Solarious - stumbling away from the grid

How about $3.50 instead? As often as I tweaked my previously profiled windshield solar cooker, there remained a real wind problem (as it was constantly falling over in the unpredictable gusts that are SoCal’s weather), and it never seemed to get QUITE hot enough for me to trust cooking something like meat or eggs within. So rather than tinker into oblivion, when I fortuitously found a nice sized box on the side of the road, I decided to make myself a little box cooker. After locating another box to house the inner cooker, and reading the many variations on recommended construction in a few books, I promptly threw out the plans and just went at it myself.

First up, finding tin foil. I had a roll at home, but it would have costs me $1 otherwise, so that’s the running total so far. I also had a few rolls of aluminum foil tape from when they had some at the 99 cents only store, of which I used one roll (10 yards) in construction, bringing the total to $2. The cement factory down the street threw out a buch of AirPaks (the plastic air filled bubbles you use as packing material for large items), which became the insulation for my oven. Price? A trip to their dumpster. Holding it all together was a roll of duct tape, also bought for a dollar, and a nice oven “window” made of cardboard and a Reynold’s Oven Bag ($0.50). Grand total - $3.50 and about an hour’s work. Not exactly a bank-breaker.

First, I lined the smaller box with foil on the inside, taping edges down with the aluminum foil tape. When I was happy with that, I closed up the other box completely with duct tape, making sure to cover ALL cracks well with the tape to minimize heat loss. I placed the smaller box on top of the large and traced around it to create a cut line for inserting the one box in the other. There were about 3 inches on each long end of the box around the smaller one and about an inch on the two shorter sides. So I dropped in two pieces of folded up cardboard on the bottom and secured them (to support the weight of the inner box and pots, etc), and then surrounded them with the AirPaks. After dropping the inner box down into the larger one, I secured the flaps to the large box with duct or aluminum tape, depending on where, and then stood back to see what I’d created.

Not bad. It looked relatively like the ones I’d seen in the books, even though I’d been reading warnings about how these cardboard versions would “never hold up like one of wood”, it looked pretty sturdy. Now on to the lid. Given that my top surface wasn’t exactly level the whole way across (it dipped in the corners where I taped things into place), I was wondering how to trap in the heat while still providing easy access. In a moment of inspiration (or was it desperation? I can’t remember now!) I thought to build a square frame of cardboard, and then place it inside a plastic oven bag, creating my own version of double glazing which was VERY easy to construct. Then I taped this down to the cooker along one edge and found two fist sized rocks to hold down the open corners, creating, with the excess plastic I’d left a little loose around the edges from the bag, a pretty decent seal.

Next up? You guessed it, time to test her out! I went to store and got some hot dogs. Now, I never liked hot dogs much even as a kid, but hey, this is an experiment, right? (and they’re already cooked, so I don’t have to worry much about food poisoning) So I cut four of them in half, and then added a few slits along the body of each so that I could tell if it actually cooked (did you ever make “hot dog men” in your microwave before? Same idea.) and placed them in the two back pans I’ve used previously. Put in the sun at about 2:30, the hot dogs were visibly cooked by 3:05 on a pretty hot sunny day. And the plate was HOT, requiring a leather work glove to remove from the oven, which was also quite warm (didn’t use a thermometer this time). They smelled great, sort of like a sweet sausage rather than your standard picnic fare, and there was a bunch of liquid in the bottom of the pan that had cooked out. As far as I could tell, it was mostly fat, but perhaps water as well.

In the name of science, I ate a bit, and found that the sweet smell translated to taste, making them pretty good. The biggest test was when I left the room a moment and came back to find my two best taste testers (my cats) happily smacking their lips around an almost empty plate. Two cats made it through three hot dogs in a minute? It must be good! Happy, I put the cooker away and called it a day.

Today, I pulled out the oven for another test. Having fulfilled my meat-eaters’ test, I returned to something I’d actually cook for myself. I bought two zucchini and cut them up in 1/4 rounds about 1/2 inch thick. It filled the bottom of the pan completely, about two layers deep. Next, I added about three tablespoons of cheddar cheese and roasted red pepper spreadable cheese and mixed well. On the top, I added a dash of “Chef’s Essence” spice, which seems to be a mix of garlic, salt and a little chili powder. The mix went out in the sun at 12:20 on another hot sunny day as I sat down to watch Fast Food Nation (see my previous post).

