The Terra Cotta Solar Oven! Repurposing a Pot / Container

[@رابحعزيل-ب1ط]

Thank you, madam, for explaining how to cook food in the sun, and my greetings to you for bringing the idea closer

[@nicolasvaldivia7984]

I'm using this tutorial for my science fair project and its absolutely phenomenal! thank you!

[@iandale]

Oh I love this, I’ve fell on this video having researched lots of different types and was going to build a box oven this weekend with my girls. Now I’m doing a double lined pot oven with two pots and insulation 🤣🤣

[@Drark333]

Congratulations, this is an excellent idea, it is new, novel and low-cost idea.

[@1muddonna]

I've watched dozens of solar oven videos, yours was the most successful experiment-great job!

[@stephanygates6491]

Cheaper than mylar bags is an emergency blanket. Poster board is a good idea. Looks great!

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks and great idea!

[@lindapruss504]

Fantastic! I have an american sun oven and their website has some great teaching and receipes. They teach if you use light colored metal containers you will have lower temps. You can spray paint the outside of your pots black. The other pieces can be painted too. The other suggestion was to just put a dark towel over pot. My favorite was to put strips of masking tape from top of mason jar to bottom, leaving inch or two between spray with high temp bbq black paint. Remove tape. Now you can see food bubbling or done without removing from oven. You can also easier remove with a jar lifter! You can cook faster in 4 jars than one large pot! Also i pressure can cook my chicken in ball jars. They will keep on shelf long time. In emergency i can just warm up a meal.

[@vatiammatri]

Thanks so much! I'm going to make one! BTW, we used to use silver mylar to decorate our college dorm back in the disco days, lol!

[@RainbowGardens]

That's a great idea!

[@goforgreenliving]

That was a fantastic solar oven. I can give you a great tip we cook in our homemade one all the time, if your pan was black like cast iron you will maintain a higher more even temps Thanks for the great ideas!

[@rebeccatreeseed410]

I use a black enamel pot, it gets hotter.

[@rebeccatreeseed410]

@@RainbowGardens try to bury it in sand, easy to tilt and holds heat.

[@josephrobi6806]

@@rebeccatreeseed410That is a good one using sand for the direction of the sun

[@Juanelo1946]

Donna, you had to think outside the box, or maybe the terra cotta pot, to have envisioned this! It's ingenious! I'm amazed! Thanks for sharing!

[@RainbowGardens]

Haha, you are funny. :))) Thanks so much.

[@erndog64]

You are sooo cute!!! And yes...you ARE SMART!! Don't ever doubt yourself!! Keep up the good cooking!!

[@dacyana115]

Gr8 idea, thank you so much. You are very kind to share it. I appreciate it a lot.

[@RainbowGardens]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dalecrown978]

I am impressed! Thank God I never through away those mylar food storage bags. Thanks for sharing. I have subscribed.

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks for subbing!

[@dalecrown978]

Wow I should have used the threw

[@NoMore-gc3gi]

I like your oven, is very duable and cheap and it works. Smart woman!

[@rosewood513]

I love it, I happen to have a Sun Oven for 5 years. But I love your idea of the wheel barrel (that I have). I can keep my oven out all the time n just wheel it around. Nice video, thanks, I am happy you have had such success.

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks so m,uch!

[@dkulikowski]

Nice job, well done. Fun experiment. I look forward to seeing your TWEEKING.

[@joanclaytonjohnson3630]

Not only did I see the human face on the left, but a cat head to the right area . lol

[@angelanicholson951]

Great idea. I'm just looking at my black crockpot and lid to see if i can use that putting the refectors around the outside of it in a similar way. Thank you!

[@رابحعزيل-ب1ط]

شكرا سيدتي المحترمة لإفادتك لنا بمعلومتك البسيطة لطهي الطعام بأشعة الشمس

[@OneYardRevolution]

Great idea! I have to try putting together a solar oven too.

[@RainbowGardens]

I know you will make something very efficient. You are very handy. Let 'em know who inspired you!! :)) lol

[@weswalker1208]

I like the way you talk. We'll leave it or not I'm in Texas and I hear it pretty strong. Reminds me of that sentence by that lady on Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure..." there's no basement in the Alamo"

[@naplescajun]

Awesome idea! I just started solar cooking and I'm hooked!

