Best microwave for 22 cruiser

D

dutch123

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C Dory Year
2001
C Dory Model
22 Cruiser
Hull Identification Number
CD022948B101
Vessel Name
Reel Action
I'm sure this topic has been covered in depth somewhere but can someone give some advice/info on best microwave model and location for a 22. Also what type of inverter is required/perfered? Thanks for the help.
 
We have a truck camper on our Ford and haul our 22' Cruiser. We bought a Wal Mart on sale 700w microwave, I think a GE, for $39 or $49, for dual use. It is quite small and light. It does more than pop popcorn and heat water; it can cook. The problem with anything smaller is that it is a pop corn maker or a cup of coffee heater. Not what I wanted.

We use our Honda 2000i to power it. The Honda powers it with no problem as long as that's all you're running at one time. Have used it mostly on the camper. I think you would need some major battery power to be able to power it. Inverter numbers, volts, watts, and that sort of stuff is best left to those on this site that know. I have seen the posts, but I stop reading - too complicated for me.

It stores in the camper. If put on the boat, I would find a temporary place out of the way until I needed it. For me and the frequency that I would use it, there is no need for a permanent install. The cabin is small enough without installing a microwave permanently, for my needs. I have seen some others mount on a custom bracket. There are photos on the site. Do a quick search.

Hope this helps.

John
Swee Pea
 
Personally can't think of any place on a 22 CD that I would make room for a microwave. Still haven't used the built in one in our truck camper due to the need of generator running or other auxiliary power to use it and it would be the same on the boat. Might be a handy item if enough time is spent with shore power at the dock, but with a generator seems more effort would be spent setting up the generator then heating with regular means. I agree with John's suggestion of storing it out of the way, but I would be hard pressed to find such a spot on the Hunkydory.

Jay
 
Half_Pint.jpg

860 watts means that a 1000 watt generator can power it
 
Pete, that looks like a good combination for those whom having a microwave is important. Also I think your choice of the Yamaha 1000 is better for a CD 22 then the 2000. The reason we went with the Honda 2000 is for its use powering the air conditioner in the truck camper too. Your photo of the microwave shows just how much space has to be given up to bring it along and why we do without, especially on a long cruise.

Jay
 
I have a small 900 watt also. it runs fine with my 1000 watt pro line inverter and of course my Honda 2000. You can see my installation on page two of my album. I use it mostly for breakfast sandwiches and the grandchildren think it is cool to have popcorn on the boat.
 
Dutch - Beware; a microwave that works on shore power or a generator might not work on inverter power. In fact, you might be hard pressed today to find a microwave oven that will work on inverter power. Notice in Minnie Swann's album (Fairbro's post) that his unit is a Sunbeam with mechanical dial switches for on/off (timer) and power level, not solid state controls. Same for Adeline's unit. The microwave on my boat is also a Sunbeam with mechanical controls.

I was told by the original owner of my boat that he was unable to get modern microwaves with solid state controls to work on inverter power. If someone has a solid state controlled microwave that works on inverter power, hopefully he will pipe up and let us know.
 
double post deleted.
 
Personally, the only microwave I’d consider on a C-dory is one filled with concrete and tossed over the side....with line a buoy attached. :) :thup
 
breausaw":34mxzk7m said:
Personally, the only microwave I’d consider on a C-dory is one filled with concrete and tossed over the side....with line a buoy attached. :) :thup
Click to expand...

It's nice that we can all equip our boats in the way that best suits our use. I chuckle when I read some of these comments, knowing that some folks probably think a microwave in their home is a waste of space, too. It's not unusual for us to spend months at a time onboard... making the boat as "home-like" and comfortable means we'll likely spend more time out.

If one uses the boat for fishing, you'd sure equip it differently from those who use it for cruising. While compact, these boats are adaptable.

We put a microwave on our 25 last year when we spent a couple months on the Erie Canal, Hudson River, and Trent-Severn Waterway. Plenty of opportunities for a plug-in when cruising those areas. The 25 has more real estate than the 22; I made a temporary shelf for the microwave for the top of the locker behind the aft dinette seat. Getting back to the original question here, in the 22 you could put the microwave on the table, under the table on the floor, or build a shelf above the galley area.

For the record, we swapped our the microwave for the toaster oven that trip. 8) Sometimes it's nice to have fresh baked goods while cruising. Or, I suppose you could fill the toaster oven with concrete, too, and use it as a dual anchor with the microwave! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
We also went with the toaster oven and SHE loves it. The one we got was also a convection oven with a rotisserie in it - works well. We do have fish on the Fan-C-Dory periodically - canned salmon. Jim, if I remember correctly, smells around the door of a restaurant to see if they sell fish before going in, don't know what he'd do if a live one ended up in "Wild Blue"... :roll: :D
 
just completed a microwave install on our 22' c-dory. have several pictures on my album. feel free to check them out and let me know what you think.
best regards and good luck
pat
 
patrick and linda":rgnsfalq said:
just completed a microwave install on our 22' c-dory. have several pictures on my album. feel free to check them out and let me know what you think.
best regards and good luck
pat
Click to expand...

