Abilene resident makes solar oven to cook with triple-digit temps

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – One innovative Abilene resident is using the suns heat to cook her food outdoors.

When thinking of fun antics to show how high these summer temperatures are, some have been seen cracking an egg onto a sidewalk and watching it sizzle in the heat.

One Abilene resident has taken that concept a step further by building a solar oven.

A solar oven is a box roughly 40 inches by 40 inches and around 20 inches deep with a glass lid. Angled alongside the box are reflective panels that are used to capture the sun’s heat. General temperatures inside of the box during the heat of the day can reach upwards of around 350 degrees and can be used to cook a multitude of items.

The Abilene resident, who choose to remain anonymous, said that she has cooked everything from hot dogs and hamburgers, boiled eggs, bread, baked potatoes and tea. The Abilene resident explained where she got the idea for a solar oven and some of the materials she used in making it.

“I just heard of solar cooking some years ago in the seventies and eighties, and I thought I would try it. I didn’t know if it really worked that good. This (the box) is heavy foil just glued down to thin plywood and just any old windowpane. I just found a pane and said I’ll make the box the size of pane,” the resident says.

The basic materials used in constructing a solar oven can be found in most hardware stores or even grocery stores for a relatively cheap price. The Abilene resident also mentioned that general cook time for much of her food is around two hours, and she uses ceramic floor tiles as insulation for the interior of the oven.

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