Parabolic solar cooker designs

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{{Updated|4|27|23}}
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Below you will find information on dozens of '''parabolic solar cooker designs'''. The Solar Cooking Wiki also provides an individual page for [[:Category:Countries|{{CountryCount}} different countries]] where you will find news, NGOs, manufacturers, and individuals working on solar cooking projects in that country. Links to possible funders are also available:
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[[Image:AlSol 1.4.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[AlSol 1.4]] is typical of the [[parabolic solar cooker]] style]]
[[File:Shirdi roof collector array.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An array of [[Scheffler Community Kitchen|Scheffler parbolic cookers]] installed on the Shirdi Saibaba temple in Shirdi, {{State|Maharashtra}}, [[India]]]]
Parabolic solar cookers use a parabolic-shaped reflector to direct sunlight to a small area in order to generate heat for cooking. They are able to reach high temperatures, {{Degree|350}} or higher, which allows them to be used for grilling and frying. These temperatures are significantly higher than what can be reached by a [[solar box cookers]] or [[solar panel cookers]] and allow the cooking times on a parabolic cooker to be comparable to a conventional stove, such as an electrical or gas burner. 

The amount of food being cooked and the way in which the heat is used is generally dictated by the size of parabolic dish. Smaller dishes, which are generally around one meter in diameter, are intended to heat a traditional size [[Pots|pot or pan]] much like how you would cook on a traditional cooktop. The larger dishes, which can be as wide as five meters in diameter, are generally not used to heat a pot or pan directly, but instead are used to create steam by directing sunlight onto pipes carrying water. The steam is directed to cooking surfaces in a kitchen and is regulated by valves in order to offer control to the chef.

==Characteristics==
*Cooking times are similar to a traditional stovetop
*High temperatures will allow for food to be fried and grilled, typically {{DegreeRange|120 |230}}
*Requires periodic reorientation, often every fifteen minutes, which may be done with a mechanical [[solar tracking]] apparatus 
*Generally more expensive than panel and box cookers, and requires more storage space

==Popular parabolic cooker designs==
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[[File:Parvati_Solar_Cooker_improvements,_11-18-13.jpg|thumb|280px|[[Parvati Solar Cooker]]]]</td><td>[[File:LIBERTAD400.JPG|thumb||300px|[[SUNplicity Solar Cooker]]]]</td><td>[[File:Rudra_SK-14.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Rudra SK-14]]]]</td><td>
[[File:PRINCE-40_with_Ajay_C.,_11-19-19.jpg|280px|thumb|[[PRINCE-40]]]] </td></tr></table>

==What can you cook?==
Parabolic solar cookers generally operate at very high temperatures so they are ideal for frying, grilling, and boiling food. You can also [[Baking in a parabolic solar cooker|bake breads and other baked-goods]] in a parabolic cooker. While they don't easily offer slow-cooking capabilities, they can be paired with a [[Heat-retention cooking|retained-heat cooker]] to prepare foods which call for longer cooking times at lower temperatures, such [[rice]], [[beans]] and many other [[foods]].

