microwave on my boat

[dilly]

hi guys i was thinking of a microwave on my boat its a moody 34 with a 50hp eng. thinking what is out there and running it at sea if i could. i need some help on the type and make of one i dont need on but would like one lol thanks guys

 

[sailorman]

hi guys i was thinking of a microwave on my boat its a moody 34 with a 50hp eng. thinking what is out there and running it at sea if i could. i need some help on the type and make of one i dont need on but would like one lol thanks guys

we bought a Hinari 850watt with a touch panel rather than knobs n buttons.
we have a Struder pure sine wave 1200watt inverter, a modified sine wave would not start the microwave. we have 345Ahr of domestics but do run the engine if more than a few mins are req

 

[maxi77]

hi guys i was thinking of a microwave on my boat its a moody 34 with a 50hp eng. thinking what is out there and running it at sea if i could. i need some help on the type and make of one i dont need on but would like one lol thanks guys

Just think 750 watts is over 60 amps at 12V, thats some serious cable if nothing else.

 

[auditdata]

I have this 12 Volt one. Just refurbishing the interior for sunnier climes so it is available PM me if you are interested.

 

[GrahamM376]

We have a Hinari (£29.99) Use in marinas/boatyard or on generator at anchor (not often).

 

[dunmor]

are the 12v ones any good?

 

[sailorman]

are yhe 12v ones any good?

in the end they all use the same Amp hrs

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I have a normal Panasonic one from John Lewis running of an inverter or shore power.

Yes, they all use the same amp hours, but it is only ever on for short periods so who cares.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Have you looked at smaller microwaves?

I have been considering the Daewoo QT2 600watts or Sanyo EM 700 watts; however, would my 1000 watts inverter be able to start these microwaves?

 

[maxi77]

If using an invertor will your invertor waveform suit your oven, or will you have to invest in a pure sinewave version

 

[ianabc]

Welding cables

Welding cables sheathed in shrink wrap or pvc pipe provide a huge cross section cable.

 

[William_H]

Microwave cooker

For a microwave cooker on a boat you have a few options. You can buy an ordinary domestic MW very cheaply. You need 240v AC to run it. If you are at a pontoon with mains power this is really good.
Other options are to fit a 12v to 240v inverter. You will need a sine wave inverter (possibly) about 1000watts and huge wiring to large battery bank. On 12v this is quite inefficient as 12v gets converted to 340vDC then switched to make the 240v AC this then goes into the MW to be transformed to 1000 odd VDC and lower voltage for filaments.
Another option is to fit a 240VAC alternator to your main engine and run the engine when cooking or fit a 240vAC generator. Check if it produces sine wave as many don't. You will probably have to run a generator or main engine for any serious (protracted) cooking.
For running off 12vDC the most efficient is the purpose built 12vDC MW. Expensive but with only one conversion 12vDC to 1000VDC does not waste a lot of power. Of course it might take 2/3 or 1/2 of the battery power of an inverter to MW it still takes a lot of DC current. (and they tend to be lower power cooking.
So if you operate only on 12vdc then the 12v MW would be best but if you operate from powered mooring much of the time then a domestic one is best with an inverter if you want to operate at sea.
good luck olewill

 

[ALPHORA]

I have looked at several small 240v AC microwaves in the past. One thing I did discover is that the labelled 'cooking' power is probably close to the microwave output power, the input power is often 25% higher. It is worth looking at the small print as microwaves do not appear to be very efficient in converting the power.

 

[Jassira]

I read somewhere, but can't remember where, that the older microwaves with the dials where a lot more likely to work with a square wave inverters, something to do with the electronic controls being the bits that can't handle a square wave.

 

[GrahamM376]

12 volt microwaves are very expensive to buy and to replace. They are also stand-alone units whereas a generator or inverter can also be used for powering tools and other items, as well a cheap domestic microwave.

 

[greenalien]

I have spent several years looking into this. First, I tried a 12v microwave. I wasn't impressed, as it needed a long run of thick cable to site it where I wanted it to go, and I then found it still didn't fit the available space - the box was a lot deeper than a mains microwave, due to the extra electronics. The widely-distributed Samsung model that is often available on Ebay is actually only 450W cooking power and is now discontinued by the manufacturer, so may be difficult to get repaired if it should go wrong.
I eventually settled on a 1000W soft-start inverter - modified sine-wave type - and a cheap 800W Tesco microwave - the sort with rotating timer knobs, not the touch-screen type. This arrangement works perfectly well - the inverter can be mounted close to the battery bank, keeping the heavy-duty cable run to a minimum, and the remaining mains cable run to the microwave can be as long as you want - and the total cost was under £140.
I have a reasonably large service battery bank - 400AH - if you have anything much smaller, you will want to start your engine before running the microwave, and make sure your alternator can handle the load!
As a bonus, the inverter will also run power tools such as drills and angle grinders.

 

[Bobobolinsky]

Agree about 12v MW, they are expensive on cabling and purchase. I have a Samsung Junior (not aboard at the minute as son uses as a bedroom bottle warmer). When I bought it cost was £68 the 12v version was £354. I have a Tesco 17 Litre (Presently on sale for £25) and only use it when I have hook up. The startup is twice the output wattage.

 

[Sandyman]

Being liveaboards I could never see the point of having a microwave onboard, but after much hassling from SWMBO I agreed to install one last year. Got a cheapo 29 quid stainless steel 750w jobbie from ASDA. Works a treat & wouldn't be without it now and at that price if we get a couple of years out of it then will be more than happy.

 

[pcatterall]

We decided that rather than fit a gas oven we would just fit a hob with a 'mains ' microwave in the space saved.
This is mainly for marina use but we will position a large inverter near the batteries ( as above) I plan to have a short extension from there to the shore power hook up so as to to have 240v to my sockets includeing the one for the microwave.
Only for a few minutes and with engine running.