M2 Freightliner Ambulance Conversion Project. 2007 Crew Cab

pennersm

Observer
Well, either way you go, I can't wait to see how it looks on your rig! I really enjoy watching your builds, with the exception of envy setting in all the time LOL.
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
A minor bit of progress. The last outlet is finally wired.

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Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
I like that idea and then I tell the missus. She mutters something about hoping I like Mexican jails for when the Federales don’t share my sense of humor.
 

patoz

Expedition Leader
Bevan, that is a novel idea for mounting the outlets, especially if you don't have any other use for the cylinder storage compartments. It keeps them out of sight and out of the weather.
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
Finally trimmed out the inverter cupboard and finished off the wiring. Now we have a place to setup the microwave and the 2 coffee machines as well as hide all the 110 stuff and the solar regulator away. I did put a lock box in under the inverter for holding our vehicle papers etc so the vent hides that fairly well. ( and it’s a secret so dont tell anyone it’s there).



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patoz

Expedition Leader
Bevan, what's the wattage on the microwave and how well does it work powered by the inverter? Any problems out of the ordinary?
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
Not sure what wattage or how it works. I grabbed the one that was the right size and cheap to make it look like a real RV for the inspection. It has never been powered up. I think it is 900 Watts. The one in Old Yella was about the same size and ran OK on the 1800w Vanner inverter so I figure this one will work OK.
 

patoz

Expedition Leader
This the reason I was asking...

My Inverter/Charger is made by Magnum Energy Inc., and they say to, "Look for an inverter that has a surge rating 4x the continuous wattage of your microwave."


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Mine is the model MS 2012 which is 2,000 Watts rated, with a surge of 3,300 Watts for 5 sec.

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So, since I already have the MS-2012, I'm going to look for a microwave with a continuous wattage rating which is 25% of the Inverter's surge rating instead. If I take an average of all four surge ratings listed, I come up with 2850 Watts, which is right at the 5 minute rating. So, 25% of 2850 is 715.5 Watts. But, since the highest rating is 3300 Watts and 25% of that is 825 Watts, I'll look for a microwave in the 700 to 900 range and should be OK.
 

rlrenz

Explorer
In my case, I'm keeping the Vanner 1050 watt inverter, so I'm looking for a small enough microwave to not overload it. Since Vanner is a medical design, I"m thinking that their short term rating is very conservative, so I'm going to try a 600 watt microwave and see what happens.

I have the added advantage that I'm not planning to live entirely on battery power - I can always start the generator if all else fails (Plan-B).

If the Vanner inverter fails, I have a new Vanner on the shelf (Plan-C)
 

Ozrockrat

Expedition Leader
Hopefully I will have the 4/0 cables for my inverter installed this weekend and I can take some readings for you. If you have a true sine wave inverter you can consider getting an inverter type microwave which will greatly reduce the inrush current and allow you to run a higher wattage microwave.
 

patoz

Expedition Leader
The Magnum is a top of the line, true sine wave inverter, and I wouldn't have anything less for this application.

Apparently, I need to do some research on the type of Microwave you're talking about, because I'm not familiar with them.
 

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