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Make a Solar Hot Dog Cooker

SAFETY FIRST: Ask an adult to help with tools you haven't used before.

If you curve some aluminum foil just right, you can cook hot dogs with the sun’s heat.

hotdog-640-1

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

  • Utility knife
  • Tape
  • Saw
  • Drill
  • Roofing nails
  • Glue
  • 2 sheets of corrugated cardboard, 7 1/2 inches by 30 inches
  • 2 2-by-2-by-12-inch connector boards
  • Piece of poster board large enough to cover the bottom of the cooker
  • 12-inch-wide aluminum foil
  • 2 1-by-1-by-13 1/2-inch wood uprights
  • Small wooden dowl, sharpened at one end

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Step 1. Using the utility knife, cut a curve from the two pieces of cardboard.

Step 2. Connect the curves together using the 12-inch connecting boards, glue and roofing nails.

Step 3. Bend the poster board over the curves, mark with a pencil and cut to size. Glue and tape in place.

Step 4. Spread glue evenly onto the poster board. Carefully glue down the aluminum foil. Make it as smooth as possible.

Step 5. Drill a hole in one upright, cut a notch on the other and glue in place.

Step 6. Aim the cooker at the sun, skewer your hot dogs, and get the rolls and mustard.

HOW IT WORKS

The sun reflects heat off the parabolic curve and concentrates it at a single point.


PHOTOS OF COMPLETED PROJECT

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15 Comments on Make a Solar Hot Dog Cooker

  1. Thanks for the information

  2. pyroperson // July 28, 2015 at 4:38 pm // Reply

    yeh if you curve it wrong it wont work properly

  3. Some dimensions would be helpful

  4. That’s pretty cool

  5. Anonymous // May 4, 2015 at 7:05 pm // Reply

    cool

  6. This is just awesome!

  7. I’m going to make this!

  8. Please let me know your results.

  9. How hot does the hot dog get?
    we are doing an expirament in class and the winner gets a 120 on it.. it is a test grade so i want to make sure that i do well to get my grade up/..

  10. add more info please im doing a science fair project on a solar powered hotdog cooker and I really did not find anything useful here

  11. i haven’t built it yet though

  12. i think 2 1/2 mineutes

  13. How long will the hot dog take to cook?

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