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My Invention: Double Layer Glass Microwave Cooker¹ (Uses greenhouse effect / pressure cooker effect)

By Howard Best, August 2, 2008

(LLBest.com)

Photos by Doug Maki

Here are 2 ideas for microwave cookers which purportedly save energy and improve performance:

1. “Souper 1 Step” (http://www.kreativekoncepts.com/): $15 + shipping

2. “Tater Quick” (http://www.cookwarespecialist.com/): $19.95 + shipping

My idea is better, and it uses off-the-shelf parts.

The idea is to construct a microwave cooker which has the following characteristics:

1. Crystal clear glass so that you can tell when the preparation begins to boil.

2. Two layers of thick glass with an air space in between so that the microwaves can get in, but the heat has trouble getting out. (Greenhouse effect.)

3. Restricted exit path for the steam so that steam pressure builds up. (Pressure cooker effect.)

4. Easy to disassemble and clean.

If the above 4 requirements are met, then the result will be an extremely efficient microwave cooker which requires very little power.

Here’s what you need to purchase from Wal-Mart^®:

1. Anchor Hocking Company (anchorhocking.com) 8 piece microwavable, thick, crystal clear glass bakeware set (rings up as “8PC STORAGE”) consisting of a 1 cup bowl, a 2 cup bowl, a 4 cup bowl, and a 7 cup bowl each with a tight fitting microwavable plastic lid: $9.97 (Only the two largest bowls will be used.)

2. 2 pieces of Anchor Hocking microwavable, thick, crystal clear glass 9.5 inch pie bakeware: $5.42 each. (These serve as a heavy lid which not only insulates, but also helps to keep some steam pressure inside.)

To get the above 3 items ready for use, do the following (Don’t worry. The lids are microwavable.):

1. Drill a ¼ inch hole in the center of the plastic lid that fits the 4 cup bowl.

2. Drill 4 equally spaced ⅛ inch holes, each about 1 inch from the center of the lid that fits the 7 cup bowl.

Here's what you do:

1. IMPORTANT: Make sure that the inside of the microwave oven² and all 6 parts of the cooker are bone dry. If they are not bone dry, then dry them thoroughly with paper towels.

2. Put the preparation to be cooked into the 4 cup bowl.

3. Put the lid on the bowl.

4. Put the bowl inside of the 7 cup bowl.

5. Put the corresponding lid on that bowl also.

6. Put the container into the microwave oven and heat at full power until the preparation comes to a vigorous boil.

7. Stop the microwave and put the 2 pieces of pie bakeware on top, upside down.

8. Microwave at one tenth power¹. (60 minutes¹ for split peas or 20 minutes¹ for macaroni, for example.)

Using the above method results in very low power consumption.

Here are the results using a “P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor” (US$24.98) to measure the amount of electricity consumed:

1. Cooking ½ cup of split peas for 60 minutes¹: 0.24 kilowatt-hours. (Less than 3 cents worth of electricity!)

2. Cooking ½ cup of rice for 20 minutes¹: 0.11 kilowatt-hours. (About 1 penny’s worth of electricity!)

3. Cooking 1 cup of macaroni for 20 minutes¹: 0.11 kilowatt-hours.

¹ Using this revolutionary cooker, the same amount of water, the same power level and the same cooking time will work with any and all microwave ovens, new or old, turntable or no turntable, guaranteed!

² I leave the doors of both of my microwave ovens slightly open when not in use, so that the insides of the microwaves can dry out. My solution to the problem of the microwaves’ lights being on is to plug them into multiple outlet strips and to turn the strips off when the ovens are not in use.

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