Microwave Power

[Outlaw 38MB]

I would like the convenience of using my microwave for short periods without shore power or generator. My last RV had the microwave conveniently running off the inverter with less of a house battery bank. Can I power the microwave from the outlet powering the dinette TV without issue? Thanks

[twinboat]

You need at least a 1500 watt inverter. A 2000 would be better. That and enough battery capacity to support it.

What size inverter do you have ? Most are clearly marked.

[Outlaw 38MB]

Specs say my inverter is 1800 watts. Sounds like it might work. Again, not looking to cook a roast in the microwave, but would like to heat a cup of coffee without generator start. Thanks

[hclarkx]

Originally Posted by Outlaw 38MB

Specs say my inverter is 1800 watts. Sounds like it might work. Again, not looking to cook a roast in the microwave, but would like to heat a cup of coffee without generator start. Thanks

You might find that the inverter will kick off under the heavy microwave load when the batteries have aged or when they are at a lower charge level (or both). This will be in indication that battery voltage is dropping somewhere below 12V when the microwave is running. This will be mostly just a nuisance and require inverter reset (if in fact it does occur).

This happened to us a lot when we had lead-acid batteries. My solution was to replace the microwave with a 950W inverter type from Panasonic (about $90 at the time). Unlike a standard microwave which cycles on and off at full power when you turn the heat down, it runs continuously at a lower power level. When the battery could not handle high power, we ran the unit on level 5 (half power) and doubled the cooking/heating time. Been doing this for five years. Currently running it on a 900W inverter and never use it above level 6 or 7 (normally level 5).

There are other advantages to the continuous lower heat ... like oatmeal not overflowing!

[Outlaw 38MB]

Thank you all! You have been very helpful and have verified my theory. I will give it a shot with an extension cord to an inverter supplied outlet before running any permanent wire. Worse case it might overload the 1800 watt inverter, but I don't think so long as a lot of other load is not on. Sure will be nice to be able to heat a quick cup of water in the morning without waking up the wife. We love dry camping!!!

[Finance]

Some microwave ovens don’t play nice with MSW inverter power. Ours worked, but at less efficiency than shore power and it made strange noises. Replaced the inverter with PSW and it’s all good now.