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solar cooking

dianaji - 10-2-2008 at 05:44 PM

anyone here cook with a solar oven? since i do not yet have electricity... and perhaps when i do have it, i may just learn to love using the sun!

comitan - 10-2-2008 at 05:56 PM

They are available, they take sun, and hours of cooking time. They do have propane stoves.

Blackhawk solar

baron - 10-2-2008 at 09:40 PM

Get your solar oven from Billy at Blackhawk Solar. Best Baja tool available. 530 283 1396 in Quincy Calif.

wiltonh - 10-2-2008 at 10:05 PM

I have thought about building a solar cooker. Take a look at this web site.

http://solarcooking.org/plans/

Wilton

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wiltonh
I have thought about building a solar cooker. Take a look at this web site.

http://solarcooking.org/plans/

Wilton

thanks, i bookmarked that! looking forward to making my own, being a recycler at heart...wish i could find a used satellite dish.

bajabound2005 - 10-3-2008 at 06:27 AM

used satellite dishes are available at darn near every Segunda in Ensenada. Make a trip to "Los Globos" one day and shop your heart out.

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajabound2005
used satellite dishes are available at darn near every Segunda in Ensenada. Make a trip to "Los Globos" one day and shop your heart out.

is los globos a town or a business?

are there junk yards around here?

thanks, diana

bajabound2005 - 10-3-2008 at 07:03 AM

no junk yards -- it's a location in Ensenada where there are several dozen Segundas (second hand stores). If you spend some time there, you can probably find anything you want (or don't want). I'm not good on the actual location, we usually just "stumble" across it. Maybe someone else more familiar with the location will chime in?

Solar

Osprey - 10-3-2008 at 07:40 AM

Here's ours Diana, works great. Brought it down here 13 years ago. Paid $90 but I'll bet you could get a used one somewhere for very little money. My Mexican neighbors just shake their heads. Some said "Jorge, if you don't put a fire in there and you just eat the food, you're gonna die."

solar.JPG - 29kB

solar cooking

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Osprey
Here's ours Diana, works great. Brought it down here 13 years ago. Paid $90 but I'll bet you could get a used one somewhere for very little money. My Mexican neighbors just shake their heads. Some said "Jorge, if you don't put a fire in there and you just eat the food, you're gonna die."

yep! that's what i want...

but not for $90...will make my own and then send u a pic?

Bajajorge - 10-3-2008 at 08:29 AM

Just put your eggs on a hot rock.

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajorge
Just put your eggs on a hot rock.

r i kidding?

Bob and Susan - 10-3-2008 at 09:11 AM

cook on your car engine...remember kramer and newman

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
cook on your car engine...remember kramer and newman

come on u guys... u got me surfing to learn about this stuff! one really CAN cook on rocks....and in pits, and ....

Keri - 10-3-2008 at 09:46 AM

Yep, You can cook your dinner on your car engine on your way down and eat it when you get here. Diana you will love Los Globos. It's off 9th street a couple blocks off Reforma. The fresh vegetable market is a block behind that. If you want to go some weekday I'll go with you , Thursday is probably the best . I love to wander around there. Lots of treasures. yep, yep, yep, k :yes:

Hook - 10-3-2008 at 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dianaji

Quote:

Originally posted by bajabound2005
used satellite dishes are available at darn near every Segunda in Ensenada. Make a trip to "Los Globos" one day and shop your heart out.

is los globos a town or a business?

are there junk yards around here?

thanks, diana

Los globos is pretty much a slang Spanish term for flea market or swap meet. I have been to ones in Ensenada, Lazaro Card##as and Guaymas and that's what many of the locals call the event.

Hook - 10-3-2008 at 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wiltonh
I have thought about building a solar cooker. Take a look at this web site.

http://solarcooking.org/plans/

Wilton

Bugs in the dough might be an issue with some of these designs. :lol:

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 11:13 AM

Quote:

Los globos is pretty much a slang Spanish term for flea market or swap meet. I have been to ones in Ensenada, Lazaro Card##as and Guaymas and that's what many of the locals call the event.

when u say "event" do u mean it is not open every day?

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Keri
Yep, You can cook your dinner on your car engine on your way down and eat it when you get here. Diana you will love Los Globos. It's off 9th street a couple blocks off Reforma. The fresh vegetable market is a block behind that. If you want to go some weekday I'll go with you , Thursday is probably the best . I love to wander around there. Lots of treasures. yep, yep, yep, k :yes:

you're kidding!!! that is exciting...can u tell me what is a good thing to cook? chicken? when i go thru the border, they will sure wonder what that great smell is!!!

great...let's make it a plan. a week from next thurs? i can come on wed. eve, , stay a few days in mex, then back again for more stuff. now if i could just put my sofa in the station wagon, i won't need a mover. i was figuring that my stuff is not worth paying thousands, but i do need a sofa.

also, will need a fridge, but with no elect., will just manage with a big cooler, eat out, and go to farmers markets...

ecomujeres - 10-3-2008 at 11:51 AM

Diane:

We cooked with a number of different solar ovens that we made from nested cardboard boxes. We had a few prototypes and the last one we made, we used for 3-4 years while living on the beach near Mulege.

