Results

Unfortunately the same time we completed our solar box cooker the storm clouds rolled in making it difficult to test our project.  However, before attaching the reflectors to our box, we were able to nearly boil a small pot of water within a 3hour time span on a partially overcast day.  We also cooked whole zucchinis in a pot with a small amount of water in just  1hour.  Finally we managed to bake cookies in our cooker on a sunny day in about 2hours.  When baking the cookies uncovered, we noticed that water condensation was beginning to accumulate on the inside of the glass. This led us to believe that our silicon gasket created an air tight seal between our framed glass and the insulation cover.  The toxic off gasing from the black paint on the inside of the box, made the cookies taste like chemicals.  When the sun has been out, we have been letting the cooker release its gases.  We allow the cooker to absorb radiation from the sun for about 1hour and then unseal the top to release the gases.