Propane/vs Microwave

angus99 said:

The conv/MW oven and induction cooktop we’re using are both 120.

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Work well on a 30amp boat?
What is the brand of both, please?

olsurfer said:

Microwaves destroy a food's nutritional value.
If you have any doubts, get two small potted plants of the same variety and make sure one of the plants is only watered with tap water. Water the other plant with water that has been microwaved to the boiling point then let it cool down to room temp before you water the plant.
You will be shocked at the results of how each plant develops.

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This is flat-out nonsense. The plant watering scenario is nothing like heating food. No doubt if you boiled the water using any other form of heat it'd also be a problem. Because it's the boiling off of minerals that's causing problems for the plants, not the method used to do it. Distillation is the problem, not the heating method.

Microwaves work by causing the water in the food to vibrate and that causes heat, nothing more. There's no way you're microwaving it long enough to somehow magically destroy "nutritional value". By the time that could happen you'd either have a fire or it'd be tougher than shoe leather.

Mmmm, nothing better than 1/2 cooked bacon, hot from the microwave. YUMMY

I can’t imagine anybody that would prefer a microwave to a real stove.

Her's Chris w her new stove. She loves it. Bakes in the oven ect ect. I thought it was going to be for her like me getting a new set of tires for a car. But she was like a little kid on Christmas day. I should'a got it right away.

Nomad Willy said:

I can’t imagine anybody that would prefer a microwave to a real stove.

Her's Chris w her new stove. She loves it. Bakes in the oven ect ect. I thought it was going to be for her like me getting a new set of tires for a car. But she was like a little kid on Christmas day. I should'a got it right away.

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It's really very simple it is all about time

On my long distance cruising boats the have had propane stove with oven, plus a microwave. Wife likes to bake. We also had large freezers and for ocean crossings, we often heated the food with the microwave--especially in rough weather.

Currently we have a small pilot house boat-don't live aboard more than a month at a time, and we are cooking with one or two induction burners, and a microwave. We have about 200 amps 12 volts available from Li ion batteries, and use a 2000 watt PSW inverter. This works very well. The counter top available is only about 26" X 18". You can also get microwaves with convection overs in the same size and wattage.

Consider an induction burner to compliment the microwave.

Nomad Willy said:

I can’t imagine anybody that would prefer a microwave to a real stove....

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Depends on how motivated by food you are. Personally, given something quick from the microwave vs. cooking on a stove or in an oven, I'll take the microwave any day.

Or maybe I'll just make PB&J. Doesn't really matter to me (whether I'm on the boat or not).

OldDan1943 said:

Work well on a 30amp boat?
What is the brand of both, please?

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I guess that would depend on what else is running concurrently. Ours is 50-amp service so I’d be guessing about 30. The conv/MW is a GE PSB9100 and needs a 15 or 20-amp breaker on our boat. The cooktop is a True Induction T12B and needs a 15-amp breaker.

We’re hoping to be able to run the MW and cooktop off the inverter for quick dishes.

Nomad Willy said:

I can’t imagine anybody that would prefer a microwave to a real stove.

Her's Chris w her new stove. She loves it. Bakes in the oven ect ect. I thought it was going to be for her like me getting a new set of tires for a car. But she was like a little kid on Christmas day. I should'a got it right away.

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She's smiling because it is your turn to wash the dishes.

I'm not going to bash microwaves, since I was a radar tech in the AF. But I have propane on the boat.

Microwave..... 1/2 cooked bacon and reheating coffee.
Ah boil water for bullet wounds and child delivery

olsurfer said:

Having owned both boats and restaurants, my first shortcoming on propane is the lack of making the same BTU's as nat gas. However, I would choose propane over a microwave any day of the week!!!!
Microwaves destroy a food's nutritional value.
If you have any doubts, get two small potted plants of the same variety and make sure one of the plants is only watered with tap water. Water the other plant with water that has been microwaved to the boiling point then let it cool down to room temp before you water the plant.
You will be shocked at the results of how each plant develops.

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In your test, did you boil water in a pot and use that to water a plant? That would be the better comparison.

olsurfer said:

Having owned both boats and restaurants, my first shortcoming on propane is the lack of making the same BTU's as nat gas. However, I would choose propane over a microwave any day of the week!!!!
Microwaves destroy a food's nutritional value.
If you have any doubts, get two small potted plants of the same variety and make sure one of the plants is only watered with tap water. Water the other plant with water that has been microwaved to the boiling point then let it cool down to room temp before you water the plant.
You will be shocked at the results of how each plant develops.

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The fact is, propane contains more BTUs than natural gas. The following was taken from the FAQs section on the WebRestaurantStore website.

"Because propane has a higher BTU rating than natural gas, propane tends to heat faster and use less fuel when compared to the same task performed with natural gas. However, most observable cooking differences between propane and natural gas depend on the equipment you are using. Your equipment’s BTU output limits your*heat while cooking, so be sure to know your appliance’s specifications if you are looking for a specific BTU rating to prepare dishes."

It's the BTU output of the burner that is determinative.

O C Diver said:

I have an electric stove that I've probably used 3 times. I'm a griller with the grill on the upper deck. It's either getting grilled or going in the crock pot. Couldn't cruise without my microwave. Heating frozen vegetables, heating soup, and making pasta are my most common uses for it.

You could always use the oven as a storage cabinet.

Ted

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We have a large battery bank, 920 Ah. Yesterday, after a 16-hour anchorage we had used 400 Ah. That included three 12-volt fidgerators, a 110 VAC five cubic foot freezer, a TV receiver, a satellite tracking dish, and making coffee in the morning with a 1:30 microwave heatup. For cooking we generally use a one-burner portable butane unit. The butane cannisters last a surprising long time. We also use the gas grill extensively.

We rarely use the generator. A six-hour run restores our bank to 100%. A four-hour run gets us to about 95%.

love propane to cook

I did the opposite, I got rid of a huge space hogging microwave and use only the oven/stove top for everything. The other bonus is it makes the boat smell good and provides a little heat in the winter.

If you bring your cooked food to the boat every-time you go there and simply use the microwave to heat your food then great it's perfect for you.

If you prefer to prepare your meals on the boat and bring the raw ingredients to the boat and store them on the boat ( like me) then a microwave does little but take up space and warm left overs, which I never have.

A debate of which cooks better would be silly.