How to Build a Small Solar Oven
Whether you're looking for an alternative to the traditional oven or need to pasteurize water for drinking, you can make a small solar oven from a shoe box. The materials to build the small cooker can be recycled, found or borrowed. If you do not have a shoe box, you could try using this same technique with another small box with a lid from a liquor or grocery store. Small solar ovens can cook one- to two- serving meals and will require food to be cooked in smaller, shallower containers such as a black bread or meatloaf pan. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Shoe box with lid
- Ruler
- Marker, black
- Box cutter
- Clear plastic
- Clear tape
- Glue
- Aluminum foil
- 2 Sheets construction paper, black
- Oven thermometer
Instructions
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1
Place the shoe box with lid on a sturdy work surface so that the long side of the shoe box is at the top away from you.
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2
Measure one inch from the two sides and bottom edge in towards the center of the lid and draw a line with a black marker for all three sides.
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3
Cut along the three new lines with a box cutter and pull up the new flap. The top of the box lid you did not cut will form a fold for the flap.
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4
Take off the lid and place it bottom up so that you can see the inside of the lid. The flap will be folded back down into place so that it is flat.
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5
Cut a piece of clear plastic larger than the size of the hole you just cut and secure the plastic with clear tape around the inside lip of the lid. Make sure the plastic is tight and flat as possible with all sides being taped so that no air can escape. Place the lid aside.
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6
Glue aluminum foil to the entire bottom of the box on the inside, edge-to-edge. Make it as smooth as possible.
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7
Cut a piece of construction paper one inch shorter in both length and width than the bottom of the box. Glue this paper over the aluminum foil in the center of the bottom of the box, keeping it as smooth as possible. Place the box aside.
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8
Place the box lid face down on your work surface and fold the flap back. Glue aluminum foil to cover the entire flap, making sure it’s smooth as possible.
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9
Place the lid back on top of the box and your small solar oven is now ready to cook small meals, heat water and more.
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Tips & Warnings
Preheat the solar oven before you cook with it by placing it so the flap squarely faces the sun. The shadow behind the solar oven will be short and almost directly behind the solar oven. You can put an oven thermometer inside the shoe box to monitor the temperature while it preheats. Remove the thermometer prior to placing a cooking container inside the solar oven.
Do not let children play with or near the solar oven. It may be tempting for younger children to want to stick a hand near the center of the plastic covered window out of curiosity not realizing how hot temperatures will be at the focal point.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit empty brown box image by nTripp from Fotolia.com
