PERFORMANCE AND TESTING OF 2 MODELS OF SOLAR COOKER FOR ANIMAL FEED

Two simple solar cookers, one made of clay and locally available mater ials, and the other of exfoliated vermiculite and cement tiles, have b een designed, fabricated and tested. The comparative performance of bo th cookers is described, and their efficiencies are 22.6 (day) and 24. 9% (vermiculite), respectively. The cookers are capable of boiling 2 k g of animal feed per day, and represent the equivalent of 1350 MJ of f uel per year at Jodhpur. Payback periods for solar cookers made of ver miculite tiles vary from 0.50 to 3.47 years, depending upon the fuel t hey replace. The shorter payback period suggests that the use of the c ooker is economical.