Microwave dimension

[gwvwadc]

We are looking at microwave options for our yet to be born 21'. We see that the dimension listed for the microwave cabinet door opening is 18.5" wide x 11.5" tall. DW saw an inverter microwave today that measures exactly 18.5" wide x 10.5 tall x 14.5" deep. I am thinking that with enough "jimmying" it just might fit perfectly.
Can anybody out there tell us what the largest width dimension microwave you have installed is? Or can someone give us the actual door opening measurement from your trailer?
Thanks for any information!

[cpaharley2008]

You do realize there 2 possible microwave locations in the 21-upper and lower. See here for dimensions http://escapetrailer.com/wp-content/...asurements.pdf
it appears the under counter location is a bit larger than the overhead location.

[John in Santa Cruz]

the cabinet is *exactly* 18.5 wide on our 21, and about 22" deep, the stock microwave is more like 17.5" wide and there are four 'tabs' screwed to the sides of the cabinet that stick out and secure the microwave.

we've not used the microwave yet, we're far more likely to use the propane oven (mmm, toasted rolls with melted cheese, various casseroles, etc etc)

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by gwvwadc

We are looking at microwave options for our yet to be born 21'. We see that the dimension listed for the microwave cabinet door opening is 18.5" wide x 11.5" tall. DW saw an inverter microwave today that measures exactly 18.5" wide x 10.5 tall x 14.5" deep. I am thinking that with enough "jimmying" it just might fit perfectly.
Can anybody out there tell us what the largest width dimension microwave you have installed is? Or can someone give us the actual door opening measurement from your trailer?
Thanks for any information!

I would call ETI and ask they could install a unit with the dimensions you have; simple to make the opening maybe 1/16 inch bigger during construction. If you actually have the unit shipped to ETI before the start date of your build, I'll bet Reace will make it work.



No two Escapes are exactly alike. I worked on one 21 where the bed framing was out-of-square by almost 1/4 inch to the grid on the flooring.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by gwvwadc

We are looking at microwave options for our yet to be born 21'. We see that the dimension listed for the microwave cabinet door opening is 18.5" wide x 11.5" tall. DW saw an inverter microwave today that measures exactly 18.5" wide x 10.5 tall x 14.5" deep. I am thinking that with enough "jimmying" it just might fit perfectly.
Can anybody out there tell us what the largest width dimension microwave you have installed is? Or can someone give us the actual door opening measurement from your trailer?
Thanks for any information!

I installed a Panasonic NN-SD372S inverter microwave and it fit with a small amount of trimming.

The blue tape shows the areas that i trimmed - I also centered the enclosure at the same time as Escape had cut it a little off center. The side faces of the microwave cabinet extend from interior sides with plenty of space for cuts so the amounts I had to trim were not a problem.

The next pic shows the microwave installed. I added a section of aluminum angle to the bottom sides of the microwave to form mounting feet and attached it to the bottom of the cabinet with industrial velcro.

The last pic show the trim that I added. Rease sent me some of the vinyl trim that he uses and it added a finishing look to the installation.

It works great! I tested it for air flow and temperature buildup and found the installation to be fine.

Oh, and if you are going to install your own microwave, be sure to tell Escape not to install the microwave door!

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I installed a Panasonic NN-SD372S inverter microwave and it fit with a small amount of trimming.

The blue tape shows the areas that i trimmed - I also centered the enclosure at the same time as Escape had cut it a little off center. The side faces of the microwave cabinet extend from interior sides with plenty of space for cuts so the amounts I had to trim were not a problem.

The next pic shows the microwave installed. I added a section of aluminum angle to the bottom sides of the microwave to form mounting feet and attached it to the bottom of the cabinet with industrial velcro.

The last pic show the trim that I added. Rease sent me some of the vinyl trim that he uses and it added a finishing look to the installation.

It works great! I tested it for air flow and temperature buildup and found the installation to be fine.

Oh, and if you are going to install your own microwave, be sure to tell Escape not to install the microwave door!

I added the same microwave in the upper enclosure in my 21. I reused the tabs that Escape put on the old microwave, and had to notch the front molding to make room for the feet on the new microwave. Like Tom, I did have to widen the cabinet enclosure.

[cpaharley2008]

to Tom and Jon re:enclosing your microwave, I always thought you needed to vent any built in microwave cabinet to allow heat to escape.

[ldf]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I installed a Panasonic NN-SD372S inverter microwave and it fit with a small amount of trimming. . . .!

I'm looking at buying an Escape 17B. I have this microwave now at home. It's "950W" on the front panel and the specs list power consumption at 1,200W. I measured mine (using KillAWatt meter) and found it at 1,500W on high most of a minute and a half to heat a cup of coffee.

Do you use your microwave on shore power only? Does anyone use theirs on battery power only? For short or long, heating or cooking?

What is your battery bank size and inverter output?

Thanks.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

to Tom and Jon re:enclosing your microwave, I always thought you needed to vent any built in microwave cabinet to allow heat to escape.

No need to vent any more than the original Escape provided microwave. Still lots of room inside the cabinet.

[cpaharley2008]

Welcome Leslie, to out little Escape world. Everything in your Escape can operate off propane and 12v, except for the air conditioning. I dropped using the microwave when I started camping outdoors. Here is a guide you may find helpful....http://marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by ldf

I'm looking at buying an Escape 17B. I have this microwave now at home. It's "950W" on the front panel and the specs list power consumption at 1,200W. I measured mine (using KillAWatt meter) and found it at 1,500W on high most of a minute and a half to heat a cup of coffee.

