The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler | Page 6

connects the two stands, above the funnel. Hanging by string from the crossbeam so that it rests near the shiny bottom of the funnel is a black canning jar, surrounded by a clear plastic bag. The bag appears to be blown up, full of air, and not touching the jar.]
I have personally used the Solar Funnel Cooker to cook lunches over many weeks. My favorite foods to cook are potatoes (cut into logs or slices) and carrot slices. Vegetables cook slowly in their own juices and taste delicious. I also make rice, melted cheese sandwiches, and even bread in the Solar Funnel Cooker. I usually put the food out around 11:30 and let it cook until 12:45 or 1 pm, just to be sure that it has time to cook. I've never had any food burn in this cooker.
I have also cooked food in the mountains, at an altitude of around 8,300 feet. If anything, the food cooked faster there--the sunlight filters through less atmosphere at high altitudes.
I find that people are surprised that the sun alone can actually cook food. And they are further pleasantly surprised at the rich flavors in the foods which cook slowly in the sun. This inexpensive device does it!
Students at Brigham Young University have performed numerous tests on the Solar Funnel Cooker along with other cookers. We have consistently found much faster cooking using the Solar Funnel Cooker. The efficiency/cost ratio is higher than any other solar cooking device we have found to date. Mr. Hullinger also performed studies of transmissivity, reflectivity and absorptivity of alternate materials which could be used in the Solar Funnel Cooker. While there are better materials (such as solar-selective absorbers), our goal has been to keep the cost of the Solar Cooker as low as possible, while maintaining safety as a first priority.
Tests in Bolivia
The BYU Benson Institute organized tests between the Solar Funnel Cooker and the "old-fashioned" solar box oven. The solar box oven cost about $70 and was made mostly of cardboard. It took nearly two hours just to reach water pasteurization temperature. The Bolivian report notes that "food gets cold every time the pots are taken from and into the oven." The solar box oven failed even to cook boiled eggs. (More expensive box cookers would hopefully work better.)
An aluminized-mylar Solar Funnel Cooker was also tested in Bolivia, during the Bolivian winter. Water pasteurization temperature was reached in 50 minutes, boiled eggs cooked in 70 minutes, and rice cooked in 75 minutes. The Bolivian people were pleased by the performance. So were we! (La Paz, Bolivia, August, 1996).
I also donated two dozen solar funnel cookers for people in Guatemala. These were taken there by a group of doctors going there for humanitarian service. The people there also liked the idea of cooking with the sun's free energy! For an aluminized-Mylar Solar Funnel Cooker kit, please contact CRM (licensed manufacturer) at +1 (801) 292-9210.
[Image: 10.jpg -- Photo description: This photo shows what looks like the same style of funnel as in the above pictures except that it doesn't look homemade but something produced by a factory. The photo shows something which looks like a machined metal/shiny plastic funnel.]

VII. Water and Milk Pasteurization
Contaminated drinking water or milk kills thousands of people each day, especially children. The Word Health Organization (WHO) reports that 80 percent of illnesses in the world are spread through contaminated water. Studies show that heating water to about 65 degrees to 70 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Fahrenheit) is sufficient to kill coliform bacteria, rotaviruses, enteroviruses and even Giardia. This is called pasteurization.
Pasteurization depends on how hot and how long water is heated. But how do you know if the water got hot enough? You could use a thermometer, but this would add to the cost, of course. When steam leaves the canning jar (with lid on tight) and forms "dew" on the inside of the cooking bag, then the water is probably pasteurized to drink. (The goal is to heat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit for at least six minutes.) With a stripe of black paint scraped off the jar, one can look through the bag and into the jar and see when the water is boiling - then it is safe for sure.
Think of all the lives that can be saved simply by pasteurizing water using a simple Solar Cooker!

VIII. Safety
Safety was my first concern in designing the Solar Funnel Cooker, then came low cost and effectiveness. But any time you have heat you need to take some precautions.
-The cooking vessel (jar) is going to get hot, else the food inside won't cook. Let the jar cool a bit before opening. Handle only with gloves or tongs.
-Always wear dark glasses to protect from the sun's rays. We naturally squint, but sunglasses are important.
-Keep the plastic