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My husband bought the sun oven at the solar cook off in Taylorsville CA. It cooked perfectly but had the nastiest plastic flavor. We have cooked in it twice and cleaned it about 3 times including just heating water and soap. We let it bake for days with only water. Still smells. I'm going to keep trying and hope it gets better but I would not recommend this product, If the smell doesn't go away we have just thrown $250 away. I've had my oven for 3 months and have yet to get to eat food from it, sooo disappointing :(
Jul 12, 2011 Rating
after taste in food by: Anaya
I recommend baking cheap frozen type cookies the first few times. That way you can "taste" if there is any aftertaste. I cleaned my oven with a pot of hot water and dawn dish soap. I left the pot of water and quite a bit of soap to "cook" for 6 hours. I then took tongs and a rag and cleaned the inside paying special attention to the glass and rubber seal. I took the levelator out of my oven to do this. I cleaned the levelator by hand with soap and hot water and dried immediately.No problems with paint smearing. I had to do this twice to get the taste out of the oven. I found that cooking a strong flavored meal like potatoes and onions helps to. The longer I cook in my oven, the tighter the seal becomes and my temps go up. The more I cook, the better my food is tasting.Love my oven!!!
Oct 21, 2010 Rating
Thanks Nathan by: Anonymous
Can you explain what chemicals are in the black paint that are volatizing? the problem happened after using the oven for covered dishes at least 5 times.
The instructions to deodorize should be in the user manual. But there is still the concern of what's used in the black paint. Is Bis Phenol A used in the enamel/paint coating?
Sep 20, 2010 Rating
Solar Oven Odor by: Don Larson
I heat new Global Sun Ovens empty to about 300 degrees F for about 16 hours before I start cooking meals in them.
Also.... when making home made solar ovens... keep your list of materials very simple. (Cardboard or wood for the box; Cardboard, wool, or inert fiberglass for the insulation; Wool or cotton for
the gasket. Any glues or manufactured foam board exposed to the heat of solar cooking leaves a taste residue in the food.
Thanks for bringing this topic up online.
Don "Cooking with the Cobra" Larson
Congrat's to the contest winners.... great stories!
Sep 19, 2010 Rating
smell gets into food by: Anonymous
We have a sun oven and cooked an uncovered dish. It took 2 hours and cooked just fine. However there was an intense flavor of the oven in parts of the cake, mostly on the top. I've seen multiple complaints of the oven putting a plastic or intense smell into food. that has to be a sign that something isn't right. Something is volatilizing off the finish of the oven interior and getting absorbed by the food. The manufacturer should look into what kind of paint or polymer is applied to the inside of the oven and whether chemicals are ending up in the food.
Thank you for your comments on the Sun Oven and your concerns.
Yes, a new Sun Oven can have the smell of the newly manufactured and coated interior the first few times. We recommend to all of our customers that the first time they use the GSO that they put it out in the sun with the cooking pot half full of water and a few drops of dish detergent, leaving it to steam for about five to six hours. Then, taking a dish rag and tongs,(very hot) wipe the whole interior of the solar oven to clean it out. This should help greatly with the smell. If need be, repeat the process another time.
We also recommend doing the same steaming/cleaning method every seven to ten "cookings" in order to clean out any food/moisture buildup and smells.
