Considering adding a Microwave

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

I know better than to get into this but...

The microwaves on my boats, including the one I installed on my current boat, have always been hardwired to a breaker, impossible to unplug...but I only leave essential breakers on when I'm not there, so leaving it plugged in or not is a moot point on my boat. Frankly, I've never given it any thought. And I'm not arguing with anyone who prefers to unplug electric appliances, whether they need to or not. In my experience, it's very hard to get into trouble erring on the side of caution. So, as someone in another group always signs his posts..."Float and let float." But I do have a question for Thorp: How does it become any more of a "misuse" of household appliances to use them on a boat than it would be to use them in the kitchen of an un-air conditioned beach house? The evnironment is pretty much the same in both...so how does boat use violate design parameters? I've never seen any instruction stating that any electrical appliance should only be used in a climate-controlled environment. Not trying to start a fight...just asking.

 

[Paul Akers]

Peggie...

...I can't speak for current Hunters because I haven;t checked, but mine was standard equiptment in '88 and that was the way Hunter wired it then. And the outlet was inside the cabinet with the mic. Anybody...any change now?

 

[Ron B]

Microwave Safety

Wow this is fun. A little more food for thought. There's been a lot of talk here about Microwave safety. It seems to me that relatively speaking, it's allot safer than lighting a match and sticking it into an explosive gas which is the major alternative on most boats. But back to the original question..Yes and the only problem was that until I added the inverter the shore power cord was too short.

 

[Thorp Thomas]

The difference in appliances

I’ll try to keep this simple, as I feel I’m belaboring the point. The difference is in the quality of the materials used the manufacturing of the appliance i.e. gold plated contacts versus unplanted, chromed over brass components, sealed touch pads and better construction design and so on. Think about what you’re asking this appliance to do; repeated pounding for hours on end as you navigate rough waters. Is the one sitting on your counter at home expected to take this kind of punishment? Boats are usually an unheated environment with temperature extremes while sitting in water where the humidity can reach 100% day after day; compound all that with the corrosiveness of direct salt air. And while we’re at it what about your voltage supply at the shore power plug is it within the required range for domestic appliances? Mine’s not, unless I’m the only one plugged in to it (I have a volt / amp meter on the circuit panel that I can read before I run appliances). You need a product that can take this kind of punishment year after year.Next time your looking for a bargain in appliances keep in mind where you’re going to be keeping it, the job it’s expected to do and how long you want it to last. My hunch is Hunter dose not buy their microwaves, TVs and VCRs at Walmart, but rather a quality marine purveyor.

 

[Paul Akers]

One more point, Thorp:

The mic that went bad on me was standard equiptment. You say probably Hunter quality. The point is...I don't care how "quality" something is - it can still fail. So why give something the chance? Take precautions to prevent an accident such as mine and unplug the darn thing or remove the power source when not in use. If I had an electric space heater I wouldn't leave it plugged in either.All done...

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

I hate to break it to you, Thorp, but...

When it comes to such things as TVs, microwaves, blenders, stereos, etc. boat builders buy the same "off the shelf" appliances, from the same mfrs, that Walmart does..Even 12v appliances are the same ones sold there and in truck stops and RV supply stores. If a unit on a boat has gold plated contacts etc, so will the one from Walmart. The only difference may be that the one you find at Walmart is a counter top model, while boat builders may order the built-in model made for the home builder market.A special "marine" appliance would have to cost upwards of 5x what the same "household" model sells for..'cuz it's just simple economy of scale...in 1998 the total number of new sailboats sold was only 19,400--and that includes everything equipped with sails, with or without cabins, from all builders, production and custom. In 1999, the total jumped to 27,800--a huge increase, but when you consider that fewer than 20% of registered boats in the US (power and sail combined) are over 30', that's hardly enough to make it practical for any builder to specify specially designed and manufactured "marine" units from appliance manufacturers who ship more units per day to customers like Walmart and Costco than the entire marine market--power AND sail--buys in a year. But when stop and think about it, the units on boats may get bounced around a bit more than any in a house...but they don't take nearly the abuse on boats that little kids and teenagers give 'em on land.

 

[John Nantz]

Happy Valentines Day!

