I'm considering getting a solar oven.

[Hillbillybuddha]

In addition to my galley oven, I'm considering getting a solar oven. Sometimes going below to cook a meal in the summer heat is just too much.

I've seen little tube ovens; fold up, closed cell ovens; and bigger box style ovens you can bake bread in.

Lots of brands and price ranges.

What do you have on board? Do you like it?

Thanks

[digitalnomad]

I was also thinking the same thing. Leaving food to cook in the sun while snorkling would be a nice experience ... returning to a hot cooked meal.

[chris mac]

Technically we own one. Go sun brand. Unfortunately it is stored at a friends house until we get back from bahamas.
I cant wait till we can play with it. In theory they will work fantastic

[Tomodore]

Saw some folks in Barra Dr Navidad using theirs this winter and they were happy with it. We spent last summer in the Baja and used the pressure cooker for bread and cast iron skillet on the BBQ for fish. I'll bet the solar oven would make more normal bread.

[denverd0n]

Don't have one personally. Talked to a couple a few years back who had one. Their comment was that it really needs to be kept at a constant angle to the sun in order to get a steady baking heat. Meaning that it is mostly useful when tied in a slip, or in a very calm anchorage. Only marginally useful in a windy or rolly anchorage, and of almost no use when underway.


Second hand info, but their comments are one reason my wife and I have never bothered with one.

[dougweibel]

We don't have one but know a couple with a GoSun. They seem to like it and use it regularly. The glass tube got broken once but they were able to get a replacement.

The GoSun Fusion and the Haines 2.0 Solar Cooker intrigue me.

[OneKoolCat]

Hi Hillbillybuddha,

I have a Sunflair foldable solar oven. If you have a lot of sun it works pretty well. You need to tie it down. I am not saying that the wind caused me to jump in my dinghy and make a run-down river to save my lunch… but yeah. I now really like the fact it floats!

The main chamber never seems to heat up quite as much as I want it, but it comes with some silicone pots with lids. If your food is in a pot, it works great! Any black pot with a lid will do. Be careful as you handle these as they get hot. The important thing for me it is soft and folds down to a light flat package that’s easy to stow on the boat. These are relatively inexpensive, mine is the deluxe which is a little bigger.

Obviously, no sun no cooking, but it does not heat up the cabin on a hot day. You also need to check it every once in a while as the sun progresses across the sky, when the tide changes, the wind nudges you to a different angle you may want to reposition it a little to keep it facing your heat source.

I like mine. The kind that are in a vacuum insulated tube heat up better and faster, but on occasion I cook a lot of food and there is only so much you can fit in the tube. It was nice to come back from the sandbar and there was hot food waiting for us.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Peter

[jlcarreiro]

What do you rest it on? Does the bottom get too hot?

[OneKoolCat]

I set it down on the fiberglass deck currently depending on where i can get the best sun.

Not sure exactly what he temperature of the bottom gets up to. It is cool enough to carry. Certainly no where near the temperature of the pots. On my old mono hull I put it up on the bow on the fiberglass and also a few times on the sunbrella bimini top. No issues.

Cheers,
Peter