Cooking with a solar oven in Europe in 25 to 33 degrees c weather in September.

If you watched me build my solar oven then I’m sure you will want to see if it works. Well I’ve been giving it a test this week whilst the sun is still out here in northern France. The weather has been between 25 and 33 degrees c and has been clear some days and cloudy on others. WILL IT COOK BAKED POTATOES? Watch and find out
I’ll be updating the results and temperatures in different months if the sun shines and if I get interesting enough results..... Know Expert.

[@bradlafferty]

Really loved the ending! I am going to try and make one of these, those I am sure it won’t be as posh as yours! Thanks for the instruction!

[@Know-Expert]

Thanks for the nice comment Brad. I forgot about that at the end. Before making one read the reply to the comment before yours, it gives a little more info. Thanks for watching.

[@dadlaponizil3687]

Bravo! Thanks very much for sharing your handiwork. We’ll be building one of these with some students we are mentoring on renewable energy.

[@Know-Expert]

Thank you for your nice comment. It’s great to hear people are now being taught about renewable energy. Start by measuring the pans and adjust the pieces accordingly and if you do decide to double glaze it separate the glass with matchsticks and use silicon not superglue and make sure to leave a small gap in the silicon to allow the air to expand and contract…… Know Expert

[@thornwarbler]

Well i go to the foot of our stairs. I thought that would be a heroic failure ....Shows what i know..........Nowt!! ......Resut i'd say......Well done

[@Know-Expert]

Ha ha, I haven’t heard that expression since I was a kid. Oven works great considering the time time of year and location. I’m looking forward to making an improved model.

[@paulsprunken]

Well done and the angled mirror is an improvement over the original although I would cover the full back of the mirror with wood; when you took out the pan with beans it looked like you were tempted to put it on top of the oven ie directly on the back of the mirror.... with a full wooden back it provides you some extra space to handle your pans without risking breaking the mirror. Perhaps also something that prevents to mirror from being pushed too far backwards, just in case? We use my solar cooker in France even on partly cloudy days (based between Vesoul & Epinal, so pretty north and even cooked at our home in Netherlands with it). And we also do meat stews or whole chicken. The proteins firm up also below 100C provided you give it time (don't go below 70-75C; you may not get the browning (although you could brown on a regular stove and then move it to the sunoven). We put whole chicken in the pan with lid and let it go up to 4 hours or more. It falls of the bone while still juicy but don't put salt during cooking. Taking the lid of the pan during the last hour may actually provide some browning Other option: cut a zuchini lengthwise and remove the seeds but leaving the two ends 'closed'; take two of you favorite seasoned saucisses, take the filling out of the skin and fill the zuchini halves; in the pan nnd let go for an hour and half or longer depending on temperature. So much to explore. Hope you share more of your experiences As for orientation: when you have full reflection of the mirror, then turn the oven clockwise perhaps 10-20 degrees so you do not have to do a constant rotation of the box while still getting enough sun-heat Enjoy, paul

[@Know-Expert]

Wow thanks for the info Paul, I just started my holidays now so I’ll be getting the oven out and trying a few of your suggestions. As for turning it well that’s exactly how I do it. Thanks for watching my video. Oh and before I moved to France I lived in Holland too but didn’t have my oven then.

[@turboconqueringmegaeagle9006]

Awesome, it's working nicely for something so simple. So because you mentioned building another one.... Pv cell to drive some electronics, a solar tracker and combine a parabolic mirror with the glass enclosure and I reckon a slab of 10mm steel to focus the heat on to, you'd be able to lift the hood and slide the onion about every now and again without loosing all the heat from the steel, put a bit of thermal mass in it and leave it running all the time, obviously it'd cost more than a conventional electric oven + a years worth of electric but that's not the point is it!? Nice vid mate cheers.

[@Know-Expert]

I’m Know Expert not Colin Furze..... ha ha ha glad you liked it. New camera coming soon so look out for some possibly interesting videos (for a change).

[@petset77]

Nice. I looked at this design the other day on another video. I'm researching before I build a solar oven that will bake/cook outdoors at 25-32 fahrenheit to extend solar cooking here in the Rocky Mountains here in Colorado.

[@Know-Expert]

Steve, this design is good but I mainly built it because I think it looks better than a box type for KZbin views. If it’s for efficiency I recommend the box type with four mirrors. They get hotter as the mirrors reflect all together into the center. That said mine reaches 106 c and anything over 80 c (I’m sure it’s 80 or thereabouts) will cook food but it just takes a bit longer. Also the lack of extra mirrors on mine means I have to adjust the angle every now and again to have direct sunlight. Look through my other videos and you can see me using it. Thanks for watching I appreciate it. Good luck with your build. Know Expert

[@lexluthor6497]

Interesting but I think the wood inside the box leads cold in/heat out.I think it should be insulated on the inside too.I made a sodacan solar heater and used insulating material with metal foil surface and painted it black.Have to test this up here in Finland.👍

[@Know-Expert]

Hi Lex, when it comes to making things for the first time I’m no Superman, he he, but yeah since making this I’ve added steel plates to the interior and painted them black. They get super hot and even if I open the oven to remove something the hot steel retains the heat. Thanks for watching my video. Know Expert

[@jorjemacheta8910]

