Retro fit a Convection Microwave in Travato 59G ?

[swo]

In the process of ordering a Travato 59G. I mentioned to the dealer that I wished Winnebago offered a Convection MW as an option to the std MW. He said there are small convection MWs out there that they might be able to retro fit. He said he would get the dimensions of the standard MV and search around for a convection that might fit.

I told him I wasn't interested if it meant the cabinets needed to be cut or modified. I have my doubt he'll be successful finding something usable that isn't ridiculously small and /or expensive. It will be interesting to see what his research comes up with. He wants my money so I figure I'll let him earn it.

I haven't heard any of the 59G owners say they were thinking of doing this or even tried. I post what I find out. I'm okay with the std MW but nice to have options avail.

[avanti]

Be careful. Even if he finds something that fits, there are often ventilation issues with convection units, or so I am told.

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

Be careful. Even if he finds something that fits, there are often ventilation issues with convection units, or so I am told.

Yep there are for sure ventilation and heat issues with the convection ovens. One lady switched her micro for a convection in a Roadtrek D170 and it melted the vinyl woodgrain on cabinet around it. Lucky there was not a fire to go with it.

[JamesM]

I had to remove my convection microwave once to fix a problem. I was shocked to see how discolored and brown looking the ceiling above the oven looked. There is plenty of space around it along with vents but it now makes me a little nervous to use it for fear of it starting a fire. You definitely need to be careful with replacing the microwave.

I did see that Panasonic recently announced an induction oven that sounded interesting which could be an alternative to a convection oven in the future. Unfortunately, they were only showing it as a countertop and not something that could be installed.

I have thought about getting a different RV and having only a microwave with no oven is something that I was wondering what to do. My first thought was that the manufacturer was either really stupid or they couldn't because of the extra space a convection oven requires. As an alternative I would probably get a countertop one or use my old portable Coleman oven from my tent camping days that sits on the stove burner. Of course that is assuming there is enough room for me to do that.

[Jostalli]

Convection microwaves definitely do need better ventilation than traditional microwaves. They need at least 3" of space all around them with vents or holes for the heat to escape when the fan engages. I highly doubt manufacturers are taking too many extra precautions when installing convection microwaves instead of microwaves.

I bought this cheap Daewoo from Walmart as it surprisingly gets better reviews than any other convection microwave:http://www.walmart.com/ip/Daewoo-1.0...iews_limit=10&

I tested it in my home to see how hot it gets and I'm not too worried about it in the space I built for it in my conversion.

[wincrasher]

The microwaves in the Travato both fit in a metal surround that is vented in the front of the unit. It's a bit bigger on the convection oven in the K. But there is one in the G as well, so that may be why the dealer thinks he can find one that will fit. As other's have mentioned, you still want that space and ventilation around the oven. So if his answer is to remove the surround and trim it out with wood, I'd pass on that scheme as not safe.

[markopolo]

The power requirement might be be higher. The convection unit I had in the B+ was on a 20 amp circuit and had a 20 amp plug. All the other regular microwave ovens I've had in RV's were on 15A circuits.

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by swo

In the process of ordering a Travato 59G. I mentioned to the dealer that I wished Winnebago offered a Convection MW as an option to the std MW. He said there are small convection MWs out there that they might be able to retro fit. He said he would get the dimensions of the standard MV and search around for a convection that might fit.

I told him I wasn't interested if it meant the cabinets needed to be cut or modified. I have my doubt he'll be successful finding something usable that isn't ridiculously small and /or expensive. It will be interesting to see what his research comes up with. He wants my money so I figure I'll let him earn it.

I haven't heard any of the 59G owners say they were thinking of doing this or even tried. I post what I find out. I'm okay with the std MW but nice to have options avail.

Maybe you should wait

[http://gizmodo.com/panasonic-wants-t...-co-1763179008

[Jostalli]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

The microwaves in the Travato both fit in a metal surround that is vented in the front of the unit. It's a bit bigger on the convection oven in the K. But there is one in the G as well, so that may be why the dealer thinks he can find one that will fit. As other's have mentioned, you still want that space and ventilation around the oven. So if his answer is to remove the surround and trim it out with wood, I'd pass on that scheme as not safe.

By "metal surround" you are talking about the metal vented front piece, right? They do not line the cabinet in "metal". Just trying to understand what you are describing. You can easily create a front trim piece out of wood that will allow the same ventilation as your metal surround. That is what I am doing in my conversion. Not safe? How so?

[wincrasher]

As long as you have the prescribed space and the adequate ventilation slots, then it's probably OK enclosed in wood only.

If I understand it correctly, this metal surround is also the supporting structure for mounting the oven.

If the dealer is filling up the space completely and then trimming out the opening with trim boards, then that would trap in heat and be a problem.