Posted by danny burstein on April 6, 2011, 3:05 am
> The biggest problem was finding a low power microwave. Time after
> time I found the power consumption numbers stated in literature
> to be wrong. If I could have found a 550 watt microwave like I
> planned, everything would have been fine. My first microwave
> was that size, but they don't seem to make them that small any more.
Might I suggest stopping by your local Goodwill/Salvation Army/etc.
stores? Microwave ovens are a frequent dropoff.
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Posted by Trawley Trash on April 6, 2011, 10:42 pm
On Wed, 6 Apr 2011 03:05:28 +0000 (UTC)
> writes:
>
> > The biggest problem was finding a low power microwave. Time after
> > time I found the power consumption numbers stated in literature
> > to be wrong. If I could have found a 550 watt microwave like I
> > planned, everything would have been fine. My first microwave
> > was that size, but they don't seem to make them that small any
> > more.
>
> Might I suggest stopping by your local Goodwill/Salvation Army/etc.
> stores? Microwave ovens are a frequent dropoff.
I have looked, and I expect I could find one eventually. The number
I am interested in is usually on the back by the electrical cord. I
have to pick up the unit and turn it around to know if it is what I
want.
Most micros seem to run at 12 amps or 1440 watts. That is over a
hundred amps on a twelve volt circuit. The wires are huge, and the inverter
has to be near the batteries. Back when I bought my first micro,
people were complaining about the longer cooking times. I never
found it to be a problem, but they introduced some industry standard
(or regulation?) that says a certain size micro has to have so many watts
of heating power. I don't think the power supplies are as efficient as they
could be
either. Micros don't use much energy, but just in short bursts. There isn't
a huge
energy saving here, but it is frustrating not to find what I want.
There are other alternatives like rewiring to 24 volts. There isn't
enough room for it though. The inverter and batteries are under
the kitchen sink, and I do not like that. Leaks happen.
I was shopping around for another trailer, but housing prices are so
depressed around here that a house near a hydro power station was
cheaper. It came with a new heat pump. I may move the trailer off
into the boonies for off-grid peace and quiet.
It is hard to find low power appliances generally. I found
a low-power toaster oven that is perfect, but the one-pint water
boiler died. I have not been able to find another.
Posted by Trawley Trash on April 11, 2011, 1:17 pm
On Wed, 6 Apr 2011 15:42:11 -0700
<snip>
I would like to add one more point in case anyone else
wants to convert a trailer to solar power.
The 3 m2 of solar panels were adequate for all of the
uses I planned, but in the winter I found myself not having
enough power, even though the panels generated the
predicted amounts. What I didn't think of was that the gas
furnace uses electricity to run the fan. With the furnace
running at about fifty percent duty cycle, the fan used as
much electricity as everything else together.
Posted by you on April 6, 2011, 5:50 pm
> On Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:06:06 -0800
>
> > Poor Planning, and believing the Sales-Droid hype, in the first
> > place.... Anyone with any BRAINS, at all, knows that you NEVER run an
> > Inverter, over 1Kw from a 12VDC Battery system, and expect it to
> > survive..... UNLESS, it is a quality Unit like a SW, or DR, Trace or
> > an OutBack....
>
> No salesman talked me into this. It was an experiment. I guess you
> think it is stupid to try something and report the results? Smart
> people only spend their time cutting others down, eh?
>
> The inverter was rated for it. It was not cheap. The
> batteries were special and held up, but they are high maintenance
> golf cart batteries.
>
> The biggest problem was finding a low power microwave. Time after
> time I found the power consumption numbers stated in literature
> to be wrong. If I could have found a 550 watt microwave like I
> planned, everything would have been fine. My first microwave
> was that size, but they don't seem to make them that small any more.
Your above answer just proves my point... Lack of Original Research...
had you do your Due Diligence, you would have KNOWN that pulling 100
Amps or MORE thru to small of connectors and wires, in the inverter you
selected, would let the MAGIC SMOKE leak out and your money would be
wasted..... but being Dumber than a Stump, you just forged ahead with
now practical research, into the technology you purchased, and it BIT
you in the BUTT.... Like I stated above "Poor Planning".......
"Stupid is as Stupid does"..... apparently your Momma wasn't as smart as
Forest Gump's Mom....
Posted by Trawley Trash on April 6, 2011, 9:50 pm
On Wed, 6 Apr 2011 13:25:51 +1000
> It will be interesting to watch your newly created distraction to
> this. The world is watching.
The embroidery pattern theft will never catch up to me
unless I get the used sewing machine I bought at a garage
sale working. So I am safe for now.
XML site map
> time I found the power consumption numbers stated in literature
> to be wrong. If I could have found a 550 watt microwave like I
> planned, everything would have been fine. My first microwave
> was that size, but they don't seem to make them that small any more.