Wattage for auto converter

Hello Taganan

You refer to the <"Hyundai Tucson handbook">, and that appears to be the actual OWNER'S manual for the vehicle.

All Microwave ovens I know of, require a Sine Wave Input, or the Magnetron either refuses to start, or fails prematurely.

You need to look at the Heat output plus the required input for the Microwave Oven, which will be around 1200 or more Watts - check the Microwave Oven nameplate.

Once you know the Input required by the Microwave Oven, you can purchase a Sine-wave Output DC/AC Inverter unit, which has around 30% more.

So the sums are as follows:

"900 Watt Oven" = 900 Watts Heat Output

Input required for above Oven is approximately 1200 Watts

Power Output of Inverter = 1200 x 133% = 1600 Watts Sinewave

Therefore you need an inverter from your car battery voltage, which gives a 1600 Watts Sinewave Output.

Remember that an inverter may be only around 80% efficient.

That means the power taken from your car battery is going to be some 2000 Watts.

If your car battery voltage is 12 Volts: Your Microwave Oven while in use, is going to take 167 Amps from your car battery.

If your car battery voltage is 24 Volts: Your Microwave Oven while in use, is going to take 88 Amps from your car battery.

You will need to be careful the car battery is not fully discharged, if you use such a thing, and it may be more reliable to use a portable petrol-powered generator, with a Sine-wave output, than to have a "flat battery" after eating your cooked lunch.

Kind Regards....

Taganan,

120 watts is the max you can get out of the outlet.

Microwave is a no-no.

Cheers.

Taganan, my old company provided such converters for Ford. Doubt very much it is up to microwave cooking. You would have to do what I did for my buddy. Install a suitable sized inverter and maybe increase your battery capacity. Locate the invetrter as close as possibel to the battery bank and use big cable from inverter to battery. Chances are you need to run your engine at a fast idle while cooking. One of the new sandwich size 600 or 700 watt microwaves should do you. Get a 700 - 900 watt inverter so you are running the inverter at 80% - 90% loading. This also happens to be their best efficiency point of operation.

Today's typical MSW inverter will be 95% efficient at that level. A basic microwave without too many frills will usually work ok on MSW but the digital clock will run fast and the transformer will hum louder. If you get one of the "inverter" grade microwaves it doesn't care what kind of power you feed it and it will be power factor corrected. If you have more questions you can directly email me at elnav@telus.net

If in USA you could check at any large truck stop they carry equipment that is 12vd

powered. A lot of over the road drivers have setups to fix meals in there cab/sleeper.

just a different angle for what your doing. other wise the genset w/120vac either

seperate or vhechel mounted would work.

-Charles