Solar Cooking for Survival

[Old CW4]

Seems to me in a real SHTF environment, camping by water sources and building fires would not be a smart thing to do. Why? Because everyone else in the area will also be camping near the water sources, and fires with smoke by day and a lit beacon at night would invite possibly unwelcome attention.

Okay, then how about solar cooking? The web has a wealth of information. Basic and very efficient solar cookers are nothing more than a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil, shiny side out, and preferably a thin sheet of stiff transparent plastic to enclose the open end of the box. It folds up and transports easily. Set this baby up, aim it at the sun, put in your pot of food, fit the transparent plastic end, and you're cooking. It amazes me, even on cold winter days, how quickly a black or darkened pot, covered fry pan, etc., will heat up to really high cooking temperatures.

I guess it shouldn't surprise us because how often have you climbed into your closed up auto or truck exposed to the sun on a cold day and been surprised at how warm the interior is? Real proof of solar heat. I won't mention burning your behind on a car seat in the summer time. Hmm, I guess I just did.

Anyway, consider solar as at least a secondary method of cooking. No smoke signature during the day and no need to gather fuel and build a fire. Also works for purifying water. You can even easily devise a quick and dirty mechanism so the solar cooker will track the sun and you won't have to constantly reaim it. Something to consider.....

 

[LUW]

The problem with solar cooking is that you'll have to depend on the weather, and at higher latitudes, you won't have the sun strong enough.

 

[Happy Joe]

Tried it , it works, as long as you are not in a hurry ...
I did a sheet of glass over a blown up innertube with a foil coated insulator on the bottom (don't forget a covered black pot).

Enjoy!

 

[HomeBru]

A solar still is #1 for keeping an ongoing supply of fresh water. You can make it and leave it in a sunny location, just remember to keep checking on your source and clean water reservoirs.

In a true SHTF situation, I'd expect you would need to cook meat as you acquired it which means in the field away from a base camp = good. (Solar cooking a larger animal would be tricky!) In fact, depending on who you're hiding from, spreading your operation out and away from your sleeping location is a good idea...

I've cooked a hot dog and warmed cans of soup/water with a solar cooker and it does work but takes a LONG time. Mileage will vary by design, latitude, and cloud cover.

my $.02
J-

 

[Mistwalker]

Seems to me in a real SHTF environment, camping by water sources and building fires would not be a smart thing to do. Why? Because everyone else in the area will also be camping near the water sources, and fires with smoke by day and a lit beacon at night would invite possibly unwelcome attention.

Okay, then how about solar cooking? The web has a wealth of information. Basic and very efficient solar cookers are nothing more than a cardboard box lined with aluminum foil, shiny side out, and preferably a thin sheet of stiff transparent plastic to enclose the open end of the box. It folds up and transports easily. Set this baby up, aim it at the sun, put in your pot of food, fit the transparent plastic end, and you're cooking. It amazes me, even on cold winter days, how quickly a black or darkened pot, covered fry pan, etc., will heat up to really high cooking temperatures.

I guess it shouldn't surprise us because how often have you climbed into your closed up auto or truck exposed to the sun on a cold day and been surprised at how warm the interior is? Real proof of solar heat. I won't mention burning your behind on a car seat in the summer time. Hmm, I guess I just did.

Anyway, consider solar as at least a secondary method of cooking. No smoke signature during the day and no need to gather fuel and build a fire. Also works for purifying water. You can even easily devise a quick and dirty mechanism so the solar cooker will track the sun and you won't have to constantly reaim it. Something to consider.....

First camping by the water in that particular situation may be a bad idea depending on the spot because as you know "predators" frequent watering holes. However the body requires water so you will be going to one water source or another at some point anyway at which time the same dangers exist. And you will at some point need or want to build a fire. Serious recon of the area you are in will be a really good idea for several reasons.

That said, in twenty years on construction sites I have almost always just thrown my lunch up on my dash in the winter and used solar power to heat it up on sunny days, works really well when the sun is out.

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

for fire you would have to do like Ishi's tribe and use small dakota firepits with skins/canvas/vegetation stretched over and doubled/overlapped to catch the light.

For smoke keep it small and burning clean and hot, preheating/warming wood until it almost catches/blackens at the fires edge before feeding in really reduces the smoke in my hobo stove and campfires, anyone else do this?

Water you would want to spread tarps on grades angling rain into containers or pits.

There was an article I read awhile back about cheap water purifying for 3rd world. Black plastic reflector that holds 5 or 10 plastic waterbottles.
Said that if the water is kept at or above 60 celcius for 4 hours it kills all pathogens, even cryptosporium. Does not filter but would solve not getting sick from pond water(beaver fever) or fecal contamination. Should be easy to cobble together.

good thread, has me thinking

 

[bradefolums]

for fire you would have to do like Ishi's tribe and use small dakota firepits with skins/canvas/vegetation stretched over and doubled/overlapped to catch the light.

For smoke keep it small and burning clean and hot, preheating/warming wood until it almost catches/blackens at the fires edge before feeding in really reduces the smoke in my hobo stove and campfires, anyone else do this?

Water you would want to spread tarps on grades angling rain into containers or pits.

There was an article I read awhile back about cheap water purifying for 3rd world. Black plastic reflector that holds 5 or 10 plastic waterbottles.
Said that if the water is kept at or above 60 celcius for 4 hours it kills all pathogens, even cryptosporium. Does not filter but would solve not getting sick from pond water(beaver fever) or fecal contamination. Should be easy to cobble together.

good thread, has me thinking

Check http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Water_Pasteurization_Indicator
If you don't have one, a days worth of solar exposure in clear plastic bottle is enough to pasteurize -- better safe than sorry

 

[DWK2]

www.sodis.ch/methode/index_EN is a site that discusses the simplest solar water treatment approach.

DancesWithKnives