Microwave oven

[summerwind]

I am seriously considering fitting a microwave oven rather than a gas oven to replace my gas 2 burner hob. I have seen an excellent model (I think) sold by Argos at a saving of £50.00 from the gas oven I was considering.

Has anyone got experience of using microwaves aboard? Any comments - good or bad?

Thanks for any contributions.

 

[ccscott49]

I have both onboard, roasting in a microwave, is just not the same as in a normal oven, IMHO. but a micro comes into its own for re-heating stuff at sea. Soups stews and the like, mine gets plenty of use. but I wpouldnt be without my normal oven for roast chicken, lamb, beef and cottage pies etc.

 

[Dreamers]

Which model are you looking at and how much is it?

 

[paulineb]

So I can expect some roast potatoes next time I come visiting ?

Pxx

 

[summerwind]

The model I have found is a Delonghi combination oven. Stainless steel casing, enamelled interior.

Acts as grill, fan oven or microwave with latest technology. (Roast spuds therefore still on the menu.)

Has 30 litre capacity, all sorts of programs and timers.

Price £299.00, including VAT and free delivery in UK. Gas oven quoted at £350.00 plus VAT plus delivery.

 

[Trevethan]

I hope you have big batteries and a bigger inverter!

The mircrowave element on that machine draws 1490 watts, the grill 1580w and the oven 1640 watts. Not sure if you can run all three together but grilling and microwaving together is going to pull over 3 kW from your battery banks at times!

Regards,

Nick

 

[summerwind]

Thanks for the info Nick.

I'm not too worried about the power draw as I have a 5.5KVA (Nominal) generator that should cope. I am far more concerned about reliability in a damper atmosphere than would be experienced in the normal domestic situation for which the oven is designed.

 

[Trevethan]

I wouldn't worry too much about the damp, after all ovens produce vast amounts of hot wet air whether they are on a boat or in a kitchen. Also kitchens tend to be a bit damp anyways. If you are concerned about longevity suggest you take out an extended warranty. You can normally get a 5 year one for most domestic appliances. But weigh warranty cost with replacement cost of oven. If the warranty is much over £150 then I'd not bother. Should you need to make a claim I'd probably not mention the oven is used onboard a boat! If you don't want to to that I think if you buy it on a Barclaycard you get an extra years warranty on durable goods (not sure though)

That oven is one I was considering but since I don't have a genny and shore power is rated at 10 amps the oven at 3 kW pulls what 12.5 amps, I didn;t think it was the right solution. Will stick with regular microwave and blow torch for browning *grin*

 

[ccscott49]

Pauline! I thought you had gone off me! You are more than welcome, for anything your heart desires! But I do love roats spuds, as you could see by my boyish figure!! I leave for the ballearics about 15 may, see you there?

 

[southchinasea]

My boat arrives in September with a mircowave fitted but I am unsure of the rating. I have a genset as well but don't particularly want to crank it up every time I need power on anchor. Domesitc battery bank 410AH Gel.
A couple of stupid questions.
1. If my inverter is 1500W (it is), what happens is there is a say a 1600W
draw from the microwave, or indeed any other appliance? Does the appliance
keep operating at lower power or does the inverter shut the current off?
2. SWMBO is also worried about the hair dryer!!! Anyone know what a hair dryer
draws?
Cheers

 

[ccscott49]

Normally a 1500w inverter will run for a limited period at 1800w, then it sounds a warning and shuts down. Hairdryers are about 500w, so that will be ok, micros are normally 500w mains power so your 1500w inverter will be fine. But remember all mains appliances draw a lot of current at12/24 volt and flatten batteries at an alarming rate! Most of the modern inverters will not allow them to flatten your batteries, as they have a low voltage cut out aswell. I find my inverter invaluable for running mains fans and my freezer (much cheaper then "marine" freezers) overnight and only need to run my 4 kw genny for a couple of hours a day to replace the power, if at anchor. If I'm at sea, I'm a motor sailer, so generally have one engine running in the med, so don't worry about power. We have a 330ah 24 volt domestic bank of batteries. They also run two 24 volt fridges etc.

 

[Trevethan]

Most invertors can supply more than their rated power for brief periods of time. Things like fridges use a lot of power when they first start up and good quality invertors can handle this.

A regular microwave will draw much less than the DeLonghi mentioned. The Delonghi has a microwave power output of 1000W and draws 1500 w, therefore a 500w microwave isn't likely to draw much more than 750 - 800 w. So you should be OK.

As for hairdryers, their power consumption should be printed on the side of the handle somewhere. Mosr run between 1000-1500w I think. My wife's is 1200 w

I am fairly sure I have seen 12v hairdryers around. Perhaps a better solution?

 

[HaraldS]

Don't worry. I had two laptops plugged in and then ran a 1600W hot air gun from my 1500W inverter, no problem. You regular microwave will be below 1000W and the hair dryer a lot less.

 

[southchinasea]

Thanks for all the usual very useful feedback.
Cheers