have been thinking lately of buying a microwave for the truck have seen some advertised being 12 volts, i drive a daf xf which only has 24 volt fittings, now im going to sound dumb here but i dont know sod all about electrics, could i fit a 12 volt into my truck obviously getting someone experienced to wire it in for me?..sorry to sound so thick… 
.pete
You can run a 12V microwave in a 24V truck but you will need a dropper to convert the 24V down to 12V, and as a microwave uses a lot of power it will have to be a very very big one. You’re much better off just getting a 24V microwave in the first place. Either way someone who knows what they are doing needs to wire it in as they use a lot of power so it will need to be done properly if you don’t want to set your truck on fire.
Paul
nice one paul, yep dont worry mate theres no danger of me trying to wire it in, i know my abilities and vehicle electrics aint one of them…or home diy…or gardening…in fact im only good for the washing up and ironing!! b"£$%r… 
You might find it cheeper to get a 24 to 240 volt inverter and then buy a normal household microwave as the 24 volt microwaves are overpriced, The added bonus is you will have mains electricity for any other toys you might want in the future.
jimti:
You might find it cheeper to get a 24 to 240 volt inverter and then buy a normal household microwave as the 24 volt microwaves are overpriced, The added bonus is you will have mains electricity for any other toys you might want in the future.
It will need a bloody big inverter due to the power draw. The stated power of a microwave is the output or cooking power and the input will be a lot higher, a 600 watt microwave will be drawing somewhere around 1100 watts. An inverter which can cope with that will need direct wiring to the batteries with it’s own fuse and not wiring through the fuse box or plugged into an accessory socket, which is exactly what the 24 volt microwave will need. By the time you factor in the cost of the inverter the difference in price between the household and 24 volt microwaves isn’t so great.
Coffeeholic:
jimti:
You might find it cheeper to get a 24 to 240 volt inverter and then buy a normal household microwave as the 24 volt microwaves are overpriced, The added bonus is you will have mains electricity for any other toys you might want in the future.It will need a bloody big inverter due to the power draw. The stated power of a microwave is the output or cooking power and the input will be a lot higher, a 600 watt microwave will be drawing somewhere around 1100 watts. An inverter which can cope with that will need direct wiring to the batteries with it’s own fuse and not wiring through the fuse box or plugged into an accessory socket, which is exactly what the 24 volt microwave will need. By the time you factor in the cost of the inverter the difference in price between the household and 24 volt microwaves isn’t so great.
I agree, but the advantage is you then have a good inverter as well, and if one day your microwave breaks down you can replace it for £30. In fact any electrical equipement that runs on 24 volts is very over priced compared to it’s 240 volt version, so the savings if you want a tv, dvd player etc etc will more than make up for buying the two parts to begin with. No good if you are swapping and changing trucks, but if you are in one for a good lenth of time, a heavy duty inverter is a god send
I see what you are saying but personally I would go for the 24 volt microwave and a much smaller inverter for other gadgets, a 150 watt one will be more than adequate for a TV or DVD.
The other thing to consider is that the 24 volt version will have much less of an affect on the batteries, they are designed to work while limiting the amount of power taken from the batteries. I used to use mine for an hour, or more in total without starting the engine when parked for a day or weekend and still had plenty of battery power to start the engine. An inverter of the size needed to run a microwave will kick the arse out of the batteries in next to no time, starting the engine each time you want to use it will do more harm than good unless you plan to leave the engine running for an hour or so each time you start it, something which may not make you too popular with others parked near you.
The 24v microwave I had warned that you should run the engine whenever you used it, but I do take your point generaly…
I have cheated and have 4 batteries fitted on my truck
jimti:
The 24v microwave I had warned that you should run the engine whenever you used it,
So did mine but I never did as starting the engine would take more out of the batteries than the microwave would while heating something for a few minutes. I worked with a guy who had a microwave and who started his engine every time he used it, as a result he often needed a jump start in the morning while I had used mine more then him and didn’t. In the 3.5 years I had trucks with a microwave fitted I never started the engine while using them and never required a jump start, and they got a lot of use when parked up as I used them to heat water for coffee. My trailer had batteries fitted for the tail lifts and I could have jumped the truck from them if required but it never came to that.
Van den Bosch have a 3 phase 400 volt generator driven off the PTO. Can you get a 3 phase microwave and an extension lead
think i will stick to my 24 volt electric oven, takes 45 minutes to heat up a meal but at least its simple for me to work out!!! 
wirralpete:
think i will stick to my 24 volt electric oven, takes 45 minutes to heat up a meal but at least its simple for me to work out!!!
same for me that,keep it simple and if it does go wrong its cheap to replace