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Edition: 11
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE BYU SOLAR COOKER/COOLER ***
This eBook was produced by Aaron Canon, Steve Herber, and Jack Eden.
Contents
I. Introduction
II. How it works
III. How to Build Your Own Solar Funnel Cooker
- What You will Need for the Funnel Cooker
- Construction Steps
IV. Final Steps
V. After Cooking
VI. Tests
- Tests in Utah
- Tests in Bolivia
VII. Water and Milk Pasteurization
VIII. Safety
IX. Cooking with the Solar Funnel Cooker
X. How to Use the Solar Funnel as a Refrigerator/Cooler
XI. Conclusion: Why We Need Solar Cookers
XII. Answers to commonly-asked questions
XIII. Recipe for wheatpaste
XIV. Updates
- Rabbit-wire base
- Reduced angle
- Save-heat cooker
- Funnel-cooling during the day
- Hot-and-cold running water
- Conclusion
I. Introduction
A few years ago, I woke up to the fact that half of the world's
peoples must burn wood or dried dung in order to cook their food.
It came as quite a shock to me, especially as I learned of the
illnesses caused by breathing smoke day in and day out, and the
environmental impacts of deforestation -not to mention the time
spent by people (mostly women) gathering sticks and dung to cook
their food. And yet, many of these billions of people live near
the equator, where sunshine is abundant and free.
The first reflector was made at my home out of aluminum foil glued
onto cardboard, then this was curved to form a reflective funnel.
My children and I figured out a way to make a large card-board
funnel easily. (I'll tell you exactly how to do this later on.)
The Solar Funnel Cooker is safe and low cost, easy to make,
yet very effective in capturing the sun's energy for cooking
and pasteurizing water -- Eureka!
Construction Steps
2. Form the Funnel. To form the funnel, you will bring side
A towards side B, as shown in the figure. The aluminum foil
must go on the INSIDE of the funnel. Do this slowly, helping
the cardboard to the shape of a funnel by using one hand to
form creases that radiate out from the half-circle. Work your
way around the funnel, bending it in stages to form the funnel
shape, until the two sides overlap and the half-circle forms
a complete circle. The aluminum foil will go on the INSIDE
of funnel. Open the funnel and lay it flat, "inside up", in
preparation for the next step.
Next, gather the top of the bag in your fingers and blow
air into the bag, to inflate it. This will form a small
"greenhouse" around the cooking vessel, to trap much of the
heat inside. Close off the bag with a tight twist tie or wire.
Important: the bag should not touch the sides or lid of the
cooking vessel. The bag may be called a "convection shield,"
slowing convection-cooling due to air currents.
Place the entire bag and its contents inside the funnel near
the bottom as shown in the Photographs.
Remember: Sunlight can hurt the eyes: Please wear sunglasses when
using a Solar Cooker! The Funnel Cooker is designed so that the
hot region is deep down inside the funnel, out of harm's way.
V. After Cooking
Remember that the cooking vessel will be very hot: Use cooking
pads or gloves when handling! If you are heating water in a
canning jar, you may notice that the water is boiling when the
lid is first removed - it gets very hot!
Helpful Hints
4. The lids can be used over and over. We have had some trouble
with the rubber on some new canning-jar lids becoming soft and
"sticky." "Ball canning lids" do not usually have this problem.
Running new lids through very hot water before the first use
seems to help. The lids can be used over and over if they are
not bent too badly when opened (pry off lid carefully).
5. The jar can be suspended near the bottom of the funnel using
fishing line or string (etc.), instead of placing the jar on a
block of wood. A plastic bag is placed around the jar with air
puffed inside, as usual, to trap the heat. The suspension method
allows sunlight to strike all surfaces of the jar, all around,
so that it heats faster and more evenly. This suspension method
is crucial for use in winter months.
VI. Tests
Tests in Utah
I find that people are surprised that the sun alone can
actually cook food. And they are further pleasantly surprised
at the rich flavors in the foods which cook slowly in the sun.
