Whether you are preparing for a camping adventure during the weekend, or want a fun project you can experiment at home with, building a solar oven is an awesome way to get the kids involved. Plus, you can never go wrong with food! By using a natural source of energy, the sun, you can use your solar oven for a low-maintenance cooking alternative. Not to mention, should there ever be an electrical outage or emergency, you can always bust out the solar oven to rescue the day—or, if a solar oven doesn’t fit your fancy, try making a penny can stove. Sglider12 from Instructables shows you how to build a cardboard solar oven, using common items from your home. Here are the materials you need:
- a cardboard box
- aluminum foil
- nontoxic glue or tape
- black construction paper
- plastic wrap
- a pencil
- scissors
- a marker
- a grill rack
- and a sunny day
It seems pretty simple enough, right? There are a ton of different food options you can cook in your solar oven, and many creations you can find searching online. Depending on how you build your solar oven (or if you’re looking for something sturdier), the temperatures can range between 180-400 degrees Fahrenheit—and many factors of this include the build, outdoor temperature and sun exposure. We recommend you always test your food temperature with a handy dandy thermometer to make sure you’re in the clear of any food danger zones. Alrighty solar oven enthusiasts, let’s see what you can do!
Cardboard Solar Oven | Instructables via sglider12
Photo by: Stationary Hobo via Flickr