[@RainbowGardens]

Wonderful. It is a great time to start cooking with solar now that summer is upon us. I don't have to heat up my house to cook lunch for me and my husband. :))

[@tomsmithbowhunting]

You are amazing. Never a dull moment with you. Ur family is blessed to have you. Respect from fl:)

[@camillahjones]

I love this!! I just discovered your channel last week, and I am already a subscriber! I recently started homeschooling my son who is 9, and I think we might have to make a sun-oven to learn more about the power of the sun!

[@RainbowGardens]

Great! You made my day. Thanks so much for subbing. :))

[@sephangelo4603]

I live in Mexico and this is what I need.

[@runawayrose6320]

Bravo!! great job.

[@hopemore3493]

I have played with the terra cotta pot idea. Nice to see it can work well. I wonder if a black pan and lid would have cooked it faster and held the moisture in, or maybe an oven bag.

[@RainbowGardens]

Good idea!

[@mccarthykane3960]

Nice experiment!

[@terrysanders2817]

Brilliant!

[@RichardMorris-m9h]

Pretty darn cool😊

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks!

[@ohhowhappygardener]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing,

[@RainbowGardens]

Thank you so much. :)

[@keithhoward4059]

Thank You

[@SusanRogersMakingItWork4Me]

Very creative!

[@RainbowGardens]

Thank you! :))

[@WapajeaWalksOnWater]

Thus is a great video, thanks for sharing, I can't wait to try this

[@followerofjesuschrist5213]

If you spray paint the parts with black that don't touch food on the inside it will give you 30-40 more degrees. The thinner the pan or cookie sheet the better as well.

[@condeerogers5858]

You are awesome. A true scientist..

[@elsa8577]

Good job

[@manoharsagunthalla9215]

I f you use sand inside the wheelbarrow which will help you change focusing angle easier

[@elysejoseph]

That is so neat Donna! :)

[@RainbowGardens]

Thank you Elyse!

[@venkateshhalwadkar7329]

Thums up for your effort and time.

[@LindaPenney]

lovely idea thanks for sharing donna

[@BrucesShop]

Very brave of you to try something with us without knowing the results. I have always said that there are no "take 2's" in You Tube land. Bruce from Western Canada

[@RainbowGardens]

I know, right? My "take 2" is in the making. I am getting the temps up fairly quickly. I tried something like this many years ago and it worked a little bit but it was sooo complicated to assemble. When I thought of using Mylar, the idea came together like a piece of cake! :)))

[@trainer4uu]

Wow...you just put Martha Steward(t)? to rest...lol...very cool!

[@charlescain7962]

Tried to rate vid, been disabled, but here's a thumbs up anyway.

[@coows]

They disabled rating. 😢

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks! I fixed it. :)

[@venturasunflower1014]

Im trying to repurpose items as well and have the sun shields for cars in mind!

[@Heartwing37]

A prong thermometer works great…❤❤❤

[@JC-cu2xf]

Thank you so much. U gave me some great ideas

[@littlemanoo]

Love it!🥳

[@RainbowGardens]

Thank you!!

[@katzperson2089]

What if you put that Terra cotta pot inside another bigger one and stuffed the part between the pots with crumbled aluminum. Paint the outside pot with flat black paint. Seems like it would hold the heat in the inside pot much better and get hotter. You could bake a cake in there.

[@tinyeffort6847]

I'm working on a documentary on solar cookers with a friend. It will be released to the public free when it's complete. May we use clips from your awesome video?

[@justinw1765]

