Ianltd Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 Hi all, I'm a newbie to owning a motorhome, but have rented a few over the years and really enjoyed it. My wife and I are presently setting up and buying all the goodies and bits and pieces (you know.........proper caravan kettle, plates, cups T.V etc) to fill our new motorhome with when we take delivery of it on 18th August at 9am sharp!! Anyhow, she asked me the other day, 'why can't we use a standard microwave when connected to an electric hook-up?' I know caravan microwaves are lower wattage and there is obviously a reason for this as there is for the kettles etc. Can anyone enlighten us as to why? I don't want to go blowing up the site or the motorhome!! Thank you in advance, Kind regards, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete lambert Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 I think that a domestic Microwave has a very high initial current draw when switched on. It might also have a fairly high load when running. This would cause you problems on sites with low rated hook-ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 There's nothing to stop you using a standard microwave oven in a motorhome. Most domestic ones are about 800 watts I think so as long as you weren't using anything else even the smallest (4 amp) EHU would cope and on most sites you could use a low-wattage kettle at the same time.My built-in microwave in my motorhome is 600 watts and I suspect that the main reason for smaller ones in motorhomes is to do with compactness rather than electrical drain. In the place where mine's fitted you couldn't really fit a larger domestic one.We use ours a lot by the way, especially for my morning bowl of porridge which I can cook in the bowl. Much less messy than using a pan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianltd Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Thanks for the very quick reply Pete, it kind of makes sense when you put it like that *-) We'll have to buy a little one then!! Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianltd Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Thanks caraprof, I was replying to Pete just before your post came through! That's very interesting, we will have to look at what's about..we have two microwaves, one is a Combi cook one, and the other is a little 700w just for heating porridge etc. as you do :-D Thanks for the interest, Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted August 10, 2007 Share Posted August 10, 2007 An 800 watt microwave would need a supply of just three amps. Even the lowest EHUs are four amps and most are ten or higher. I cannot really understand the argument that a microwave uses much more power on startup. If it's rated at 800 watts, it shouldn't use much more than 800 watts. There may be a bit more power for a turntable, but that's peanuts.I'm no electrical engineer and I'll be happy to be proved wrong but I would also add that on most sites in the U.K we have run our water heater, which is on permanently and at the same time boiled a kettle and used the microwave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 We bought a cheap one from either Tesco or Argos (can't remember which) to use in the caravan as it didn't have an oven. That was suitably low powered. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 The rating provided for a microwave is the expected microwave power output, which is not the same as the electrical input needed to generate this microwave output. Like all energy conversions, you get less out than you put in. In addition, microwaves have a high inrush current on start-up, resulting in MCB tripping. The combinations of the above result in lower powered microwaves being fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Thank you for that. I did a bit of research and below is from Wikipedia. A 700 watt oven will use a maximum of 1100 watts so most UK sites will have no problem with one and as I said earlier, you could use other items at the same time. On some French sites with a maximum 4 amps EHU you could be a little over the limit but a 600 watt oven should be OK.A microwave oven only converts part of its electrical input into microwave energy. A typical consumer microwave oven uses 1,100 W AC and produces 700 W of microwave power, an efficiency of 64%. The other 400 W are dissipated as heat, mostly in the magnetron tube. Additional power is used to operate the lamps, AC power transformer, magnetron cooling fan, food turntable motor and the control circuits. This waste heat, along with heat from the food, is exhausted as warm air through cooling vents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 The Wikepedia entry doesn't state that the oven would use a maximum of 1100 watts, rather it is saying that when generating 700 watts output it is drawing 1100 watts from the mains. In addition to this 1100 watts it will, as has already been stated, draw a much greater power when it starts up. I dimmly remember seeing it stated that the start-up current was about double that indicated by the rating, so a 1000W oven would draw about 8 amps on start-up Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 A domestic basic microwave will be fine on most hookups.The problem more likely to arise is that they wont fit into the space you have available. So measure up the space before visiting the white goods superstore. good luck with the quest. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivys Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Tesco has an inexpensive 700w microwave that realistically requires about 1.3kw to operate. We run it from our 1.5kw pure sinewave inverter without a problem. It seems to run from hookups without a problem, but who cares when your inverter copes anyway. The Tesco microwave is fairly small and light. Rog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 We carried a small microwave in our tugging days, but after embarassingly tripping out about 20 'vans on a French site, we never bothered with it again (didn't miss it either). As some have said above, it is the startup power that is critical, and that can be significantly higher than the oven wattage - it should quote the maximum wattage somewhere on the back panels. If you plan to stay mostly on UK sites with hookup then you should be o.k. with most domestic microwaves as long as you have somewhere to put it. Our previous 'van came with a fitted microwave in a high level locker. I reckon that position was too dangerous, and as we don't often hook up, I took it out and freed up some valuable locker space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I'm not ashamed to admit that I've learned something here and wasn't aware of the much bigger load on start-up. Actually, the good old Caravan Club has an interesting article on this in its website Q & As.However, contrary to some people I have used mine all over Europe and the UK without problem and there is no doubt that it's a boon.I like a bowl of porridge in the morning. Microwave: Use the bowl that you'll be eating it from and that's all you have to wash afterwards. Plus you're saving gas by using electricity that you've usually paid a fixed fee for.No microwave: Use a sucepan to heat it up and then you've a sticky pan to clean as well and you've used some precious gas! There's no contest I'm afraid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 I have used a standard domestic microwave all over France, Spain and Portugal without problem. Remember though that when a microwave is described as e.g. "800 watt" that refers to the magnetron output, NOT to the input requirement. That will be found (I think it is a legal requirement for all electrical appliances sold in the UK) on a plate at the back, and will typically be about 1200 watts. Theoretically that means 5 amps is not enough; in practice you can usually get away with short bursts - that is because a trip works by a resistance which heats up under excess load, then expands and in so doing pushes a switch to the Off position. A short burst will not give it time to heat up. I haven't encountered many 5A sites, but when I do I switch the fridge off when using the microwave. The trick is to remember to switch it back on again when you have finished! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Sainsbury are selling a small 700W Microwave with turntable and the power label on the back says Input Power 1000W. So that should be fine on most continental sites. I think it's around £30 at the moment, I'm seriously considering buying one if I can find a suitable space to keep it. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianltd Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Well we didn't get to pick up our new motorhome because when they rang DVLC for an appointment to register it, an automated message told them the office was shut because they were moving offices and wouldn't be open again until Monday afternoon. We're gutted. Thanks for all the information about microwaves, we're going to check out Tesco and Sainsburys tomorrow. If we manage to pick it up on Monday we'll be off Tuesday morning. Happy Holidays!! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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