# 12v microwave



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Has anyone used a 12v microwave on their boat?
Good or bad?

Thanks,
Reddirt


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

Don't know about 12v microwaves but I have a 110v unit and it draws vast amounts of power. We use it rarely.

I can't think why a 12v one would have different power consumption but then again, I'm not a specialist.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

There was a thread a few months back about a 12 volt 650 watt ? unit it was not real impressive and pulled a killer amount of amps


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

*Also, running them on low-voltage kills them.*

If they pull the inverter voltage down, don't expect them to live very long. We tend to use our (110v) only a the dock, but it will run on the inverter. and if it lasts 3-4 years for $100... no big deal.

I have seen 12v models...$$$$$$$$. Probably triple.


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## TractorJohn (Sep 9, 2008)

*Microwave was best upgrade to cabin*

This isn't 12 volts but, I tossed out the factory alchohol stove and found a small 750 watt microwave that fit the space. I use a 2500watt inverter powered by two 100 amp rv batteries. I kept a daily log of microwave use and the results are that the microwave ran for 56 minutes (intermitent use)before he inverter low voltage alarm went off. This was a weeks cruising two years ago. Now I keep the batteries topped up with a small solar panel and the outboard. The alarm has never gone off again. 
Next to fixing window and deck leaks, the microwave is my best upgrade.
I know if you extensively cruised or cooked a turkey everyday it would not work for you but 56 minutes is a lot of microwave time for hotdogs and popcorn.
TJ


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Most I've seen are bad...a decent microwave needs to have at least 750 watts of power.... that's at least 65 amps @ 12VDC... You're alot better off with a real microwave (120 VAC) and using only when on shorepower...


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

I know I'm a bit of an oddity here (yeah yeah I know, spare me the obvious retorts) but I don't like food heated up in a microwave. Even left overs, I prefer to heat them up in a pan than zap 'em. Maybe a blind test would prove me to be talking through my arse but that's the way I feel.

At home we use the microwave to heat milk or to reheat a hot drink and to reheat boiled rice. Don't think thats enough use to justify having one on board. 

Friends of ours who have one on their Beneteau 50 and they reckon it makes a great bread bin.


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

*Yup, good points. We store plates in ours!*



tdw said:


> I know I'm a bit of an oddity here (yeah yeah I know, spare me the obvious retorts) but I don't like food heated up in a microwave. Even left overs, I prefer to heat them up in a pan than zap 'em. Maybe a blind test would prove me to be talking through my arse but that's the way I feel.
> 
> At home we use the microwave to heat milk or to reheat a hot drink and to reheat boiled rice. Don't think thats enough use to justify having one on board.
> 
> Friends of ours who have one on their Beneteau 50 and they reckon it makes a great bread bin.


When cruising we have the time to cook. That is the point... to have time.


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## Valiente (Jun 16, 2006)

Let's not forget that a microwave is an excellent Faraday cage during a lightning storm.

Whether you'd want to jam a laptop in one sideways is another question.


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## ardoin (Mar 8, 2008)

Faraday cage -- That's what they are best at. But you could get a metal ammo box to do the same. 6 Amp hours of draw to heat a cup of joe... not a very good use of power or space
I use mine as a Faraday cage and as a warn still place to raise dough when I make bread.


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## negrini (Apr 2, 2008)

tdw, I found my bad taste out of MWs due entire plate heated to same temp. One way to overcome a bit is, heating in steps rice, beans, meat, etc ... not wanting to bring back the discussion, my Honda EU2000 is perfect for popcorns and quick meals ....


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

negrini said:


> tdw, I found my bad taste out of MWs due entire plate heated to same temp. One way to overcome a bit is, heating in steps rice, beans, meat, etc ... not wanting to bring back the discussion, my Honda EU2000 is perfect for popcorns and quick meals ....


Take your point there but even so I still prefer a pan. What I also like is that you can adjust the flavour and/or seasoning as you go. Maybe that's the key to it.

Certainly I would never consider installing a MW into a boat, the faraday cage thing might convince me to not throw the thing overboard if the boat came with one.


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## tager (Nov 21, 2008)

I have a toaster oven in my boat. It is for use at the dock. It is the same size as a microwave, but is superior as a culinary item. It does take a lot more electricity to run, out of the question on battery power.


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

tdw said:


> Friends of ours who have one on their Beneteau 50 and they reckon it makes a great bread bin.


