Originally published at: Makita announces battery-powered microwave oven | Boing Boing
…
5 Likes
You may mock their aesthetic but I’m a de Walt house and I’d take the Makita kitchen over that!
8 Likes
These guys will love it!
6 Likes
I’m not sure why, but somewhere some scientist has a niche use for this and is super excited. For everyone else this seems basically useless.
8 Likes
.
8 minutes? If it’ll make a gas station burrito too hot to eat and warm up my Timmies twice that’ll do
4 Likes
With (2) XGT 40V Max 8Ah batteries installed, the cordless microwave can reheat about 11 refrigerated lunches or 20 drinks (each 200 mL/~6.8oz).
I guess the cooking space looks big enough for a hot dog. 
3 Likes
Lithium cordless tools are at this funny place where the power capacity is now juuuuust enough to start doing crazy things like this that wouldn’t have been even close to possible one battery generation ago.
I recently got a DeWalt cordless electric lawnmower, and it’s shockingly good (no pun intended). It takes two of the biggest batteries they make but it’ll run all day and has more power than the old 110V electric mower we had growing up. This should not be possible. I suspect witchcraft.
I like that the tool companies are throwing every idea at the wall to see what sticks. Who knows what might turn out to be a great idea in some unexpected niche.
19 Likes
Actually, I think it’s supremely useful at any job site, which is its intended audience. (Hence making it look like a job site tool, and using the same batteries.)
We just had construction done on our home. Several of the different teams (framers, drywall, painters) brought in a little cheap microwave that they could plug in to heat up their lunches, despite repeated assurances that they were free to use ours.
Their job was easier because we still had electricity in the rest of the house, so they could plug in. I imagine most of the time the framers and dry wall guys work on sites with no electric installed.
11 Likes
Could be useful for heating your hot pockets during power outages.
4 Likes
I’ll note that Ryobi has a number of specialty and niche tools for their 18 volt and 40 volt systems; they have lawn mowers, chainsaws, and a power washer. (I can attest that the saw and washer work “good enough” for the home gamer) They also have a 1500 watt power inverter that takes four of their 40 volt batteries- I imagine it’ll run a fridge in a pinch, but I’ve not tried it yet.
::nods ::
The crew that did the demo work on my pool last year brought in a beat-up wal-mart special microwave that they plugged into my house for their lunches.
3 Likes
And no extension cord to run over. I err someone I know did that growing up.
11 Likes
Or buy a suitcase inverter generator and power all kinds of stuff.
Or buy one of the many battery power stations and run a standard tiny microwave for a lot longer than 11 minutes. I keep looking at those for power outages that last less then a few hours. Easier, faster, and quieter than pulling out my backup generator.
It’s cool and all but I think contractors who have a need have already came up with solutions.
2 Likes
Would be perfect for Burning Man where you don’t want to spend your time and energy cooking. The refrigerator-temp meals you pull out of your cooler will take half the time to cook as frozen anyway. Producing a hot tray of Trader Joes Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese in a few minutes would be magic on the playa at 4am.
3 Likes
Ugh, yah, managing the 100’ cord was the worst. I hated that thing.
1 Like
Interesting, but not really suited for the kitchen. Probably work well for heating up lunches and coffee on job sites. One less thing to plug in.
As I’ve stated before: I want a stick blender, hand blender, countertop blender, salad shooter, electric knife, and other small kitchen appliances, all powered by Ryobi 18vOne+ batteries.
They need to team up with do a collab with KitchenAid to get the proper kitchen-friendly design.
And then I want a single battery standard for all these tools, kitchen-bound or otherwise. I’d even give up my modest Ryobi collection for this one battery standard.
<insert xkcd-standard-comic.jpg>
7 Likes
That’s the part that will never happen. Battery walled gardens have been a huge cash cow for the tool companies. It’s why they’re leaning into stuff like this so hard. Once they’ve got you in their battery system, they own you for life.
6 Likes
In addition to the job site use case it’s made for, RVers and tent campers would have some use cases for something like this.
I also have a “Hot Logic Portable Mini Oven” which is basically a small hot plate in an insulated bag, low power enough that I can put a polypropylene container in it, and plug it into the 120V outlet that runs off my truck’s alternator. Fantastic for long car rides.
5 Likes
This has more use than you think it does imo.
Construction sites and tailgate parties are the two that immediately come to my mind.
2 Likes
I’m sure that is an audience that would appreciate a colorless battery microwave, I’m just not sure a 500W microwave is all that useful. Especially with an 8 minute runtime, when you already likely need to more or less double all the times (most microwave instructions assume 1000W or 800W). A microwave pot pie is 6:30 at 1000W, so you do a battery change at 8 minutes?
The volume on this microwave is a little tight, but it looks like it could fit a bag of popcorn (3–5 minutes at 1000W, so 6–10 at 500W, you might be able to pop it!), so that seems acceptable-ish. I think they need to get the wattage up to roughly what instructions on microwaved food assumes though. Then it’ll go from novelty to useful.
Until then I expect job site microwaves to be a Walmart special either hooked up to customer power, or run off an inverter from a pickup truck (or in the brave new future off 120V “household” power supplied by an EV…which now that I think about it is also an inverter from the big DC batteries to 120V-AC…but somehow it “feels different” when we aren’t involving running a truck engine just because we want a little electricity!)
Of corse opening the fridge to get the hot pockets really cuts into the useful shelf life of everything in the fridge (assuming you don’t have backup power for the fridge…and if you do, maybe size that to cover the microwave?).
Hmmmm, thinking about that, I think that is how I ended up with almost a 10000W generator to power 4 circulation pumps (65W to 130W each), a well pump (didn’t see the wattage printed on it, but likely over 100W and under 1000W), a septic pump (don’t ask!), all things you want power for when it is fives or tens of degrees below freezing, making sure water pipes don’t freeze generally saves money. Then the mission creep, “I have a lot of expensive meat and stuff in the freezer”, and “the refrigerator could have a lot of money in it, plus if we have a blackout will I be able to get milk in town when I need it?”, and obviously what good is having milk without having coffee to put in it? So coffee machine should have power. No need to charge the EV on 240V during blackout, but wouldn’t being able to do it on 120V be a reasonable compromise? Hey, house lighting is a good idea. Also why be board, the network has power, may as well make sure the TV is in the budget. Oh, TV? Maybe a movie? Howabout some popcorn? I mean, not at the same time as making the coffee or charging the RV so that is basically free, right? Oh, don’t forget the propane fireplace needs to run blower…
Yep, mission creep.
On the other hand, no frozen pipes, and some popcorn along with chilled sodas!
I agree that is more general, but battery power stations that can put out enough power for a microwave (800W to 1200W) for tens of minutes (3~5m per person’s meal!) are not inexpensive! Or I’m pricing mine out from the wrong places, do you have any pointers for me?
Oh! That is new to me! If I get back into RV or car camping I’ll remember that one!
1 Like
