Microwave Ovens

[borderdragon]

Please could some one advise me on what wattage microwave would be safe to use on site electricity
and can you use one bought from a store or does it have to be specially for a caravan

 

[NigelHutson]

We have had no problems running our standard fit 800W microwave on site electricity. At 800W, you're roughly looking at 3.64 Amps (800w/220v). Many UK sites are 16 Amps, but obviously can be less. In France, 6 Amps is not uncommon, and we haven't had a problem at that. Be mindful though that some microwaves take a big thump to get them going. It might be worth looking at ones for sale at caravan accessory shops or even at ones fitted in caravans as standard. Ours is pretty common, and is nothing special so you might pick one up at a reasonable price.

 

[Damian]

It may come as a surprise to know that caravan microwave ovens are bog standard "ordinary" microwave ovens, but the caravan manufacturers limit the size to a max of 800w.

The failure rate of microwave ovens is high in caravan use as they are not designed to be dragged around the country in a very bouncy box.

 

[NigelHutson]

In my experience, the problem is not failure (as in stops working permanently), but cutting out because of overheating as there isn't enough space around them when installed in a cupboard.

That said, we had one that kept cutting out replaced under warranty with an identical one, and it's worked fine.

 

[JamesH]

I bought a 700W microwave from Tesco a few years ago now.
I use the following formula to calculate the start-up wattage :-
(700W x 2) - 10% = 1400-140 = 1260W (5.5A)