Just got word that the microwave we ordered on the internet last November was just shipped. Ordered it from Brandsmall.com and they really botched things up. Started conversing with el presidente and eventually wound up talking to them on the phone!! My wife was really happy to hear the news it;s finally on the way. It's 9-5/8 inches tall - just low enough to fit on the aft hanging locker (Hunter 35) - have to do something for the door to clear the teak strip on the shelf top, though. Samsung MU3250W. We'll volunteer to do a "Pratical Sailor" test to see how well it holds up - hopefully it'll take a few years before it smokes though. This will supplement our electric Braun coffee bean grinder which has worked well for several years and which we could not do without (Poulsbo is near Seattle).The 35 doesn't have an oven so we felt we needed something like this - baked potatoes? etc. The pulpit mounted barbacue we've had for nearly ten years - wife had to have! and it's been used only a dozen times at best (something to do with weather? I think).By the way, where is this guy Mike Spalding???? Didn't he start all this?

 

[Thorp Thomas]

Peggy... Tell me it ant so?

Peggy, you're breaking my hart, I’m becoming disillusioned with my beloved Hunter. I guess, fortunately none of my Hunters came with any appliances. My experiences came from buying household type appliances only to have them fail in a year or two. I took a failed, expensive, TV/VCR to my neighborhood appliance grugru, after a quick examination I got the same lecture about the effects of a marine environment. Since that day I have only bought marine grade products and never had a failure since. Perhaps it's just luck of the draw as you would no doubt point out, but I consider it a lesson in boating economics well learned that can be applied to just about everything on a boat.

 

[Jay Hill]

I can't believe I ate the whole thing...

Wow, a new record on a single thread? Just as a reminder, the original question was about the use of the unit at the dock probably on an inland (although big) lake since he's from Indianapolis. I agree with Thorp that only marine grade products should be used whenever possible. OTOH, I also don't believe that there is such a thing as a microwave specifically designed for the marine environment. Because of this, I also agree the unit should remain unplugged when not in use. I would like to submit, though, that the mic. on my boat is 9 years old and still works great. This particular unit is not subject to salt air, however, and I'm sure it would be a pile of rust by now if it were. Even so, a new unit would run about $100 which I consider to be insignificant compared to the amount of money spent on new toys, maintenance, slip fees (sheesh!), new running rigging every year, bottom jobs every two years, etc. etc. Even if I had to replace the mic every other year, it's still cheap.Now, if it smoke checks while I'm using it on board, I'm standing right there to secure the power and extinguish the flame, just as I would be over stove, oven, or grill. I think it's just another trade-off required of boat ownership. If you want the microwave, it's another piece of equipment that requires proper attention, and, of course, proper maintenance and operating procedures, just like anything else.So, enjoy your popcorn, muffin, coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever, then unplug the dang microwave and get underway.Recommendation: Black&Decker Space Saver. It has the least amount of internal access via vents and is very small. You can also get it with the manual dial instead of electronic keypad.

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

What's a "marine grade" VCR??

One that you bought from West Marine for twice as much as you could have gotten it from Walmart? And btw, don't pooh-pooh the stuff that Walmart carries...it's the same brand name equipment, built to the same specs as that sold everywhere else. But you shouldn't feel disillusioned that Hunter doesn't spend $500 (their cost) for a "marine" version of a $100 (retail) microwave...neither does Hatteras, Hinckley or anyone else.

 

[Thorp Thomas]

I give up, you win Walmart rulls

Peggy, your words cut swift and deep. I feel like such a fool for not shopping at your favorite marine store, Walmart. I could have saved a ton of money... All I have to say is; the one I bought from marine supply company is still working after eight years and the two I bought from Appliance's-R- Us (there how's that for not naming names?)started to fail within two years and were unusable within a year latter. My neighbor at the club where I stay takes his TV & VCR home every weekend for that very reason. I my business I use a lot of HVAC (I’d better not name them – you’ll think I’m slamming them also) controls. The same controls can purchase at Home Depot (Gees, did I just slam them as well? Sorry) for half the cost of the supply house. However, it’s not the same control, when you open the cover it's made in China not the USA and the warrantee is one third as well. When we run into one of these controls that have failed during the night (and it 's often) we just laugh while we're installing the real thing and hand them a bill that reflect just how good his bargain was.

