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THE
SOLAR WAll OVEN
Frequently
asked questions answered.
- What is it?
- What are the main advantages over other
solar cookers?
- How hot does it get?
- Will it bake bread?
- How does it cook without being able to
"focus" (i. e., aim) it at the sun?
- What about partly cloudy days?
- In what seasons will it cook?
- Can I use it as a free standing cooker?
- Latitudes of operation?
- What about adding external reflectors?
- Is this design well proven?
- How do I learn to cook in it?
- What else can you do with it?
- Where do I get one?
- How do I install it?
- What does it cost?
- Are plans available to build one?
A large capacity, reflectorless, slant face solar box cooker designed to be installed for
access through a tunnel in a south-facing wall in your home.
The convenience of solar cooking without having to go outdoors,
saving time and effort, plus avoidance of cold, hot or windy
weather. You can bake food in summer without baking yourself. Windproof.
Dustproof. Insect proof. Dog proof. Rainproof.
Wrong question! The right one is; "how much food will it
cook?" Answer: an entire meal for a family - bread, main dish, veggies,
dessert, side dish and hot beverage, for example. If you
really need to know the cooking temperature (with a fairly heavy load in
the oven) is typically 250 deg F summer, 220 deg
F winter.
Yes - two loaves at a time. And cookies to - two large trays fit on
the oven floor.
It has a large glass area with internal reflectors, giving it a wide
angle of sunlight acceptance. It cooks most effectively from 9AM to 3PM.
10:AM to 2:PM in winter.
It does a good job collecting diffuse light, high thin overcast
light, and cloud edge effect light since it accepts light from many
directions. It often can cook when other types of solar cookers fail.
Spring, summer and fall are best. Of more limited use in winter (you
can't bake bread), but still usable for many cooking purposes for
smaller amounts of food.
Sure. It's weatherproof, so it can remain outdoors year in and year
out. By rotating it to catch morning and evening sun you can get it to
cook all day long. The low heavy Solar Wall Oven did not overturn in a
gale that removed some of our sheet metal roofing.
Has been tested from 25 to 45 degrees and found to function efficiently.
We've experimented with that and found a 3-panel design that gives excellent
results in the dead of winter. Info will be found in the Do-It-Yourself
Guidelines. A
reflector of some sort probably would be needed beyond 45
degrees latitude to collect low angle light.
Barbara Kerr's prefers the Solar Wall Oven to any other type of solar
cooker, and uses it far more often than any of the many others in her
possession. Beginning in 1985 she installed and tested eight
Thru-The-Wall designs. The present Solar Wall Oven worked
the best. The one mounted in Barbara's home has been in has been in operation since 1994.
Our
annotated Publications Page describes several excellent solar cookbooks
sold by the Center. These books and others are also available from
Solar Cookers
International.
Pasteurization (using a "WAPI" -
water pasteurization indicator.)
Sterilization (i. e., your grungy dishcloth, or minor medical
equipment.)
Drying kindling (split it first.)
Food drying (although better solar methods are available.)
Canning (of acid foods only.)
Food warmer (food in pass - thru with oven door open and kitchen door
shut.)
Raising bread (in pass-thru tunnel.)
Food cooler (in winter.)
Melt wax for candles.
And more ...
The hoped for production version has not come to pass. You
will have to build one from Do-It-Yourself
Guidelines
Use the instructions provided in the the Do-It-Yourself
Guidelines. It is readily adaptable to conventional
frame, straw bale, cob,
adobe, papercrete, cindercrete, rammed earth, cinder block, stone or what have you.
You will be spending several hundred dollars or more for all new
materials, and less if you can salvage materials.
No detailed plans exist. Only the Do-It-Yourself
Guidelines are available.
Revised:
07 Jul 2009 23:59:07 -0700
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