This inexpensive device does it!
Tests in Bolivia
The BYU Benson Institute organized tests between the Solar Funnel
Cooker and the "old-fashioned" solar box oven. The solar box
oven cost about $70 and was made mostly of cardboard. It took
nearly two hours just to reach water pasteurization temperature.
The Bolivian report notes that "food gets cold every time the
pots are taken from and into the oven." The solar box oven
failed even to cook boiled eggs. (More expensive box cookers
would hopefully work better.)
VIII. Safety
-Keep the plastic bag away from children and away from nose
and mouth to avoid any possibility of suffocation.
BEANS
Preparation: Let tough or dry beans soak overnight. Place in
cooking jar with water.
Cooking Time: 2-3 hours
EGGS
Preparation: No need to add water. Note: If cooked too
long, egg
whites may darken, but taste remains the same.
Cooking Time: 1-1.5 hours, depending on desired yolk firmness.
BAKING
Preparation: Times vary based on amount of dough. Cooking
Times:
Breads: 1-1.5 hours; Biscuits: 1-1.5 hours; Cookies: 1 hour
During the day, the sun's rays are reflected onto the cooking
vessel which becomes hot quickly. At night, heat from the
vessel is radiated outward, towards empty space, which is very
cold indeed (a "heat sink").
The burden for gathering the fuel wood and cooking falls mainly
on women and children. Joseph Kiai reports from Dadaab, Kenya:
"Women who can't afford to buy wood start at 4 am to go collecting
and return about noon... They do this twice a week to get
fuel for cooking... The rapes are averaging one per week."
From Belize: "Many times the women have to go into the forest
dragging their small children when they go to look for wood.
It is a special hardship for pregnant and nursing mothers to
chop and drag trees back to the village... they are exposed
to venomous snakes and clouds of mosquitoes." (Anna K.)
(Quoted by Solar Cookers International from a newsletter.)
And the forests are dwindling in many areas. Edwin Dobbs noted
in Audubon Magazine, Nov. 1992, "The world can choose sunlight or
further deforestation, solar cooking or widespread starvation..."
But we don't want to have to "track the sun" by turning the funnel
every few minutes. The sun moves (apparently) 360 degrees in
24 hours, or about 15 degrees per hour. So we finally chose
a 60-degree opening angle so that the cooker is effective for
about 1.2 hours. This turned out to be long enough to cook most
vegetables, breads, boil water, etc. with the Solar Funnel Cooker.
We also used a laser pointer to simulate sun rays entering the
funnel at different angles, and found that the 60-degree cone
was quite effective in concentrating the rays at the bottom of
the funnel where the cooking jar sits.
Prepare 1 cup (2.4 dl) of very hot water. Make a thin mixture of 3
tablespoons (45 ml) of white flour and cold water. Pour the cold
mixture slowly into the hot water while stirring constantly. Bring
to a boil. When it thickens, allow to cool. Smear on like any other
glue. For slightly better strength, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of
sugar after the glue is thickened. After using a portion, reheat the
remaining in a covered jar or container to sterilize it for storage
or keep refrigerated. If wheat flour is not available, other flours
will work.
Rabbit-wire base
"We found immediately that raising the vessel off the bottom
of the cooker using a rabbit-wire stand provided more rapid and
even heating than the wooden block used previously. Placing the
jar or pot on a wire stand allows as much reflected light onto
the cooking vessel as possible. This allows even the bottom of
the cooking container to absorb thermal energy that is reflected
off the lower portion of the funnel."
The photograph shows the Save-Heat Cooker which we have designed and
built. The box is made from a polystyrene cube, 30 cm on a side. We
have drilled 4 holes each about 10 cm in diameter into this block,
so that each holds a canning jar. Then a lid fits over the top to
hold in the heat.
Conclusion
For questions regarding the complete Solar Funnel Cooker kit using
aluminized Mylar and a jar for the cooking vessel, please contact
CRM at +1 (801) 292-9210.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE BYU SOLAR COOKER/COOLER ***
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