FAQs

Yes. A box-style solar oven like My Solar Oven reaches 350-400°F on clear summer days, hot enough to bake bread, roast a chicken, or simmer a pot of chili with nothing but sunlight. Solar cooking has been used for decades around the world, and humanitarian organizations rely on it in regions without dependable fuel. Every oven ships with a built-in thermometer so you can watch it work, and our recipe library documents real meals: bread, brownies, casseroles, cookies, and full dinners, all cooked in My Solar Oven.

My Solar Oven uses the greenhouse effect to cook food with nothing but sunlight. The reflector panels concentrate sunlight into the cooking chamber, where the black anodized aluminum interior absorbs and retains heat. The extra-clear, low-iron glass door allows maximum light to enter, while the silicone gasket creates an airtight seal that traps heat inside creating a fully functional oven powered entirely by the sun.

The temperature depends on your local weather conditions, time of year, and latitude. In summer with clear skies, My Solar Oven typically reaches 350-400°F. In winter with clear skies, expect 275-350°F. Actual temperatures will vary based on cloud cover, wind, ambient temperature, and your geographic location. The built-in thermometer lets you confirm the temperature before you load food.

Absolutely. My Solar Oven is incredibly versatile. You can bake bread, cookies, and cakes; cook casseroles, stews, soups, and chili; roast chicken, pork, beef, and fish; steam vegetables; cook rice and grains; and even make desserts like cobblers and crisps. If you can cook it in a conventional oven or on a stovetop, chances are you can cook it in My Solar Oven.

Read our blog for recipes and cooking journals to see My Solar Oven in action!

The cooking chamber measures 14.25 inches wide and 12.75 inches front to back. With the oven level, there are about 7.5 inches from the self-leveling rack to the glass at the lowest clearance point (the front) and about 10 inches at the back. It easily fits 6.5 quart Dutch ovens, 7x11 inch pans and casserole dishes, and 9x13 pans and casserole dishes (without large handles). In practical terms, that is room for a family-size main dish plus sides, or a full batch of cookies or brownies in one go. To check a specific pot or pan, try our cookware fit checker.

Folded for storage, My Solar Oven measures 19 x 22 x 14.25 inches and weighs about 21.5 pounds, and you carry it by the handle on the front. With the reflectors open, it stands about 29.5 inches tall. It ships in a box at about 27 pounds.

If you cook with it, yes. The fuel is free, so every meal cooks at zero cost, and there is no propane to buy, store, or run out of. It cooks even when the power is out, which makes it a genuinely useful preparedness tool rather than a gadget that sits in a closet. It needs clear skies, so most owners use it alongside their regular kitchen rather than replacing it. Over time, sun-cooked meals on free fuel tend to pay for the oven.

My Solar Oven is made in the USA with high quality materials, designed to withstand years (even decades!) of consistent use, ensuring it will pay for itself over time, when properly maintained and cared for.

My Solar Oven is a box-style oven: an insulated cooking chamber with a glass door and reflector panels. Compared with tube-style cookers, it holds far more food and bakes like a real oven instead of cooking a few items in a sealed tube. Compared with simple panel cookers, it reaches higher temperatures, holds heat steadier in wind, and adds conveniences they lack: a built-in thermometer, a self-leveling rack, and an adjustable rear stand. If you want to bake, roast, and cook real family meals, a box-style oven is the design built for it.

Cooking times will be longer than a conventional oven, and the exact difference depends on conditions. A good rule of thumb is to add about 30 minutes to the recipe's stated cook time for medium to long cooks. Shorter recipes like cookies may need only a few additional minutes. In peak summer conditions, cooking times will be closest to conventional oven times.

Any cookware that is safe for a conventional oven is safe for My Solar Oven. Dark-colored or black cookware is recommended because it absorbs more heat. Add a dark lid to retain heat even better! However, cookware with a glass lid is also a great choice as it lets you check on your food without opening the oven door, which keeps temperatures steady and cook times on track. Before you buy something new, measure its outside size, handles and lid knob included, and check it with our cookware fit checker.

Most will. Measure the outside of your cookware, including the handles and the lid knob. The base has to fit between the side rims of the rack, which are 12.25 inches apart, and a dish or pan can measure up to 13 inches across including its handles. A 6.5 quart Dutch oven fits centered on the rack at rear stand settings 1 through 8. A typical 9x13 metal pan with rim handles measures about 13.6 inches across, which is too wide. Tilting the oven back for low winter sun lowers the glass at the front, so a tall pot that fits in summer may not fit at full tilt. Our cookware fit checker shows how much room your cookware has at every rear stand setting.

In many cases, yes. Solar ovens trap steam inside the cooking vessel rather than venting it, so you'll often need less liquid than a conventional recipe calls for, especially with soups, grains, and braises. Start with about 25% less liquid and adjust from there. However, this does not apply to baking, where recipe liquid ratios should be followed as written.

Yes. With the glass door closed and latched, allow the oven to preheat for 15-30 minutes before cooking. Monitor the built-in thermometer to confirm the oven has reached your target temperature before placing food inside.