Do you use your microwave on shore power only? Does anyone use theirs on battery power only? For short or long, heating or cooking?

What is your battery bank size and inverter output?

Thanks.

I used the 950 watt inverter microwave on the stock GoPower 1500 watt inverter & the original pair of 6V interstate batteries. I found that with the stock wiring & 6V batteries, I sometimes had the microwave pull down the batteries enough that the inverter's low voltage buzzer would warn, or even shut down.

After increasing the inverter to battery wire size to 2/0 & switching to a pair of lithium batteries, I have no problem running it at full power for 5 - 10 minutes, even after a night running the furnace.

[gbaglo]

Seems like a lot of trouble and waste of space to heat a cup of coffee, especially in a 17B. I use that space as a cupboard for food items, spices, salt and pepper, sugar, pasta, etc, etc.

[ldf]

Thanks Jon. You supplied answers and anticipated my next questions about lithium and wire gauge.

Leslie

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by ldf

I'm looking at buying an Escape 17B. I have this microwave now at home. It's "950W" on the front panel and the specs list power consumption at 1,200W. I measured mine (using KillAWatt meter) and found it at 1,500W on high most of a minute and a half to heat a cup of coffee.

Do you use your microwave on shore power only? Does anyone use theirs on battery power only? For short or long, heating or cooking?

What is your battery bank size and inverter output?

Thanks.

we hardly ever use the microwave even we are on shore power. it makes a handy breadbox for travel. coffee is made by boiling water on the stove (or a jetboil outside) and hand pour.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I used the 950 watt inverter microwave on the stock GoPower 1500 watt inverter & the original pair of 6V interstate batteries. I found that with the stock wiring & 6V batteries, I sometimes had the microwave pull down the batteries enough that the inverter's low voltage buzzer would warn, or even shut down.

After increasing the inverter to battery wire size to 2/0 & switching to a pair of lithium batteries, I have no problem running it at full power for 5 - 10 minutes, even after a night running the furnace.

Same here Jon. The inverter would hit low voltage if the batteries weren't fully charged when using the microwave full power.

I changed the battery wires to 2/0 and the problem went away. The 2 gauge battery wires just aren't up to the task when using a high power microwave - the voltage drop is too high.

[Illinois Joe]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Welcome Leslie, to out little Escape world. Everything in your Escape can operate off propane and 12v, except for the air conditioning. I dropped using the microwave when I started camping outdoors. Here is a guide you may find helpful....The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

Thanks for the link. This is a very good explanation of 12v system and link to part 2 at bottom of article is a good explanation of the inverter and battery power required.

[Illinois Joe]

Re microwave use. My wife likes to precook and freeze some meals (or meal ingredients) prior to leaving on a 2-3 week trip, then use the microwave to start defrost (or finish defrost). We found having an inverter useful for running the microwave for short periods ( 1-5 minutes) off of the battery. We had a 300 AHr AGM battery and it worked out ok in most cases. When boonedocking for multiple days we did need to be careful about state of battery charge before using microwave.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

Same here Jon. The inverter would hit low voltage if the batteries weren't fully charged when using the microwave full power.

I changed the battery wires to 2/0 and the problem went away. The 2 gauge battery wires just aren't up to the task when using a high power microwave - the voltage drop is too high.

I am not questioning your install !
Normal trade practice is to take the FLC ( 1500 watts divided by 12 volts = 125 amps FLC ) and multiply by 1.25 ( 125 FLC x 1.25 = 156 amp ) and then using the NEC ampacity chart choose a conductor with equal or greater ampacity , which in this case is 2/0 CU wire rated at 75 deg C .
Installing a # 2 wire , knowing that voltage drop is critical with low voltage DC makes. no sense to me . It is a recipe for the problem you encountered / stated .
Why is the end consumer forced to reengineer their trailer’s wiring in order to make it work properly ?

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I am not questioning your install !
Normal trade practice is to take the FLC ( 1500 watts divided by 12 volts = 125 amps FLC ) and multiply by 1.25 ( 125 FLC x 1.25 = 156 amp ) and then using the NEC ampacity chart choose a conductor with equal or greater ampacity , which in this case is 2/0 CU wire rated at 75 deg C .
Installing a # 2 wire , knowing that voltage drop is critical with low voltage DC makes. no sense to me . It is a recipe for the problem you encountered / stated .
Why is the end consumer forced to reengineer their trailer’s wiring in order to make it work properly ?

I've posted some of the electrical wiring problems I have had to rip out and redo since I bought my Escape. Not all of them. But my electrical is much better now.

Oh, and the inverter I have (Gp-HS1500) is the one that has a peak surge rating of 3000 watts. It really needed the larger wire.

I think it is commonly known that Escape stinks at electrical. Lately, they haven't been doing so well with the grey tank plumbing either but that is for another topic.

At least they are really good at fiberglass!

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I've posted some of the electrical wiring problems I have had to rip out and redo since I bought my Escape. Not all of them. But my electrical is much better now.

Oh, and the inverter I have (Gp-HS1500) is the one that has a peak surge rating of 3000 watts. It really needed the larger wire.

I think it is commonly known that Escape stinks at electrical. Lately, they haven't been doing so well with the grey tank plumbing either but that is for another topic.

At least they are really good at fiberglass!

No , a recap is not necessary !