Take a look around any domestic kitchen and you’re almost certain to see either a microwave or an air fryer (if not both), providing fast and convenient cooking. Why would we not want the same in our leisure vehicles?
After all, the best campervan microwave and the best air fryer for a motorhome can both be two crucial touring essentials, especially if you have limited cooking facilities in your ‘van as standard. So how can you actually go about running them when you’re on tour? Is an inverter the solution, especially if you’re campervanning off-grid and will not have access to a suitable electric hook-up supply?
When it comes down to it, microwaves are one of the trickiest electrical loads to deal with; an 800W output microwave typically uses around 1200W of input load, perhaps as high as 1600W when the magnetron is initially working at full power. The good news is that a motorhome inverter could run a microwave, but you will need to specify an inverter of at least 2000W to cope with this, and ideally a decent quality pure sine wave model.
When it comes to choosing the right inverter, I would recommend only buying one from a reputable UK supplier.
Air fryers take a similar amount of power, but are a more flexible cooker – most can air fry, grill and roast – so if I only had space in my motorhome for either a microwave or an air fryer, I would choose the latter. They also have the advantage of being easier to clean, as the whole cooking surface can be removed and taken to a campsite sink.
Any device that produces heat will often take over 100A of current in use when using an inverter, so you will need a large battery bank to cope with this. 200Ah is the minimum that you will need, but having more is better.
In my opinion, the simplest method to operate either an air fryer or a microwave will not be with a standalone inverter. I accept it’s admittedly not the cheapest, but I’d go for one of the best portable power stations for a campervan and choose one which comes with a built-in inverter (such as an Ecoflow or Jackery) to power your heating devices.
Future Publishing Limited, the publisher of Practical Motorhome, provides the information in this article in good faith and makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Individuals carrying out the instructions do so at their own risk and must exercise their independent judgement in determining the appropriateness of the advice to their circumstances. Individuals should take appropriate safety precautions and be aware of the risk of electrocution when dealing with electrical products. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither Future nor its employees or agents shall have any liability in connection with the use of this information. You should check that any van warranty will not be affected before proceeding with DIY projects.
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