I bought a small 0.7 cu ft microwave online from Target on Ebay for $49. Very small and compact to be used in a Palomino Bronco Pop-up truck camperhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/281370539791I have a Xantrex Prowatt 1000 true Sine Wave inverter. 900 watts continuous / 2000 watts surgeI hooked up the microwave to my "Killowatt" meter to see what kind of wattage it draws....from 48 watts to 1150 watts. It has 10 power settings, but this does not reduce the current requirements. It simply cycles the microwave device on and off. When on it is drawing over 1100 watts. On 100% power the microwave stays on for the entire cooking duration.Looks like I'm going to need to run the generator to heat up a bowl of soup!

Can you return the microwave and get a Panasonic Inverter Series microwave?These actually reduce power consumption at the lower settings.Otherwise 2000 watt sine wave inverter and four batteries is generally needed to run a microwave.

Rbertalotto wrote:I bought a small 0.7 cu ft microwave online from Target on Ebay for $49. Very small and compact to be used in a Palomino Bronco Pop-up truck camperhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/281370539791I have a Xantrex Prowatt 1000 true Sine Wave inverter. 900 watts continuous / 2000 watts surgeI hooked up the microwave to my "Killowatt" meter to see what kind of wattage it draws....from 48 watts to 1150 watts. It has 10 power settings, but this does not reduce the current requirements. It simply cycles the microwave device on and off. When on it is drawing over 1100 watts. On 100% power the microwave stays on for the entire cooking duration.Looks like I'm going to need to run the generator to heat up a bowl of soup!My guess the one you bought is a 1000 watt one! :WIt should say right on the box and on the micro how many watts it is. Take that one back and pick up a 700 watt micro. I bought a 700 watt and used it for years it will nuke whatever you want. Just might take a minute more for anything big which you rarely do anyway big food wise in an RV.

The reason I bought this one is that it stated it was a 700w microwave! They weren't lying....It does 700 watts and more!!!

for most of us..even me with solar and a large battery bankusing the generator for the MW is a good ideait takes more generator run time to put back what you take out of the batteriesthan it does to run the generator to do the actual cooking/heating

That is how a standard microwave works, the power level just dictates the ratio of on vs off time of the magnetron. An "Inverter" model will actually reduce the energy with power level. You can also find lower power standard units. The watts printed on the box are just the "cooking power" It takes power for the rotating plate, the light, the control board. Also, a microwave is not just a resistive load, they usually have a poor power factor and thus create a higher apparent load to the device providing the power.

Small RV Microwave | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

Rbertalotto
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
I'm going to keep the 700 watt model and use the Honda 2000 generator when needed. An easy solution!
RoyB
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2015
We use one of these small white face manual knob Microwave from WALMART... It is either a 600W or 700W model. No bells or whistles... Works great for warming up coffee or cooking some of the small items... Runs great from my 2KW Honda generator. It runs good for a minute coffee warm up from my DUTY 600W Inverter setup but sometimes doesn't get enough juice to startup.

Generator is always sitting in the back of my truck so no problem for me to use it for something quick to heat up...

Roy Ken
PUCampin
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
That is how a standard microwave works, the power level just dictates the ratio of on vs off time of the magnetron. An "Inverter" model will actually reduce the energy with power level. You can also find lower power standard units. The watts printed on the box are just the "cooking power" It takes power for the rotating plate, the light, the control board. Also, a microwave is not just a resistive load, they usually have a poor power factor and thus create a higher apparent load to the device providing the power.
MrWizard
Moderator
Apr 01, 2015
for most of us..even me with solar and a large battery bank
using the generator for the MW is a good idea

it takes more generator run time to put back what you take out of the batteries
than it does to run the generator to do the actual cooking/heating
Rbertalotto
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
The reason I bought this one is that it stated it was a 700w microwave! They weren't lying....It does 700 watts and more!!!
rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2015
Rbertalotto wrote:
I bought a small 0.7 cu ft microwave online from Target on Ebay for $49. Very small and compact to be used in a Palomino Bronco Pop-up truck camper

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281370539791

I have a Xantrex Prowatt 1000 true Sine Wave inverter. 900 watts continuous / 2000 watts surge

I hooked up the microwave to my "Killowatt" meter to see what kind of wattage it draws....from 48 watts to 1150 watts. It has 10 power settings, but this does not reduce the current requirements. It simply cycles the microwave device on and off. When on it is drawing over 1100 watts. On 100% power the microwave stays on for the entire cooking duration.Looks like I'm going to need to run the generator to heat up a bowl of soup!

My guess the one you bought is a 1000 watt one! :W
It should say right on the box and on the micro how many watts it is.

Take that one back and pick up a 700 watt micro.

I bought a 700 watt and used it for years it will nuke whatever you want. Just might take a minute more for anything big which you rarely do anyway big food wise in an RV.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 01, 2015
Can you return the microwave and get a Panasonic Inverter Series microwave?
These actually reduce power consumption at the lower settings.

Otherwise 2000 watt sine wave inverter and four batteries is generally needed to run a microwave.

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Small RV Microwave

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