The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler

BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler, The

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Title: The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler
Author: Steven E. Jones

Release Date: June 2004 [EBook #5889] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on September 16,
2002] [Edition 11 first posted August 2, 2003]
Edition: 11
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE BYU
SOLAR COOKER/COOLER ***
This eBook was produced by Aaron Canon, Steve Herber, and Jack
Eden.
Note: The .zip version of this eBook includes 11 images.
How to Make and Use The BYU Solar Cooker/Cooler
by Steven E. Jones, Professor of Physics at Brigham Young University
(BYU), with Colter Paulson, Jason Chesley, Jacob Fugal, Derek
Hullinger, Jamie Winterton, Jeannette Lawler, and Seth, David, Nathan,
and Danelle Jones.
Copyright (c) 2002 by Steven E. Jones
Original web site with this article: http://solarcooking.org/funnel.htm
[Image: 01.jpg -- Photo description this image shows a cardboard box
being used to support a silvery funnel, roughly 3 feet high. The funnel
is placed within the box so that the sides of the box hold the funnel
upright. Sitting within the base of the funnel is a black jar inside a clear
plastic bag. The plastic bag is inflated like a balloon to seal an
insulating air pocket around the jar.]

Contents
I. Introduction II. How it works III. How to Build Your Own Solar
Funnel Cooker - What You will Need for the Funnel Cooker -
Construction Steps IV. Final Steps V. After Cooking VI. Tests - Tests
in Utah - Tests in Bolivia VII. Water and Milk Pasteurization VIII.
Safety IX. Cooking with the Solar Funnel Cooker X. How to Use the
Solar Funnel as a Refrigerator/Cooler XI. Conclusion: Why We Need
Solar Cookers XII. Answers to commonly-asked questions XIII. Recipe
for wheatpaste XIV. Updates - Rabbit-wire base - Reduced angle -
Save-heat cooker - Funnel-cooling during the day - Hot-and-cold
running water - Conclusion

I. Introduction
A few years ago, I woke up to the fact that half of the world's peoples
must burn wood or dried dung in order to cook their food. It came as
quite a shock to me, especially as I learned of the illnesses caused by
breathing smoke day in and day out, and the environmental impacts of
deforestation -not to mention the time spent by people (mostly women)
gathering sticks and dung to cook their food. And yet, many of these
billions of people live near the equator, where sunshine is abundant and
free.
As a University Professor of Physics with a background in energy
usage, I set out to develop a means of cooking food and sterilizing
water using the free energy of the sun. First, I looked at existing
methods.
The parabolic cooker involves a reflective dish that concentrates
sunlight to a point where the food is cooked. This approach is very
dangerous since the sun's energy is focused to a point which is very hot,
but which cannot be seen. (BYU students and I built one which will set
paper on fire in about 3 seconds!) I learned that an altruistic group had
offered reflecting parabolas to the people living at the Altiplano in
Bolivia. But more than once the parabolas had been stored next to a

shed -- and the passing sun set the sheds on fire! The people did not
want these dangerous, expensive devices, even though the Altiplano
region has been stripped of fuel wood.
The box cooker: Basically an insulated box with a glass or plastic lid,
often with a reflecting lid to reflect sunlight into the box. Light enters
through the top glass (or plastic), to slowly heat up the box. Problems:
energy enters