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Best Solar Oven? Tulsi Hybrid
Which is the best solar oven?
 What I like and dislike about my Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven.
 The Tulsi Hybrid...the best solar oven?This solar cooker is a compact, self contained and easily transportable solar appliance...and it does a good job at solar cooking most any food you can imagine.
Some of the pros of the Tulsi Solar Oven would be:
- Convenient and easy to store, carry and set up, because of it's suitcase like nature.
- The suit case enclosure also protects the oven very well.
- Because of it's outer casing it is probably the nicest looking solar oven.
- Wind is almost never a problem with regards to tipping the oven over because of it's large, wide foot print.
- Of all commercial solar ovens it has probably the widest interior, allowing for larger cookie sheets and trays; you can even cook a pizza in it.
- The reflector on the lid is very shiny and easy to clean of dust etc.
- Can reach temperatures of 350 F, which is great for baking
- The hybrid aspect is nice if you ever need to use electricity to finish a meal due to clouds. This is the only solar oven that has this feature.
- Can be used solely as an electric oven if desired at a cost of only pennies per use. (very low 250 watts
- The lid reflector is very easy to adjust for proper sun angle and is now manufactured with a curvature for more focused concentration of the sun.
- The glass door has a safety arm for raising and maintaining the door open while placing or retrieving your food.
- It Comes with four small (blackened) stainless steel covered pots for cooking in.
- It has a double glass pane lid/door and rubber seals which give it a good insulating factor, very minimal heat loss from leakage.
- Very easy access for placing and retrieving your food.
- Safe to use, less possibility of accidents when retrieving hot food because of the safety latch of the support arm on the oven door
(I have cooked many casseroles in the Tulsi and even a ten pound lasagna.) ...Do these things make the Tulsi Hybrid the best solar oven? Cons of the Tulsi Solar Oven - It is one of the heaviest of all of the commercial ovens, (25lbs) with the exception of the Solar Burner parabolic cooker and the SunCook
- The Tulsi is probably the shallowest of the major solar cookers, having very little height inside the oven, therefore preventing the use of larger and deeper pots and pans such as those most commonly used for breads, soups, chili's and larger meats like whole chickens or hams.(It is the widest)
- It's one of the more expensive of the commercial ovens, partially due to the low watt electrical capacity cooking back-up capacity, which is why this is marketed as a hybrid, but it's cost is right there with the cost of the Global Sun Oven.
- (This oven comes from India, a country quite advanced in solar cooking, but this adds a little bit to the overall cost)
- The materials used in it's construction are good, but the workmanship has caused a little concern because the hinges, lever/arms have become loose over time, which allow it to flap when there is wind; not a huge factor though.
- The side reflector panels do not always fit easily and firmly onto the side screws of the solar oven. There are no connections or attachments specifically made for the side reflector panels, so they have to be secured to the screws on the levered arm of the oven lid by loosening the screws somewhat, which in turn loosens the lid reflector assembly and the oven glass door lever.
- The double paned glass lid on our Tulsi has gotten moisture in between the panes and I'm not sure how to get it out. (This can be a somewhat common occurrence, even on home windows) In fact I am surprised that moisture was even able to get in between the panes, because it looked to be well sealed.
- This oven, for some reason, takes a bit longer to get up to higher temperatures.
- I don't know if it is the way the panels capture the rays, especially the one in the lid, but it seems to need more adjusting to get it to heat up quicker.
- The biggest issue I have had with the Tulsi is the smell of the interior of the oven...I don't know what they used on the aluminum oven interior, but there is a smell that I have not been able to get rid of, even with much cooking in it and washing of the interior.
(The included Covered Cooking Pots prevent the food from smells) The importer said that it should dissipate with time; using and cleaning it. Granted,when cooking with the included sealed cooking pots, the smell is not an issue, only when cooking uncovered foods.This has been my biggest concern with the Tulsi, although the smell has not caused any physical/health issues, it's just so disconcerting to have it present. | Note: Since this was written more than a year and a half ago, I have received and used another Tulsi which has been improved upon in a few of the above mentioned areas, namely in the workmanship of the product and a diminished interior smell that was more prevalent in my first Tulsi. With more use and cleaning the odor becomes almost nil, and as I mentioned, it was and is not an issue health wise. I have decided to become a dealer for the Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven and offer it right along with the rest of the solar cookers that we have carried for some time now. | With your order you will receive: One (1) Tulsi Hybrid Solar Oven, One (4)Covered,Blackened Stainless Steel PotsOne (1)ThermometerOne (1)Hot Mittone (1)Electrical cordone (1)DVD-Instructional
Your cost is only $294.95 which includes shipping and handling to any destination within the continental United States.
Continental U.S. orders:  OR
Contact us for Canadian and Hawaii shipping Australian Customers: We invite you to see a similar solar cooker available in your country at: Australia's Sun Cook Solar Oven
Rate A Solar Cooker: What is your favorite Solar Cooker, and Why?
The Global Sun Oven... The SOS Sport... The Hot Pot... The Cookit? Heavens Flame? Parvati? "Solar Burner"...or some other?
Which is your favorite and why do you like (it) more than any other?
Do you have more than one... and why?
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