At first check, they were good, but still a little firm. So I gave the mixture another twenty minutes (40 total) and brought the oven inside. Again, the plate was too hot to handle (but the oven wasn’t, which I’d worried about). This little cooker doesn’t mess around! Properly gloved, I removed the meal and opened up the pot. Wow! Perfectly cooked to a nice steamed tender with the cheese melted into everything, giving it a little kick and a lot of creaminess. It was seriously good, and very filling. My hurried picture doesn’t do it much justice. RESULT? Total success. I like this cooker already, and though I won’t scrap the windshield shade cooker, I trust this one more with foods that require a hot temperature to cook through. They are about the same size, and as you’ve read, neither costs much to make. So, since the long days of summer are approaching, what are you waiting for? You can be a gourmet slow foods cook by tomorrow!

Read the article on building a solar-powered PC here

A solar powered PC?  It sounds too good to be true!  Well, I had to know more, so I went to Tom’s Hardware and checked out the article above.  It’s very professionally written and researched, and the grand experiment seems to be a huge success.  Of course, at $5,000 for the solar panels needed to power this PC and specially selected hardware that reduced average wattage, it’s hardly your average box, or the everyperson’s pricetag.  But every great idea gets its start somewhere, and I’m rooting for this one to go all the way. 

Based in Germany, the experimenters started by deciding what the capabilities of their dream system would be, and then clearly defined a goal as to its power availability.  They wanted a full-featured PC that could run 24/7 off-grid, in case you want to do a little midnight computing.  Any techies out there know this is a must, not a luxury, when chasing the elusive vapors of creativity.  This first step underscores an important point in any undertaking: defining the goal in concrete terms and deciding what you can and cannot live without will go a LONG way to determining the eventual likelihood of successful completion.  May you plan your exercises with the same careful attention to detail. 

The article then outlines the steps taken to achieve the stated goals.  First, they acquire the necessary equipment and consider the practicalities of their chosen configuration.  Then they set about building the PC so it will require a minimum of operating wattage, and then move on to the solar array that will power it.  Last, but certainly most important, comes the testing phase, when they see whether they have been able to construct a suitable prototype to fit the brief. 

It’s certainly not a beginner’s or even intermediate project, but it’s an excellent read, and I recommend you visit the site to read the whole (pretty long) article.  Happy Earth Day, everyone~ take a moment today to do something special for yourself and the world around you.

Here are full instructions for building your turbine

This guy builds a nice wind rotor for home power generation.  He claims to get 1000 Watts Average in 20MPH Wind.  Either way, the design is attractive, scalable, and doesn’t look like it will scare the neighbors too much.  Check it out!

Diy Solar Air Heater from Soda Cans

Here’s another project done right.  Again, this one comes from the resourceful mind of a car enthusiast who spent too much time in a cold garage.  I guess when you’re already in the garage, it’s easier to put construction projects into action!   Using only materials had around the house, he built something that warmed the air, and learned a lot in the process, too, from the people who commented on his experiment.  Read the full story above.

Nice. No, really, everything about this concept is nice, from the idea, to the execution and the website. So nice that you’d better go check out the website for yourself, so I’m only going to provide one chart here as a teaser.

This house does it all. Collects water, uses high-capacity solar, makes its own compost, and looks amazing while doing it through your laptop. And you can construct one in under a weekend. How’s that for simple? It’s certainly inspiring.

It’s only March, but the sun is already beating hot and heavy on us here in SoCal. But here’s an easy project for you to try in the colder regions of the world: a solar heater that converts the visible light spectrum to usable heat using pennies! Yep, pennies. So I hardly need to tell you that this solar heater doesn’t cost too much to construct. It’s yet another good idea from the folks behind greenupdater.com, a site that shows you DIY projects that can enhance your life using alternative energy. Visit their site for the full instructions, but here’s the equipment list so you can collect before jumping in head-first:

2x 20″ x 30″ Foam Board - at your local hardware or craft store.

About 300 pennies (Ross uses 304) - Start looking in the couch.

Flat Black Paint - Benjiaman Moore Eco-Spec paint which is a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) latex paint. Many hardware stores will sell you small sample jars.

24″ x 36″ Plexiglass - At your local hardware store.

Spray Adhesive

Hot Glue Gun

Packing Tape

Utility Knife

And here’s a picture of the completed unit:

Happy Easter everyone!

Here it is, my first solar oven. One successful project down, and many, many to go! This solar cooker required almost no investment, took about five minutes to make, and looks pretty much like the result shown in my previous post about windshield shade solar cookers.

For the stand, I used the blue bin pictured above, which conveniently enough was on the trash in an alley this morning. I also managed to scrounge up an old wire grill surface from a naught-used corner of my house, and it just so happened that it fit into the blue container perfectly. Must be a sign. This is important, given the windshield shade’s flexibility, because it provides a solid cook surface on which the pots and pans can rest.

