Solar Cooking Archive Discussion Forums

gaiatechnician · Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Posts: 32 Location: Victoria BC

I initially proposed this project as a barbecue to get US and Australian users on board.
Anyway the idea is pretty simple. You have a reflector that shines the light to a small area at the bottom of your insulated accumulator (sitting on a shielded table) and it stores the heat collected from a day of sunlight for evening use or for even use (for drying or whatever). The reflector is mounted on equatorial mount, it turns at 15 degrees per hour and it follows the sun fairly closely.
Once or twice a week, the reflector is slightly repositioned to keep on the sun as its arc raises or lowers with the seasons.
For this reason, it is attached with a part circular attachement to the mount.
The centre of the circle is the focal point of the parabolic reflector.
I will be making reflectors with the "mechanical mathematician".
When big industry finally discovers this patent free project, they will make the reflectors with big presses or with vacuum forming technology.
Many different solutions are possible for moving the dish at 15 degrees pre hour to keep the focus on the stationary accumulator.
Accumulator materials can be iron, aluminium,granite, limestone or other rock, rocksalt or parafin wax. (All with high heat capacity).
A possibility is an accumulator with a combination of these materials. For instance an aluminium hotplate with legs going down into rocksalt or into holes in a granite block. (aluminium has good heat capacity AND it transmits heat quickly) so a combination of 2 materials may be the way to go for efficient discharge of the heat and economical manefacture.
Anyway, Scheffler has done similar stuff. This project is aimed at smaller scale manefacture and use. The idea being that someone can make one in their back yard. I have a bunch of (poor quality) videos on utube if you are interested.
Until someone else contributes material, it is all that there is.
Thank you
Brian White

gaiatechnician · Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Posts: 32 Location: Victoria BC

I made a video on utube about it. It is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npmx28KYth4
Thank you
Brian White

gaiatechnician · Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Posts: 32 Location: Victoria BC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-bj0guW0k0 pretty much completes the project.
2 years!
And nobody interested enough to post a reply
funny world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-JpBu6vCgE was an earlier video which probably explained more but was not autonomacally correct
Brian