Make the sun work for you in the kitchen...

Quasar

OK so now the heathwave may be over, and I really should have posted this before, but there will still be hot summer days.

I fill glass bottles up to 3/4 with fresh water, seal them and keep on the window in direct sunlight. They heat up considerably and when I need hot water during the day, say to boil the kettle, I pour some from one of the bottles. It's so hot that it boils in seconds, not even minutes. Ditto for cooking, washing dishes etc.

The bottles need to be glass, as plastic ones get all soft and some even melt. Or even a metal container, or a pan with the lid on so you have hot water ready to start cooking. Please note that glass bottles will get quite hot, so handle them with care.

Little things like that seem silly but they do add up and I find I save time, money, and do a little bit extra for the environment. I only have a small kitchen window facing west and in the summer I get direct sunlight for a few hours, but they do heat up sufficient water for my evening tea and cooking. Those with full south facing windows can do even better.

demented_2

What a great idea,:T :T will do that from now on.
Thanks for posting this as i am always looking to save both time
money and trying to be more green.
:A :A

Quasar

demented wrote:

What a great idea,:T :T will do that from now on.
Thanks for posting this as i am always looking to save both time
money and trying to be more green.
:A :A

Yeah, you'd be surprised how sunshine heat things up. Sometimes when I open one of those bottles the water is steaming out.

in_my_wellies

Have you ever left the hosepipe out on the lawn in the sun? The water gets very hot. My son wants me to use it for cooking but I think it might not be clean. I did suggest he used it to wash my car but that fell on deaf ears!

Quasar

in_my_wellies wrote:

Have you ever left the hosepipe out on the lawn in the sun? The water gets very hot. My son wants me to use it for cooking but I think it might not be clean. I did suggest he used it to wash my car but that fell on deaf ears!

I know it gets really hot. The water should not be dirty, but I wouldn't use it for cooking, let's say.

My mum, in Italy, has a cottage in the hills surrounded by orchards and gardens. She goes there daily to tend the garden. She leaves a large metal container out in the sun, filled with water, and she uses it for washing stuff and even freshen up herself. At no cost whatever.

We can find lots of way to use the sun's heat, which is free and available to all of us.

[Deleted User]

Never thought of trying this. I've got a few glass bottles lying around and it is sunny outside so I may give it a go tody and see what happens.

needmoney

Quasar wrote:

My mum, in Italy, has a cottage in the hills surrounded by orchards and gardens. She goes there daily to tend the garden. quote]


That sounds really lovely.

[Deleted User]

what a fantastic idea

Skiduck

just be careful of legionella, make sure your water is not stored at around 42 degrees.

black-saturn

Skiduck wrote:

just be careful of legionella, make sure your water is not stored at around 42 degrees.

Why what would happen to it then?

Ken68

Brilliant Quasar, I use this in the greenhouse with a black painted kettle, but bottles of hot water sound more usable......