Nice Job, Pat! Great use of the "Ice Box" space!


That's the same microwave I have in my 22, though in my boat it just sets on top of my propane stove. That particular microwave appears with quite a few different name plates or badges on it, but they're all the same, and made in China. 700 watts as I remember. (Raining too hard outside to go take a look).

I power it with a 1000 watt inverter, which takes the load better on start up than a Honda 1000i generator. Of course, we use shore power if we have it.

Pat's Neat Installation:

cabinet_for_microwave.jpg
11/06/2009, removed frig/cooler
downsized_1120091529_1_001.jpg
11/20/09 works great, total refit was less than $80.00. microwave, $50, shelf and door $15, hinges, door knob, magnetic door lock, screws, about $10.
cabinet_door_opened.jpg
cabinet door opened

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
thanks joe,
thanks for posting pictures, i'm still learning this system and haven't mastered transferring photos from the album to a post. it was a fun and inexpensive project to accomplish. for linda and me the frig was a waist of space and we needed a coffee warm up system more so than a cooler. have large cooler kept in cockpit.
pat
 
Toaster Oven for us as well. My wife is thrilled with it and I certainly endorse it because of all of the culinary delights my wife produces from it! In my opinion, it is more useful, (in the hands of someone that can cook....not me), than a microwave. In the toaster oven, Carol makes breakfast, hot sandwiches, lasagna, etc, etc. ummm, good! :smilep
 
DaveS":2kj3uojt said:
Toaster Oven for us as well. My wife is thrilled with it and I certainly endorse it because of all of the culinary delights my wife produces from it! In my opinion, it is more useful, (in the hands of someone that can cook....not me), than a microwave. In the toaster oven, Carol makes breakfast, hot sandwiches, lasagna, etc, etc. ummm, good! :smilep
Click to expand...

Now you’re talking, if I could figure out a way to have a toaster oven onboard without shore power, inverter, or generator I’d go for it; miss having the ability to bake. When we camp tailored shake & bake chicken was a staple at least every other weekend...miss that along with biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

Guess we will just have to put up with meals like Posta and fresh shrimp, blackened salmon and rice, fried potatoes with rock fish and other bland delights.

If we can’t catch our protein its tube steaks or one of those bags of dehydrated meals stashed for gastronomic emergencies.
 
enough coffee.... gotta go fix something to eat.
 
Any proper sized (to the inverter) microwave with mechanical controls will work on a modified sine wave inverter. There are still mechanical control microwaves available. I have also used solid state microwaves on a quality Modified sine wave inverter. Any of the pure sine wave inverters will run any appropiate sized microwave (solid state or mechanical controls).

I did not use a microwave on my 22, but did on the 25 and currently do on my Tom Cat.

The Honda EU 1000 or 2000 i generators are pure sine wave inverters running off an alternator, and will run all of the microwaves.
 
Resurrecting this thread, as we just decided to get a microwave to use on our 22. Most the time, my wife prepares food prior to our trips, so many times we are just reheating stuff. After my last solo trip, it just seems to make more sense to get rid of the electric frying pan and take the microwave. We bought the smallest one Walmart had, a 750 watt unit. Yes, it takes up a bit more room than the frying pan, but not much. And I pulled the KISS stove out a year ago, now just using a portable single burner butane stove. I also believe a microwave won't put quite as much steam in the cabin... My question is, for those of you that have Microwaves, do you secure them down, or just let them sit? Initially my plans were to make some kind of fastening system to secure the microwave down, on that countertop where the stove was located at one time. However, I'm also thinking it would be some kind of system that was not permanent, as we wouldn't always need to have the microwave along. SO now I'm wondering if it's ok to just sit it where we want to use it, and in rough water tie it down under the dinette table or throw it up in the v-berth. So, just wondering how others have done it. Colby
 
I made small chocks, with a cutout for the legs of the microwave feet. These don't need to be very high; just enough to keep the oven from sliding.

Often the watts is output--not input. It will be interesting to see what the input is. Do you have a Kill-O-Watt meter? It will measure the amps and watts input.

We are using an induction stove, and the EU 1000 will run it at the medium setting which seems to be fine for all we heat/eat. No heating of the cabin, and not a lot of power.
 
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