Microwave power use tested vs Induction vs electric kettle

[Dave in AZ]

Just to round things out, here is the microwave water boil power test. For smallest microwave, for overland cooking.
(Video plays fine, just have to watch on Youtube, click the link below that says "watch on youtube".

Energy to boil 500ml water, about 2c, in Watt-hrs. Compared to Induction with small pot, and electric kettle. This is useful for people using battery power when cooking, either camping or during power outage, or overlanding.
Folks need to be able to estimate normal energy usage for cooking and other tasks, so they can calculate how many Watt-hrs they need of battery in a day, or to last several days without solar or recharge.
This is the physically smallest GE microwave in their 0.7 cu ft linup, and was also rated as the best small countertop microwave by numerous professional appliance testers.

I bought this for my truck camper, for overlandlanding and camping, to allow quick meal reheat. Reduces mess, cleanup, and water usage, compared to a gas stove or induction setup.

new 2024 version with childlock door, can be easily permanently deactivated with 3 button presses.
GE GCST07N1WSS Microwave Oven,...
Old version without childlock, buy whichever is cheaper
GE JES1072SHSS
Countertop Microwave Oven, Compact 0.7 Cubic Ft., 700-watt Capacity, 6 Auto Cooking Settings, Kitchen Essentials for the Countertop, Dorm Room or Apartment, Stainless Steel https://a.co/d/eEguBLg

Item Weight 21 Pounds
Capacity 0.7 Cubic Feet
Item Dimensions D x W x H 12.75"D x 17.31"W x 10.19"H

 

[Flipper]

A good rule of thumb for a microwave the power to run it is 2X the advertised rating. so your 700 w microwave is going to draw 1400 watts. The Amp rating will be on the UL label of the unit. That’s the number you want to use in your calculations
resistance: ohms
pressure: volts
Current: amps

 

[Dave in AZ]

A good rule of thumb for a microwave the power to run it is 2X the advertised rating. so your 700 w microwave is going to draw 1400 watts. The Amp rating will be on the UL label of the unit. That’s the number you want to use in your calculations
resistance: ohms
pressure: volts
Current: amps

For battery or powerstation usage, I'd rather test and measure, than guess and calculate. That's the point of this video, the actual max wattage is shown, 1069W, and the actual Watt-hrs is shown, not an estimated calc off amps. For folks with 2000Wh and less, having real actual numbers to base build decisions off, or decide how they will cook, is better than guesstimations ;)

But there aren't a ton of actual examples likee this, so folks are left to estimate using rules of thumb like you gave, more often than not.

 

[grubworm]

A good rule of thumb for a microwave the power to run it is 2X the advertised rating. so your 700 w microwave is going to draw 1400 watts. The Amp rating will be on the UL label of the unit. That’s the number you want to use in your calculations
resistance: ohms
pressure: volts
Current: amps

im interested in this because i use a lot of solar and battery to operate 120v appliances...so you are saying that any microwave that has an advertised watt rating is actually going to use twice the power it is advertised as? i didnt know that. we have a lot of power outages here and ive been running my microwave off of an induction generator and id like to swap that over to a solar generator. where is the info that has the specs on that? id like to use that info to figure out what i need to run a microwave during power outages
thnx

 

[Dave in AZ]

im interested in this because i use a lot of solar and battery to operate 120v appliances...so you are saying that any microwave that has an advertised watt rating is actually going to use twice the power it is advertised as? i didnt know that. we have a lot of power outages here and ive been running my microwave off of an induction generator and id like to swap that over to a solar generator. where is the info that has the specs on that? id like to use that info to figure out what i need to run a microwave during power outages
thnx

The power plate with amps and volts will give actual power use. However, YES, microwaves are advertised using their MAGNETRON OUTPUT WATTS, NOT POWER USE! Most microwaves are about 65% efficient at converting input electricity to output magnetron waves... only part of that gets intercepted by food to heat, making them overall less than 50% efficient.

Flippers rule of thumb of using x2 is safe. For instance, my 700W microwave uses 1170W power, but because it is a constant on/off magnetic field induction load, it actually takes about 1400W inverter or so to drive that.
Inverter microwaves can use less power overall, if you have a wee small inverter like 1000W.

 

[grubworm]

wonder how efficient this is...

 

[grubworm]

Inverter microwaves can use less power overall, if you have a wee small inverter like 1000W.

ok...didnt know that was a thing. went down another rabbit hole and found that microwaves run at 100% all the time and when you select a lower power setting, all the microwave does is cut power to the emitter kind of like a pwm controller does for charging a battery. the inverter microwave actually does output a lower power so it is more efficient and easier to control. supposedly with an inverter microwave, you can heat spaghetti at a low temp and it will actually put out a lower power constantly instead of 100% on a bit/off a bit. thats why stuff splatters all over in the microwave....its getting 100% and then 0% and then 100%, etc.

im learning a good bit off these threads. ive been gradually swapping a lot of stuff over to electric and with better solar panels and lifepo4 batteries, im getting to where electric is actually pretty doable out in the middle of nowhere.


ok...whats next???

 

[Soapy]

I have the Stokes Voltaic kettle and find it heats faster than a regular electric kettle. I wonder how it compares to usage.

 

[Dave in AZ]

I have the Stokes Voltaic kettle and find it heats faster than a regular electric kettle. I wonder how it compares to usage.

Various videos out there. However, the Stokes is just an electric frypan, sitting on an electric kettle base, nothing more. Nothing special about it's embedded heating elements, compared to regular old electric skillet. I find it to have every bad part of appliance design, with no benefits. Super expensive vs regular electric skillets that don't sit on a twist base. Special pans with built in heating elements, expensive proprietary to replace vs $20 walmart skillet. Heavy. Small volume pans. Absolutely NOT a fan.

On the other hand, it does contain the heat well and seems fairly efficient.

I've watched 20 or more youtube reviews on them. More than 50%, the reviewer didn't even know how it worked and thought there was an induction portion or something more than just embedded heating elements... but no.

I'd be interested in how you've liked it, and what makes it better than a simple $20 electric skillet from WalMart? Thx!

Here is the best comparison video I found for it, has the info you asked about.

 

[Soapy]

No, I am talking about their electric Kettle not the Nomad cook system. It is a dedicated Kettle that can boil water, heat soup even make popcorn. I have supplied my overland rig with ample power now so I don't worry about how much I use or worry about running out of electric backup. The little kettle is great for 1 to 2 people. I have used it to make morning coffee and for its other uses.

 

[Dave in AZ]

No, I am talking about their electric Kettle not the Nomad cook system. It is a dedicated Kettle that can boil water, heat soup even make popcorn. I have supplied my overland rig with ample power now so I don't worry about how much I use or worry about running out of electric backup. The little kettle is great for 1 to 2 people. I have used it to make morning coffee and for its other uses.

I will take a look at that. I like electric kettles a lot ;)