Not everything I try works...learning from a failure

Winter desolation.....in my backyard.  It's a cold Winter morning.  Of course I would be the one to try something new with the snow and cold outside....who else?  I knew the sun would be changing soon, so I decided to try my Sun Oven in this cold weather.

I decided to make Chili from items from my Pantry/Food Storage.

Here I am adding Canned Beans

I then added my Tomato concoction.

In went my canned Hamburger.

I added Dehydrated minced onion.

Chili powder was next....

Finally, Tomato Sauce.

See how the sun was moving quickly?  I set up the Sun Oven in the position that I traditionally use in the summer.  I let the Sun Oven heat up for a while.

I placed the Chili in the Sun oven.

I, again going off the settings and positioning from last summer, left my Sun Oven and went off to Church for 3 hours.

How did it turn out after I returned to my home? Not so well

There was a significant amount of condensation on the glass and the temperature was....really....low.

I brought the Chili and and used my temperature probe.  Look at the temperature....  Ugh, I had an epic failure here.

Why am I showing you this?  Well, first of all my neighbor told me that that everything I do (for this blog) turns out perfectly.  So not!  I don't always share the 'misses' and 'mistakes'.  So, today I am showing something that did not work.  

Image and information courtesy of Sungage

Here is what I believe happened.  Look at Figure (b) in the Summer, the rays hit the ground more directly.  Now look at figure (c) as this depicts the sun rays direction in the winter. This means that it would take more rays and a longer period of time to heat up in the winter.  This is a big deal!

Here is information about using this device in the Winter from the Sun Oven Website

Can I use a SUN OVEN® in the winter?

Yes, a SUN OVEN® can be used on a clear winter day. The most important factor in using a SUN OVEN® is the brightness of the sun, not the outside air temperature. Often, a 40-degree, clear, low-humidity day will allow food to cook faster than a 100-degree day with high humidity. The SUN OVEN® has been used very successfully at the base camp of a Mt. Everest expedition where the temperatures are often well below zero. There are, however, more cooking hours available in the summer than in the winter. In the summer, it is not unusual to cook from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, whereas during the early winter, effective cooking is limited to 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

I didn't start this oven until 12:30 p.m. and came home near 4:00 p.m.  I used it in the wrong time frame.

Am I giving up?  No, I will try this again this winter, however, I will babysit it next time.  I need to know that this is a viable option should I need it in the winter.  

So, this is just a learning experience...nothing more or less. I look forward to learning more as I build my skill set by using the tools I have available to me.