Power inverters and installing a microwave oven
 

Im trying to get away from the truck stop eating and bring a lot of my own food over the road. My truck has an 800 watt Inverter. Today I saw small microwaves at Walmart that say 700 or even 600 watts cooking power. Im wondering if this will be ok in my truck. I definitely dont want to burn up anything. Anyone out there know about this???
Do any truck stops have microwaves we can use?
Thanks

Power Inverters
 

People smarter than I will follow up for sure but here are a couple of comments.

1. Is that a 800 watt inverter with a 1600 peak or a 400 watt inverter 800 peak? Just a question to ask because many of the inverters are over marketed / over sold for the purpose. A 800 watt / 1600 peak will power a 700 watt microwave and nothing else.

2. A 800 watt inverter will handle a 700 watt microwave but the question is how long? My experience with a cheap Cobra with limited ventilation (no real fan) and no over build of the circuits lasted exactly one month. A much better brand has lasted one year with no problems.

3. What size are the wires to the inverter? Make sure these are copper ropes so to speak ..

Also .. make sure you are in a high idle before kicking on the Microwave .. my partner foolishly used the microwave while parked on a no-idle dock .. and fried the batteries. (They were so spent they would not recharge ...)

I have a 550 watt microwave wiht a 1500 watt 3000 peak Vectra inverter. It works very very well.

I've run a 600 Watt Wal Mart microwave on a Coleman 800 watt inverter. It works fine for short periods of time, but anything more than about 5 minutes, and the inverter gets too hot, to the point of melting the plastic connectors on the inverter.

If you can't install anything bigger than an 800 watt, and you REALLY want a microwave, get the lowest wattage one you can get, and run it for short bursts at a time.

Annoying? Yes; but safer than starting a fire.

Crackaces is correct - on the cheaper inverters, they tend to over rate them - knock a few hundred watts off, and you are probably in a safe zone. An inverter will burn your truck to the ground faster than you can blink.

I ran a 700 watt microwave with a 1500 watt/ 2000 watt peak inverter. It worked just fine but like others have said.. make sure you have the truck idling and also make sure use are using the correct gauge wires with an in line fuse.

Your question on inverters vs. micro-wave
 

http://www.heatermeals.com

Here is a possible solution. My son gets these by the case and eats them off & on thus saving money from truck stop eating. He has stated they are pretty good & a lot chaeper then truck stops. They have both meals & breakfast. You can order via. there 1-800 # and set up for delivery when you are at home on your home time. NO refrigeration need.
Before my son tried he ask a few other OTR's that had used. They had no negative's.

Give it a try. Yo can also pick up some to try at the truck stops before you order a case.

Enjoy

Regards,
MR C

Re: Your question on inverters vs. micro-wave
 

:D Hey, this is a good idea! Is this the same technology used in military MREs? I've tried a few MREs and they aren't that bad at all. 8)

Re: Your question on inverters vs. micro-wave
 

These sound great, but be sure to check the calories and sodium numbers on the processed foods...that is the "killer" (literally) from these things. Sometimes a Sub(way)(No brand promotion) is better. Fresh fruit and a good sandwich is a good way to go.

Agree 100%......I know for a fact that the military MRE's contain 3500+ calories per meal!! They are designed specifically for military folks that are in the field and expending a great deal of energy/calories.

Self Heating Meals
 

I looked at the prices of these meals ..

HeaterMeals Plus Vegetarian Pasta Fagioli: 12-Pack
$81.48 6.79 per meal

HeaterMeals Plus Southwest Chicken with Rice & Beans: 12-Pack
$81.48 6.79 per meal

HeaterMeals 3 Vegetarian Pasta Fagioli: 12-Pack
$59.88 4.99 per meal

HeaterMeals 3 Homestyle Chicken & Noodles in Gravy: 12-Pack
$59.88 4.99 per meal

HeaterMeals 3 Zesty BBQ Sauce & Potatoes with Beef: 12-Pack
$59.88

HeaterMeals 3 Southwest Chicken with Rice & Beans: 12-Pack
$59.88 4.99 per meal

HeaterMeals 3 Chicken Pasta Italiana: 12-Pack
$59.88 4.99 per meal


Chicken Pasta Italiana: 12-Pack
$47.88 3.99 per meal

Mixed Case of Dinner Entrees: 12-Pack
$47.88 3.99 per meal

The high end of 6.79 per meal is a premium for convenience.

However, this is an opportunity for drivers that are employed by companies that do not allow inverters. An occasional quick .. and I emphasize quick .. meal.

A lunch box cooker costs 29 bucks and will reheat anything. You can store ready made meals from home for much cheaper than 6.79 per meal.

Now I bought a microwave at $150 and a Power Inverter for $300 spread across about 100 meals plus the cost of the meal. So I am still invested better (higher) than 6.79 per meal. I assume the break even is about 200 or so meals for a microwave/inverter setup.

[quote="devildice"]Um...no, not really. The main entree in most modern MREs is between 2-400 calories. To that, you add a side entree in some of them, crackers, topping for the crackers, a dessert(a cookie or something) and maybe a small bag of M&Ms or something.

It states on the back of some of the MRE entree boxes a bit about nutrition in a field environment. It states (if I remember right) that an MRE has between 1200-1800 calories in it.

They're not bad on occasion, but if you have more than a few of them in a couple days, you get tired of them really quickley.

BTW...for those who are going to argue with me. I am currently deployed to Afghanistan, and I've eaten numerous MREs since I've been here, and even more when I was in Pakistan from February-April of this year.

Hope this helps!