Running Microwave from Inverter.

[eldertofu]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

 

[Nightjar]

We run our bread making machine with a similar set up to yours. Give your microwave a whirl and try it.

 

[Jaros]

I have a 200W flexipanel solar sheet as well as 520W of bifold solar and sometimes think it's worth an extra AGM via MPPT/ 2000W inverter just to run these power hungry monsters we have today. The panel would only be used to keep charge up on the AGM-waddaya think??

 

[Simmo]

It should work.
@ 240 v the microwave draws about 4 amps.
@ 12 v it will draw about 83 amps.
You are only running it for a few minutes to cook a frozen meal, so should be fine imho.

 

[PabloP]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

I believe so, but I have 240W solar, 200AH AGMs and have never run the microwave from them, only run when connected to mains. I am very protective of the batts as I want them to be able to last as long as possible under adverse conditions. I also have approx. 400W of folding solar panels, but I guess that I am too lazy to bother setting them up for normal activities, they are for "emergencies".

But I do run a small pie warmer using a small portable 120W inverter.

Rob P.

 

[Solid Luck]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

I believe so, but I have 240W solar, 200AH AGMs and have never run the microwave from them, only run when connected to mains. I am very protective of the batts as I want them to be able to last as long as possible under adverse conditions. I also have approx. 400W of folding solar panels, but I guess that I am too lazy to bother setting them up for normal activities, they are for "emergencies".

But I do run a small pie warmer using a small portable 120W inverter.

Rob P.

Hey PabloP. Which pie warmer are you running? Do you have any info or a link?

 

[condor22]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

A small 700W microwave will use around 1100W of input power a larger 1200W will use between 1800-1900W. Using worst case of 1200W (small 750W oven) this equates to around 120 amps from an AGM battery thru an inverter. (divide load wattage by 10 as inverters are inefficient.)

Therefore for each 6 minutes (1/10 of an hour) of use of a microwave, you will use 1/10th of 120 AH = 12 AH. Pulling 120 amps from a 130 AH battery is not going to do it a lot of good as it's very close to 1C, so check the C rating of your battery.

My advice to anyone using an inverter is, have a battery bank that will run it at no more than 0.5C, which for a 120 amp load is 240 AH.

Then keep in mind, what you use you need to replace. This needs adding to other use i.e. lights, TV, pump, heater etc. Which in turn may need double the solar.

 

[condor22]

Many frozos take 5-7 minutes to cook (each), especially from a smaller m/wave. I use frozos when prospecting around 5 out of 7 days. Hey, I'm lazy, lol.

I also have a 3 way fridge and duel 240V/LPG hot water service with a limited amount of gas (2 x 4.5kg in the front boot). So I carry a Honda 2kVA to cook and heat water.

Another guide - running my heater at 22C while watching TV and lowering to 13C overnight, plus LED lighting, I typically use 35+AH a day and my solar just about keeps up in winter. I also have 200W of panel and up until a few weeks ago a 130AH AGM. (now replaced with a 100AH LiFePo4 Lithium)

The plus of running the genny is that while it runs to cook and then for water heating, the 240VAC charger is also on, to top the battery up. (You can't heat water at the same time as microwave from 2kVA.)

I don't heat shower water every day. With the Lithium, I can now run 2-3 days if I want before running a genny to charge (bad weather days re solar) On better days, longer.

 

[condor22]

I have a 200W flexipanel solar sheet as well as 520W of bifold solar and sometimes think it's worth an extra AGM via MPPT/ 2000W inverter just to run these power hungry monsters we have today. The panel would only be used to keep charge up on the AGM-waddaya think??

The key to running an inverter is;

1. Regardless of invert actual size i.e. you might have a 2,000W inverter, but only ever use 1,200W from it. The key figure is then 1,200W unless you think of running something else at the same time within the inverter limit.