Heh heh heh, whenever we want to rustle up a bag of popcorn (the predominant use of the MW) we have to move all the bread out first.

Seems consensus it that the MW is really a non-essential. Glad I'm not alone on this.


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

I think it's all about wheter you have enough solar/wind power and whether propane is easy to get. As you get farther from civilization, I could see microwaves being great to have.

We have a 110v one. No inverter set-up yet. Wind generator comes first IMHO, since we are rarely on shore power.

For 12v, note that the wires will have to be huge *all the way from the batteries to the microwave*. Better to get an inverter and run a 110v microwave - putting the inverter near the batteries will mean shorter lengths of thick wires. The less expensive wires will offset the cost of the inverter, and you can use the inverter for other things too.


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## badsanta (Oct 16, 2006)

I have the wave box. It is underpowered compared to the home model. But I am often by myself and like the single serving prepared food. I really enjoy popping one in and not having to watch it. I am lucky to have a large battery and solar bank. It works for me and my system.


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## CarolynShearlock (Dec 3, 2010)

I had a 110-volt 800 watt microwave on our last boat. We had sufficient solar power (450 watts) and were cruising in the Sea of Cortez (lots of sun!) that we used the microwave on the inverter for popcorn probably at least every other day (my husband is addicted to popcorn, I'm certain). 

The BIG thing to note is that it won't be as powerful running off the inverter/batteries as it is off a generator or shore power. Every time we'd go to a marina and plug in, he'd burn the first bag of popcorn he'd make because he'd forget to adjust the time.

In El Salvador in the rainy season, with the most amazing lightning I've ever seen, we put the laptop in the oven and the handheld GPS and VHF, MP3 player and digital camera in the microwave. We never had a direct lightning hit, so I can't vouch for it working -- but we figured that since we knew they'd be toast if we left them out, we might as well.


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## FishSticks (Nov 16, 2007)

*If you were born after 1980 please read this*

To the new generation of sailors out there .... are you aware that it is possible to pop corn over a fire in a covered pan?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Local grocery store makes homemade style meals in microwave containers. Meatloaf, lasagna, chicken parm, and they last about 6 days in the fridge. Warm in micro in 3 minutes. 

While I prefer to cook, its nice to have a quick hot 3 min meal at the end of a long hard day sometimes. A microwave and genset are on my nice to have cruising list.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

FishSticks said:


> To the new generation of sailors out there .... are you aware that it is possible to pop corn over a fire in a covered pan?


And you can buy the popcorn pre-packaged in an aluminum foil pan....


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## newhaul (Feb 19, 2010)

jiffy pop on the alcohol stove takes about 10 minutes tastes better to me than nuked i have two Aladdin thermoses one coffee one hot water stays hot for most of the day just prep in the morning when cooking breakfast the weight of not having MW means extra 25 or 30 lbs food/water/fuel


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

We still buy Jiffy Pop and do it on the stove.....Something about watching the aluminum ball rise on the pan and getting a few kernals of burnt corn makes my wife and I nostalgic

Dave


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

FishSticks said:


> *If you were born after 1980 please read this*
> 
> To the new generation of sailors out there .... are you aware that it is possible to pop corn over a fire in a covered pan?


:laugher

Sailing is suposed to be old school...ish.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

pdqaltair said:


> :laugher
> 
> Sailing is suposed to be old school...ish.


Awesome. I'm going to tell my teenage daughter than I'm young and hip, cuz I use electricity.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

Jiffy-pop works fine on a grill as well, so you don't have to smell popcorn below ...


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## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

sailingdog said:


> Most I've seen are bad...a decent microwave needs to have at least 750 watts of power.... that's at least 65 amps @ 12VDC... You're alot better off with a real microwave (120 VAC) and using only when on shorepower...


You forget the start up surge of about a 1000 +/- watts..then settles down to what ever the rating of the appliance is..

Which by the way a Honda 2K generator handles it just fine...based on VAC figures.


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## svHyLyte (Nov 13, 2008)

We have an Origo Microwave aboard (tho' that unit has now been discontinued and replaced by the Tappan ICM-TM7030). The rated power is 750 watts and requires 1250 watts of input power at 110 volts which, aboard our boat, is provided by a Heart Freedom 2000 Inverter/Charger drawing power from a 450Ah bank.

