Comments on: A Solar Oven

By: FrugalBabe

FrugalBabe — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:07:25 +0000

Richard, Lots and lots of thrift store items become family heirlooms. I don’t buy things anywhere else, but I also never buy anything that isn’t good quality – thrift doesn’t equal poor quality.
Two of our sun oven pans came with the oven, and had never been taken out of the box – they’re the black enamel pans that the company sells to go with their ovens. The others that we’ve purchased at thrift stores are the exact same material.
The microphone analogy you made is a good point, but it’s good to know that pretty much any high quality item can be purchased used for a whole lot less money. I got a pair of Gap jeans today at Goodwill for six dollars. Retail price is $54, and they have barely been worn at all.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:40:12 +0000

PS. yeeeuck! I would never eat anything cooked in a pan that was spray painted. That has a doctor bill written all over it.
This reminds of the day I went to buy a vocal microphone. I asked the sales guy which mic was the better one; the one that cost $100.00 or the one that cost $350.00. He said “just based on the price which one do you think is the better mic?” He was right. Quality has its price.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:36:05 +0000

Well, inexpensive is another word for cheap. The pans that come with the oven are designed for a rough ride. How many thrift store items become aged family heirlooms?

By: FrugalBabe

FrugalBabe — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:44:28 +0000

Nancy,
I agree – we have a small collection of thin, black enamel pots that we use. A couple of them came with our solar oven, and the rest came from thrift stores. Spray paint would work too, although I would be a little wary of the fumes that could possibly be released at the high temps in the oven. Also, one would probably want to only paint the outsides of the pots, as food shouldn’t be cooking in contact with spray paint.
Just about every time I go to a thrift store I see thin black enamel cookware, and they tend to be very inexpensive.

By: Nancy K

Nancy K — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:36:55 +0000

You don’t have to purchase fancy cooking pans. Look for black thin enamel pans or spray paint thin metal pans and cookie sheets. In solar cooking, thinner metal is better.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:26:22 +0000

I forgot to mention that you may also order cooking pots, loaf pans for breads, and even cookie sheets for sunny tasting cookies. Bon apetite!

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:23:12 +0000

The Sun Oven is a durable and long lasting cooking device. We have cook books with recipes specifically designed for use with the oven.
I used to work for a company that sold them and in 4 years we never had a complaint. Now my company carries them.
There is no element in them to break or a fuse to bust. Unless the sun burns out or you put the Sun Oven in a trash compactor this little oven will provide years of great cooking service.

By: All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Six | Focus Organic.com

All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Six | Focus Organic.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:25:26 +0000

[...] “How we should take James Hansen’s carbon tax idea another step further.” Frugal Babe presents A Solar Oven posted at Frugal Babe. Cheryline Lawson presents What is hypermiling posted at Hypermilling – [...]

By: Frugal Babe » Archive » Sunday Round Up

Frugal Babe » Archive » Sunday Round Up — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:05:14 +0000

[...] from a spoon, and tasting something other than milk. Yesterday I cooked an acorn squash in our solar oven, and today I pureed a bit of it and made squash ice cubes for the coming week. It costs hardly [...]

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:37:45 +0000

I\’m adding solar ovens to my one-day list, once I get a permanent house. Very cool idea.