There are some important/helpful ways to improve this design. You want to blacken the pot that you are using. Aluminum in particular needs to be blackened because it is fairly good at reflecting IR (you don't want that, you want to absorb IR). There should also be a blackened lid over the blackened pot. The clear glass lid is a over that, is definitely a good idea though. You need a wider aperture/opening for the mylar to reflect more/better. Look up Jone's Funnel Cooker design. Very easy to make. 60 to 76 degree angles are the most efficient (on average, exact location, time of year, etc all factor in for specific angles). Also, the larger the reflective panels, the more Solar energy it will collect and focus, which equals more heating power, which equals faster/more efficient cooking. Believe it or not, but with Funnel type Solar cooker designs, you want a more matte surface reflector than super shiny. Jones, a university professor and one of his students, tested different reflectors, and found that the shiny side of aluminum foil worked better than "mirror" like reflectors. The reason being is that the light becomes more diffuse and heats up the pot more evenly. The mirror reflectors tend to create hot spots. Better insulation would help. Ceramic is not particularly insulating. Actually, it is kind of heat sink, though once it does get warm, it will retain it somewhat ok (insulation and heat retention aka specific heat capacity are different things). A couple towels or the like between the ceramic and everything else will help to insulate it better. I'll be putting up a video on my site in the near future on how to make an ultra efficient, fairly easy, and fairly inexpensive Solar cooker. Basically just involves a large glass container (100 oz), a blackened, medium sized camp pot, an acrylic disk that fits over the glass container and with a small hole drilled in the center, a homemade silicone gasket, a few cut bamboo pieces, a Funnel style reflector (one of the best imo), and a Pump'N'Seal pump and check tab (this is the main reason for the high efficiency, it will be vacuum insulated). The project is mostly done, should be finished by today, then need some consistent sun. (Video will probably be two parts, how to make and showing it in action).

[@josephrobi6806]

Great 👍 😅

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks for the visit

[@igotstoknow2]

Use a thin black pan. The silver AL will reflect a lot of the solar heat out of the cooker.

[@RainbowGardens]

Thanks. A few years ago, I started by using a small black broiler pan but it took a very long time to heat. The AL worked much better for me in this system. It attracted the heat and retained it better than a coated steel or cast iron. Which materials have you tried? Thanks for your input.

[@krazohills9008]

Thanks!

[@GEAUXFRUGAL]

Genius I have to do that.

[@112deeps]

A coat of black paint on terracotta will significantly increase effectiveness 👍🖤

[@CCbalconygarden]

Wow, that's really neat - you are so creative Donna! It's kind of funny that you have poster boards lying around the house - I guess when you have kids you have that kind of thing :) And the mylar (spelling?) bags, where does that come from?

[@RainbowGardens]

Hi, I actually did have to purchase the boards too. I guess I skipped that piece of info because they were so cheap. lol Anyway, I use the Mylar bags to break down bulk foods I purchase, like quinoa, beans, etc. I find I get more bang for my buck if I buy my organic foods in bulk and then repackage them myself. I think a Mylar emergency blanket should work too. You can get them in the camping department at most stores.

[@mtnwings]

Thanks so much, a great video!! What size pot did you use? Could you use a car sun shade, if you don't have the mylar bags and poster board? Thanks again, this is great!!!

[@RainbowGardens]

I think it may work with a sun shade. I hear some third world countries use the shades. I just used what I had, but perhaps I will try with a shade next. :))) I need one anyway for my car! lol I think my pot is a 14.5 " wide pot. I also used the lid from my largest skillet.

[@rochellecriddle4661]

Rainbow Gardens 2

[@shannone1471]

Does the weather temperature matter?

[@silvagool9031]

On the bottom can u put a mirror

[@callendarl]

Where is the best place to get the mylar bags?

[@trees8240]

callendarl often dry foods come in mylar bags. Some Chip and cookie solid bags are often shiny inside.

[@sherbrownsf2]

what was that leaf that you cooked with the chicken?

[@RainbowGardens]

Hi! It was a Rapini leaf. I grew it for the first time this year and just happened to have some in the fridge.

[@lindapruss504]

If you put your pot in a turkey cooking plastic bag and close with a twist tie you will increase the temp in your pot, not tight. The bag will puff up with hot air. Since you dont have plastic lid the wind will affect your cooking temp. If you put your food in a cooking bag you will also not have to worry about the tilt factor. If you go to american sun oven you can look at their solution. Its a wire shelf and on each side a triangle. Im sure you are clever enough to adapt to your idea. I may just have to try this.

[@melindalancaster9648]

Now thats clever..i add water or broth 2 my chicken & it makes it moist

[@judyapplepie4344]

Just a quick question where do you get the Mylar bags?

