Colorado Bob's Solar Oven: Back to Back Days of 400 Plus Temps

Monday, July 20, 2009

Back to Back Days of 400 Plus Temps

415 F yesterday, 405 F today .

The first firing was 305 F , these improvements from that number are all due to me fixing bad design work and poor craftsmanship. There's another 70 degrees there in that puzzle pile, yet to capture.
Lots of clips of all this, but life has been hard lately , and I've been away from my Mac.

Remember one thing, Maria Telkes took her oven to 437 F 50 years ago.

Everything else has just been making pizza boxes into something useful.

This thing is like owning a Double A Fuel Dragster.
A couple of " tweeks " , and this thing stands up, and runs like a bat out of hell.

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WHAT THIS IS

What This Part II

A vlog of the building of a large Telkes Type solar oven on a wheeled carriage, using heavy 26 inch garden cart wheels.
The total surface area of my glass is 673.75 sq. in. or 4.86 sq feet.
That's 24.5 X 27.5 inches.
The reflectors are 6,129 sq in. or 42.56 sq feet .
That's 8.82 to 1
47.42 sq feet of total collecting power going into a box that is 10.89 cu. feet of space. Insulated with 3 types of insulation 5 inches thick.
The oven is all steel construction. Construction began on June 1st 2009, and is documented in short clips, of each day's work.
The project begins on June 1st 2009 in the archives .

What This I
For 40 years the concept of solar ovens has rotated around the idea of bringing relief to a charcoal starved 3rd world. I read "Direct Use of the Sun's Energy" by Farrington Daniels in 1973. And it was 10 years old when I found it. It's the bible of solar power. Nothing has changed about the things Daniels laid out. Nothing. Materials science developed since 1964, but the things Daniels states about the sun, and the problems of capturing, and using that stored energy, it haven't changed a bit.

But back to the ovens. This spring I planted a lot of sweet corn with the idea I would cook it , and sell it on a stick. Always with the idea of using solar power to do it. So, I went looking for the state of the art in solar ovens. It's still stuck on all those charcoal burners in the 3rd world.

Which is to say , " How do we make a solar oven from cardboard, and tin foil, and heat a 3 qt pot ? "

I'm serious, a fellow perfected that oven . It's called the Global Sun Oven . You can buy one for $289 bucks. Your purchase sends one somewhere into the 3rd world as well. And they're great, but I can't cook 100 ears of corn on one, all at one time. Which made me think , neither can someone in the 3rd world. No one has designed , and built a small solar oven like a backyard grill. With wheels on one end, and handles on the other, about 4 feet long.

So, that's what this is, this is the building of that oven, with that goal in mind. All the designs, plans and clips will be free to anyone who can use them. Whether, it's tamales in Mexico, lamb in Mecca, or corn on Buddy Holly Ave.

Materials List

1 - 46.5" X 39 ft roll Reflec Tech Mirror film
1 - 4 X 25 roll Prodex Foil Insulation
6 - Rolls 2" X 60 ft. Foil Tape
1 - 6 pc. carton 2 X 48 X 24 rigid Mineral Board Isulation
1 - 4X8 Rigid Fiberglass insulation
2 - 26" spoke wire wheels w/ 3/4" bearings
2 - 3/4" nuts; 6 - 3/4" flat washers' 2 3/4" lock washers
1-20 ft 3/4" cold rolled round rod - 50" X 3/4" cold rolled round rod - axle
1 - 20 ft 1" - 1/8 angle
2 - 20 ft 1" square tube
5 - 100 count 3/16th pop rivets, small, med.
4 pcs. 2' X 10' 2' right angle 26 ga. sheet metal
5 sheets of 26 ga sheet metal 41 1/2 " X 10 " 2"

Colorado Bob's Solar Oven

Monday, July 20, 2009

Back to Back Days of 400 Plus Temps

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