The Green Pail Retained Heat Cooker

The Green Pail retained heat cooker holds many foods at cooking temps long enough that simmering is not necessary it will hold 7 liters of pintos hot long enough to cook them well done and keep them above 170 deg F for 5 hours.

The Green pail is basically an inner shell isolated from an outer shell with loose fill insulation.

The Green Pail retained heat cooker is green because:
1- It is made from recycled plastic pails
2- It saves the energy that it takes to simmer food.
3- It keeps the heat out of the kitchen saving summer time ac cost
4- It can be made locally from local materials with local labor.
5- It saves the time necessary to watch food simmer, you can simply set it and forget it, walk away and leave it for hours.
6- It can hold food at safe temps between meals making refrigeration unnecessary, which could be handy in off grid situations.
7- It is a street vender micro enterprise design that someone could build and sell at flea markets, garage sales.

7 Liters of Pintos of Cooked Well Done.

7 Liters of pintos of cooked well done.

7 Liters Held to 174 Deg F for 4.75 Hours

7 Liters held to 174 deg F for 4.75 hours

The Green Pail Parts

The Green Pail is made from 2- 9" cake pans, that cost $1.50 each at the dollar store, 30" of 14" wide aluminum, that cost $2 at Home Depot, 2 lids, a 5-gallon plastic pail and some screws and sawdust.

The Inner Shell Is Cut

The aluminum is cut for the inner shell, with enough length for lap.

The Inner Shell Is Sized

The aluminum is fitted tight to the cake pans, which act as heads for the inner shell.

Now to Make the Cap

The insulated cap is made of two parts, a lid and a cake pan/head filled with insulation.
Part of the flange is removed from the lid.

Two Lock Tabs Are Left So That It Is Easy to Install and Remove.

Two lock tabs are left so that it is easy to install and remove.

The Rolled Flange Is Cut in 4 Places

The rolled flange is cut in 4 places

And Flattened So There Is Enough Room to Install the Screws

and flattened so there is enough room to install the screws

The Pan/head Is Filled With Insulation

The pan/head is filled with insulation

And Screwed to the Lid

And screwed to the lid

Size the Inner Shell for Its Length

To size the inner shell for its length, it is installed in the pail

And the Lid Is Installed and Measured

And the lid is installed
The amount of the inner shell to be trimmed is measured

The Inner Shell Is Marked

The inner shell is marked

The Inner Shell Is Trimmed

The inner shell is trimmed

The Head on the Cap Should Fit Tight in the Inner Shell

The head on the cap should fit tight in the inner shell

The Ring Is Made

A ring is made from one of the lids to blank off the inner shell and outer shell to retain the loose fill insulation. The outer flange of the ring is trimmed away.