FAQs & Instructions




Water Pasteurization

Helpful Hints


SUNFLAIR Solar Ovens collect and hold the uv rays of the sun where they transform into heat-producing infrared rays. The black heat tray allows maximum uv absorption while SUNFLAIR’s unique shape helps radiate the heat, allowing the infrared molecules to bounce around inside the chamber, cooking your food.

Anything you can cook in a conventional oven and some stovetop cooking too!

While cooking times are faster on clear days, you can still cook with the occasional passing cloud.

You can cook on top of Mt. Everest as long as you have direct sunlight. It makes no difference what the temperature is outside.

Cooking on a conventional grill can dry out your food, but food cooked in a Sunflair solar oven retains all its natural moisture. The result is juicier, more flavorful meals. And more of the natural vitamins and nutrients are retained, so it not only tastes better, it’s better for you!

Back to top


1) When sunlight is shining through the clear cover, your SUNFLAIR Solar Oven is “ON”. Interior will be hot, just like a traditional oven.
2) To clean oven, wipe with damp cloth. Not machine washable or waterproof.
3) Fold and store when not in use.
4) Contents will be hot! Use potholders as with a conventional oven.
5) Quantities and temperatures may need to be adjusted as cooking times can vary.
6) Thaw frozen food before cooking so your food can reach 140 F (60 C) as soon as possible, as pathogens thrive below these temperatures. If the temperature falls below 140 F (60 C), transfer to an alternative cooking method. Always follow the basics for handling food safely. See the chart below for internal food cooking temperatures. As with a conventional oven, always use an internal probe food thermometer. This is NOT the same as the oven thermometer provided.
how does a solar oven work

6) Before first use, wash pot and metal heat-conductor. Lightly grease pot.
7) Do not use knives or sharp metal utensils with the pot or put empty pot in oven.
8) Lightly oil pot before use. Pot is top-rack dishwasher safe. For best results, wash by hand in warm soapy water.
9) When cleaning pot, do not use abrasive materials such as scouring powders or pads.
10) Do not use without metal heat-conducting tray.

Back to top


1) Select a flat level location in the great outdoors with full sunlight.
2) Remove your SUNFLAIR solar oven from the bag and unfold it.
3) Zip it up and place it so the clear cover opens from the bottom.
4) There are two methods of cooking with a SUNFLAIR. If it will be unattended for an extended time, position the oven toward the midday sun. For faster cooking times, aim the oven’s window towards the sun and re-aim every 45 minutes or as needed. Think of a sundial. Keeping the shadow even on the back of the oven will ensure that the maximum amount of sunlight is entering the cooking chamber.
5) Fastest cooking times are achieved when the sun is higher in the sky (midday, summertime). This is because the sunlight has less atmospheric particles to go through, resulting in higher oven temperatures. When the sun is lower in the sky (early or late in the day, wintertime), cooking times will be a little longer.
6) Place the rack with the heat-conducting tray on it into the oven.
7) Place the thermometer on the heat-conducting tray as well.
8) Once oven temperature reaches 145 F (63 C) or more, place food in oven.
9) Cooking times: Slow-cooker recipes work well. With conventional oven recipes, double cooking time or more, depending on seasons and weather conditions.
10) When the food is done, remove the pot (with potholders!) and enjoy!

Back to top


The SUNFLAIR solar oven not only cooks delicious food, but it can also pasteurize water in the event of a disaster or any other time you lack access to fresh water.

Fill a pot with water and heat to 149 F (65 C) for 10 minutes. It’s a common myth that water has to boil to be pasteurized. This is not true. 149 F (65 C) for ten minutes is all it takes!

We’ve included a unique device with your SUNFLAIR that makes gauging the pasteurization process even easier: the WAPI (Water Pasteurization Indicator).

The WAPI is a reusable tube with a special wax at one end. Place the WAPI in the core of the water, wax end up, and hang the string over the container’s edge. In order to avoid a false reading, the WAPI should be in the very center of the liquid, not too high, too low, or too near the edge. Then place the covered container in the solar oven. The WAPI can also be used with traditional fuels such as a campfire or barbecue.

The wax has a melting point of 150 F (65 C). It takes about 10 minutes for all the wax to melt to the bottom of the tube. Once that happens, even if the water has cooled, pasteurization has occurred!

PLEASE NOTE: Pasteurization kills bacteria such as E Coli and Giardia. Pasteurization does not eliminate contamination from chemical runoff, oil slicks, heavy metals, etc.

SUNFLAIR can also be used to sterilize bandages and other medical equipment. Or crafts such as melting wax for candle making.

Back to top


1) On a windy day, place a flat rock in each side stabilizer of the SUNFLAIR Solar Oven.

2) Avoid shadows in the cooking chamber.

3) Repeated zipping and unzipping will result in heat loss. As with a conventional oven, the more it’s opened and closed, the longer food will take to cook.

4) When the sun is directly overhead during the height of summer, it may be beneficial to tilt the oven slightly back to maximize the amount of sunlight in the cooking chamber.

5) The heat-conducting tray has an FDA-approved non-stick surface and can used for baking biscuits, cookies, etc.

6) Thin, dark pots absorb heat and cook food best. For best results, use SUNFLAIR bakeware.

7) While it is possible to use the oven on partly cloudy days, cooking times will be longer. With full cloud cover, cooking is not possible.

8) Time cooking with the weather. In arid climates, clouds will frequently “burn off” by midday, leaving a clear afternoon, while in more humid areas, clouds tend to form later in the day.

9) Protect yourself with hat, sunglasses and sunscreen, as you would on a sunny day.

10) For best cooking success, cook small pieces. Cube meat, potatoes, carrots, etc. Cook dinner rolls instead of a loaf of bread. Let them eat cupcakes rather than cake, and so on.

11) If your food contains a lot of moisture and you aren’t using a cover, the oven may how does a solar oven worksteam up, causing the temperature to drop. If this happens, slide your hand in with a soft cloth and wipe off the moisture. Unzip the oven a little to vent. Temperature will increase despite the vent. (SEE IMAGE –>)

12) Food cooks best with a cover. Cornbread, rolls, etc. cook wonderfully in the covered graniteware pot. Using the extra baking sheet as a cover will speed cooking and browning for food such as pizza dough.

To retain more heat in the Standard Oven, you can also tuck the zipper ends/corners in a bit. If you need cooler temperatures, venting the oven slightly works well.

13) Fastest cooking times are achieved when the sun is higher in the sky (midday or summertime in the Northern Hemisphere). This is because the sunlight has less atmospheric particles to go through, resulting in higher oven temperatures. When the sun is lower in the sky (early or late in the day, wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere), cooking times will be a little longer. (SEE DIAGRAM –>)

Back to top