[@RainbowGardens]

You can order them online, at Amazon. I use them to break down and store 25 and 50 pound bags of things like organic beans, wheat, quinoa, etc. It makes it a little less expensive to eat organic food if I buy in bulk then package them myself. So, I just happened to have these, but you can use any kind of mylar. Another viewer just suggested using an emergency blanket. I think those are available in the camping department at Walmart. That is also where I purchased the stove thermometer and poster board. I happened to already have the pan but I also bought it at Walmart many years ago.

[@anijohnson8082]

Clever girl

[@thomasranjit7781]

She is not just a pretty face😎😎😎😎😎😎👈👈👈👈😁😁😁

[@cindyhatch5062]

U should check the chicken internal temperature with thermometer

[@lindapruss504]

Note. You can iron your bags and the will seal to each other

[@GEAUXFRUGAL]

Get something in the hole in the base get a little piece of wood to seal the hole in the pot lid. Better yet ,get a pressure cooker , take the handles off you can cook faster and you food is safer.

[@bicanoo_magic3452]

Great vid but the reason why you chicken was so dry was because of the lid. It's too big for the pot and it has a vent hole..Unless you lock in the moisture it escapes.. Love the herbs and lemon and the Terra concept though.

[@tanyahunter7812]

Greetings from Ms. Hunter's 6th grade dual class in Porterville, CA. We are wondering if you ended up getting sick from eating this because the chicken does not look well cooked!

[@lindapruss504]

Oops that should read top to bottom.

[@rockeyrocket1224]

When I finally saw her I thought to myself "This is the breast solar oven ever"!

[@raybon7939]

Without mylar, in stead tin foil, it's prob,..5 hours. Without a black pot. it falls by 30 degrees. And if you plastic wrap a bag around the food it increases the temp. If you use a tiny bit less food it cooks quicker. Overall I can see a day where no more electric oven. Meaning no bills. Also from what I understand the outside temp is not supposed to matter. But I'm not sold on that. With certain materials maybe not.

[@coows]

But, there is also a bill on that fancy electronic device you are using for your comment.

[@siftish]

GREAT .PAKISTAN

[@sharonwallace9018]

With your chicken, sprinkle some salt on it as soon as you get it home from the store, it will dry-brine it. It will never be dry that way!

[@arthuriarossiii6332]

Dale McGill wow! thanks!

[@nhanha7433]

Better than to have nothing

[@markthurlow6223]

I saw that face and was wondering why it was there!!

[@wildwestunlimited]

You are DARLING!!!!! Ya shoulda shown your bed-head, who cares, it would have made it more real.... :-) Great job on the video!

[@wadefrankfurt7205]

R.I.P. Headphone Users

[@Elementaldomain]

NO! NO! NO! Almost all terra cotta pots in this country have lead in them except for a very few (the Azalea pot made by the Pennington company ). If you are not sure if you pot has lead in it, get a tester first. Better yet, make a real solar oven, just as cheap and a lot bigger. If the pot does not say its lead free, its not.

[@RainbowGardens]

Fortunately I do not put the food on the clay, but I do put it into a cooking pan.

[@Elementaldomain]

@@RainbowGardens The heat releases toxic fumes into your food dear.

[@RainbowGardens]

@@Elementaldomain I guess I should stop eating wood fired pizza from brick ovens too? Or not use pizza stones to make pizza?

[@Elementaldomain]

@@RainbowGardens LOL - Terra Cotta and Fire Brick are not the same thing, completely different. Most pizza stones are ceramic, again, not terra cotta. As far as I know terra cotta is used only for two things in this country - flower pots and figurines. In some countries terra cotta is used for containers but they are not lead based. Almost without exception, the terra cotta that is imported into this country comes from Mexico and is not regulated. As I mentioned Pennington abides in the U.S. but not all their pots are lead free either.

[@Elementaldomain]

@ll lll0 Do your research, what you said is incorrect.

[@vandanahasrajani3215]

Dub in hindi

[@zinnia3684]

Put it in a pile of sand.

[@thomasranjit7781]

Aluminium is dangerous for health

[@aymanmagdi5428]

Hello women you have nasal polyp you should go to doctor

[@ha-y-in6938]

That chicken looked raw. And by the way you need to learn to keep your chewing mouth open away from the mic, it's gross to hear people lip smacking mouth open. Learn some table manners.

[@heatherm2058]

Good job