 

[Mark Johnson]

I shop at the WIZ..

which is a chain store selling electronics TV's, Stereo's etc. Bought two TV's (13 inch) and 1 car stereo for my last boat. Used them for 8 years and never had a problem. They also stayed on the boat 365 day per year. Winters can be pretty rough up here in the Northeast. Also, microwave that came with the boat (supplied by Catalina)also worked flawlessly for the 8 years I owned the boat. I'm not really sure want "Marinized" means except that it costs more.Mark Johnson

 

[Mike Spalding]

Wow!

Thanks everybody! Who would have thought a simple question would have generated so many responses. I'm shure there are many others who have read your responses and benefited like I have. It's nice to know that valuable information and advice is as near as your computor. p.s. You are all invited to my boat for coffee and warm crumb cake, or cold beer and warm soft pretzels.

 

[Paul Akers]

Is this an offer for a rendezvous? -NM

 

[Ron]

A Pounding????

I own and operate an 18 wheeler and I can tell you what a real pounding is. It's not a sailboat beating to weather. Have you ever seen a sailor wearing a kidney belt?? I have a microwave in my truck (connected to an inverter)and it takes the worst beating possible. It is also exposed to extreme temperture changes year round and it has never failed. It is about three years old now and if it should ever let me down I will go back to where I bought it and get another for $58.95 plus tax. Yes, I bought it at Wal-Mart.

 

[Thorp Thomas]

Just a piece of cake?

After giving you all my worthless opinions on the virtues of "Marine grade appliances" all you're offering is some crummy cake (or was that Crumb cake) and beer? Well... It's a tempting offer, but, just where is Indianapolis?What's the best way to get there from NH? Can we raft up? I suppose you’ll be heating this piece of cake in your new microwave oven from Walmart too. (just jidding no hate mail, please)

 

[Ron]

No Hate Mail

Thorp... No hate mail.. This is what it's all about. Opinions. What we really need to do is pool our efforts and figure out a way to melt all that snow you're getting up there. Maybe we could microw..... Oh, never mind... :>)Ron

 

[John Nantz]

Learned Something From This

Even though we're going to put on an el cheapo (~$80 delivered) domestic microwave, I did learn something from this post - corrosion can cause a short which can then render the appliances controls useless. Therefore, whenever we're away from the boat I'll have the microwave unpluged and when we're using it I'll be observant and have an emergency plan ready to shut off power or put out a fire.With regard to boat wiring and electrical equipment, though, I'm a firm believer that one should use only marine grade. From personal experience of redoing OEM wiring I've come across problems that had put more strain on the starter (due to voltage drop), caused heat buildup at connections, and resulted in actual failure of the circuit due to corrosion. Lights did not burn as bright, motors (Autohelm, refrigeration, forced air heater) that strained to start due to undersized conductors or corrosion somewhere in the circuit.The boats and boaters of today have changed significantly from the keep-it-simple philosophy of Lin and Larry Pardey. Also, I think some of the posters did an excellent job of keeping comments civil (this is a great site). I respect Thorp for his convictions (I actually agree with him but can't afford to follow through in this case) and I think Peggie did her usual elloquent job with rebuttles.

 

[Thorp Thomas]

Melt my snow....

What are you saying? Melt my snow.... When you can't sail on it, Snowmobiles is where it’s at... Have you ever cruised at 100+ miles/hr. over a frozen lake? As the redneck/Yankees up here say "Wicked good fun". After a day of terrorizing all the ice fishermen (that's what power boaters do in winter for fun) out there, its back to the boat that’s frozen in (not really frozen in, we pump the water up from the bottom of the lake to keep it open) and spend the night with dinner and movies. When it’s 0° to -30° outside a comfortable 70 ° to 75° inside the boat (now that’s a heating system, just don’t lick the walls). Next weekend it's ICE DIVING with a few of my hard-core buddies at the Yacht Club (that’s not flinging ourselves off the docks down onto the ice, it’s SCUBA diving), but that another story. Now that's boating year round, New England style (well, maybe NH style…)( All right… just the hardy Hunter owners that don’t want to put their toys away).

 

[Steve Cook]

This has go to be a record reply #

Has there been any other post's of this site that has recieved more reply's?WOW, 39 reply'sSteve...