Design a reflector for unattended solar cooking on a jig.
brian white
slow but are reliable. Parabolic cookers are fast and unreliable.
Perhaps they need something in between the 2?
The jig in the videos below gives you "scallop shaped" reflectors that
could go like 2 ears onto a box cooker to give greater power.
the jig is pretty simple and it uses 2 laser pointers ($1.50 each in the
dollar store) to represent the sun at the start and at the end of the
unattended cooking period. thought it might be a good project for
engineers. (I do not have the patience)
I put 2 videos on youtube to further explain what I am trying to do.
They are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFjuoDVU4c8
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbiVo12kuKA
If you are short on time, just watch the first 5 minutes of the second
video.
Brian
ma...@ems-fife.co.uk
> In poor countries solar cooking saves the forests.
Agreed,but we don`t get a lot of sun up here in Scotland.
Tony Jeffree
Depends where you are. On Tiree they get more sun than anywhere in the
UK.
Regards,
Tony
brian white
+ Scotland has a great tradition in science.
Nobody has ever made one of these reflectors.
Imagine being the first in the world to do something!
It has only been on the net for a couple of days.
People are generally lethargic, so if you are quick,
you can have a worlds first achievement.
Brian
ma...@ems-fife.co.uk
> The design process is inside and you can do that even in Scotland.
> + Scotland has a great tradition in science.
> Nobody has ever made one of these reflectors.
> Imagine being the first in the world to do something!
> It has only been on the net for a couple of days.
> People are generally lethargic, so if you are quick,
> you can have a worlds first achievement.
> Brian
If only I had a fiver for every time I`ve heard that, I could pay
someone to cook for me.Come to think of it I already have,that
is,until she sees this.
Mark.
Cliff Coggin
<ma...@ems-fife.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4c741297-65fe-4734...@s20g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
>
>> In poor countries solar cooking saves the forests.
>
> Agreed,but we don`t get a lot of sun up here in Scotland.
>
Not many dollar stores either, or has Scottish independance reached the
point where you have abandoned the pound?
Cliff Coggin.
bugbear
> In poor countries solar cooking saves the forests. Box cookers are a bit
> slow but are reliable. Parabolic cookers are fast and unreliable.
Parabolic reflectors give perfect focus. That's
as reliable as maths!
BugBear
brian white
and "reliable" its focus is? (This off focus effect is quite dangerous
if it hits your eyes).
And off focus parabolic reflectors also have a second order "focus"
that can burn stuff yards away from the dish.
Would you think it "reliable" if your barbecue burnt down your garden
shed every few years?
I am not sure how that fits in with the term "reliable" in your eyes. A
parabolic solar cooker is only "reliable" if it has constant accurate
tracking.
99% of parabolic solar cookers do not have that feature.
I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
Mark Rand
>99% of parabolic solar cookers do not have that feature.
>I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
>I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
>
Parabolic cooker on a balanced equatorial gimbal. What's the problem?
If you demand commercially valuable responses, pay for them :-|
Mark Rand
RTFM
Steve R.
"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
news:ULCdnaD9UphBF4rW...@brightview.co.uk...
First they need to be able to track the sun! The earth rotates on it's axis.
Steve R.
gaiatechnician
> On Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:21:56 -0800,brianwhite <br...@shaw.ca> wrote:
> >I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
> >I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
>
> Parabolic cooker on a balanced equatorial gimbal. What's the problem?
>
> If you demand commercially valuable responses, pay for them :-|
>
> Mark Rand
> RTFM
46 degrees of seasonal movement is one of the problems, The parabolic
focus does not corespond to a center of gravity. So you cannot balance
the dish on the gimbal for more than a few days.
I have been playing with this problem for 3 years and reading the
solar cooking groups for about that long too.
The problems with parabolics are very real.
I am not doing anything commercial. It is a charity project
and I get abuse, not money.
I have not figured out how to keep the strips in place when making the
model.
If anyone else does it, they get the credit not me.
If one of you invents a new scallop shaped solar cooker (using the
jig), and shows it to the world,
you get the credit, not me.
It might be a great thing or it might end up as a dead end.
Perhaps worth a try and rewarding for someone?
Brian
Cliff Coggin
"brian white" <br...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:9SWRm.13787$y%5.1...@newsfe03.iad...
