Cooking Outside: How to Choose the Right Camping Solar Oven

Feeling eager to go camping but dreading the thought of cooking over a smoky campfire? Don’t want to lug around a heavy, gas-powered outdoor stove? Well then, a solar oven might be exactly what you need to get over those cooking-related camping blues.

Without a doubt, having the right tools can help you make the best out of camping trips, especially when it comes to mealtime. After all, why should cooking be any less enjoyable just because you’re outdoors?

How Do Solar Ovens Work?

In short, a durable outdoor solar oven uses, you guessed it, the sun’s energy to prepare food. It’s a clean and green cooking method that doesn’t require any fuel, so you can say goodbye to those heavy gas canisters.

The rays are captured by the cooker’s reflective panels and concentrated onto a dark cooking pot. In order to work most efficiently, the pot should be covered with a clear lid that allows sunlight in but doesn’t let heat escape.

Once the rays have been concentrated onto the pot, they create a ‘greenhouse’ effect that causes the temperature inside to rise. This is how outdoor solar oven designs cook food – by trapping heat and sunlight inside, gradually raising the temperature until the food is cooked through.

What Types of Solar Ovens Are There?

Based on how they transmit sunlight to the pot, there are three main types of solar ovens: box cookers, panel cookers and parabolic cookers.

Box Cooker

This is the most compact model and usually the cheapest option too. As the name suggests, it’s basically a box with a glass or polycarbonate cover. The interior is painted black to absorb as much sunlight as possible, and there’s usually an additional reflector placed underneath the pot to help direct more rays upwards.

When it comes to preparing meals, box cookers are best suited to baking and slow-cooking recipes that don’t require a lot of stirring. When using one of these ovens, it’s important to place the food in the pot before setting it inside the cooker. It can be a bit tricky to manoeuvre hot pots in and out of such a small space, so it’s best to avoid recipes that require frequent stirring or adding of ingredients.

Panel Cooker

A panel cooker is a larger and slightly more expensive option of outdoor solar over but it’s also more effective. It consists of two main parts – a reflector panel that’s used to direct sunlight towards the pot, and a support frame that holds everything in place.

The reflector panel is usually made of aluminium and sometimes has a parabolic shape, which helps to concentrate sunlight more effectively. It’s often adjustable too, so you can change the angle of the panel to capture the sun’s rays more efficiently.

The support frame is usually made of metal or PVC, and it’s tall enough to allow you to place a pot underneath the reflector panel without having to crouch down.

Panel cookers are more effective than box cookers because they allow more sunlight to reach the pot. This means that food can be cooked quickly, and it also gives you more flexibility when it comes to recipes. With a panel cooker, you can easily stir the pot or add ingredients without having to remove it from the cooker first.

Parabolic Cooker

Last but not least, a parabolic solar oven comes with the highest price tag but is also the most practical option. It consists of a large parabolic reflector that’s used to capture and concentrate sunlight, as well as a support frame and a pot holder.

The reflector has a curved shape that helps to focus sunlight onto the pot in a more efficient way. You can adjust the angle to track the sun’s movement and make sure that the pot is always in direct sunlight.

The support frame has several legs that can be customised to make the cooker more stable. It also has a pot holder that’s designed to keep the pot in place even when the reflector is at its highest angle.

With this type of cooker, you can easily prepare any type of recipe – from slow-cooked stews to stir-fries and even pizzas. The only downside is that they can be quite heavy and bulky, so they’re not the best option for camping or hiking trips.

Things to Keep in Mind

Aside from the specific type of cooker that you choose, there are a few other things that can influence how well it works.

Aperture

This refers to the size of the opening that’s used to catch sunlight. The larger the aperture, the more light that goes in and the more heat that’s generated. As a general rule, box cookers have the smallest apertures, followed by panel cookers and parabolic cookers.

It’s worth noting that a larger aperture doesn’t always mean better performance. If the opening is too large, sunlight can escape before it has a chance to be absorbed. This is why most solar ovens have an aperture that’s just big enough to fit a single pot.

Insulation

Proper insulation is what helps solar ovens to retain heat, and it’s an important factor to consider if you want your food to be cooked properly. Having greater insulation also means that the oven will take longer to heat up, but it will maintain a consistent temperature for a longer period of time.

Box cookers and panel cookers usually have some form of insulation built into them, but it’s often not as stable as what you’ll find in a parabolic cooker. This is because the reflector in a parabolic cooker has a more consistent shape, which helps to direct sunlight more easily.

Maintenance Costs

As with any appliance, solar cookers will eventually need to be replaced or repaired. The specific maintenance costs will vary depending on the type of oven that you have, but in general having a more complex cooker will mean higher costs.

Make sure you take the time to clean your device regularly, as this will help to prolong its lifespan. Dirt and dust can build up on the reflector panel and prevent sunlight from being redirected. In some cases, it might even be necessary to replace the reflector panel entirely.