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Old 01-20-2018, 03:32 PM   #21
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I almost assumed that a butane curling iron was a joke before I decided I'd look it up just to be safe. I am flabbergasted!

Our use for microwaving is quick reheats, not cooking. On one hand I feel like I really should be able to just do without, on the other hand it would be nice!

Scott, the advice to try not to put all eggs in the 12v or 120v basket sounds wise. I guess I was just starting to get excited about saving the big $$$ if we opted out of an inverter. I really don't want to decide to add one later, though. If we'll want it I'd like to get it now. The hassle and cost of adding after production would bum me out! If the cost wasn't so so high, I'd get it in a heartbeat. It just seems like alot for something that can't be used much.

I, too, love my electric pressure cooker (not Instant Pot brand, as they weren't so big yet when I drank the Kool-aid). I'm going to grieve when we take off without it but I suppose I'll get a stovetop one! I'm surprised to hear that you can run yours on battery power!

Jon, why was the built in microwave so much more appealing than having a freestanding one in a cabinet? Was there no space for one in your 17? I've half considered getting the regular cabinet and just sticking a microwave in it so that we could take it out when we wouldn't be using it. Not sure if that's really an issue or not. I'm sure it would really reduce the convenience factor.
I stored the microwave under the bed, requiring digging it out & putting it on the cabinet any time I wanted to use it. Since there was other stuff also stored under the bed (it was permanent) it was sometimes a pain if you just wanted a quick 1 minute heating.

I'll also admit it was only part of the reason for the change - I wanted an oven, and a 2 door refrigerator. I dry camp for months at a time (I winter in the Quartzsite LTVAs where there are no hookups) as well as some areas that are 30 miles or more from a store. Makes a large freezer handy. While I would have preferred the 19, there wasn't enough counter space & storage space left after what I wanted to add, so I went with the 21.
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Old 01-20-2018, 04:08 PM   #22
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Carl, I'm a mosquito delicacy apparently. Do you find this works? Ultimately we'll get a screen room, but I've wondered about how much mosquitoes will hamper the fun once we leave South Louisiana.

Thermacels work, they do have a limited range. They advertise a 15 foot radius often we find it is just around us. And wind will eliminate the protection unless you can figure a way to block it.
But they provide peace, no whining in the ears at dusk from the little blood suckers. They also help with sandflies.
Karen is a magnet for mosquitoes while I seldom get bit by them. I really attract sandflies which she seldom gets bit by.
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Old 01-20-2018, 04:11 PM   #23
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Carl, I'm a mosquito delicacy apparently. Do you find this works? Ultimately we'll get a screen room, but I've wondered about how much mosquitoes will hamper the fun once we leave South Louisiana.
First, let me comment on resale value. If you decide to sell the Escape, it WILL sell quickly whether or not it has an inverter. If Bill doesn’t buy it, there will be someone in line who won’t care if it has an inverter.

Thermocells do work to repel mosquitoes. It takes a few minutes for the insecticide to build up but it will put a cloud around you and they will not bother you. If you go for the screen room, I recommend the Clam. Extremely easy and quick to set up and take down.
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Old 01-20-2018, 04:14 PM   #24
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For monitoring battery use, we'd want to stop the microwave if we hit a certain charge level in the battery, right? Where's that line that we should avoid dipping under?

I'm going to take a peek at the 12v microwaves mentioned earlier, even just to see if that can really work!


I would become very familiar with this article while using an inverter.....The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)
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Old 01-20-2018, 04:26 PM   #25
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I, too, love my electric pressure cooker (not Instant Pot brand, as they weren't so big yet when I drank the Kool-aid). I'm going to grieve when we take off without it but I suppose I'll get a stovetop one! I'm surprised to hear that you can run yours on battery power!
The Instant Pot is used more often when we do hookups and don’t have to worry about the battery levels, but we do use it periodically off the inverter, with caution. We won’t do it if we’re not pretty sure of decent sunshine availability to refill the batteries, and we have a Trimetric battery monitor so we actually know how much juice is in there vs the generalized schwag guess that you get from a gauge that is based only on battery voltage. It’s a handy tool, but unfortunately one that ETI won’t install. They will prewire for one during the build though...
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Old 01-20-2018, 06:23 PM   #26
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vs the generalized schwag guess that you get from a gauge that is based only on battery voltage.
Never been called a schwag before but I guess that's me. When I started using an inverter powered microwave 30 years ago there wasn't the sophisticated monitors available today. Just a quick glance at the current battery voltage, some use experience and some common sense go a long way. But then I usually follow the KISS principle if possible. Sometimes......

