Frequently Asked Questions

The Haines uses a reflective panel to concentrate sunlight onto a black cooking pot. The clear plastic cover and cooking sleeve create a greenhouse effect to trap heat, allowing food to cook without fuel or fire.

The Haines 2.0 Solar Cooker has been rated “Best overall solar cooker” by the environmental organizations, EcoWatchhttps://www.ecowatch.com/solar-oven-guide-2655204322.html,and TreeHugger,https://www.treehugger.com/best-solar-ovens-5120148.  It has also been tested in a peer-reviewed journal article which found it performed at a high level under the International Standards for clean cookstoves,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544222016334.  Testing by Solar Cookers International also ranked it very high in cooking power.  https://www.solarcookers.org/resources/results. 

Yes, the Haines weighs only 1.3 lbs. and folds flat for storage.  It sets up for cooking in minutes.

You can cook anything in the Haines that you would normally cook in a crock pot or “slow” oven (325 F.). Food never burns, so meat remains juicy and literally falls off the bone. Bread and cakes bake with perfect texture. Vegetables retain their vitamins. Pasta and rice boil to your taste. Beans can safely simmer for hours without burning. Potatoes can be baked, boiled, or scalloped. Cheese souffle is to die for. Most ordinary recipes will work—just allow for longer cooking times. You can also download Mary Bevill’s cookbook from our website for free, or purchase specialized solar cookbooks on line.

The Haines Solar cooker can boil a quart of water in 45 to 60 minutes, compared to 30 minutes for a stove top with the gas or electricity turned to “high.”  But most foods are not cooked on “high.”  Food cooked at lower temperatures on a stove top or oven may take about the same time to cook in a Haines Solar Cooker.   Moreover, solar cooked food almost never burns.  Of course, cooking time in a solar cooker will vary depending on the intensity of the sun.

Food cooked in the Haines Solar Cooker almost never burns.  This means that even if you leave it in the sun longer than expected, it will likely not be burned—only a little drier.

As the sun moves from East to West during the day,  you will need to adjust the cooker every hour or so to keep it facing the sun.  Minimize lifting the glass lid, because this loses heat and will increase cooking time.

Haines Solar Cookers are available directly from HainesSolarCookers.com, and on Amazon.

We want you to be a happy user of the Haines Solar Cooker.  If you are dissatisfied with your purchase, click on “contact us” and let us know.  However, we charge a $30 restocking fee and do not reimburse for return shipping.