Peter

Solar Cooker Comparisons
__**Question:**__ What solar cooker is the best, with artificial light, at reaching cooking temperatures quickly, reaching the high temperatures and keeping the heat the longest?


 * Experimental Group:** The Solar Cookers. ( Minimum Cooker, Windshield Shade Cooker, DATS cooker.)
 * Control group** Hot-dog on a plate.
 * Independent variable:** Design of the solar cooker.
 * Dependent variable:** The heat in the inside of the pot, and the inside temperature of a hotdog.

__**Introduction**__ This experiment was preformed so I could figure out which homemade Solar Cooker was the best.

__**Hypothesis**__ I predict the Minimum Cooker will keep the heat longer than the others. I predict the DATS cooker will heat up faster and heat up higher than the others.

__**Materials**__ 120 volt Heat lamp hot dogs Thermometer Food thermometer
 * For Experiment:**

12 24x61 cm. pieces of cardboard 1 roll of Reynold's aluminum foil 1 bottle of Elmer's glue shoe string
 * For the DATS cooker:**

12 x 16 1/2 in. cardboard box, 8 in high 9 1/4 x 15 3/4 in. cardboard box, 8 in high 11 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. piece of cardboard. 11 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. mirror. 15 x 17 1/2 in piece of cardboard 9 1/2 in. Wooden dowel paper clamp 3/4 in. metal collar 1 in. ring clamp 1 in. plastic stopper 1 rubber band 1 Reynold's aluminum foil 1 Reynold's cooking bag Hot Glue Gun tape cake pan Metal stand food and oven thermometer
 * For the Minimum cooker:**
 * 1) 10 1/2 in. machine-screw

1 accordion-style windshield shade, 20 in. of Velcro, cooking bag , 28 x 27 cm cake rack, cooking pot, 5-gallon bucket
 * For the Windshield shade cooker:**


 * __Methods__

//For the DATS cooker://** 1. Cut 12 24x61 pieces of cardboard. 2. Cut each one like this: 3. Tape them side by side until they form a half circle.

4. Glue aluminum foil on one side. Don't cover the flaps!

5. Pass a shoe sting through the holes.

6.Form the half circle into a ring shape

7. Make sure everything is tight. Tape the outside cracks.

//**For the Minimum cooker:**// 1. Get the two cardboard boxes.

2. Trim both boxes to the same height, 8 in. Glue the smaller box inside the larger one. 3.Put your 'lid' on the box. Make sure your 'lid' fits snugly

4. Cut out a 13 1/2 x 9 in hole in your lid

5. duct tape a 15 x 17 1/2 in. piece of cardboard like this:

6. Duct tape the mirror on the inside of the piece, like this:



7. Make this from the screw, dowel, stopper, paper clamp, metal collar,ring clamp,and rubber band:

8. Remove the lid and hot glue the Aluminum foil to the inside of the inside box.

9. Take out your cooking bag, measure it so it covers your ENTIRE lid, like this:

10. Tape it in place

//**For the Windshield shade cooker:**// 1. Lie the windshield shade down, notched end facing you.

2. Cut 4 pieces of Velcro, each 2 in. long.

3. put them on the notches of the shade, like this: 4. Fold so the Velcro is sticking nicely, it should have a cone shape.

__**Experiment:**__ This experiment will take place indoors. 1. Set the temperature to 70º. 2. Make sure there is no natural light hitting your cookers. 3. Place your heat lamp facing one of your cookers. 4. The first test will be the speed test, next the temperature test, and finally the time test. I will explain each one before we conduct it. 5. Now that you are ready to begin the speed test I will explain it, in the speed test we will cook a hot dog for 10 minutes (average grill time).

6. Place the minimum cooker facing the heat lamp.

7. Place a cake pan on top of a metal stand inside the cooker

8. I checked the temperature initial of the hot dog. 60º.

9. Very quickly examine the inside temperature of the hot dog. 80º. Place the hot dog back inside.

10. Next place the oven thermometer inside of it. This is the temperature test. This tests the power of the cooker. Leave the cooker for another 10 min.
11. Quickly test the temperature of the hot dog again. 100º.

12. Place the lid back on and shut off the heat lamp. Let it sit for another 10 min. This test will see how long the cooker will retain heat and how much.

13. Again, check the hot dog, 90º

14. Repeat this process with the DATS and windsheild shade cooker.

15. Results for Dats cooker, initial:60 1st test: 80º 2nd: 85º 3rd: 80º

16 Results for windshield shade cooker: initial 60º 1st 79º 2nd 84º 3rd 77º

17 Test results for control:

__**Results**__

__**Conclusion**__ I was correct in saying that the Minimum Cooker kept heat the best, but I was incorrect on my DATS cooker predictions, I believe I was incorrect because I did not use a pot, instead I used a pan.

__**Further Questions: Would changing the distance between the cooker and heat lamp? Will the cookers be better in artificial or natural light?**__

If heat is directed to a small area rather than a large one the temperature will become hotter compared to a large area. Heat will stick around in a small area. Black doesn't reflect light, it absorbs it. The light of course turns to heat. The more reflectors the more light is reflected back to the cooker. Most types of metal for example will absorb heat quickly and easily. Some metal gets hot faster than others and releases that heat much more slowly. If you lay a sheet of copper in the sun for example, you'll notice it gets hot quite quickly. Since the Minimum Cooker is a confined space the heat will stay in the area longer. The Dats cooker has many reflectors bouncing back to it so it certainty isn't bad. The Windshield shade cooker isn't effective because the reflectivity compared to the others isn't as good.
 * __Background research:__**

1. For DATS cooker:** Tan, Teong H.. "Double-Angled-Twelve-Sided Solar Cooker." //The Solar Cooking Archive//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .
 * __References__
 * 2.** "Terra.org - Ecología práctica." //Terra.org - Ecología práctica//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .
 * 3.** Burns-Millyard, Kathy "Materials Which Absorb Solar Energy." __Materials Which Absorb Solar Energy__. 26 Nov. 2008 //EzineArticles.com.// 15 Jan. 2010 <[|http://ezinearticles.com/?Materials-­Which-­Absorb-­Solar-­Energy&id=1733991]>.
 * 4.** Stout, B. A.. //Energy for World Agriculture (Fao Agricultural Series)//. ss: Food & Agriculture Organization Of The Un (Fa, 1980. Print.
 * 5.** Jogi, Kirpal Singh. //Encyclopaedia of Energy Resource Management Priorities for 21st Century - 2 Vols.//. Unknown: Sarup & Sons, 2000. Print.