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Old 01-20-2018, 06:25 PM   #27
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No, no, no. ‘Schwag’ just means a guess ;-)
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Old 01-20-2018, 06:27 PM   #28
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We don't have an inverter in our 19, and don't miss it. We're set up for 12V living and our needs are minimal. Have one 12V battery with a 160?W solar panel. This keeps up with our furnace or Maxfan when it's cold or hot. Charge cell phones, kindles, etc. via 12V. We have a 120V heater and a blender when we have a power bush. We don't have a microwave (need the storage more) or TV. When the 12V battery gives up we'll likely go for 2 6V. I second the recommendation for a Trimetric.

But it all depends on how you camp and what you need. I'd go more for what you'll use than for resale value. Aren't you getting an Escape for the long haul?

Just me two cents.
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Old 01-20-2018, 06:32 PM   #29
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No, no, no. ‘Schwag’ just means a guess ;-)
Thanks for clearing that up. It's probably still me, if I see that the batteries at 12. 7 I guess that it's OK to use the microwave.

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Old 01-20-2018, 07:00 PM   #30
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Actually Schwag is free stuff handed out by promoters at events, like pens, t-shirts ETI gives you at rallies. Some Schwag approach $10k like at the Academy Awards or other high priced events...schwag
[SHwaɡ]
NOUN
informal
US
products given away free, typically for promotional purposes:
"I'll be showing you the best of the schwag I get my hands on each day"
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Old 01-20-2018, 07:13 PM   #31
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Actually Schwag is free stuff handed out by promoters at events, like pens, t-shirts ETI gives you at rallies. Some Schwag approach $10k like at the Academy Awards or other high priced events...schwag
[SHwaɡ]
NOUN
informal
US
products given away free, typically for promotional purposes:
"I'll be showing you the best of the schwag I get my hands on each day"
I read you had to be careful with schwag as the seeds can pop and spread hot embers.
Now swag is a different story
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:10 PM   #32
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About to nix inverter, am I crazy?

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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Actually Schwag is free stuff handed out by promoters at events, like pens, t-shirts ETI gives you at rallies. Some Schwag approach $10k like at the Academy Awards or other high priced events...schwag
[SHwaɡ]
NOUN
informal
US
products given away free, typically for promotional purposes:
"I'll be showing you the best of the schwag I get my hands on each day"

Yes, that is another meaning for the term. A third is “low grade marijuana”.

Edit: I see Karen or Ken beat me to this. Cheers [emoji6]
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Old 01-21-2018, 09:23 AM   #33
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No, no, no. ‘Schwag’ just means a guess ;-)
.....Now, I thought the acronym was WAG: Wild As_ Guess........
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Old 01-21-2018, 09:28 AM   #34
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I think a schwag is very similar to a WAG, but perhaps a skosh more refined. Perhaps one order closer to an Educated Guess.
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Old 01-21-2018, 11:29 AM   #35
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I feel so much better now that I've gone from the schwag category to the Educated Guess group.

Battery voltage is good, my educated guess is that it's OK to use the microwave.

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Old 01-21-2018, 11:32 AM   #36
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I feel so much better now that I've gone from the schwag category to the Educated Guess group.

Battery voltage is good, my educated guess is that it's OK to use the microwave.

Ron
figure the icrowave is about 800 watts while its actually heating, and at 12V, thats 66 amps. that will NOT take long to drain the battery
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Old 01-21-2018, 11:43 AM   #37
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John, when I first introduced the original Prowatt inverter ( later bought by Zantrex) to the boating world 30 years ago I heard the same comments from just about everyone that looked at the demo. For the last 30 years, myself and many others have been using the battery powered inverter/microwave with great success.

Simply put, it's a common sense thing. If your batteries are charged and you want to reheat some pizza, go for it. Done.

If you've been boondocking for days, using the furnace and the batteries are down with not much prospect of recharging that day well .....

Common sense and inverters go together.

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Old 01-21-2018, 11:55 AM   #38
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figure the icrowave is about 800 watts while its actually heating, and at 12V, thats 66 amps. that will NOT take long to drain the battery
My old 600 watt microwave drew 65 amps; the 700 watt provided by Escape draws around 95, or about 1 1/2 amp hours per minute of use. As long as you have a way to put the amp hours back into the batteries, a 5 - 10 minute run starting with full batteries is OK. If the batteries are too low, while the microwave is running it can pull the input voltage below the alarm level, or even down to shut off (usually 10.5V).
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Old 01-21-2018, 01:05 PM   #39
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.....Now, I thought the acronym was WAG: Wild As_ Guess........
And a SWAG is a Scientific WAG.
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Old 01-21-2018, 01:11 PM   #40
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figure the icrowave is about 800 watts while its actually heating, and at 12V, thats 66 amps.
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My old 600 watt microwave drew 65 amps; the 700 watt provided by Escape draws around 95...
The rated power of a microwave oven is the power of the microwaves produced; the input power is substantially more. 65 amps @ 12 volts would be 780 watts, to produce a 600 watt output; 95 amps @ 12 volts would be 1140 watts, to produce an 800 watt output. These are probably typical; the oven on my kitchen counter takes 1460 watts of input, producing 1200 watts of output.
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