Cooking with the Sun: SolSource Parabolic Solar Cooker

In this video I discuss the pros and cons of this SolSource Solar cooker.

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Solsource pot

Solsource cover

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[MikeTrieu]

Regarding the spot intensity, it sounds like you're in need of a good heat spreader. BellaCopper manufacturers a decent 3/8" thick, 99.9% pure, solid copper plate for that very purpose. I use few of them with an induction plate for my induction cooktop because induction also tends to create a hotspot that scorches food at the center and leaves the edges of my cast iron pan relatively cool. With the copper plate, I achieve even browning edge-to-edge. You might have to modify such a copper plate with one side painted with some kind of matte black, heat-resistant coating to absorb as much solar radiation as possible. Doesn't need to be Vantablack. Wood-burning stove liner should be good enough. Actually, now that I think of it, some wood soot would work perfectly for this application. Just cook with the plate on top of a smoky wood fire for a while to get it good and black. Instant poor man's Vantablack 😂

[timhaugen]

We made these, in Boy Scouts, out of umbrellas. Who else, here, still has their parabolic cigarette lighter from back in the 1970s? Why would they not make this collapsible?

[jayusn-et]

Being familiar with and having used numerous solar cookers since the early 1980's, the best practical application for a cooker like this is cooking with a cast iron Dutch Oven. (and as you mentioned, the heating of water.) I just don't see the practicality of using it as a range-top burner (No heat control)
Using this solar stove in conjunction with a Dutch Oven, you could probably thoroughly cook a chicken or stew in a little over an hour on a sunny day. (Compared to the 3 hours (+) of many other Solar Cookers on the market.) With a Dutch Oven this stove could also bake biscuits, bread and other baked goods. (Cookies :-)

[stevew]

Cool cooker. Hey, do a video with this item mid winter. Say on a windless day with the temperature around freezing. That would be a good test.

[Sasquatch-Press]

Looks like a nice unit, well thought out, efficient, reasonably durable, well designed. I agree with all your pros and cons, this seems like a fair review. I would like to see you do a performance test in a good ole Canadian winter to see how it stacks up. Thanks CP. 👍👍

[Hawtload]

I've got a parabolic mirror that's maybe 2.5 or 3ft across, and I boiled eggs on my front lawn in Massachusetts in the middle of December. Highly recommend having a parabolic mirror as well as a large Fresnel lens in your collection of gear.

[luisreynoso]

this is really cool. I've been working on a soler stove using the lense of an old school big screen.

[LowcountryMan]

i can see this being an amazing option for hot summer cooking if you are trying to live off grid. i want to have a wood burning cook stove in my retirement property... i have been worried about summer cooking and i belive this could be a great answer

[theoldguy]

Good review. I am not really in the market for one at the moment, but you brought up some great points to look for. Two things I would add. First, from a pro point of view, you are not producing wood smoke that can be smelt miles away so that everyone without a fire knows where you are. Second, remember freeze drying is not nice to Vitamins A and C, and if the stuff was cooked B's as well as others.You still those and fats. Most of the world use stews and soups and I suspect the focus and the convection within the pot will help spread the heat. That it can handle cast iron pots is really a good indicator that it is strong.

[RubiconV]

That is super cool. I'll have to wait until the price comes down but eventually I'll get something like this since I'm in southern California and while we don't have much water we do benefit from anything solar.

[EverythingThereIs]

Thanks for this. I saw it somewhere else on the interwebs, but of course all they talked about was how awesome it is and gave no cons at all.

I really like these solar cooking ideas.

[mish]

C P great review, Great price for free energy cooker, I live in Florida and I get sum most of the year so this would be great for my area. Definitely needs a cover to keep it clean. I wonder if there is a small steam engine that could be combined with it to produce electricity.

[mikebaker]

In Canadian weather conditions, the All American Solar oven is your best bet. The wind has little difference on the temp boiling or cooking, and will still boil or cook at a slower rate without wind affect.

[autistpatrol]

Good review!

Design wise: all it needs is a lens layer to concentrate the light and heat further [for winter use]

[TreDogOfficial]

The great thing about a parabolic solar cooker is that you don't create extra heat with a stove, which can be a killer when you're dying of heat stroke.🥵

You could even make an argument that the heat from the panel "steals" heat from the surrounding area, thus cooling those standing around waiting for the meal to cook

[videosrfunme]

if you had an indoor solar location you could add a 12volt pump and run the hot water thru a small radiator blown with a 12v fan. recirculate your water.

[PrepperPotpourri]

We have so many overcast days that this solar cooker wouldn't work well for me. I do have a Sport solar oven that I infrequently use. I can bake in that too. It doesn't look like the parabolic solar cooker has a baking option.

[thenextarcher]

I like it. Its alittle expensive but almost all solar stoves/cookers are expensive. Ill have to get a small solar cooker some day, Seems like a fun gadget that would be fun while camping.

[nathanielfelts]

Looks effective. But I would be concerned with blowing over on windy afternoons, curious kids leaving stuff atop it and starting fires, and too big to use in the small patio space I have everyday. Price point is too much to take a chance on. Boiling water that well and quickly is a big plus though. Maybe you could also drop a mic in it for awesome sound detection from afar :)

[minsukim]

I think you can spread the focal point by hanging the pot a little closer or a little farther, just to miss the focal point a little bit to increase the circumference of the reflected light...adjust it to the size of the bottom of the pot