Frequently Asked Questions When first introduced to the concept of Solar Cooking and witnessing the process  first hand, most people are amazed and even dumbfounded and that leads to a flurry of questions, some of which are so ill thought out they are laughable however I understand their reaction because it truly is a startling system.   The following are some of more frequently asked questions.

• How long does it take to boil water? By far the most popular question,  but before replying I must pose some questions of my own  –  how much water,   what time of day,   what cooking device,   what type of cookware,   under what weather conditions?  Without having more facts to go on,  I could say “2 seconds” which under certain circumstances would be correct however my normal response is this.    To boil up a container of water a ‘concentrating’ device (parabolic dish), which is equivalent to a domestic ‘stove top,’ is most appropriate since all the other devices are ‘ovens’ and who would ever attempt to  boil water in an oven. The ‘parabolic’ cooker will boil up a billy in about the same time it would take on a conventional stove . Most people  want to compare everything to the performance of an ‘electric jug’.   This is not a fair comparison since the ‘jug’ or ‘Electrical kettle’ has been designed specifically for one purpose, that being to boil water in record quick time, using a 2500 watt  element placed in direct contact with the water. I conducted a little experiment attempting to boil ½ litre ( 2 cups ) of water in an electric oven with the following results. After setting my fan forced oven to 150ºC and pre-heating for 12 minutes I inserted the billy and waited. One hour later the water was at 93ºC, still 7ºC short of boiling and at this point I ended my experiment with the conclusion that an oven is not the ideal appliance for this purpose.

• Can I boil water on my Panel Cooker? You can, however the panel cooker is an oven and not the first choice for this purpose.  It can heat water faster than a conventional electric oven.      (see above question for full answer.)

• Does it cook at night? – NO ! “When the sun don’t shine we won’t dine”

• How much Sunlight do I need ? ‘Daylight is not sunlight’.  To ‘Solar Cook’ we need direct sunlight for at least 50% of the time otherwise it may be impossible to reach cooking temperatures.  The less sunlight the longer it takes.

• How do you cook on Cloudy Days? If you follow the weather forecast and the predictions are for unfavourable conditions, “make hay while the sun shines”, precook larger volumes on sunny days and reheat in the microwave or on your electric range on the solar-less days.    What Jane and I  do at home depends on the weather conditions and our state of mind. WE may stoke up our ‘clay oven’ or fire up our smokeless fuel efficient ‘rocket stove’ or even light up the BBQ (all to often I am embarrassed to admit we take the ‘Lazy Buggers’  way out and fall back to the comforts of our electrical appliances)

• How Long does it take ? In full sunlight in peak cooking peak hours, times are about the same as on a conventional oven or stove. In other not so favourable conditions, it will be proportionally slower. People who like to use slow cooking methods to achieve that taste difference will revel in solar cooking at most time of day.

• Can the cooker Burn My House down? Most literature will tell you ‘NO’ because the cooker is normally used outdoors, but you should still be aware of their potential. The ‘box cooker’ is the safest and will not produce flash point temperatures but some panel cooker designs are capable of producing hot spots that could ignite paper, and if blown in the wrong direction could do mischief, while the potency of the ‘parabolic’, which can bring a piece of timber to flame in seconds, speaks for itself.    (My ‘death ray’ has on two occasions attacked my house, clothing and a car)

• Are the cookers Hot To Touch? The ‘box cooker’ is hot on the inside and on the glass lid but if insulated well is cool or only mildly warm on the outside housing.    The ‘panel cooker’ and the ‘parabolic’  are all cool to touch except for the cooking pots and stands.