Solar Box Cooker
Filed Under Concentrator, Homemade, Solar Cooker, Solar Oven | 8 Comments
Solar box cookers or solar box ovens are one of the easiest cookers to make, and they are very effective. You’ll need a few cardboard boxes, some foil, non toxic black paint, white glue, and an oven cooking bag. It’s a great way to start experimenting in Homemade Solar Concentrators.
The two cardboard boxes need to fit into each other with at least a two inch gap all round. The inner box needs to be big enough to fit your cooking pot, with at least an inch gap. Unless you’re lucky, it’s probably easier just to cut up and stick together cardboard from a few larger boxes, rather than find two boxes of the perfect size. You’ll also need a cardboard lid, which should be at least a four inches larger than the outer box.
Close the flaps on the larger box and sit the inner box on top and trace an outline. Cut out the outline so the inner box can fit inside the lager box.
So there should be roughly a two inch gap between the walls and floors of the inner and outer box. Cover and glue the insides of the inner and outer box with foil, including the undersides of the outer boxes cut down flaps. Crumple up some newspaper and sit on the bottom of the outer box to provide support for the inner box.
Glue the inner boxes flaps to the outer box and trim excess. Cut out a piece of cardboard a little smaller than the floor of the inner box, glue some foil on it, and paint the foil black. Sit this on the bottom as a drip tray.
Trace the edge of the outer box on your lid, and cut flaps so you can bend the edges down so it fits over the outer box. Glue the flaps together, but don’t glue the lid to the outer box. You need to be able to remove it. Trace out three lines on the lid that correspond to the edges of the inner box, cut the three lines and bend up to form a reflector. Glue foil on the flap. Use coat hanger wire or similar to set the angle of the flap to direct sun into your oven.
Take an oven bag and glue the end shut, then glue the bag to the underside of the lid. This creates a double layer of plastic with some air trapped inside that will slightly expand as the oven heats up, creating two layers of plastic, slightly separated. Now you’re ready to cook with your new solar oven. Let us know how you go.
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8 Responses to “Solar Box Cooker”
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who to do them it is for a projet it is hard i want to do something easy
i like u solar cooker it preety neat i need to do one to but it is hard so do u think u can help me thanks
Hey chris and soli,
Maybe you could have a go and ask specific questions when you get stuck? I think when you start, it will all fall into place.
Unless you can find two boxes of the perfect size, I would collect lots of cardboard and make a square cooker.
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Hi.
just one question about supporting the inner box, does crummpled newpaper help trap heat or would it be just as affective to give the inner box 4 little legs, or sit it on a few layers of card ?
Thanks
I guess you’re hoping the majority of the heat is reflected back into the inner box and not transferred to the outer one. but hey, I don’t really know the answer. Sounds like a perfect experiment ;)
Is this type of solar oven good for cooking hot dogs? How long would it take?
Is this type of solar oven good for cooking cookie dough? If it is, how long should I cook it for?