Yes, it is highly recommended. Place the oven in direct sunlight, let it preheat for 15-20 minutes, then carefully wipe all interior surfaces with a soft cloth dampened with equal parts warm water and white vinegar plus a few drops of dish soap. For a deeper first-time clean, you can place a small open container of the same solution inside the oven and let it heat in sunlight for 15-25 minutes before wiping everything down.

Yes. Because the sun moves across the sky, you'll need to reposition the oven to maintain direct alignment. Use the built-in Quick Align tool to check and adjust every 15-30 minutes for best results. If you won't be able to adjust regularly during a long cook, point the oven toward where the sun will be at the midpoint of your cook rather than where it is at the start.

The Quick Align tool consists of two small holes on the white plastic pieces at the base of the glass panel. When your oven is perfectly aligned with the sun, sunlight shining through the top hole will be centered directly over the bottom hole. It's a simple, no-guesswork way to aim the oven accurately.

Yes, as long as you follow standard food safety practices. Always use a food thermometer to verify that meats, poultry, and egg-based dishes have reached the USDA's recommended safe minimum internal temperatures before consuming. Keep perishable ingredients refrigerated until you're ready to place them in the preheated oven, and don't leave cooked food sitting in the oven after the temperature has dropped.

Yes, and you don't need to boil it. Pasteurization kills the germs, viruses, and parasites that cause waterborne illness at temperatures well below boiling. Water held at 150°F (65°C) for 20 minutes is safe to drink, according to the New York State Department of Health. My Solar Oven hits that easily on a sunny day with no fuel, no filter cartridges, and no electricity.

Visit our resource page for a growing library of beginner-friendly recipes specifically written and tested for solar cooking, along with setup and cooking video tutorials, tips from the My Solar Oven community, and more. New recipes publish weekly on the My Solar Oven blog. You can also follow My Solar Oven on social media to connect with other solar cooking enthusiasts.

Yes. On clear winter days, you can expect temperatures of 275-350°F depending on your latitude. The sun is lower in the sky during winter, so you'll need to extend the rear stand to tilt the oven toward it. The stand has 11 settings, from 1 (level, for high summer sun) to 11 (fully tilted, for low winter sun). Allow for more cooking time, and plan for slow cooks, stews, soups, and similar dishes that work well at lower temperatures.

Clear, sunny skies are ideal. A good rule of thumb: if it is bright enough that you would reach for your sunglasses, it is a good day to cook with My Solar Oven. Higher outdoor temperatures, summer months, and a higher UV index all contribute to excellent cooking conditions. Even thin clouds or haze can reduce oven temperatures by 25-50°F, so clear days will always give you the best results.

Anywhere the sun shines. Solar cooking works in every US state and in all four seasons; winter cooking simply calls for longer cook times and a steeper oven angle because the sun sits lower in the sky. If heavy clouds or storms roll in, the oven waits for better weather: no fuel is wasted by taking it outside on a doubtful day.

Always use the included ground stakes through the holes in the rear stand leg to secure the oven to the ground. The oven can be less stable when the rear stand is fully extended, so staking is especially important in windy conditions. Choosing a location sheltered from wind such as near a wall or fence that doesn't cast a shadow on the oven also helps.

Place your oven on a flat, stable surface in full, direct sunlight. A concrete patio, stone surface, gravel, or bare dirt is ideal. Avoid placing it on wooden decks, plastic surfaces, dry leaves, or any other heat-sensitive or flammable material. During dry conditions, be especially mindful of fire risk from the concentrated heat of the reflectors.

My Solar Oven is made in the USA by a veteran-owned, family-run small business. When you order, you are supporting American manufacturing and working directly with the people who build the oven and stand behind it. Questions go to real people, not a call center.

It is one of the few cooking tools that needs no fuel at all: no propane tanks to refill, no charcoal to store, no gasoline to rotate, and no grid power. During an outage, you can cook full meals and make water safe to drink using nothing but sunlight. See our guides on cooking when the power is out for a week and building a hurricane prep kit that doesn't rely on propane for detailed planning.

My Solar Oven is backed by a limited lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship. The warranty does not cover damage from misuse, neglect, accidents, unauthorized modifications, or normal wear and tear. For warranty questions or to make a claim, visit our warranty page for next steps.

Not yet, but we are actively working on making these available. Replacement parts we hope to make available in the near future include the tempered low-iron glass door, reflector panels, and built-in thermometer. Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page to be notified as soon as we are able to start selling these!

Condensation is completely normal, especially when cooking foods with high moisture content like soups, stews, vegetables, or bread. It's actually a sign that the oven is sealed properly and retaining moisture. If condensation becomes heavy enough to block sunlight, you can briefly open the door with oven mitts to release excess moisture, then close and re-latch it.

Fold the reflector panels flat and fold them down against the top of the oven, then secure them with the strap and button. Store the oven indoors or in a dry, covered area like a garage, shed, or closet. Avoid areas of extreme heat or cold, and never leave the oven exposed to rain or prolonged humidity, as moisture can damage the wood frame and insulation over time. Never rest or stack objects on top of the oven.

See our shipping policy for carriers, rates, and delivery times. If My Solar Oven is not right for you, our return policy explains how to start a return, and we are one email away if anything arrives damaged.