How to Create Your Own Solar Cooker
Solar cookers are non-electric devices, usually boxes, that absorb heat from the sun to cook food. Solar cookers allow you to save energy at home and are convenient for campers or areas of the world with limited electricity. While cooking food with a solar cooker takes longer than with a fire or electricity, the resulting taste is the same. You can make a solar cooker at home with a few basic supplies. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Pizza box
- Newspaper
- Black spray paint
- Ruler
- Marker
- Utility knife
- White craft glue
- Foam paintbrush
- Heavy-duty aluminum foil
- Clear, acrylic plastic
- Masking tape
- Heat-safe dish
Instructions
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1
Spread a piece of newspaper on the ground or table and lay the pizza box on top of it with the lid folded back. Paint the interior bottom of the box, where the pizza usually sits, with black spray paint. Allow the box to sit until the paint is completely dry.
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2
Place the pizza box on a flat surface with the lid in the closed position. Place a ruler on top of the lid near the front of the box and measure 1 inch from the front edge of the box. Repeat to measure 1 inch from the left side and the right side of the box lid as well.
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3
Connect the lines, using the ruler, so that you have a continuous 1-inch wide, u-shaped border all the way around the lid sides and the front. Do not extend the border to the back of the lid.
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4
Cut along the marker lines with a utility knife and then bend the resulting flap backward along the rear crease of the pizza box.
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5
Apply white craft glue on the flap you folded back, then spread it out using a foam paintbrush.
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6
Tear off a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and lay it on the glue. Press it down with your hands until it adheres firmly.
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Lift up the remainder of the lid, which forms a u- shape and consists only of the 1-inch border. Cut a piece of clear acrylic plastic sheeting in a square that fits inside the border. Place the plastic square on top of the border and secure the edges using masking tape.
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8
Insert two drinking straws together by pushing the end of one firmly into the other by 1/2-inch. Place one end of the combined straws into the bottom side of the pizza box and use the other end to prop open the foil-covered lid. Tape the end of the straw to the lid using masking tape to secure it.
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Tips & Warnings
The solar oven can reach temperatures of up to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.
To use the cooker, place the desired food onto a heat-safe dish and insert the dish into the bottom of the pizza box. Close the part of the lid with the plastic cover and allow the food to cook.
