solar haybox -more thoughts

i'm liking this style: low bodied, wide marine cooler.

http://tinyurl.com/y7hrayw
the long low body lets more sun in
the marine cooler specs say these coolers resist warping and cracking with extended sun exposure [kind of a must for a solar oven]
there are a variety of sizes and shapes with varying descriptions on amazon. i'm thinking of heading to the boat store some weekend to put my hands and measuring tape on some of them.a couple of them say they have lock in place hinges/lid supports which would be ideal for the solar aspect.the other thought i was mulling over was how to protect the bottom of the cooler from what i hope will become a VERY hot pot of food.

still torn between an inch of cork covered in mylar or silicone mats [or a layer of silicone square potholders since i can often find those on sale]
and don't worry, an inch thick cork rectangle is really easy to find. ikea makes a set of trivets for super cheap.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00078414



there's one on the left side of my glass topped stove right now, acting as a lid/pot rest when i have to remove things from the heat. putting a hot pot on a cold glass stove is just begging to have a nasty incident.

i think this weekend i'll do a small scale test with a mylar emergency blanket that's in my camping gear, a small cooler i have and my littlest all black cast iron pot and some water.

i won't make it permanent though because that's not a large enough cooler for actually using a pot that could hold a whole meal. and it's brand new, only been used to transport gelatin edible hearts and 'blooderfingers' to the set of a zombie movie ... but that's another post for another time