The Solar "Sport," manufactured by the Solar Oven Society, was originally designed to be used in undeveloped countries where there isn't adequate cooking fuel. This cooking device offers large capacity solar cooking, yet it is lightweight at just 10 pounds, so it works well for camping and beach trips. It comes comes self-contained and ready to use. You place food in the pots provided and position the unit toward the sun. You can use this stove to roast meats, bake fish and chicken and even steam vegetables. You can also bake breads, cakes and cookies. An optional reflector helps you capture more of the sun's energy and speed cooking times. Sale of each unit helps the non profit Solar Oven Society provide cooking to poor countries around the world.
A solar grill is not a real " grill" in the traditional sense. It provides even heat from a solar panel, positioned to capture the sun's rays and reflect them back to the area where you place your food. The Helios solar grill snatches the sun's energy with a reflective parabolic dish, which transfers it to coils that can heat a pot of soup or steam vegetables. It can also grill steaks, hamburgers, franks and even fish.
"Sun ovens" weigh about 20 pounds and are compact and self-contained. Many have thermostats that allow you to monitor their heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit . They utilize heat reflective and heat retaining material that keeps food hot for hours. Some units also come with electrical back-up.
Solar-powered camping units go just about anywhere with very little weight because of their compact design. They are an economic alternative to using hazardous and expensive fuels. Food can not burn in a solar-powered stove and campers can get almost the same cooking results as with a traditional camp burner that uses fuel.They are also the only type of "stove" you can carry through airport security.
