Most solar oven manufacturer's don't seem to provide an Oven Temperature versus Time Of Day Plot. This is would be a big help to any prospective user of a solar oven. You have probably seen articles on [when] to start cooking and [how long] to cook. You might wonder... how the author of the article got their information. I built a solar oven and decided to do a field test run by recording data of the oven temperature at various random times of the day. This wiki article shows what data I recorded, the time of day, temperature, and cloud effects.
Degree F (Vertical Axis) versus Time of Day (Horizontal Axis 24 HR Time).
Min Oven Temp: 100 F.
Max Oven Temp: 264F.
Outside Temperature: 41 degree F at 10am to 50 degree F at 3pm.
Wind Speed: 10 to 15 mph gusts.
Skies: Mostly Clear with some very thin high haze clouds which caused the UV index to drop.
Humidity: approx. 30%
Sun Angle From Horizon: approx. 28 degrees
GPS Data
Date: December 23rd, 2009
Elevation 2500 Feet Above Sea Level.
N: 32deg 12.844 min.
W: 110deg 59.945 min.:
Note: Dips in temperature are due to clouds blocking sun for short periods of time.
Oven Construction
Corrugated cardboard packing boxes from Home Depot.
Each section of the oven cut from boxes using a utility knife.
Inner box and outer box separated by R-Tech Firm Foam commercial insulation. (approx 2 inches)
Bottom of oven includes 1.5 inch of R-Tech Firm Foam commercial insulation as well.
Solar Entry: Dual pane glass 3/32" thickness, separated by 1/4".
Reflectors are simple Aluminum Foil sheets glued to cardboard panels:
Basic Initial Construction
Raw Data:
Time(24HR) | Temp |
1005 | 100 |
1014 | 120 |
1020 | 125 |
1038 | 145 |
1052 | 175 |
1056 | 200 |
1059 | 210 |
1100 | 220 |
1105 | 225 |
1108 | 226 |
1112 | 230 |
1124 | 230 |
1128 | 220 |
1131 | 205 |
1135 | 200 |
1140 | 205 |
1145 | 230 |
1148 | 235 |
1155 | 240 |
1205 | 235 |
1218 | 249 |
1220 | 250 |
1227 | 252 |
1238 | 250 |
1255 | 250 |
1312 | 251 |
1331 | 252 |
1337 | 255 |
1400 | 260 |
1410 | 261 |
1420 | 264 |
1440 | 264 |
1451 | 261 |
1456 | 251 |
1504 | 251 |
1516 | 249 |
1522 | 240 |
1530 | 242 |
Picture of Completed Box Solar Oven.
Interior Cooking Space Dimensions:
15" X 11.125" X 9.25"