Total Survival Portable Solar Cooker Sun Kettle Thermos for Boiling/Sterilizing Water

We bought this thinking of an inexpensive way to use green energy (other solar cookers are very expensive or flimsy). This is essentially a glass tube with focusing mirrors and a silicon stopper with safety vents built into the cap. It has slightly less than 2 cups of water capacity, approx half a liter or 450ml or approx 1 pint. It can take a long time (3 to 4 hours) to heat water from the tap to just below boiling. We've never been able to heat to boiling, however. At some point, the heat going into the water equals heat being dissipated. Works best in the summer, wherein the ambient temp is hot, and the sun is more intense. In the winter, water can only be heated to lukewarm temperature.We used this device everyday for weeks as a stretch to heat water later used for cooking. We would have the mirrors pointed in the direction of where the sun will be in the afternoon. Coming home from work, the water will be hot. We used it to cook pasta or rice or instant mashed potatoes, or use it in the pressure cooker. Since the water is already hot, it saves on energy to bring that otherwise cold water up to a boil.Over the time, the silicon stopper seemed to deform with use. Possibly it was the daily usage and the heat and pressure from the hot water. Fearing contamination, we removed the silicon stopper. The device became slightly less effective and efficient afterwards but still useful and we continued to produce hot water from the sun on an almost daily basis throughout the summer and into the fall. In the winter, however, the ambient temperature is so cold that even in direct sunlight, the water cannot be heated past lukewarm (the defunct silicon stopper may have made a difference perhaps).The device also maintains the temperature of the hot water like a thermos so that water can be heated one day, kept overnight in the closed configuration, and then used the next day for morning instant coffee.Overall, its a useful device, durable enough to be used on a daily basis. It saves on energy, albeit a very small amount, given its low capacity. It is also portable and can be brought on camping trips, it can certainly be used to melt snow or even as a cooker with water and whatever food items sealed within. We use it to heat water on an almost daily basis and since its just water, we do not need to clean the device vigorously. We would have given five stars if the stopper was made of better material or if it was simply made of glass also.

This is cheap, lightweight PLASTIC with a glass tube inside. The inner constructions is quality, but the designer opted for a plastic frame, highly reducing the quality of the product. However, this also reduces the weight.It should also be noted that the item was received in a box and wrapping that was highly indicative of being a refurbished or returned item. The inside looked clean, but there were fingerprints on the reflectors showing it was handled after the factory packaging, and it is missing the stopper that is described in the instructions (however, to be fair the instructions are not clear on the fact that the stopper may or may not be the same piece with the vented holes.)I attempted to contact the seller about the missing piece, but amazon only directs me to their contact information. I do not need to have the entire unit replaced or refunded in order to get the stopper that was not included.Overall this is....sub par, but it will still do part of what it is intended to do. Ish. It is not very efficient at it....as with an entire hot (110f) and sunny day it only brought some soup to a moderately warm level. Safe for kids in the temperature range, but it would not provide any real heat. Worse yet, some food products would actually have a much higher bacteria level due to the slow heating, never reaching a temperature to kill bacteria but in fact increase the breeding of them. This should be used only to warm already safe to drink water, just to play it safe. After you obtain the warm water use it to mix your soup ingredients into.A small portable stove with a sterno style fuel would be better to carry, and more dependable. Albeit, this has a longer last fuel source than said stove....

I bought this for emergency prep and camping purposes. As an experiment, I tried boiling eggs in it. My hypothesis was that it would not work. I placed 3 small eggs that could fit into the tube and left it out for almost 3 hours in available sun that ran from late afternoon to early evening (thanks to long summer days). I checked on it after the sunlight could not hit the reflectors anymore and the water was hot, enough to make yourself coffee or tea, or other use. Going back to my hypothesis, it was proven correct as none of the eggs came to a soft or hard boil. That's okay because now I know that the water will heat up enough to sterilize and to be used for cooking purposes. My only complaint is that one of the aluminum reflectors was flimsy and could be peeled off easily if not careful. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to using this on my next camping trip.

You like NOT getting sick from bad drinking water? Yes. Us, too. We camp for extended periods of time and need good water. Solar is our go-to first choice for charging, cooking, and sterilizing. We have typically abundant sunshine and try to use it wisely. This portable solar kettle was an experiment with lackluster performance. Does it work? Yes, pretty much, although not highly efficient, fast or perhaps reliable over time. Unit arrived in good shape. Opening the plastic panels revealed very thin aluminiumized film glued down very poorly. Ripples were clearly evident in both panels. The vacumn and relief valve looks good, as does the screw on stopper. The entire housing is thin, flexible plastic which may not be sturdy over time. We are careful packers, but gear in panniers is a necessity. We are hopeful for future performance and very unhappy with out of the box poor rippled panels.