Test run on new Solar oven this weekend… (Page 2 of 2)
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Originally Posted By 8upwitHDs: Which stoves are being used in the above pics?? You said earlier that you have a couple of stoves and I am curious as to which ones are performing the best. For this meal I cooked the chicken in the Chinese Kecop/whatever brand they label them as and a Gosun Fusion for the potatoes.The Gosun is definitely the better oven in that it is faster, holds more food, and has a 12v DC option built in. I have also had issues with the Chinese stoves melting their nylon reflector straps in the sun-early on I thought it was my touching them with a hot tray but that happened on more than one of them. The Chinese ovens do work very very well though and you can’t ignore the price difference…. New you’ll see them around the $175 mark in the low end and $225 up top. The Gosun advertises for $400 most of the time and goes on sale for $275 and sometimes as low as $250 which is where I think they are worth buying. As things go today, I think this is a $250 stove for sure. The maiden run on the Fusion was when I made lunch with a coworker for my department, 14 people and 30 chicken drumsticks. I did two batches each in the Fusion and two in the Chinese model they both worked well but the Gosun kicked the Chinese stove’s ass cooking more chicken faster, and I didn’t have to use miniloaf pans in the Fusion so it was easier and I had an easier time saving the juice for later. Here are the models I have and a few thoughts about each from smallest to largest: 1) Gosun solar “kit”: cheap at around $40 on sale and small enough to backpack with if you can protect the tube. Will fit enough food to make a moderate sized meal for one, or boil water for backpacking food, coffee, or to sterilize it. Nice gateway drug to solar cooking or to play with kids. 2) Gosun Sport and Sport-E: I have the most time on these, you can cook for two and they are fairly fast-probably the most durable oven of this type you can buy as far as the reflectors and stand go. Cooks enough for two, but the shape of the pan isn’t super convenient. Haven’t tried the electric option yet. 3) Kecop/Chinese large diameter stove: opens up the ability to cook more than one thing at a time or separate servings as well as use miniloaf pans. Has a built in thermometer, and soft carrying case-the nicest to just grab and go with but you aren’t backpacking with one. This is a serious oven with a few product engineering shortcomings like the aforementioned black nylon straps melting from the reflected sunlight-easy enough to replace though. 4) Gosun sport Fusion: this is the Cadillac. Best performing and holds the most food. You definitely want the factory soft case for it, the reflectors seem like they are lightweight for as heavy as it is and you’ll probably dent something or bend it if you just throw it around in a car. 12v option is nice, but there is no way to adjust the power from the factory and you can burn things this way-I bought components for a model airplane motor speed controller and PWM servo tester to do this, just need to design and 3D print a case for them. 5) Rand Solar Tube: these are no longer imported, but they are the largest I have seen. Same tube diameter as the fusion and the fusion trays work, but longer by maybe 6”. Reflectors are a DIY proposition as are the trays otherwise. I’ll probably turn mine into a solar distiller for making better tasting water out of well water and for replenishing my water in my solar system batteries. I was going to make a large oven out of it but with 3 of the Chinese stoves and a Fusion I have my bases covered. |
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Originally Posted By 8upwitHDs: Thank you Sir for the synopsis. I will keep an eye out for a deal on the Gosun Fusion. Get on their mailing lists, they only go that low on holidays-sometimes you can get close on EBay. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Got a few new results: Rice: standard 2-1 water to rice with oiled pans and Italian seasoning for flavor. Perfect result, took about an hour in full sun and made several days worth of rice. A bit of meat or beans and it would have made complete meals. Attached File Attached File Then Steak and potatos: bottom round, not the best cut, but I knew it wouldn’t be dry no matter how much I cooked it. It was really good, not tough-if I were to do it over, I would cut into strips. The outsides of the steaks weren’t under the rendered juice and did dry a little-just chewy, not tough. The potatos were great-they took another 29 minutes longer than the beef, which contributes to the edges of the beef drying out-with the beef being fairly thin and the Gosun Fusion being so powerful they got done super fast, 45 minutes or so: Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Four decent sized pork loin steaks, 1:15. Left them in longer for flavor, it was too long at 1:45 as they weren’t getting any more fat carmelization after about the 1:30 mark: Attached File Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Grandkids slept over, perfect time to make cinnamon rolls and test the 12 volt DC power tray on the Gosun Fusion… Jamo helped-took about twice as long as the instructions said from a cold tray-definitely not as powerful/fast as the sun and they get hot from below so burning can be an issue (I knew this from the cakes I tried to make and was watching for it) but they cooked thru fine. With the steam not having a chance to escape they weren’t browned on the tops and sides but nobody complained. I could try to pop it open a bit next time to give the water a chance to escape.. I see the 12 volt tray being a great way to heat up food, cook and steam veggies, and cook meat-it definitely gets hot enough to burn things but takes time to get up to temperature because it has to heat the tray, the air in the oven, and the inside of the oven’s tube on about 150 watts of power-that’s not a lot but it works in these ovens because they are vacuum insulated. Be interesting to see how it does with other food! Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Guys -if this type of oven is interesting to you and they were just a bit expensive, Gosun is running an “open box” sale right now-I highly, highly doubt these are returns and the prices are very good. You’d basically have to buy a used one off of EBay to get one this cheap-prices range from $39 which is low enough to decide if the larger ovens are worth having in your preps-these are the breakdown model I did water boiling test and grilled sausages in this thead. Definitely worth having. https://ctrk.klclick1.com/l/01KEYNH0K7J0N1C2AMQRBJXM9R_6 |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Feeling cooped up, my last weekend of freedom before shoulder surgery. Wife is out of town, it would be too much work to drag out the smoker for just me…. So….. Took 1 hour and 15 minutes: Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
