Here comes the Sun......

This is Paul Munsen, the President of "Sun Oven".  He recently taught a class on the new "All American Sun Oven" at the Honeyville Store in SLC.  I went just to learn about this new product only as I already have a Solar Oven that I really love.

However, once I heard about all the upgrades and things that it could do...yes I really did it.....I bought one for myself.  I think that both of my solar ovens have distinct uses and I look forward to using them both!

Well, I got it home....in a very big box.  This deal through Honeyville includes several extra's.  (Please know that this deal ends today).  The unit itself weighs 22 lbs and is easy to carry.

These items came with this purchase.  Upgrades to the unit are as follows:

• A "T" leg with 2 stakes are included to ensure the unit stays stable in windy conditions.
• Three racks are included to be used for Dehydration or from layered cooking (like cookie sheets).  Also a roll of Parchment paper is provided for dehydrating.
• 2 Dark Round Enamel Pans that stack if you wish. Each pan has a different lid, one dark and one clear. 
• 2 Bread pans
• One Multi-Fuel Water Pasteurizing Indicator (WAPI).  More about this cool little device later.

Well, I just opened the device.  See the 'self-leveling' grill inside?  I love this as your food will always be level no matter what angle you are tilting your oven.  In addition, this new All American 's rack can handle a 9x13 pan means the inside of this unit is larger than the previous model.

I love these.  They are called "E-Z Sun-track indicators".  Essentially, you line up the light coming through the top hole with the hole on the bottom to indicate that you unit is in the best position for direct sunlight.  Every thirty minutes, you may have to adjust you unit as the sun travels. These indicators make it a snap.

This is a "T leg" that is used to adjust the angle of the unit.  The previous unit reportedly only had a single leg. This "T" shape helps the unit be more stable and is adjustable.

Here is the leg being used.

At the bottom of the "T" are holes that allow you to stake the unit to the ground to keep it from being blown over by the wind. You reportedly can also insert the ends of Bungee cords into each hole. This way you can run the Bungee cord under the table and secure it from wind as well. 

You need to remove the protective coating off the reflective surfaces.

The unit also comes with a built-in thermostat.  This one raised 100 degrees in under 5 minutes while we were pulling off the protective covering of the reflective surfaces.

Here, Rooster Senior is getting the last little bit of coating off, and the unit is ready to use.

These are the stacking pots.  Since the the unit cooks evenly instead of just getting heat from the bottom, stacking is efficient.  The reason that we have to stir our food when cooking on the stove is that we are transferring heat from the burner to the bottom of the pot.  In order to keep the food from burning, we stir. With Solar Cooking, as long as the pans/containers are raised up off the floor of the device, heat circulates evening around everything inside and the food and containers are all the same temperature.

Experimenting on the word....

It is hard to see, but we have lined up the sunlight between the two circular openings.

In honor of Easter, I decided to 'hard boil' 2 eggs (without water). Mr. Munsen stated that this works really well with fresh eggs as the heat separates the shell and the lining and makes them easy to peel when they are cool.  I decided to try this.  It takes 50 minutes for one egg, and about 55 for 2.  He said up to an hour or more to do more.

I place the eggs on the self-leveling rack.

I left the unit to cook while I did other tasks inside the house.

When I came back out about 55 minutes later, the temperature in the unit was over 300 degrees.  

I opened the unit and took the egg out.....it was hot.

To check to see if the egg is cooked, spin it.  If it wobbles, the yolk most likely is not cooked.  If it spins, you should be good.  That was the case with these eggs....this one is actually spinning...but you can't tell in this still shot!.

After it cooled, I sliced it....see, it is cooked all the way through.

I learned a great deal from Mr. Munsen.  I look forward to using this device more fully.  I can't wait to try it on a Sunday.....for dinner!

BTW, Honeyville is selling this combination through the end of the month.  It should be available through other suppliers in April.

Consider it!