Solar Cooking FAQ
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General FAQs about Solar Cooking
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Materials
What items are NOT safe to use to construct the interior of a homemade oven?
- Light-weight urethane insulation.
- Rubber cement.
- Spray adhesives.
- Mylar
- Reflectix (tm) duct insulation
- Duct tape.
- Anything that might melt or outgas.
- Some people say to even avoid wood that might have been treated with formaldehyde or pesticides, though its likely many cookers have been made with standard commercial lumber.
- Avoid acrylic or most plastics for the inner glazing as they will sag and/or outgas.
What items ARE safe? (note: these materials are believed to be safe but no scientific proof is offered. Use this advice at your own risk.)
- oven cooking bags
- aluminum foil
- white glue
- tempera paint
- high-temperature BBQ paint (although some believe this is not safe. Some commentary: High Temp paint)
- other paints labeled "non-toxic"
- cardboard
- glass (if handled safely), tempered glass (if handled safely)
- non-treated wood
- food-grade polycarbonate (if used below melting temperature ~250F).
Some ovens use isocyanurate based foam insulation. Trade names of R-Max and Thermax. This is not the light, inexpensive foamboard but instead heavy-weight, yellow-colored insulation. There may be some concern here, as some types of this insulation were manufactured with formaldehyde.
page revision: 9, last edited: 17 Jul 2008 20:36