Before we make a passage my wife always pre-prepares a number of evening meals that she vacuum packs and freezes. On passage, each day she thaws the evening meal and at supper-time pops the pouches into the microwave for a minute or two each. It is very nice to have a tasty hot supper without a lot of effort and without heating up the boat--particularly in the summer here on the southwest coast of Florida. The vacuum pouches are also convenient during bad weather as one can eat directly from them and manage a decent meal even in big seas.

FWIW...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Most generators and inverters can handle the startup surge demand of a lot of appliances.



aa3jy said:


> You forget the start up surge of about a 1000 +/- watts..then settles down to what ever the rating of the appliance is..
> 
> Which by the way a Honda 2K generator handles it just fine...based on VAC figures.


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

I have run a 120V microwave, through the inverter, while running the engine at 1000 rpm. No problems.


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## MacGyverRI (Nov 14, 2007)

jackdale said:


> while running the engine at 1000 rpm. No problems.


An old truck driver trick is to put a can of soup/beans/Dinty Moore etc. on the running engine w/ some bailing wire, drive a 1/2 hr. or so and they would grab it w/ oven mitt/pot holder etc. and it was warmed in the can. Be careful when opening it, hot stuff ready to eat..

Engines don't get hot enough to burst the can from boiling.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

MacGyverRI said:


> An old truck driver trick is to put a can of soup/beans/Dinty Moore etc. on the running engine w/ some bailing wire, drive a 1/2 hr. or so and they would grab it w/ oven mitt/pot holder etc. and it was warmed in the can. Be careful when opening it, hot stuff ready to eat..
> 
> Engines don't get hot enough to burst the can from boiling.


Not a truck driver, I learned that in basic training. I was C ration era (left over from Vietnam which I missed). MREs are like eating at the Ritz.


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

MacGyverRI said:


> An old truck driver trick is to put a can of soup/beans/Dinty Moore etc. on the running engine w/ some bailing wire, drive a 1/2 hr. or so and they would grab it w/ oven mitt/pot holder etc. and it was warmed in the can. Be careful when opening it, hot stuff ready to eat..
> 
> Engines don't get hot enough to burst the can from boiling.


I worked on a seismic crew as a waterjack (driller's assistant and geogel loader) on a Nodwell auger in 1967. We did the same thing on the exhaust manifold.


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## MacGyverRI (Nov 14, 2007)

jackdale said:


> I worked on a seismic crew as a waterjack (driller's assistant and geogel loader) on a Nodwell auger in 1967. We did the same thing on the exhaust manifold.


 Exhaust manifolds can get hot enough to pop the cans...


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

MacGyverRI said:


> Exhaust manifolds can get hot enough to pop the cans...


We would punch a hole in the can. We were also working at 60 degrees N.


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## FishSticks (Nov 16, 2007)

jackdale said:


> We would punch a hole in the can. We were also working at 60 degrees N.


Brrrr....I recall a January day in Gloucester Harbor, which is only 43N, when we had to have two cans of beer going at the same time ... one thawing out on the coal-fired cast iron Lunenburg Foundry 'Fisherman' and one in hand. It was so cold the can would freeze to your lips and turn solid before you could finish it. And I'm not exaggerating.

Reddirt, forgive me for wandering off the subject of exciting food molecules at 2450 Mhz. I have no objection to that technology when used ashore, but on my boat ......

I'll admit 2450
Is pretty nifty
It'll cook a tater
Sooner not later
But on my little schooner
Meals are later not sooner
For there's no excuse
To use all that juice


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## Bene505 (Jul 31, 2008)

What? This thread isn't dead yet?


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## tsmith409 (Feb 28, 2002)

Reddirt said:


> Has anyone used a 12v microwave on their boat?
> Good or bad?
> 
> Thanks,
> Reddirt


Microwaves are great at the doc on shore power but a big draw on your batteries
If you have to have a microwave you might consider getting a power boat with a generator


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

My favourite microwave story.

An acquittance was equipping his boat for a figure 8 through the Pacific. He installed a microwave with big inverter which would also run his girl friend's hair dryer. When I asked him about the microwave, he indicated that he needed to defrost the the food from his freezer. I told him that I understood and that I used my microwave at home for the same thing. I put frozen meat in the microwave in the morning and when I got home from work the meat was defrosted, and the cat did not get it. Note - I did not turn it on.  

1000 watts at 12v - way too many amps. Lots of the boats I teach on have, seldom use them.


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