A good book is: Heaven's Flame: A Guide to Solar Cookers, available on Amazon.

You can buy the pre-fab ones, but they are expensive. We probably spent about 10-15 dollars, all of that on buying two pre-cut pieces of glass that to fit the top of the oven and for the oven thermometer and aluminum foil. We used good, thick, recycled boxes, one that fit inside the other with a gap of a few inches. This space was stuffed with pieces of cardboard for insulation and sealed. There are a number of designs out there.

We then made our own reflectors and lined them with aluminum foil. The above mentioned book gives good plans and designs, talking about the ideal size & proportion for your oven (too small or too big won't generate enough heat) as well as how to make the reflectors.

We cooked rice, beans, stews, soups and even brownies in our oven.

You have to monitor and adjust the oven to keep the temp. up at maximum, but we easily achieved 320-360 degrees for 5-6 hours on a sunny winter day on Bahia Concepcion.

Think: slow cooker. Once you make it and adjust to using it, no more gas or electricity.

Just make sure to figure a way to fasten your reflectors so they dont fall over. Rocks work well to prop the oven, with a string tied to the reflectors. Putting it in a protected place also helps. Amazingly, we never had problems with dogs wandering by to raid the oven, even though it sat right on the sand in front of the palapa and we commonly went away for a few hours. But, quien sabe?

Good luck!

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ecomujeres
Diane:

We cooked with a number of different solar ovens that we made from nested cardboard boxes. We had a few prototypes and the last one we made, we used for 3-4 years while living on the beach near Mulege.

A good book is: Heaven's Flame: A Guide to Solar Cookers, available on Amazon.

You can buy the pre-fab ones, but they are expensive. We probably spent about 10-15 dollars, all of that on buying two pre-cut pieces of glass that to fit the top of the oven and for the oven thermometer and aluminum foil. We used good, thick, recycled boxes, one that fit inside the other with a gap of a few inches. This space was stuffed with pieces of cardboard for insulation and sealed. There are a number of designs out there.

We then made our own reflectors and lined them with aluminum foil. The above mentioned book gives good plans and designs, talking about the ideal size & proportion for your oven (too small or too big won't generate enough heat) as well as how to make the reflectors.

We cooked rice, beans, stews, soups and even brownies in our oven.

You have to monitor and adjust the oven to keep the temp. up at maximum, but we easily achieved 320-360 degrees for 5-6 hours on a sunny winter day on Bahia Concepcion.

Think: slow cooker. Once you make it and adjust to using it, no more gas or electricity.

Just make sure to figure a way to fasten your reflectors so they dont fall over. Rocks work well to prop the oven, with a string tied to the reflectors. Putting it in a protected place also helps. Amazingly, we never had problems with dogs wandering by to raid the oven, even though it sat right on the sand in front of the palapa and we commonly went away for a few hours. But, quien sabe?

Good luck!

yes, i do want to make my own...that's part of the adventure of it. do u live anywhere near la mision? i have never really seen a real one. or see how it works. although have joined a solar cooker forum...lots of good ideas, but i still want to SEE one to understand it.

ecomujeres - 10-3-2008 at 05:56 PM

Diane: sorry to say that we no longer use or have an oven. We stopped eating rice, beans and such so we gradually stopped using it and eventually after a few years, recycled it. I am looking for a photo of ours, but no success yet. Will continue...

BajaHawk - 10-3-2008 at 07:18 PM

Kind of hard for cooking dinner.

dianaji - 10-3-2008 at 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaHawk
Kind of hard for cooking dinner.

according to the forum, u can cook meat loaf, potatoes, veg all at one time. and i heard it's great!

Bob and Susan - 10-4-2008 at 05:31 AM

your window for solar is kinda of small in ensenada...
weather is kinda of weird there...

you'd have to cook dinner between
12pm and 2pm to make sure you had enough sun

i think i'd stick with propane... :light:

our regular stove uses one of those medium size propane tanks you see everywhere...
it costs $35usa to fill and lasts about 6 months

doing the math...that's about 20 cents usa a day...

yesterday martha made susan a chcolate cake
with cream cheese frosting...

i got ONE piece :spingrin:

dianaji - 10-4-2008 at 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
your window for solar is kinda of small in ensenada...
weather is kinda of weird there...

you'd have to cook dinner between
12pm and 2pm to make sure you had enough sun

i think i'd stick with propane... :light:

i'm getting propane tank, as soon as it is converted from gas...maybe this week. don't really cook a lot, but just wanna play with the solar oven for the adventure.

why only one piece...does she eat the rest?