2. Then you need a battery bank big enough to run it i.e as in my previous post 240AH (for 1,200W) or 400AH for 2,000W.

3. Then you need to work out how long you use the inverter for to calculate the AH used.

4. Then you need to work out, in a worst case scenario, how much solar you need to replace what you use. I use a rule of thumb, 4 times the AH used in panel W.
i.e. as mentioned I use around 35-40AH daily, sometimes more, sometimes less, 4 x 40AH =160W in panel. I then added 25% contingency = 200W.

I've seen days in VIC earlier this year, where it was crap weather all day and I was only getting 2-3 amps from my 200W, which will not replace all I use and I have very good panels. Which as I have noted in other threads is why I have other charging options, just in case.

The above figures are given, with getting a reasonable life cycle from your battery/ies, in mind.

 

[Redfin]

Why not use a travel buddy oven ?

 

[condor22]

I do, it's in the car for lunch when I'm not at camp, prospecting. However, if I have to wait an hour or more for dinner, I may as well cook a proper meal, lol. The genny is there so I use it. Like I said "I'm lazy" lol.

 

[Redfin]

Why not use a travel buddy oven ?

Was aimed at the OP.

How do you cook a frozen meal?
I presume he means reheat a frozen meal.
If so, take it out of the freezer the day before consumption, 30 minutes in the travel buddy will reheat it.

 

[PabloP]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

I believe so, but I have 240W solar, 200AH AGMs and have never run the microwave from them, only run when connected to mains. I am very protective of the batts as I want them to be able to last as long as possible under adverse conditions. I also have approx. 400W of folding solar panels, but I guess that I am too lazy to bother setting them up for normal activities, they are for "emergencies".

But I do run a small pie warmer using a small portable 120W inverter.

Rob P.

Hey PabloP. Which pie warmer are you running? Do you have any info or a link?

Here is the link, but it seems that they are no longer available. It only uses 54W, so takes a while to warm stuff up. Not really just a pie warmer, but that is what I use it for.

https://www.winningappliances.com.au/p/sunbeam-golunch-food-warmer-hp3000t

I found this 12V / 150W one on the 'net that may suit some.

https://www.automegastore.com.au/12...3fNpxtZCNSqEHSqkxPtx2B1FxxjOcrBIaAlQoEALw_wcB

Rob P.

 

[Solid Luck]

I have a 130AH AGM battery charged by a 200W solar panel connected to a 1000/2000W PSW inverter. If I have done my maths correctly the battery could possibly run the inverter for 90min.
My question is could this set up run a 240v microwave rated at 700/1200W long enough to cook a frozen meal?

I believe so, but I have 240W solar, 200AH AGMs and have never run the microwave from them, only run when connected to mains. I am very protective of the batts as I want them to be able to last as long as possible under adverse conditions. I also have approx. 400W of folding solar panels, but I guess that I am too lazy to bother setting them up for normal activities, they are for "emergencies".

But I do run a small pie warmer using a small portable 120W inverter.

Rob P.

Hey PabloP. Which pie warmer are you running? Do you have any info or a link?

Here is the link, but it seems that they are no longer available. It only uses 54W, so takes a while to warm stuff up. Not really just a pie warmer, but that is what I use it for.

https://www.winningappliances.com.au/p/sunbeam-golunch-food-warmer-hp3000t

I found this 12V / 150W one on the 'net that may suit some.

https://www.automegastore.com.au/12...3fNpxtZCNSqEHSqkxPtx2B1FxxjOcrBIaAlQoEALw_wcB

Rob P.

Thanks Rob.

I have been looking at he Jaycar ones which are similar but do seem quite power hungry.

 

[condor22]

The travel Buddy appears to be a larger capacity.

There are 2 sizes, the smaller draws 6A, the larger 10A (I have the smaller and it will do 4 pies) It has 2 wire trays taking 2 pies on 2 levels.

A fully frozen pie, without preheat takes an hour = 6AH. Same time for Pasties and sausage rolls.

