Solar fryer

Parabolic solar cookers. I had long thought of something like them. I saw a neat idea at http://www.greenpowerscience.com/, where they used a fresnel lens to focus the heat off a mirror onto their cookware to make eggs, spaghetti and .. popcorn, I think. I think the popcorn failed, but you get the idea. Or not. Here's a link to that site (and yes, it is popcorn) http://www.greenpowerscience.com/SOLARCOOKING.html

I love their videos.

Anyways. I was at the state fair last year when I saw a project a student was doing to generate electricity. He was using an old dish that was discarded to focus the sun onto a heat sink (I think) with a power generator on top of it. He had pictures of it and so on. I thought 'why not do the same, but cook with it? So I looked about for a dish. I have some amazing friends who own a home with an old dish on top. So I asked them if I could come and take it off of their hands. "Sure" they replied. And I did.

I took it home and looked at it for a while. I decided to build a stand for it. So I went to Home Depot and found some scrap wood for a few dollars and grabbed some screws for a few dollars. Total cost: 8 bucks. I then made an "H" stand for it, and mounted it. From there, I glued aluminum foil on the dish itself. (Eventually I will replace with reflective tape- should I ever find some).

At this point, I simply want to test. It will be rudimentary. Eventually I want to be able to adjust it for the sun, and have a swivel plate to put a frying pan on (or whatever).

I came up with this:

Notice the 'H' stand, the aluminum foil that isn't very smooth and how very 'thrown together' the whole thing is. It will mature as I go along.

I used a coat hanger to create the stand. After playing around I found the 'sweet spot' and placed it so the sun would reflect at that exact point. I took my trusty solar pot (it is black and a leftover from an old camping set). Initially I just put a thermometer on the coat hanger stand. It reached 225. I got excited. I replaced the thermometer with the pot- with water in it. I put the cover on.

The pot got hot. The water got hot. Bubbles formed and steam came off of it. I was hopeful this would mean it would go to a full boil. But, alas, it did not. I am not sure how much of this was due to the wind we've been getting. I know it is playing a factor, but not sure how much.

But it did something. So then I considered what to do about making a plate for it. I cast about for what I had on hand. We have a few skewers that I never use a veggie grill plate for a propane stove. And I came up with what is below.

It never boiled. The temperature got to 150, but that's not high enough. But you can see the sun is being concentrated on the pot. The goal, ultimately, is to focus it on the plate and get it hot enough to use a frying pan on top of it. I'll update as I go on this.