| That's very interesting! Never would have guessed one would work that well! What was the outside temp when you were cooking? What would be the lowest outside temp you could realistically cook in? |
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Originally Posted By baogongmeo: Is that the Fusion model? Yep. See my earlier post about how it stacks up to the other models on the market-I have pretty much all of them. It’s the fastest and one of the largest still available, but it’s not as durable as the cheaper but slightly smaller Kecop ovens that also really get it done. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: That's very interesting! Never would have guessed one would work that well! What was the outside temp when you were cooking? What would be the lowest outside temp you could realistically cook in? It was 48, but the truth is that outside temps don’t really matter much-these are vacuum insulated like a thermos. On *really* cold days you can lose some heat thru the lid end but they still work-just not as well at that end of the tube. I’ve been thinking about coming up with a foam end cover for this, but it’s really not an issue unless it’s very cold or moderate temps with almost no sunlight or fading evening light. In this thread there is a pic of a raw tube I bought that I was using with a reflective bubble wrap windshield refeflector half-assed into working on a 10 or 20 degree day (can’t remember now, it’s been many years), and the three cakes I was baking all got done properly. The one furthest in the tube got a little too brown-if I had known it would be a problem at the time I would have just rotated them and they would have turned out all the same. Speaking of temperature, it is also important to note that the meats I cook and the cooking times are from regfridgerated temperatures, not ambient temperature so you have to take that into account when looking at cook times. Browning meat once cooked is a matter of how long you want to wait past it’s cooked internal temps-they don’t brown until the water is largely burned off as all of the energy goes into boiling water before the temperature can get above 250F in the oven. Meat will be 250F in about an hour from 40F out of the fridge, but ham and cheese sandwiches hit 350 in 45 minutes-again, because there is little water to convert to steam. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Forgot to mention to you guys-a few months ago I made up a temperature controller for the Gosun Fusion and have the parts to make one for the Sport-E. The hope is that I can bake breads and things without scorching the fuck out of them like the last two things I made (cakes and cinnamon rolls) I made with 12V power instead of the sun. Basically I bought a 12V automotive outlet and plug on Amazon as well as a 20 amp model airplane electric motor speed control and a servo tester to control the temperature and It worked out very well. I will say that the electric option on the Fusion is a lot slower than I thought it would be, but in truth it’s only 100 watts. Cooks the fuck out of shit though, that tray gets really hot. I do think that lowering the temps will make the cook times even longer unless I pre-heat it while I am prepping whatever I am cooking. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Lunch today: New Orleans Syle Jambalaya with smoked sausage. I cooked the sausage slices separate so they would brown, put them in the back of the tube where it’s hotter. 1:45 on a clear, sunny day: Loading: Attached File 1:15, rice was still a bit wet:Attached File 1:45, Done:Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Followed that up with blueberry muffin mix… took exactly 1 hour. Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Wife wants to make chicken tacos and handed me this lime-cilantro pre-seasoned package of two chicken breasts. I got distracted with mowing the lawn and couldn’t hear the beeper alarm going off-they were overdone in 1-1/2 hours. Still didn’t dry the meat out: Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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Originally Posted By StanGram: How is that electric control mod working? Was that involved with those muffins? TBH, I’ve only used it once and burned the cinnamon rolls at full power -they were burned on the bottom and not golden on top but fully cooked thru. I am thinking that the electric element will be best on foods with a lot of liquid in them becuase the tray getting so hot will mean lots of burned food where dryer stuff makes contact but time will tell.let me do some experimenting - I can always turn it down! |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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That deal you talked about finally popped up on an "open box" Fusion for $279. I jumped on it, and it should be here next week. BTW, for those watching this thread, Gosun has several of their other ovens and items on sale as open box specials here: Gosun Sale |
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Thanks for posting the deal-they will probably sell out of some items before I could get around to it. Even the solar oven “kits” are worth having @$39 because the break down to fit in a small backpack. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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@TheOtherDave- This is the one you have in the original post correct? TIA Same one??? Gosun Portable |
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Quickest ways to contact us-
912.375.1480
[email protected]
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I was out of town for a bit. So I finally got a chance to open the Gosun Fusion box. This thing is brand new, still with all of the wrapping and foam on the inside. All of the accessories were included as well. As soon as I get a day with some time and some sun, I will give it a test run. Thank you again @theotherDave. |
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Originally Posted By Lowdown3: @TheOtherDave- This is the one you have in the original post correct? TIA Same one??? Gosun Portable That’s the smallest one they make, the “solar kit”, and it is one of the models I showed in thei thread cooking sausages and boiling water. |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
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My GoSun Go arrived today. Looking forward to making the folks at the beach with their soggy Pub subs and sandy fried chicken jealous as hell while I cook & eat beer brats in front of them. Attached File Attached File |
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LoL, you bought the gateway drug model…. Have fun! |
Never make another person a priority when they merely see you as an option...
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."
"Some People Are Like Slinkies. They're Not Really Good For Anything, But They Bring a Smile To Your Face When Pushed Down The Stairs."