It may be possible in some cases to run a standard microwave oven in your caravan whilst hooked up to the electric hook up. However there are a couple of drawbacks. One is that a microwave oven generally draws a lot more power from the mains than it produces in the form of microwave energy. A 700 watt microwave will draw in the region of 1400 watts. If the output of the electric hookup is 6 amps, if any other appliance in the caravan is switched on at the same time the overload circuit breaker is likely to operate. The other drawback is that most appliances, in particular microwave ovens tend to surge as they start up. This surge in current can be very close to 13 amps but of course, will trip the electric hookup even if rated at 10 amps.
The solution is to use a low power microwave, one that draws less power and doesn’t surge at start up.
caravan microwave
These usually aren’t available off the shelf. The manufacturers have for years been increasing the available output so a 500 watt microwave is rarely available.
Here at Microwave Service Company we have found a solution which has been received well over the last couple of years. We have sourced a small, easy to use microwave model that has an anti surge circuit incorporated into the design and we then replace some components inside the oven to effectively reduce the power output which in turn reduces the power consumption.
These ovens are now in stock ready for dispatch.
To find out more about our low power microwave ovens go to our website www.microwave-repair.co.uk.
To buy a low power microwave oven go to Kitchenwareonline.com
Microwave Service Company Ltd 
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What’s the lowest power a microwave oven can operate at before you food seizes to warm up?
We managed to reduce the output power of the microwave to just over 300 watts. It was effectively the same power output as defrost on a normal microwave. During testing it seemed really slow. When we reported back to the customer who had asked us to produce a microwave that drew less than a 100 watts he decided that that he would go back to the drawing board rather than have a microwave that would cook as well as leaving something on a sunny windowsill for an hour !
Thanks for the reply! Is it possible to heat food up at 100W? Would the food receive any heat at all, even if it was left there for a ‘long’ period of time?
Well, no. It was a waste of time because it was so in effective.
Very negative answers from ‘microwave expert’.
A low power <300 Watts microwave would transform the average camping/caravaning experience, (Assuming access to a car cigar-lighter outlet). True it would take maybe 15 minutes to heat your soup or your "cuppa", but imagine no gas burner/lighters etc. and do we really care if our morning brew takes a bit longer – We are on holiday.
I'm sure there is a market for a low power miniature microwave twice the size of a bag of sugar. C'mon inventors & engineers, let's make it happen.
Apologies. I hadn’t realised that there would be an interest. To that end I will keep an eye out for any solutions. There was an oven available called the wavebox, which looked a bit like a toolbox. It was designed to run from the auxiliary socket on an american utility truck (these offer more power than the 12 volt socket in UK vehicles). Unfortunately the company marketing them were impossible to contact and the manufacturer in China was un willing to provide us with service information so we couldn’t repair them. Certainly, if anything comes up I’ll try to find out about it.
Thanks for your reply – I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do beside emailing unsolicited mail from the general public.
I really do think that the right Mini-microwave could be a big hit with travellers, trippers & campers.
My partner and I spend the whole of August every year driving down to the Mediterranean and back. Where possible we take the ‘B’ roads and the most scenic routes. Each night we stop to camp or sleep in the car, or even in the odd hotel. If only we had a mini microwave to heat our drinks and food and the snacks we didn’t quite finish from the previous village.
A <300 watt microwave could be just the ticket. Powered from the cigar socket, much smaller than typical domestic m/waves – say 20cmx20cmx20cm internally.
A power-saving technical breakthrough could involve 2 low power magnetrons in push-pull instead of the usual single class A amplifier currently used, nearly doubling the efficiency.
Just a thought.
Best regards, Graham
Forgot to say that a <300 watt microwave would heat our pasties , pies and 'Snackpots' and probably last night's take-away, as well. Not a bad intro. to camping cuisine.
Hello where can I buy a 500 watt microwave please and what is the name of the manufacturers is it daewoo ?
Thanks Mary
What would be better than all the optional doodling around is to set up a standard microwave with a ‘slow-start’ unit like some of the power-tools incorporate. I’d be first in line with my momey in my hand.
…of ourse I meant my MONEY……My mommey ran away with me girlfriend long ago!