Greg Lynch: Big on Solar Cooking in the Big Sky Country

Greg Lynch promoted solar cooking in the midwest before settling in Montana. He continued to use solar cookers, including a unique repurposed barrel, the Solar Chef, and Sun Oven. His use of retained-heat "fireless" cookers--both commercial models and DIY--completes a model for us to follow with integrated cooking.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

I have an All American Sun Oven permanently mounted on an adjustable stand in my side yard.
When it's not in use, I toss a large BBQ cover over it.
I have cooked almost daily with it (clear sky days) for over a year.
I love it.

[@justinw1765]

That product is so ridiculously overpriced.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

@@justinw1765
So's milk. Get over it.

[@justinw1765]

@@WhatDadIsUpTo Well at least you acknowledge that it is a ridiculously over priced product.
But what a weird comparison, and a quite defensive tone.

[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

@@justinw1765
I'm a chef. I have two complete kitchens, one inside and one outside. My electric stove / oven cost me $800. The commercial gas range & oven? You don't even want to know.
$400-ish for a Sun Oven is right up there with the competition, with one HUGE ADVANTAGE:
FREE energy forever.
Ya, I know it doesn't work nights & cloudy days, but neither do I.

[@justinw1765]

@@WhatDadIsUpTo Oh, I think Solar ovens/cookers are great. I've made some of my own. It's just that the All American one currently retails for $549, but the actual cost of materials is probably around like $70, nor is it hard or time consuming to make.
It's quite a markup is all I'm saying. 3X markup is reasonable, not 5 to 6X. That just seems like outright greed.
I can make a much more insulated Solar oven (with vacuum insulated panels, and double pane top) for significantly less than it costs to buy the All American. The more insulated a Solar oven, the faster it cooks and the more steady/reliable it is on days with some clouds.

[@رابحعزيل-ب1ط]

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾Thank you, sir, for explaining how to use a solar cooker that can benefit the poor world and how to make it, even though you are old and offer your wonderful experience in the field of cooking with sunlight. I respect your age, your experience, and your invention, and my greetings to you..

[@energyideas]

"Before cooking, bring food to a boil in a vessel with a tight-fitting lid" That is what I found as an explanation of what is retained-heat "fireless" cookers. Thanks for all the solar cooker designs.

[@steabhanaindriu547]

very good interview greg and luther!

[@lethaleefox6017]

The Mrs. Curtis cookbook I have the 1909 version, looks the same. For my wood cooking I have a Solo Stoves Ranger firepit with a cooking riser that woks, griddle, and pots fit nicely on, the firepit is a high efficiency wood fuel user. The Thermal add-on for camping pots should be easy enough... I tend to have more wood than I use.

[@fin59shaw]

There will be a solar eclipse on Monday, make sure to increase cooking time.

[@facistmonk]

Blue Sun

[@marcelb.7224]

this cooker is a very nice design, that i never have seen before. Very interesting, thank you! And this book from 1908 - i found it on the internet

[@ACheshireCat2001]

I have a copy of Mrs Curtis's cookbook and household hints... a lot of great 'everyday' information from an age ago. Has anyone created a digital version of that cookbook that can be searched?

[@ACheshireCat2001]

found a maybe digital Kindle version for about $2.99, but without the pictures and other issues, but there are still lots of the old copies from the cluster of years it was published more than a hundred years ago.

[@robertkustos2931]

There's a Mrs Curtis cook book ranging from £97 to £119 (used)

[@ACheshireCat2001]

@@robertkustos2931 got a nice copy for about $35... eBay the 1909 original version that would make a nice template for Digital scanning for the pictures in it. the amount of text would be too huge to use pictures of the text... but digital text and pictures formatted back into context should be possible... the editing to correct scanning errors could be huge project... someone might do a proper job of it... it is a book that sucks one into reading it even recreationally

[@ACheshireCat2001]

as and audio-book like some on TH-cam with picture in the video it would be huge but it is in public domain so one might exist, a read of hundreds of hours