Menu Close

Two DIY – DIM (Did It Myself) Solar Ovens

Sunny Cooker
The Sunny Cooker was my introduction to the solar oven world. It is an el-cheapo design and does work. Click on the link to get their plans.

Auto Sun ShadeAuto Sun Shade
Being so similar to a car sun reflector I decided to try that first after seeing this article: Windshield Shade Solar Cooker

Auto Sun Shade
So I put together a simple chicken and veges as a test. A heat holding dish was used and

Auto Sun Shade
the shade was positioned as to get the most sun rays and secured with bricks.

Auto Sun Shade
The dish was covered with a Pyrex dish and put into an oven bag to keep in the heat while letting in sunlight.

Auto Sun Shade
While not producing the amount of heat described in the Sunny Cooker, the sunshade idea was surprising.

Auto Sun Shade
With a little more homework, the DATS Solar Cooker (Double-Angled-Twelve-Sided Solar Cooker) was found. The oven is made almost entirely from cardboard and aluminum foil. For this unit, spray glue was used to attach the foil to the cardboard. The oven can be built so that it can be folded up and packed away.

DATS
Oven pictured without dish.

DATS
The dish is then placed into the hot part of the oven and left to cook. The whole unit has to be manually aimed toward the sun for best results.

DATS
Here is the final product. Notice that solar cooked food is NOT the same as food cooked in any other oven. It even changed the chicken and vegetables to meatloaf.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *