3 years and Sun Oven still smells

by Kyle
(Cartersville Ga.)

I came across your article here. I am a purchaser of global sun oven. I bought through Amazon approximately 3 years ago.
One point you make that is not true is "...This initial new manufacture smell in all of these cookers can usually be overcome or remedied with some easy actions and with a little bit of time. It is not an issue that is insurmountable,"
This is simply not true.
I went through all of the cleaning, priming initial steps when I first got it. It helped only slightly. I did the cleaning, I cooked with water/vinager. I did all that was recommended. I still have the same odor/smell, plasticy/chemical, whatever you want to call it. I do not care that it is not "harmful". The food absorbs the smell, the food tastes like the smell. The smell can also certainly be described as a toxic odor.
The article sounds as if it is the customer that is somehow incompompetent that they can't clean or use directions.
I also do not care where it is coming from, it is there. That is the point. Not that it is only coming from the gasket seal.
Also the article sounds as if it is a slight faint smell.....simply not true. It was a strong smell.
3 years later and the odor is somewhat faint....but it is there.
Articles like this and defense of a product that my food will absorb this foul toxic odor motivates to to alarm more people of the odor issue, if in fact it is still there in the newer versions of product.
Regards,
Kyle Clay

__________________________________________


Greetings Kyle,

Thank you for writing and responding to our article.

I guess you have a case with regards to your Global Sun Oven if after three years you are still battling this odor.
What I would have done, and I let our customers know, that if after using any cooker for six months they are not satisfied they can return it or exchange it.

I had a customer who also had a persistent problem with a Sun Oven and after about two months of trying the remedies for ridding the oven of the odor, she asked for an exchange, which we did, and she received another Global Sun Oven which after three days of use she said had no problems. So she was able to continue solar cooking.
I realize, and admit that there are a handful of Sun Ovens that just have not had much successful resolution with odor removal and elimination, for whatever reason. To this day we are still not totally sure what the main cause is despite analyzing and testing these particular cookers.
Some say it is paint, but the ovens do no use paint, even though at one time they had a powder coated interior for a period of years of manufacture.
In some cases it was more of a gasket problem and in others it was both.
The majority of ovens, if they do have a smell, have it only in slight amounts; which has been the case before as well as now.

In my article I do state that some people don’t give much effort to really try and remedy the issue with the suggested solutions and ideas, and this is true as well in some of the cases because I have been able to receive some of those same cookers and resolve the issue myself and am still using the same to cook with to this day.
That being said I do not wish to suggest that you have not experienced the problems you stated and are incompetent. I believe your story and I do feel for you. I would not feel very happy if after three years I had a Sun Oven that I could not use much due to the overpowering persistent smell that permeates the food I cook.
I don’t know if after three years it will be possible to approach the manufacturer or the seller of your Sun Oven and see if there might be a way to receive a refund, a partial credit, an exchange, or another cooker in addition to this one or some other amiable solution.
I do know though that this problem is not as common as some people seem to think when they read and hear the stories posted online. Yes it does happen, and it is a real inconvenience and a real disappointment, but out of the thousands upon tens of thousands of Sun Ovens manufactured and sold over the last 30 years here and around the world, most of the owners and users are still enjoying and using satisfactorily their Sun Ovens for much of their solar cooking needs.
So, we will back and support our customers with any concerns they might have and we will continue to back and support the makers of the Sun Oven as well because we know and see the great benefits this particular oven has given to many people over the years.

Sincerely,

Nathan Parry
Admin.