Make a Solar Powered Stove Out of an Umbrella and Tin Foil

Ever wanted to cook yourself a meal using little more than an umbrella, some foil, and sunlight? Of course you have. And with this easy-to-make DIY project, you'll be bringing water to boil with the aid of your umbrella in no time.

Solar cooking is a good way to get acquainted, firsthand, with the potential solar power holds—and it's a neat demonstration of what we can accomplish when we pull ourselves out of our comfort zones. And while we've already covered cooking with your car shade, this one's an equally cool project. Which is better? Hard to say—perhaps a solar oven deathmatch is in order.

But for now, gear up, and get ready to make a stove out of your umbrella.

How to Build a Solar Stove with an Umbrella

SolarCooking.org has a bunch of great projects. This one, called the Paracuina solar cooker, was designed by Marc Ayats. We'll be following his guide step by step, so click on over with the link above for more details.

What You'll Need

An Umbrella

Aluminum Foil

Glue

Manual Saw for Metals

Manual Drill

Tripod

Sunglasses

And, some tools: tape measure, brush, label maker, scissors

Getting Started

1. Cover the Umbrella With Foil

Start by following these instructions on how to fully coat the umbrella with tin foil. From Solar Cooking:

First we must open the umbrella and stick, with white glue, one strip of aluminum paper on each one of the "sides" that form the umbrella. We will try to adapt with the maximum accuracy, using the scissors, the shape of aluminum strips to the form of the umbrella. Next, with the aid of the scissors, we will cut and stick more aluminum pieces in order to fill the places of the umbrella that still haven?t got reflector. Now we should have already the umbrella all covered with aluminum paper.

2. Find the Focal Point

Don't forget your shades?things are about to get shiny.

Next, we will look for the focal point. (PAY ATTENTION: use sunglasses at this point!) Facing the umbrella the sun, we will look at the handle and we will indicate, with the permanent labeller, the most shining zone.

Before cutting the main handle, we must make a hole that penetrates the plastic piece that moves above and under the handle, and also the handle. Through this hole we will pass any elongated piece that blocks the movement of folding (a pencil, a brush, etc.)

3. Cutting Up the Umbrella

Steady hands . . .

Once blocked the umbrella, we will cut the handle with the manual saw. Remember to keep the handle, since therefore the cooker will be able to be folded. In order that the two parts could fit together again when we fold the cooker, we will double, with the aid of pliers, the sides of the handle.

4. The Final Holes

Just a couple more pokes, and you'll be done.

We almost have the cooker ready. It only lacks making the holes for the tripod. In order to do them, first we should mark with the labeller the points where the tripod will stand, and later we can make the holes with the scissors. If we were mistaken there is no problem, because we can extend the holes without damaging the structure of the cooker.

5. Voila!

"Congratulations, you already have your paracocina!"

See? That wasn't so hard. Now you have the distinct novelty of being able to cook in an eco-friendly manner. With your umbrella. Read all about solar cooking and check SolarCooking.org for some recipes and pointers. Happy cooking.