****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I rarely leave reviews but I had success with this oven, so happy. I was hesitant to buy this after reading some of the reviews saying it doesn't cook. I took a chance as I want to make solar cooking kits. Outside of making my own, this price was hard to beat in comparison to some very similar. Having been in numerous disasters, multiple ways to cook food is a must. Solar cooking is one of the best if you have sun. So after cooking daily, usually 2 meals per day, breakfast and dinner, I decided to buy several more for family, friends etc.My meal temps reached 190- 208F inside the food; safe temps. On average my cook time 1 -6 hrs. I also heated canned goods which took 1/2 hr. -40 minutes depending on volume of food. All were steamy hot, soups, veggies, beans, chili, spaghetti sauce etc. In emergencies I wanted to see if canned goods could be reheated rather quickly with no fuss. I'm satisfied.I love to bake in this oven. I've made several recipe variations of corn bread, banana bread, muffins, brownies, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies, biscuits. My first cornbread I over baked a tad, see pic.I've also made a small pot roast, meat loaf, chicken breast, chicken thighs, hot dogs, ham/sausage n eggs, diced potatoes, oatmeal n raisins, all turned out great, fully cooked. The one food I haven't cooked in this oven is frozen food, so not sure about those foods.I have a Haines 2 solar cooker. In comparison the Haines 2 comes to higher temps, 350F for me. It does cook faster, a superb solar cooker, more expensive. Even so I'm glad I have both solar ovens.I live in a dense forest, 2700 ft elevation. The day temps have been 65-95F, some days little cloudy with a cool breeze, always filtered sunshine due to trees. That's my biggest challenge, finding the sun. The corn bread in the pic was cooked during the one cool day we had, 65F.PROSPortable, packable; can easily be carried, stored anywhere.Mid size oven, not too small or too big, takes a 5 quart Dutch Oven no problem.Reflective material is very reflective. (wear sunglasses)Temps are within safe cooking (for me)Reasonably pricedPerfect for emergency back up cookingAn inexpensive gift for anyone, homeless etc..I didn't have any condensation issues. In any glass lids that had a steam release hole, I cut a Q tip placed it in the hole. This kept steam in the pot, not on the plastic. See picture, can barely see it in the lid hole.CONSPlastic cover does become pliable after several uses, oven can fall in with plastic touching the pot, so can melt the cover and ruin the pot * easily fixed...see note belowZipper was really difficult to line up correctly, once started works greatThe reflective material isn't as sturdy/ thick as I like. My trivet left indentations in the bottom, so with repeated use will eventually tear the material.Back supports while they do keep the oven from completely falling in, they need to be adjusted often, so can tear the oven.Opening the plastic cover to check food is a bit trickyIs light weight can blow away if windy.TipsFood pot should be elevated at "minimum 1-2 inches" off the reflector bottom with a trivet ( cooks best if there is radiated heat all around the pot)Place oven on a table or above ground on cement, not directly on the ground unless insulated, because Mother Earth will take the heat for herself.Black trivets are best with silicone protectors on feet. ( I used an Instant Pot stainless steel egg trivet, the feet began making dents in the bottom reflector, see pic. I now use my round open stainless steel wok base, more sturdy, no dents, works great, gives more elevation to pot, better heat circulation.)Use glass lids on a black thin walled stainless steel pot (See Haines 2 pot for reference)Use black Granite Ware, or similar thin walled roasting pan, 3- 4 quarts, bean pot etc.Use Turkey oven bags over trivet and pot if needed, increases temp, lowers cooking time.Preheat cooker, especially preheat with pot if using heavy cast iron pots. (I don't use cast iron in panel cookers, so I don't preheat my pots, but many do)Use your regular black pots / pans with glass lids, best if no long handles such as sauce pans.Dark baking pans with no lids; bread/brownie/cake pans, can be placed in 2 tempered glass Pyrex bowels/dishes; 1 bowel for top, 1 for bottom with pan in the middle, pan is sealed completely by the bowels...The round cake/pie pans fit great inside these round bowels, baking is so fast!Follow the sun, in this oven you do need to move it at a minimum every hour.NoteSee Picture of CornbreadTo fix the falling in of the plastic cover and oven I cut/ sanded the tip of a wooden dowel placing it to the middle top of the back panel of the oven, extending it out over the pot to the middle bottom front near the zipper. It has not interfered with cooking evenly. It does keep the oven upright, sturdy and the plastic from touching the pot. The dowel is not touching the pot, nor has it indented or punctured the oven panels. A round thinner dowel would be better, but this is what I had on hand, works great.