In fact, the windshield shade is SO flexible, I decided I will have to glue some cardboard to its rear sides to provide enough stiffness to withstand wind before attempting to actually cook a meal. Los Angeles has plenty of wind, and it wasn’t more than a minute before a naughty little gust had crumpled up my cooker beyond all hope of reflection. Which just makes me want to further investigate wind power, but, one thing at a time… In deference to the wind, I also decided to place a chunk of 4×4 wood in the blue bin, under the oven, in order to add weight and provide optimal support for the reflective surface under cooking vessels. So there it is! Now that everything is ready to go, and I’m dreaming of sun-baked breads, success is smelling sweet already!

The Complete Guide to Solar Cuisine with 150 Easy Sun-Cooked Recipes

Here’s a great read for someone getting started in the world of solar cooking. Not only do Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic clearly explain the reasons for integrating a solar oven into your life, they also back them up with a variety of yummy-looking recipes that are tailor made for solar cooking. And there are no messy equipment lists getting in between you and your solar cooking dreams. You can purchase a copy through Amazon here.

Here’s a list, taken from the book, about what foods are best and worst suited to solar oven cooking:

Easy-to-Cook Foods (1-2 hours)

Fish, chicken, egg-and-cheese dishes, white rice, fruit, above-ground vegetables.

Moderately Hard-to-Cook Foods (3-4 hours)

Bread, brown rice, root vegetables, lentils, most meat.

Hardest-to-Cook Foods (5-8 hours)

Large roasts, soups and stews, most dried beans.

The first half of the book is a summary of important facts about solar cooking, including the history, the areas of the earth best-suited, and how to construct a few solar cookers, all under $15 for supplies. They also include great “cheats”, or ways that you can make everything work with the items you already own. Then come the recipes. They’re divided by ease-of-cooking. A sample”starter” recipe:

Applesauce

6 Golden Delicious Apples, peeled quartered and cored
Juice of one lemon
Dash of Cinnamon (optional)

• Place the apples in a dark pot, sprinkle the juice over the apples, and cover the pot tightly.
• Bake in solar sooker for 3 to 4 hours, until apples can be easily pierced with a fork.
• Mash apples with a hand masher or in a blender on low, adding cinnamon if you want.

Does it get any easier than that? Now that you’ve whet your cooking appetite, how about this artichoke frittata? It’s definitely on my “to try” list!

Artichoke Frittata

yield: 4 servings

6 eggs
6 saltines
2 (6-ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 bunches scallions, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
dash hot pepper sauce
dash Worcestershire sauce

• lightly oil a dark 8-inch-square or 9-inch-round baking pan.
• beat the eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Crumble the saltines into the eggs and beat again.
• add the artichoke hearts to the eggs. Stir in the scallions, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Pour into the prepared baking pan, cover, and bake for 2 to 3 hours in the solar cooker, until firm.

Mouth watering yet? This is just the beginning. Get this book and get cooking today!

When evaluating the options out there for solar cooking, the equipment lists for building an oven can sometimes be a little daunting. At least enough so as to be a good excuse never to get started! Well, no more. Here’s an easy solar cooker that you can build without even owning a pair of scissors. It’s made from the humble windshield shade, and has been tested successfully around the world. Full construction details here at SolarCooking.org.

Yesterday, I purchased two silver windshield shades with highly reflective surfaces, exactly like the one pictured below at the 99 cents only store. (Boy, I should really buy some of their stock, as often as I end up plugging them!)

The equipment list:

A reflective folding car sunshade
A Cake rack (or wire frame or grill)
12 cm. (4 ½ in.) of Velcro
Black pot, bucket or plastic wastebasket
A plastic baking bag

While there, I also purchased a small metal colander to act as a support for the pot, some velcro dots, and a metal oven thermometer. Nearly everyone has a black pot with a top somewhere in their house, so you aren’t likely to need to spend for that. Even I was able to pull out an old pot with no top, and then a rice bowl (from a rice cooker), which fits onto the top and creates a complete vessel. Pictures of my whole setup coming ASAP.

Bill, so far: $5.35 with tax

The only thing I’m missing right now is a big oven bag, which seems to be the only thing that will cost more than a dollar in the whole getup.

Notes on cooking with your new $10 solar oven. It WILL get hot (try 350 degrees!), so long as you point it toward the sun. Also, solar ovens are built around the concept of the closed pot. If you try to bake things with an open-topped pot, you may be disappointed to find that the bag deflates around your (unfinished) cake. Always cook with a top on the pot for best results. This, however, will not stop you from making great “can” breads and other baked goods.

I’ll update you when everything is complete and I’ve cooked my first meal. If you build one of your own, and test it out, share your experiences here!