> I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
> I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
>
If you really don't like the responses old chap, perhaps you should
re-consider the wisdom of posing commercial questions on an amateur
newsgroup.
Cliff Coggin.
mark
he should be looking at the devices the MET use for burning a mark
into card that shows the total solar for the day .
these are glass spheres ..and are not as directional as a parabolic ..
all the best.markj
Cliff Ray
> I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
> I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
>
>
Tony Jeffree
>I hope we get a few mature responses from now on.
>I am not in the mood for this level of comment.
And I take it that you regard your somewhat petulant/huffy response as
mature...?
Regards,
Tony
Tony Jeffree
>(I do not have the patience)
Indeed.
Regards,
Tony
gaiatechnician
It is not a commercial question.
On Dec 4, 1:38 am, "Cliff Coggin" <clifford.cog...@virgin.net> wrote:
> "brianwhite" <br...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
gaiatechnician
parabolics are a little better than useless for that. And parabolics
are dangerous.
But someone HAS to go and steer the thing off track.
I am an amateur too.
I do not have skills in model making. I thought some of you might be
interested in making an impression AND helping people in far off
lands.
People give money to charity, why not time?
Right now, carbon credits are being used to pay for making parabolic
solar cookers in India, and even used to pay people to use them! (To
save the forests)
And users are saying "my skin is getting burnt", "My eyes feel like
hot coals", "I got sunstroke cooking dinner". But are the carbon
credit people listening? Are the cooker makers listening?
Nope. It is a good game for them. They make their money.
There are several answers. One answer is cheaper tracking. (I have
worked on that)
Another is reflectors designed for unattended cooking.
(This can be addressed somewhat with this project)
Several of my free solar cooking ideas are on the net in
solarcooking.org
I do not get a cent for them.
There is nothing commercial about my interest in solar cooking.
Why do people dig in their heels when they hear new ideas?
20 minutes with the jig and you will be saying, "holy crap, he is
right"
but instead a few people act like a gang of thugs and intimidate
everybody.
Parabolics are only good if they have all day everyday tracking.
At other times they are an eyesite and fire hazard.
Tracking for solar cookers is just not as simple or as cheap as people
seem to think.
If you do not want to make the model, that is fine with me,
but why do you think you speak for an entire group?
Brian
On Dec 4, 6:41 am, Tony Jeffree <t...@jeffree.co.uk> wrote:
gaiatechnician
into a line with much of the concentration at the top close to the
sphere. So for cooking food, the top of the food gets really hot but
the bottom does not cook at all.
I think the reason scientists have not worked on the scallop shaped
idea is because it is too hard to do mathematicially and because it is
relevent to poor people. (They like math but not hard math) and they
work on contract.
The jig is a way of putting research power into the hands of the
little people.
Some people will try this.
Brian
Tony Jeffree
<gaiatec...@gmail.com> wrote:
>but why do you think you speak for an entire group?
I don't.
Regards,
Tony
bugbear
> I think the reason scientists have not worked on the scallop shaped
> idea is because it is too hard to do mathematicially and because it is
> relevent to poor people.
Conspiracy theorist alert!
BugBear
gaiatechnician
I have just been asked for help putting it on the solarcooking.org
wiki and they will get an illustrator to do good diagrams.
I could just as easily reply: "Caution, airhead alert" couldn't I?
But I do not know why you refuse to give thought to a new (to you)
idea. You might not be an airhead.
Perhaps it is your inner luddite?
Anyway, for those of you who keep your inner luddite in check, would
you like to try the modeling? I use aluminiumized plastic that goes
with the brand name mylar. I cut it in strips and try and make the
model with the strips.
But I have not figured out how to keep the strips firmly in place.
So if you can figure it out, don't do it for me, do it for the folks
at solarcooking.org. A physics lecturer (optical engineer) will give
me a "concidered response" as soon as the exams are over.
Realistically that is in the new year.
I have great faith in practical modeling for solving problems so
please give the jig a go. They will need pictures at the solar
cooking wiki anyway. Might as well be your pictures of your jig and
your model.
Brian
Tony Jeffree
<gaiatec...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Dec 7, 2:21 am, bugbear <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>> gaiatechnician wrote:
>> > I think the reason scientists have not worked on the scallop shaped
>> > idea is because it is too hard to do mathematicially and because it is
>> > relevent to poor people.
