The Sundyne Solar Cooker Page: 4 of 9
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The disassembled solar cooker is shipped, with all hardware
and instructions for assembly, operation, and mainterance
in a carton 24inches square and 9 inches high, which weighs
about 35 lbs. To use the cooker, the cook first aligns
the reflector to the sun using the sighting tube. The cooking
pot is then filled and placed on the pot holder, which is
positioned so the bottom of the pot is at approximately
in the center of the focal region. Raising or lowering
the pot holder changes the diameter of the focal image,
which might be desirable if different diameter pots are
used.
A major mechanical feature of the Sundyne design is the
ease with adjustments can be made, so that the lens is properly
positioned with relation to the sun's rays, and the pot
is positioned correctly in the focal region. As stated
above, the lens is designed to move independently of the
cooking pot. In previous designs of concentrating solar
cookers, the cooking pot support was attached directly to
the reflector thus necessitating the inconvenience of briefly
removing the pot from the cooker while the reflector is
repositioned. With the Sundyne cooker, the pot remains
in a level position on the potholder, while adjustments
can be made to the lens position or the position of the
pot. As the sun moves, if no adjustments are in the lens
position, the focal region changes from circular to slightly
larger in size and elliptical in shape. The concentration
of heat energy in the focal region produces quite high temperatures.
The actual temperature of course depends on the absorbing
characteristics of the material in the focal region. However,
frying of meats, bacon eggs, etc. is accomplished as easily
as on a conventional stove top. Adjustments of the lens
need be made no more often than 30 minute intervals. At
10 to 15 minute intervals, the pot holder should he moved
back to the center of the focal region. Reaction to previous
concentrator designs has been that the cookers were awkward
and even difficult to use. The ease of use of the Sundyne
design is an important technical feature that can make a
significant impact on market acceptance, and therefore its
commercial feasibility.
Cost of the finished product was a primary consideration
in the over-all design. All of the parts were designed
to be made in 'presses. The lens quadrants are cold formed
in a 400 ton hydraulic press. No machining is required
in the manufacture of the parts. They can be assembled
as stamped. The manufacturing plant is located in Manila
in the Philippines, known as M.D. Juan Enterprises. The
major output of the plant is body parts for jeeps and small
buses that are an integral part of the public transportation
system in Manila. The low cost of labor as well as materials
in the Philippines produced a cost per unit that was about
25% of the best cost estimates we were able to obtain in
the U.S. It was necessary to obtain a price as low as possible
in order to serve a world market consisting of people in
developing countries who still use wood as a cooking fuel.
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Long, J.B. The Sundyne Solar Cooker, report, November 23, 1992; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1182557/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.