tsunami waters flood the runways . Notice the survivors on the roof , what you don't see, is people running from the solar panels. After this terrible disaster, those solar panels are ready to make electricity again, once the system has been inspected for damage. No one will be spending time and money pumping sea water on them, so they don't explode.

How to Assemble the Maria Telkes

The Maria Telkes with out her "Bonnet", or reflectors.

Directions on putting Maria together
Hello whoever you are , I'm going to walk you through getting this solar oven unpacked, and set-up to cook with. First off there are parts inside the oven you will need to assemble the "Bonnet", so get everything out of her, once you have removed the packing wrap and tape. In addition, I have included a couple of tools on the skid help you do the step-up. A hammer to take the skid apart, and a pair of adjustable pliers to get the wheels back on. Start by getting all the parts off the skid , don't over look to the two bundles of support rods that are taped on each side of the skid.

This what she looks like with the that step done -



Be sure that the oven is up off the ground at least 14 inches in the rear, so you can get the wheels back on. Remove the nuts off the axles , and the small steel spacer on the axles, and slide the 2 wooden skid rails off the axle. You can now mount the wheels on the axle in this order :
2 flat washers, the wheel, 1 flat washer, the lock washer, and the nut.
The red object between the wheels is the brake, it looks like this :



With the brake on the wheel, and the tow bar all the way down on the ground, you can now begin to install the "Bonnet" parts.
There are 4 main reflector parts, and 8 support rods. These rods will allow 1 person to assemble the "Bonnet" alone, but having 2 people makes it much easier.

There 4 four flanges around the glass seen here :

These flanges can be removed, in order to take the glass out for cleaning, when necessary.
Each reflector has a flange that slips into the space between the glass flanges, and the oven case. This picture shows that using a sheet of paper :

Notice the small "R" on the case, each side is marked , so the right side reflector, and the left side reflector get installed correctly.
Here are the 2 side reflectors they are taped over the glass during shipping :
Note the flanges running along the top, these side into the slot where the paper was in the picture above:


Here are the top, and bottom reflectors, the top one has a black flange riveted along it's bottom at a right angle. This flange rests on the case of the oven when it's installed, it is the one on the right in this picture. Note the flanges running along the top, these side into the slot where the paper was in the picture above:



Next install the "Bonnet" rods for the bottom . They are the set that doesn't have a "hooked" pair. There are 2 holes drilled in the bottom frame on each side for the long ones, and "loops" for the shorter set. Note the "loops" at the bottom of the oven case, and that the bends point to the center :



The "loops" on the "Bonnet" :



You are now ready install the bottom reflector on to the oven case.
Center the reflector flange on the case with the 2 sides folded in. Once you locate it , start one corner down into the slot, (Remember the paper from above ?) This can be worked down , but be patient it's a tight fit. Once the whole flange is seated, swing up the two center rods, and slip them into their "loops". This will support the bottom reflector, this what you're going for :



Next install the top reflector, (the one with the black flange) , using the 2 short rods that have "hooked" ends, these hooked ends clip onto the "Bonnet" , with "loop" ends just above the oven door . Again center the reflector left and right on the glass slot, and work one corner into the slot. The 2 long rods have wing nuts that thread into holes drilled the the side frames.

Next install the "Target" in the bottom right corner of the glass. It is inside the oven with the pins used to fasten the reflectors in a plastic sack, it just slips under the glass flanges. This target tells you when the oven is pointing directly at the sun, the idea is not have any shadows at the base of the target :



You are now ready to install the sides. Right side in the right side, left in the left. Again center the reflector flange left and right in relation to the glass, and work one corner into the slot between the glass flange, and the oven case. There are 6 hinges on each side that pin the sides to the top and bottom , but only pin the top sets together as you mount each side.
This done so that if the parts aren't "centered" on each side, you can adjust their positions left and right. If every thing lines up, install the other 8 pins in the hinges. The "Bonnet" will now support itself, and the rods can be adjusted if need be. The 4 long rods stick into pockets on each triangle section of the "Bonnet".

(These pins are inside the oven in a plastic sack.)



You'er just about done, now install the "bonnet clips". There 8 of them in that sack with the target, and pins. These just press down around the lip of the "Bonnet" where each section meets the next. The top "hooked" rods go over these clips.



With the the clips and rods installed , the "Bonnet" will stand-up to wind pretty good, it can wheeled around from one location to the next, and it can be pointed way over without fear of it losing it's shape.



Odds and ends
I have included a roll of reflective tape for repairs to the reflector. There's a couple of cooking pots inside along with the oven furniture & some thermometers. There are several racks and shelves that can be moved to various areas in the oven depending on what one is cooking. Remember the cleaner one keeps the glass, and reflector, the higher the temperature.

The site has my email address, so if you need help, just tell me know.

Maria on the Skids

Broke Maria down and put her on the skids for shipping . Writing up the instructions for how to assemble her, and will post it here, with pictures. Have that up in a day or two.

Maria with one of her new friends, Colton Carthel at the Breedlove Foods dock -

Donating Maria

The " Maria Telkes " June 2010

When I started this project 13 months ago, my goal was always to pass her long to some group that could put her to good use. I have found that group , the good folks at Breedlove Foods
I have no idea exactly where she may go from here, but in the next week , I will spend getting her ready to ride in a shipping container . Like the rest of this site , I'll post the process of that here, as well as some background about Breedlove.

Gumbo & Apples

Sourdough Bread

I baked a test loaf at home in a regular electric oven . 50 min. at 375 F degrees It was slightly under cooked. I then baked a smaller loaf in the Maria. for 2 hrs. 10 min. It was done. Next up, peppers in the sourdough.

Cooking Vegtable Beef Stew & Brown Rice

The clouds thickened up from 1:30 to about 4:00 pm. So the rice was under cooked just a bit.

Sourdough & Better Oven Furniture

I have started some Sourdough Starter
And a short clip tweeking the oven furniture.


I like looking into the bonnets of these things.

Saturday July 25th Tweeking & Cooking.

Tweeking



Cooking



This was the largest amount of food by far that I have tried to cook. Our brisket was 14 lbs.
In all, nearly 30 lbs. of food and the associated water that goes with it. ( I had a gallon of water to cook the corn. That's 8.6 lbs, plus 10 apples, 18 ears of corn , plus maybe 2 lbs of peas with their water. )

Tomorrow's menu at The Maria Telkes :

10 lb. brisket
Boiled corn on the cob
Purple eye peas with peppers, garlic, and onions.
Super thin corn bread with peppers
Baked apples with brown sugar & cinnamon
And iced spearmint lime aid.

And here's the logo , it's going on the back of the bonnet. Along with the screen names, or first names of all the people who helped me build is " red pepper " .