Très bon tuto, je vous croise souvent sur votre trottinette et je vous ai aperçu charger votre bateau il n'y a pas longtemps, je ne savais pas que nous étions voisin. La prochaine fois que je vous croise, je n'hésiterais pas à m'arrêter. En tout cas vous vous amusez bien dans tout ce que vous entreprenez et vos tutos sont très bien réalisés malgré ma faible compréhension en Anglais, les images parlent également et la je comprends mieux. Bye

[@Know-Expert]

Merci Jorje c’est très gentil à dire. Je vais souvent à la supermarché avec mon trottinette et maintenant j’ai un remorque (c’est meilleur pour porter les chose). J’espère mettre mon bateau dans l’eau le 9 ou 10 juillet si le temps et l’heure de l’haute mer est bon. Le prochain fois tu me voir en parlera. Bon week-end. Alan

[@jorjemacheta8910]

@@Know-Expert Moi aussi j'ai une remorque avec un kayak orange dessus je ne l'ai pas fabriqué mais vous pouvez peu être me croiser un jour car je pars souvent pêcher sur la plage de Sorlock. Et oui on parlera et je serais interessé pour me fabriquer une trottinette électrique ça à l'air cool surtout quand on la fabrique soit même. bon week end Jorje

[@sitgesvillaapartmentneilsc7924]

Thats excellent, I am further south than you, just below Barcelona in Sitges , we get 100% sun for about 310 days a year here so I take advantage of it with this type of cooker, it works really well in the winter months even when the temperature is down to 8 to 10 degrees, its the sun you need, I built insulation around mine to allow it to still heat up, in the summer up here that pot would be bubbling over and inside the temperature can get to 200ºc quite easily. In the winter I treat it as a very slow cooker but it does work very well, leave something on all day and later afternoon its fully cooked, depending on the type of meal I might just warm it through on the stove to help it get going. In the summer it will cook a lot faster and alot hotter, more like a regular over, here its 28º to 35ºc is the 4 months of summer so its perfect for cooking, trouble is you dont always want something hot to eat then, spring and autumn perfect.... It might gain a bit more heat if you apply some mylar film to the two inside walls that are black, try and curve it a little to help focus the sun, it does make a big difference having them mirrored I have found. Nice build. I have to admit to purchasing one some time ago and adding the mirrored walls.

[@Know-Expert]

Hi Neil, wow thanks for the reply and the info with it. Since I finished building it I fitted some stainless steel plates inside and painted them black. I’m going to give it a go and see what it goes up to when the weather gets a little better. It’s 3 degrees here at the moment and warms to about 10 or 12 in the afternoon. I imagine the plates won’t increase the temperature but will help to keep it stable if the sun goes behind a cloud for a few minutes etc. I’m looking forward to giving it a go and I’ll probably make another video this summer. Thanks for watching….. Know Expert

[@sitgesvillaapartmentneilsc7924]

@@Know-Expert warmer where you are than here in BarcelonaQ!! currently 8.2 degrees ( 12:46 25/01/22 ) drops to minus 2 or 3 by 10pm but we are at a elevation of about 750 feet more or less and 9 kms inland.

[@Know-Expert]

Colder where you are wow! I would have thought further south was warmer especially in Spain. It must be the altitude. Let me know how you get on with your oven…….. Know Expert

[@dennisreid4428]

Have you done one with the steel upgrade? Jane's very interested in this for when we go camping. put something in and wander off for the day

[@Know-Expert]

If you are going to wander off and leave it you need one that catches sunlight from a wider angle or better still one that tracks the suns movement. I change the angle of mine on a regular basis. But they are good. I’ve yet to get it out this year as we’ve not had great weather. Looking forward to doing it in my hols in a couple of weeks.

[@dennisreid4428]

Quick suggestion,wouldn't it make sense to also put a compass on the oven,so you can track the sun's movement as you use it?

[@Know-Expert]

Phew glad you’re back Dennis. I use the shadow from the mirror adjuster to determine the suns exact angle. Check out Noah X Pert on Facebook catch you later mate.

[@AshleyWragg]

Would it not be better to have a mirrored surface on the interior to reflect heat at the pot rather than black which is absorbing heat into the wood?

[@Know-Expert]

Hi Ashley, I really don’t know. It could be interesting to cut some mirrors and do an experiment. I have some mirrors so maybe that’ll be an interesting video. I’ll try it when the weather is better. At the moment I have 3 steel plates painted black which absorb the heat. They heat up and cool down slowly so it’s good for retaining heat if clouds appear for a few minutes or if I open the lid to place or remove a pan. I like your suggestion though. Maybe in June or July I’ll try it out……

[@v4v777]

Nice... but how much temp can it reach in full sun, without clouds??

[@Know-Expert]

Good question V4V, when I finished it last year it was a little late in the summer to find out so this summer I’m going to put it to the test. I’ve had it to 100 degrees c so far but once the summer kicks in I’ll film myself cooking with it. Thanks for watching. Know Expert

[@v4v777]

@@Know-Expert ok thnx.. pretty good:)

[@RSB6923]

Can this solar cooker be used to dry meat?

[@Know-Expert]

Hello, sorry for the late response. I wouldn’t imagine you can dry anything in this oven as there are no escape vents for the moisture like there is on a solar dryer. I’ve seen dryers where the warm air enters at the bottom circulates around the food and leaves via the top taking the moisture with it.