Reflector for Evacuated tube

by James
(Shelbyville, Ky. USA)

It has been a busy week with family in town (and the accompanying colds/flu that come from sharing close quarters with people during the holiday season!) but I was able to build a reflector for the evacuated tube oven.

Tomorrow I would like to build some wooden supports for it similar to the way that the GoSun mini is set up. (http://www.gosunstove.com/shop/gosun-mini-kit-solar-cooker/) I like the simplicity of the design.

I looked at the comments from my last article, and Jim, I might try the panel cooker that you mentioned, I really appreciate the link! It looks a little involved...and maybe something more involved than my lower level students are capable of.

Tomorrow, we should get some sun, so I'll try to get a post up early before the weekend.

In the mean time, here are some pictures of my build for the evacuated tube reflector.

I wanted a backing that had the sturdiness of cardboard, but the flexibility of poster board. To do this, I moistened one of the panels with a water and soap solution, then peeled off the back panel.

The leftover piece of cardboard has a smooth face with corrugated backing, which allows me to bend cardboard into a perfect parabola without any creases or cutting. I applied the reflective vinyl to the cardboard and I'll be testing it out tomorrow.

Before I got some wood paneling to cut out for the supports, I wanted to test the oven out in real conditions to see what kind of shape I wanted to make with the cardboard. When I have the curve I want, I'll know how large to make the supports.