Forum: Anyone Ever Try a Sun Oven

Has anyone ever purchased a Sun Oven? I’ve seen them a lot lately on eBay, and you can even buy them direct from the manufacturer www.sunoven.com - but the are not cheap. Seems like a great ideam but before I shelled out that many greenbacks, $195 plus $25 for shipping to be specific, Im curious to know if anyone has any experience with them - positive or negative. I can’t find anyone in my circle who has tried one (or even heard of them). Thanks!

do a forum search, there has been some discussion about them.

THere are also plans online to make your own. Google “solar oven” and make or build or design or plans and you’ll have a wealth of sites to pick from.

I have a sun oven, and love it. Well worth the money!

http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.SolarOven

I went back and reviewd the old thread. A couple of points:

• Presoak beans in water with a pinch of baking soda overnight before rinsing and putting into the sun oven. Beans are guaranteed tender, non mushy and methane free.
• You need to brown meats (if you want that nice dark exterior). I generally don’t bother with it.
• I lost the prop leg early on, but I use a brick to prop up the oven on a lazy susan. Works better because it is more stable.
• The Sun Oven came with a black metal roaster, but I have had pretty good luck using pyrex glass casseroles as well.

DH thought I had lost my mind when I spent the $$ on the oven, but now he is an absolute convert. As I said, well worth the money!

Also, its a good idea to check how efficient a solar oven is in your area. For instance, in Florida you would think a solar oven would be great; however, due to humidity and cloud cover issues solar ovens are difficult to use around here.

The other major factor is the location of the maximum full sun location at your house for peak hours (10–3) and whether it is sheltered from the wind.

http://www.solarcooking.org

I have a Global Sun Oven and have baked bread in it. It took over twice as long as my conventional oven, but the bread turned out great! But as others have mentioned, you need to live in an area that gets a lot of sun. Our climate is high desert, so it’s perfect for this application.

I have one, and I like it so far. I’ve successfully baked muffins and and other breads. Next week I experiment with a couple of whole meals. (I’ll be home during the day to try it then.)

Closed to maintain Forum speed.