The Jaycar oven, I can't speak for its capacity of food, but its specs show 9A power draw. The picture on the above link, seems to show 2 pies.

 

[Jaros]

Love pasties...

 

[Goldduststeve]

For all of you thinking of Solar systems for your camping power needs, I strongly recommend looking at Lithium batteries. I have just gone through the exercise of "Rating" a system for my off road Van. I worked out what my minimum consumption of power would be in a 24hr period and also what the consumption would be if I ran everything. It ranged from 75Ah up to 144Ah. I decided to go with 200Ah of Lithium batteries and about 800W of panels.
Some of the advantages of Lithium batteries are; only about one third the weight of a comparable AGM ie; A 100Ah AGM weighs around a good 25kg while a 100Ah Lithium is only 10kg. Another advantage is the amount of "Usable" power you get from your Lithium compared to AGM. AGM's only have roughly half of their capacity as usable power before you get drastic voltage drop. While Lithiums will keep their voltage high for , say, 90% of their capacity, hence, more "usable" power.
Next is cycle life ( charge/discharge). AGM's typically are only good for around 200 - 300 cycles ( depending on the quality of the AGM) whereas Lithiums range from around 2000 up cycles and the better brands have a 5 year warranty. They are generally about 3 times the price of a AGM, but with less weight, more available power and longer life span, I think they are worth the investment.
The main thing to consider is, what will you be using the system to run ? Will it be just to run a small bilge pump for water, or, will you be running serious stuff like fridges and some 240v gear as well in your camper trailer ?
With that in mind, you can either go for a cheap system to run the blige pump, or a more reliable (upmarket) system for reliability to run fridges etc.

I have been dabbling in solar systems etc for a few years now and happy to give advice to anybody who wants it.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Jaros]

Thanks Golduststeve.

 

[Solid Luck]

The travel Buddy appears to be a larger capacity.

There are 2 sizes, the smaller draws 6A, the larger 10A (I have the smaller and it will do 4 pies) It has 2 wire trays taking 2 pies on 2 levels.

A fully frozen pie, without preheat takes an hour = 6AH. Same time for Pasties and sausage rolls.

The Jaycar oven, I can't speak for its capacity of food, but its specs show 9A power draw. The picture on the above link, seems to show 2 pies.

Been looking at the TB's as well. Obviously much better bling and not too sure if I wan to spend that much at the moment.
There is a comparison vid on youtube I believe between the TB and the generic ones.

Great to heat up stuff while you are driving.

At the moment I use the baby q as an oven and it works a treat but obviously you have to be stopped somewhere or at camp.

 

[condor22]

A 100Ah AGM weighs around a good 25kg while a 100Ah Lithium is only 10kg.

AGM's typically are only good for around 200 - 300 cycles whereas Lithiums range from around 2000 up cycles

A 100Ah AGM weighs around a good 25kg while a 100Ah Lithium is only 10kg. A good quality 100AH AGM is around 30kg and my 100AH Lithium13kg, however, it is in a metal case where most are plastic. Metal doesn't burn, plastic may.

Agree with the usable power figures as a guide.

AGM's typically are only good for around 200 - 300 cycles whereas Lithiums range from around 2000 up cycles Subjective - At 25% depth an AGM will give 1,500 cycles or more and at 50% around 500, I got 10 years from my first AGM. My Pylontech 100AH Lithium is rated at 4,000 cycles at 80% discharge and almost double that at 20-25% discharge.

Cycle life is very subjective - Factors; Is it used all day every day, or periodically - how deep is it cycled and at what loads i.e. I generally sit at around 4-5amps most of the time, but if you sit at 10-15 amps regularly, the effect differs and my usage is around 40AH max daily - what quality of battery - environment i.e. temperature - charging conditions i.e. quality and frequency. The figures industry quote are laboratory conditions, which rarely exist in the real world, lol.