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View Full Version : Who Sells 12 VDC Microwave Oven ?



silverghost
01-18-2012, 09:32 AM
Who sells a very small & compact
12 Volt DC Microwave Oven ?

I have a small sink/wet-bar area in my 24 foot I/B American Skier Super Eagle skiboat and want to hang a small Microwave Oven in this enclosed area.

I have had a small 12 Volt DC TV in there for years to watch the Eagles & Phillys games ~~~But this TV no longer works with the new off-air antenna digital broadcast signals.

I do not want to have to add a 12 Volt DC to 115Volt AC/DC inverter to power it~~~If I don't have to do so .

Who sells a very small & compact Microwave Oven ?

dsparis
01-18-2012, 09:54 AM
http://www.thewavebox.com/

zelatore
01-18-2012, 12:06 PM
I know you said you don't want to, but I'd still look hard at putting a simple inverter in. It just makes sense.

First, look at the price of that 12v microwave - $350 + their proprietary power kit to make it work on 12v. Throw in a few bucks for shipping and misc. installation stuff and it's $400.

You can pick up a cheap microwave from Walmart or whatever your favorite local chinese product distribution center is for about $60.

You don't need a nice sine-wave inverter for this sort of work. A cheap modified sine wave unit around 1000-1500 watts should do the trick and be under $150.

You'll need some heavy gage wiring (you'd need some anyway for the 12v micro) and fuse, etc for the installation, so let's be generous and say you spend $100 on those materials.

I'm still less than the cost of that 12v microwave alone.

The installation is easy, and now you can not only run your microwave but you can also save money by picking up any old TV instead of looking for a specialized 12v unit that costs 4x as much. You can also recharge your laptop or phone or plug in whatever small appliance you want (depending on power draw).

I've done lots of inverters - small units like this are a piece of cake to install. I'd really suggest going that route over 12v appliances. Cheaper and more flexible.

Heck, if you were here on the left (right :wink:) coast I'd even come over and install it for you! I've got most of the stuff sitting around the shop right now.

Tidbart
01-18-2012, 01:42 PM
My thought is a microwave won't last very long. They aren't made to be punished the way they will be in a small boat.

Just out of curiosity, why a microwave in a ski boat?

B

farmer tx
01-18-2012, 11:29 PM
((Just out of curiosity, why a microwave in a ski boat?))


Must be :popcorn: time:)

silverghost
01-19-2012, 10:33 AM
Thanks for all your answers so far~

No need to break-out the popcorn~

When you usually think about a skiboat~ a 19 foot Mastercraft or Correctcraft usually comes to mind.
My American Skier Super Eagle is 24 foot in length, with an 8foot beam.
The boat also has lots of freeboard, with an open bowrider bow & open interior configuration ; also with a center clamshell type motorbox over my FWC Big Block Chevy.
The builder's sticker says the boat will hold 12 persons.
This is a really BIG skiboat with lots on interior room.
It's in reality a BIG conventional inboard boat that I use for general boating & fishing.
It's a euro-style bowrider/speedboat that will handle fairly heavy seas well.
It looks much like a present day Chris ~Craft Lancer~~~Only slightly bigger.
It stays in the water all season long for six+ months.
I use it to fish & ride in the very early spring through well into October.
I also ski & wakeboard & tube during the summer months at times.
I wanted to put a small microwave in the sink/wet-bar area to make myself a hot lunch, heat liquids like soup etc,~~~frozen "Pizza for one" & "Hot Pockets " snacks, etc while fishing in late fall chilly striped bass season etc.
When I go out fishing I am usualy out from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM .
I am a real diehard fisherman.

Zelatore~
Three seasons ago I bough a small compact 1000 watt marine DC/AC inverter at West Marine.
Not very expensive as I remember .

As a test~
I connected it directly to one battery with heavy gauge auto style starter/battery cables on the top battery stud lugs.
The Battery was a new 24 case size with 950+ CCA
Just for the heck of it, as a test, I took the old 600 watt 115 Volt microwave out of my office set in in the boat and plugged it in directly into the inverter's 115 volt AC sockets.
No long 115 volt wire connections.
I tried to fire-up the microwave & immediately blew the inverter units in-built fuse.
Tried again with new fuse with same result.
The Microwave would not start properly.
The Microwave is still working today ~~~in my office.
The Inverter simply would not handle the high in-rush/starting current of this 600 watt microwave.
The microwave's initial high in-rush current is possibly much more than the inverter's 1000 Watt capacity ?
I had planned to later run #12/three (two AC power +ground) conductor cable to my sink/wet-bar area from the battery compartment mounted inverter, & buy that cheap small imported 115 Volt ,hanging bracket /under cabinet, microwave you spoke about.
I never got that far because of that failed inverter load test.
I have a battery switch with twin batteries.
I run my engine on one battery ;while I have my "Toys" Stereo, VHF, & Dephsounder, etc on the other battery.
I also use a 12 Volt solid-state chilled portable ice/chest camping fridge that works very well for the cold drinks & food.
I can swap batteries from the engine & it's starter to my "Toys" at will ~~~back and forth to keep the accessory"Toy" accessory battery charged-up.
I usuall plug-in my automatic 12VDC charger back at my boatslip after a trip to re-charge my accessory "Toy" second battery..

Any Ideas on why this inverter set-up did not work on the 600 Watt 115 Volt AC microwave ?

zelatore
01-19-2012, 06:09 PM
I suspect that your microwave might have a 600w 'output' in the form of cooking power, but of course it would draw more than that on the input. I bet if you look on the back of the unit, somewhere near the power cord it will list the power consumption either in watts or amps.

I tried looking on-line at a few microwave makers' websites to see if I could find power consumption specs, but didn't find anything. I'd check the unit in my boat, but I won't be there until next week. I'd check the unit at my house, but it's a built-in and I don't really feel like taking it out of the wall. :) Yeah, I'm just lazy that way.

I suppose it's possible that your microwave didn't like the modified sine wave output of your cheap inverter, but I've run microwaves on modified sine wave units before without problems. Since you blew the fuse, I'm guessing the start up power draw was simply more than your inverter could supply. Might not be a problem with a 1500w inverter, and you can get them pretty cheap on-line. Heck, I think I've got a 1200w inverter sitting around here somewhere still in the box that was picked up for some project than never happened.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-19-2012, 07:17 PM
A microwave might have a huge initial voltage surge on startup which might explain the problem with the inverter. Bill

hardcrab
01-19-2012, 07:48 PM
"sterno" ............ :kingme:

dsparis
01-20-2012, 08:43 AM
Its not the watts that matters so much, its the amps. Even the small household units will draw 12-15 amps because of the transformer and capacitor. The a/c voltage is stepped up then converted to d/c to power the magnetron which converts it to r/f.

zelatore
01-20-2012, 12:26 PM
It's not the watts that matter.....


Er, w=va

It's not a suggestion. It's the (ohm's) law.


Unless you are referring to the microwave's output watts, in which case I've already mentioned that above in post 7.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-20-2012, 02:01 PM
Ohm's law is I=V/R. Joule's law is P=IV. Power (watts) is equal to amperes times volts.