==Resources==
===Documents===
*{{NewMay20}}'''January 2020:''' [[Media:PIZZA OVEN PAPER 20122019.pdf|A Field Trial — Using a Heat Trap, Insulation, and Heat Sinks With a 1.5m Parabolic Solar Concentrator to Attempt the Pizza Oven Challenge at Latitude 32S]] - ''Andrew Wilson, BAppSc''
*{{NewMay20}}'''January 2020:''' [[Media:NATURAL CRITERION FOR DEFINING THE 3D FOCUS OF A PARABOLIC SOLAR COOKER COMPOSED OF FLAT LAMELLAE Petrov 01-20.pdf|Natural Criterion for Defining the 3D Focus of a Parabolic Solar Cooker Composed of Flat Lamellae]] - ''Dr. Ilko Petrov''
*{{NewJun18}}'''June 2018:''' [[Media:Making Petals of Solar Cookers With Mylar and PP alveolar sheets Coroplast.pdf|Making Petals of Solar Cookers With Mylar and alveolar PP sheets]] - ''[[Elmo Dutra]]''
*{{NewApr18}}'''January 2018:''' Beam Steering Lens Arrays for Solar Cooking ([[Media:Beam Steering Lens Arrays for Solar Cooking - CONSOLFOOD 2018 - Håkon J Dugstad Johnsen, et al.pdf|Slides]], [[Media:Beam Sterring Lens Array for Solar Cooking - CONSOLFOOD 2018 -Håkon Johnsen, et al.pdf|Paper]]) - ''Håkon J Dugstad Johnsen, et al''
*{{NewJun17}}'''June 2017:''' [[Media:Thermoforming of PS sheets for the manufacture of cheap parabolic solar cookers.pdf|Thermoforming of Polystyrene sheets  sheets for the manufacture of cheap parabolic solar cookers]] - ''Elmo Dutra''
*{{NewJul16}}'''July 2016:''' [[Media:Optimization 1.pdf|Optimization of Focal Length for a Parabolic Solar Cooker Design]] - ''[[Hartmut Ehmler]]''
*{{NewSep20}}'''March 2016:''' [[Media:How to use a parabolic solar cooker - Global Hope Network International.pdf|How to Use a Parabolic Solar Cooker]] (Dari and English) - ''[[Grace Magney]]''
*{{NewJun16}}[[Media:Parabolic solar cookbook - Imma Seifert.pdf|A cookbook showing how to cook in a parabolic cooker]] - ''[[Imma Seifert]]''
*{{NewJun16}}[[Baking in a parabolic solar cooker]]
*{{NewMar16}}[[Media:Parabolic solar reflectors Kundapur.pdf|Parabolic solar reflectors]] - ''[[Ashok Kundapur|Dr. Ashok Kundapur]]
*{{NewJan20}}[[Zhu Parabolic Cooker]]
*{{NewJan20}}[http://solarcooking.org/plans/parabolic-from-flat-sheet.htm Making a Parabolic Reflector Out of a Flat Sheet] ''- Li-Yan Zhu''
*{{NewJan20}}[http://solarcooking.org/unattendedparabolic.htm A Parabolic Solar Cooker for Unattended Cooking] ''- Li-Yan Zhu and Yun K. Kim''
*{{NewJan20}}[http://solarcooking.org/RobustnessOfReflectiveSolarCookerRev2.mht Robustness of a Reflective Solar Cooker] ''- Li-Yan Zhu and Yun K. Kim''
*{{NewJan20}}[http://solarcooking.org/AlignmentTemplate.htm An Alignment Template for Unattended Solar Cooking] - ''[[Li-Yan Zhu]] and Yun K. Kim''
*{{NewJan20}}[http://solarcooking.org/research/Chinese-Reflective-Cooker-Theories.htm Theories behind a Chinese Reflective Solar Cooker] - ''Li-Yan Zhu''

===Calculating the parabolic curve===
*{{NewFeb17}}'''February 2017:''' Jose Antonio Gutierrez Guerra has provided an interactive parabolic curve calculator for those interested in designing their own reflectors. It can be used for both parabolic dish and trough style designs. [https://www.desmos.com/calculator/y90ffrzmco Parabola-Focus-Directrix]

===Tips===
*{{NewJan20}} Many parabolic solar cookers are too powerful for heating milk. A tip to avoid this is to not blacken the pot. Regular stainless steel pots(and possibly other shiny pots) reflect part of heat and stop the milk from scalding. One can even keep the pot on solar cooker and forget about it. The milk never boils over as the pot distributes the heat effectively.

*{{NewApr23}} By adjusting the height of the cook pan relative to the exact focal point of the reflector, either up or down, allows for more even dispersement of the light rays, and avoids creating a very hot spot on the bottom of the pan, which can easily burn the cooking food if not stirred.

===Repurposing a satellite dish===
*{{NewApr23}} '''Note:''' Those who are interested in repurposing a satellite dish as a solar cooker need to be warned that while the cooker can achieve quite high temperatures, it is not being used for its intended purpose. It was designed with a fairly 'flat' parabolic dish shape, creating a high focus location. Standing alongside or bending over while solar cooking, this can be about eye level. Direct exposure of the focal point light into a person's eye can cause extreme damage. Commercially available [[:Category:Parabolic solar cooker designs|parabolic solar cookers]] typically have a deeper parabolic dish shape, placing the focal point closer to the mirrored surface, and away from the cooks eyes. Users should always use eye protection when using parabolic style cookers. Then there is the danger of starting an accidental fire with a satellite dish cooker left unattended. If the cookers was not secured, the wind or careless storage might reposition the long focal point onto flammable material resulting in a fire. This has been documented more than once.

==See also==

*[[Media:Parabolic solar cookbook - Imma Seifert.pdf|A cookbook showing how to cook in a parabolic cooker]] - ''[[Imma Seifert]]''
*{{NewJun16}}[[Baking in a parabolic solar cooker]]
*[[A simple way to draw a parabola]]
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[[Category:Solar cooker designs]]