Microwave Ovens

[bobbert]

Are 12-volt microwave ovens any good? Do they actually work? I want to buy a microwave, but am unsure about what type of inverter to get that will be compatible. Should I just get a low-wattage 110-volt microwave, &amp; get an expensive inverter?<div><br></div><div>Here's the 12-volt microwave:</div><div><a href="http://www.roadtrucker.com/12-volt-microwave-wavebox/12-volt-microwave.htm" target="_blank">http://www.roadtrucker.com/12-volt-microwave-wavebox/12-volt-microwave.htm</a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.roadtrucker.com/12-volt-microwave-wavebox/12-volt-microwave.htm" target="_blank">Thanks in advance-</a></div><div><br></div>

 

[ped]

<P>You can get a modified sine wave. You just need one big enough to handle the startup load. With an 800w microwave a 1500W or 2000W inverter will do.</P>

 

[Les H]

And dont forget that it is recommended to run your engine while using it unless you have a kickass solar setup. Of course, if you have 110 shore power available, you wouldn't need to run the engine.

 

[ped]

It shouldn't take that much power.<BR><BR>800w / 12v = 66A <BR><BR>That's 1.1 amps per minute.<BR>

 

[bobbert]

I'm just gonna&nbsp;say the heck with it &amp;&nbsp;buy the AIMS 2000 watt inverter-<div>It oughta be good enuff to power a microwave, especially since it says so on their website-&nbsp;</div><div>After all, I already have a small microwave anyways-</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.invertersrus.com/inv2000ps.html" target="_blank">AIMS Inverter</a></div>

 

[ped]

<P>Look on amazon. You can get them for around $100. That one you linked to is a pure sine wave and those are always high $$. I've never had a problem with the modified sinewave inverters myself. The pure sine are supposed to be for like laser jet printers or delicate electronics. Something you probably not going to have in a van/rv.</P>

 

[bobbert]

By the way, if I were to put the inverter in the rear of the vehicle, what gauge wire should I use to wire it up? The battery will be under the hood, using the car battery only, while the vehicle is running &amp; charging, while operating the inverter &amp; microwave.<div>Once again, Thanks in advance-</div>

 

[ped]

Biggest you can get. At least 4 gauge. Be careful though running off the main battery is going to be hard on it and eventually cause premature failure. It's just not designed for that. You can get 125ah deep cycles at walmart for $85 and just plug a standard&nbsp;charger into the cig port. That's what I would do personally.<BR><BR>Or better yet with the money you were going to spend on the pure sine wave inverter you can get two of those 125ah&nbsp;batteries, a modified sine&nbsp;wave inverter&nbsp;and a 85W (~40 amps a day) solar panel with a charge controller.<BR>

 

[VanTramp]

By the way, if I were to put the inverter in the rear of the vehicle, what gauge wire should I use to wire it up? The battery will be under the hood, using the car battery only, while the vehicle is running &amp; charging, while operating the inverter &amp; microwave.<div>Once again, Thanks in advance-</div>

<div><br></div><div>AC travels way better than DC power. In other words, mount your inverter as close to the 12v source as possible with the best cabling you can. My Prosine 2.5 is mounted 4 feet from the battery bank with 2/0 Gauge welding cable. From there, the AC power is distributed &nbsp;through a breaker panel as needed to other areas of the van. Makes for a very solid setup. BTW, we have a remote panel that shows all the current in and out of the battery bank so I can tell how much our microwave actually uses (84 amps on high) and the toaster/convection oven (106 amps during a cooking cycle). For typical cooking times, both work just fine without using too much from our energy "budget". As mentioned, running the van is a good idea while running those larger drawing appliances too, but we usually don't and haven't had a problem.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;</div>

 

[bobbert]

Well, I went ahead &amp; ordered an AIMS 2000 watt inverter today. It only set me back a walloping $420, but it'll prolly pay for itself in the long run.&nbsp;<div>Is this a good company to deal with?</div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://invertersupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;products_id=42" target="_blank">AIMS 2000 WATT INVERTER</a></div>

 

[ped]

<P>Yikes <IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif"></P>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Sounds like the AIMS will be a nice inverter.&nbsp; In retrospect I wish I'd gotten&nbsp;a pure sine inverter but the modified sine works for most everything.&nbsp; The microwave doesn't like&nbsp;it too much though.&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I recently decided to disconnect my 600 Watt Haier microwave from the house inverter.&nbsp; It works fine and I was able to run it from the 460AH batteries and 2500 watt inverter&nbsp;but it really packs a whallop to the house battery bank.&nbsp; I've decided to lean toward the cautious side a little.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I have&nbsp;the microwave&nbsp;wired into an outlet strip with the accessories that I want&nbsp;to run ONLY from shore power:&nbsp; the space heater, toaster oven, and microwave.&nbsp; Those appliances are powered by outside electric hookups for now but will all be run from an outside generator starting this spring.&nbsp; As much as I like the microwave, I want to take it as easy as possible on the house batteries.&nbsp; </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Brad</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://vantrekker.blogspot.com" target=_blank>http://vantrekker.blogspot.com</a></p>