Microwave / Generator issues.......

[mikakuja]

I recently acquired a Honeywell (Generac) 2000 watt inverter generator which seems to be in really nice shape, (and a hell of a lot quieter than my big old Champion). The gen starts really easy, puts out 118-120v constant and will run pretty much everything I throw at it with the exception of the A/C, which I expected anyway. For some reason my 900w Dometic RV microwave does not like this gen....... I would have thought that a 2000 watt 2200 peak gen should handle the start up load of this microwave with no real issues. The microwave will run about every half dozen attempts but the gen does have to work quite hard when it does start.. Now I realize that the Generac IX2000 is no Honda and I am certainly not comparing it to one but come on... Am I expecting too much or is it possible that the microwave is on the way out??? It is after all a 97 model year..

I should add that the microwave will run off my 1500 watt inverter, but I really don't like killing batteries that fast....

For those that are going to say it.... Buy a Honda, or a Yamaha, don't waste your time or money on off shore gens..... I already agree with you... I just happen to have this one and would like to stick with what I have for now... Unless you are buying....lol...

Forgot to mention... I have already ensured that everything else in the trailer has been turned off, including the charger, fridge etc.

[road-runner]

PaulJ2 wrote:

Then one time i added a 50ft extension cord (to get the noisey generator farther away),and the micro ran fine! What gives? Extra inductive load delay or something?? Go figure!

Microwave drew less power because of the resistance of the extension cord, and didn't overload the generator.

[PaulJ2]

I had a trailer with a 900W microwave at one time. Tried to run it with an ordinary 1850W Coleman generator. It did exactly like the OP said. It would come on, the light inside would then dim,flicker, generator would then pull down under load.
Then one time i added a 50ft extension cord (to get the noisey generator farther away),and the micro ran fine! What gives? Extra inductive load delay or something?? Go figure!

[mikakuja]

Sam Spade wrote:

mikakuja wrote:
My plan is to pull the microwave sometime on my next days off.... I will check the voltage at that plug and make sure that there is no issues with the outlet.
I'll post the results once I have them.

OK just to be sure we have this straight:

High resistance wiring faults will NOT show up with a voltage measurement when no current if flowing.

You need to monitor the voltage at that outlet WHEN THE MICROWAVE FAILS. If the voltage going into the microwave when it fails does not drop significantly, then the microwave is bad.
OTOH, if the input voltage drops when the failure occurs.....and we already know that the generator voltage does NOT drop.....then you have a problem in the wiring.

My money is still on the old microwave.

This is exactly how I plan to test it... Thanks 🙂

[Sam_Spade]

mikakuja wrote:
My plan is to pull the microwave sometime on my next days off.... I will check the voltage at that plug and make sure that there is no issues with the outlet.
I'll post the results once I have them.

OK just to be sure we have this straight:

High resistance wiring faults will NOT show up with a voltage measurement when no current if flowing.

You need to monitor the voltage at that outlet WHEN THE MICROWAVE FAILS. If the voltage going into the microwave when it fails does not drop significantly, then the microwave is bad.
OTOH, if the input voltage drops when the failure occurs.....and we already know that the generator voltage does NOT drop.....then you have a problem in the wiring.

My money is still on the old microwave.

[mikakuja]

My plan is to pull the microwave sometime on my next days off.... I will check the voltage at that plug and make sure that there is no issues with the outlet.
I'll post the results once I have them.

I also found a great deal on a Champion 3100 inverter gen so it looks like the 2000 will be finding a new home.

[Sam_Spade]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Voltage does not drop below 118 AT THE GENERATOR.

What does the voltage say at another outlet on the same breaker as the microwave?

Even that might not be detailed enough.
You REALLY need to measure the voltage AT THE SAME OUTLET as the microwave and even then it could be just half of a duplex outlet that is going bad.

You really need to measure as close to the microwave as possible......without getting ridiculous about it.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Voltage does not drop below 118 AT THE GENERATOR.

What does the voltage say at another outlet on the same breaker as the microwave?

[Sam_Spade]

mikakuja wrote:
Voltage does not drop below 118v (at the Gen) regardless of what I have running in the trailer..

Sorry I missed that report.

So that leaves us with two possibilities:

The wiring between gen and microwave is bad such that the input power AT THE MICROWAVE drops a lot lower than that
OR
The microwave itself is bad.

The wattmeter would be good to have but I think one more simple volage measurement at the offending device should be enough to tell the story.,

[Boon_Docker]

..

[mikakuja]

smkettner wrote:

mikakuja wrote:
I am going to pick up another mic and hope for the best, if that doesn't work I will upgrade the gen.

Consider a Panasonic Inverter microwave.
These actually reduce input power when lower power setting is selected.
Standard microwaves just cycle the megatron on-off at full power to cook slower.

Thanks for the advise 🙂 I was looking at the Panasonic Inverter mic's but wasn't sure about their power consumption.

[time2roll]

mikakuja wrote:
I am going to pick up another mic and hope for the best, if that doesn't work I will upgrade the gen.

Consider a Panasonic Inverter microwave.
These actually reduce input power when lower power setting is selected.
Standard microwaves just cycle the megatron on-off at full power to cook slower.

[mikakuja]

Voltage does not drop below 118v (at the Gen) regardless of what I have running in the trailer. And I did mention that in earlier posts.
To clarify, I have not pulled the Mic to see what it actually uses for power standing alone.

I am going to pick up a new kill a watt meter to do any further testing as my current meter bit the dust..

[Sam_Spade]

mikakuja wrote:
Well, I have gone through my entire system ....

If that is true then you should have some input voltage readings on the AC feed when the microwave fires up and when other things run......but you seem to be reluctant to share those readings with us.

If you haven't watched the input voltage, why not ? More than one of us has suggested you check it.

[mikakuja]

Well, I have gone through my entire system and I am leaning toward the mic being the problem. I have not tested the actual power being drawn by the mic but did play with it a bit on shore power and although it always works on shore power it sometimes kicks on without issue and other times the lights dim quite a bit... I am going to pick up another mic and hope for the best, if that doesn't work I will upgrade the gen. I did find that the power plug on the gen needed replacing as the vibrations from the engine would cause the plugs to fall out... Replacing the plug made no difference to performance, although it is nice that the plugs stay plugged in.

Other than that I have switched gears and installed two 12v 100 watt Mono panels and a 20 amp MPPT Tracer controller this week... Lovin it already...