>>
>> Conspiracy theorist alert!
>>
>> BugBear
>Why do you react with sarchasm when you do not understand something?
I suspect Bugbear understands something perfectly well - that your
statement (quoted above) was apparently based on your prejudice that
the scientific/engineering community is motivated only by financial
interest. A bit of a generalization, old chap, and one that probably
alienated a fair number of readers of this newsgroup, including
myself, who consider them to be scientists and/or engineers (of
whatever discipline).
Ever read "How to win friends and influence people"?
Regards,
Tony
Cliff Ray
>
> Ever read "How to win friends and influence people"?
>
been consumed by uncontrollable parabolic incinerator.
gaiatechnician
engineers?
Do you back slap each other every time you make a "witty" comment?
What will you do if this proves successful?
You are still just a gang of three thugs who are picking on me because
nobody else speaks up.
If the idea has merit, scientists should look at it on its mertits
and it should become popular.
The science is not supposed to be about my personality
and I am certainly glad that you are not my friend.
Brian
Steve R.
long, and curved so that a good part of it was always roughly aligned with
the sun. It was a corrugated iron reflector, that focused on a pipe running
lengthwise. No need for a parabola, at focal lengths of F10 or greater it
doesn't matter. That particular design will only work near the equator. In
our more northern climes, the sun follows an apparent elongated figure 8
path in the sky over a year.
Steve R.
bugbear
> No, not at all.
> I have just been asked for help putting it on the solarcooking.org
> wiki and they will get an illustrator to do good diagrams.
> On Dec 7, 2:21 am, bugbear <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
>> gaiatechnician wrote:
>>> I think the reason scientists have not worked on the scallop shaped
>>> idea is because it is too hard to do mathematicially and because it is
>>> relevent to poor people.
>> Conspiracy theorist alert!
>>
>> BugBear
> Why do you react with sarchasm when you do not understand something?
Why do you assume I don't understand?
BugBear
Mark Rand
<gaiatec...@gmail.com>top posted:
<Top posting corrected>
>
>
>
>On Dec 7, 10:16�am, Cliff Ray <namnocATgotadslcouk> wrote:
>> > Ever read "How to win friends and influence people"?
>>
>> �From the bitter undertones I think his copy of that book might have
>> been consumed by uncontrollable parabolic incinerator.
]
>Do you and Tony and Bearbug concider yourself to be scientists or
>engineers?
> Do you back slap each other every time you make a "witty" comment?
>What will you do if this proves successful?
>You are still just a gang of three thugs who are picking on me because
>nobody else speaks up.
>If the idea has merit, scientists should look at it on its mertits
>and it should become popular.
>The science is not supposed to be about my personality
>and I am certainly glad that you are not my friend.
>Brian
Ok, I'll speak up. You appear to be moving from OCD towards Paranoia.
Go and see a doctor. Seriously!
Mark Rand(Suffered depression for 5 years)
RTFM
John S
>
> Ok, I'll speak up. You appear to be moving from OCD towards Paranoia.
>
> Go and see a doctor. Seriously!
>
> Mark Rand(Suffered depression for 5 years)
> RTFM
I wonder if any of these scientists has tried a Paranoia Reflector ?
John S.
brian white
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_design_T-Square
I have done a model with little mirrors from a craft shop and clay.
The shape for a 2 hour cook time is similar to a clam shell.
(in the clay and mirror model I made)
Brian
brian white wrote:
> In poor countries solar cooking saves the forests. Box cookers are a bit
> slow but are reliable. Parabolic cookers are fast and unreliable.
> The jig in the videos below gives you "scallop shaped" reflectors that
> could go like 2 ears onto a box cooker to give greater power.
> the jig is pretty simple and it uses 2 laser pointers ($1.50 each in the
> dollar store) to represent the sun at the start and at the end of the
> unattended cooking period. thought it might be a good project for
> engineers. (I do not have the patience)
>
>
> I put 2 videos on youtube to further explain what I am trying to do.
> They are
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFjuoDVU4c8
> and
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbiVo12kuKA
> If you are short on time, just watch the first 5 minutes of the second
> video.
> Brian