BCN's 2"x6" Free Solar Oven Plans.

This is a picture of the actual oven constructed in the making of these plans.
This oven consistently cooks at 250-260 degrees and is fully capable of cooking most of the foods that you may want to cook including baked potatoes.
We will also be publishing plans to build a larger "whole house" type oven in the future but will start with this 2x6 oven because of it's ease of construction and it's extreme usefulness.
Your oven may vary in dimensions from the one shown depending on the glass that you use but the concept is the same.
We believe in using recycled materials as much as possible and suggest you try to do the same. Glass can often be gotten free or nearly free from glass shop junk piles if you explain to the owner what you are going to do with it. We also highly recommend a Habitat for Humanity store if there is one near you. We patronize the one in Chico.

List of tools and materials:
Scrap 2"x6"s and 2"x4"s long enough to build a box surrounding your glass.
For the oven pictured... this amounted to 2-40 1\2" 2x6's and 2x4's and 4 30" 2x6's and 2x4's.
Deck screws or nails.... I prefer deck screws because it is easier to adjust if you make a mistake in assembly. Probably about forty or so will do.
A piece of plywood or other means of closing off the bottom.
I like to put a piece of sheetrock on the inside bottom but you could substitute plywood or even cardboard if you had to.
Flat black non toxic paint. About a quart or so will be enough. Exterior latex will work.
Glass.
What was used in this project and what you see pictured is the sliding portion of a dual pane aluminum framed window. Dual paned glass works best and should be used. This type of window was used for this project because it is the most common type to be found free or very cheap.

Construction:
A quick word about construction philosophy...
We are building a Solar oven here.... not fine furniture.
Don't worry if every little detail is not perfect. By the time you coat it with paint and stick it out in the sun cooking for a week or so those minor irregularities will fade away. Don't let your lack of building experience stop you from trying because anyone can put one of these ovens together.
Try to use recycled materials if at all possible. Try the Habitat for Humanity for cheap glass to use. Usually a suitable dual pane can be had for $5 or less.
Also try asking your local glass shop if you may have or buy a usable glass from his scrap pile before it's hauled off to the aluminum recycler. If you tell them you are making a solar oven then you may actually get it for free. The one used for this oven was obtained exactly in that manner.
Use your imagination in both building materials and design in the construction of this oven. If you don't have the materials stated then use what you have. Try to construct this oven as cheaply cost wise as possible to further the goals of conservation that we should all strive for. If you have a good idea then pass it along to the rest of us and we can all benefit. Solar cooking is free and the dissemination of knowledge is our main goal.

Let's get started...Place the glass on suitable flat working area... on a deck or driveway will do. Make a frame around the outside of the glass using pieces of 2"x6" allowing about a quarter inch of space all the way around the glass as in pictures 1 and 2. ((If you have the type of window that has a mounting flange around the edge then make the frame accordingly which means as if you were mounting the window in a standard frame. You can also skip the next process with the 2x4 frame.)) When you have the pieces cut...nail or screw the frame together as in picture 3. When you have the 2x6 frame put together then you will cut your 2"x4" pieces to make a frame inside the 2x6 frame. Place the 2x6 frame on the flattest surface you have and then put a piece or two of scrap wood as a spacer to lift the 2x4 pieces off the floor till you have about 1\2" space at the top to rest the glass on. Screw or nail each piece of 2x4 to the 2x6 as you place it into position. Use the same spacer to place each piece of 2x4 inside the 2x6 frame so that you have a perfectly flat surface on which to rest your window on when you are finished.. Pictures 4 and 5 show the spacing process and the finished frame inside a frame. Picture 6 shows how the glass will rest on the 2x4 frame inside the 2x6 frame. You can paint the frame flat black anytime you want.

The next step is to close in the bottom. Place the frame bottom down on a piece of plywood and mark around the oven so you know where to cut. Pictures 7,8 and 9 attempted to show that. Mark both the frame and the piece you cut to index it so that you know exactly how it goes on because things aren't always perfect and it's nice to know how it's suppose to fit on. Before you screw or nail on the bottom is a good time to cut a piece of sheetrock to use as the cooking platform. Place the frame on it's face so you are looking at the bottom and cut a piece of 3\8' or 1\2" sheetrock to fit nicely in the bottom. It will be close to the dimensions of the inside 2x4 frame and will rest on the frame when placed in. Do not nail or screw this to anything as it will rest on the bottom of the oven when turned over. At this point you can nail or screw the bottom plywood to the 2x6 frame.

If you find you don't have plywood or can't afford it then use what ever you have. Slats of wood or even heavy duty cardboard can be used for both the bottom of the oven and the surface you will be using as the inside cooking platform. There is no fire danger from using cardboard on the inside as you will not be obtaining the 400 plus degrees required for paper to combust.
You can give the whole oven a coat of paint, inside and out, at this time. Again... use non toxic paint only. Flat black exterior latex will work. If you find you have small gaps in the joints of the 2x6 or 2x4 joints you can use a small amount of caulking to seal them off and make for a better looking and working oven.
Once the entire oven is painted and allowed to dry you can place the glass in position. The window you use will have a flat side and a side with a lip. The flat side goes down to be the inside of the oven and you will want to put some kind of handle type mechanism for lifting the glass. I have used several different things but what has worked best is a small hand clamp\vise, clamped to the lip of the aluminum window as shown in pictures 11 and 12. I had this clamp in my garage taking up space but I understand they can be bought new from Home Depot for under $5. Use your imagination here...I have also used heavy duty key rings in a drilled hole which worked fine. I like to let it heat for an entire day so as to cure the insides and remove any construction smells.
Picture 10 above shows the finished oven cooking a couple of baked potatoes and picture 11 shows another oven constructed using these plans with a window of a different dimension. You can put castors or wheels on the oven to allow for movement if you wish. Because of the flatness of these ovens... no orienting towards the sun is necessary. Just align in a east-west manner and leave it alone to cook.
Cut some narrow...1\2" or so strips of cardboard and place them on the bottom of the oven to rest your cooking vessels on. You only need two small strips per pan just to raise the cast iron off of the inside sheetrock or whatever you put on the bottom as a cooking platform. This reduces heat loss to the sheetrock. I put a griddle and two cast iron pans in and leave them there and put my food cooking vessels in them to cook.
You are limited to about 5" of cooking height with this oven but that rarely is a problem in practical operation. In my experience it is the cooking dish that is the height problem and not the food. We have cooked baked potatoes, corn on the cob, chicken, roast, steak, rice, hot dogs, and many other things with this style oven.
We use this style oven on a daily basis and you will be glad you took the time to make one for yourself.
As stated above.... we will be posting plans to build a larger "whole house" oven in the future in which you can place larger cooking pots in and is capable of cooking most anything including a Turkey.
The turkey oven will be constructed using the very same piece of glass you used to construct this 2x6 oven if you wish.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your building experience then a Discussion thread has been started here.