Soft start kit

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by jkkinder

We are traveling & visiting lots of family but not certain our A/C will run on house power? We are traveling with a cat so must run the A/C in hot climates.

Not exactly what you asked - but our motorhome has a 15K Coleman Mach II A/C. It's a power sucker.


We have no trouble having it start and run on a 20A breaker at home, with a good 50' 10g extension cord.


I'm not an electrician, but I think house circuits are a bit more tolerant of the higher locked rotor currents required during start up.


What I do is just make sure the extension cord is as short as possible, as high quality as possible and the contacts are clean and tight. I check the cord too through out the day to make sure it's not getting hot.

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by jkkinder

Which unit is recommended the one made by soft start or the micro air unit? We are traveling & visiting lots of family but not certain our A/C will run on house power? We are traveling with a cat so must run the A/C in hot climates.

Does anyone have an esttimate of the installation costs? (my hubby is NOT mechanical).

I have the Micro Air so I cant speak for the other one.
Took me 45 minutes to install. (Not including the required 5 starts while on shore power) So, I would think a professional could do it in less time.

[Scottenj]

Originally Posted by Rock

A 2000 Honda will not run ur ac even with a hard or soft start kit. U say the soft start kit is $300. If that is the company that has the box that learns how to regulate the start voltage than yes it will. Capacitor hard and soft start from ac dealers cost about $30 bucks and will not let a 2000 gen start an ac
Rock

I have run a 15,000 btu AC with a MicroAir soft start off my Honda EU2000 and have even done it with the EU2000 running on propane.

[Rock]

Same here I can run my 1500 btu with my Honda 2200 in Econ mode.

[jkkinder]

Originally Posted by pconroy

Not exactly what you asked - but our motorhome has a 15K Coleman Mach II A/C. It's a power sucker.


We have no trouble having it start and run on a 20A breaker at home, with a good 50' 10g extension cord.


I'm not an electrician, but I think house circuits are a bit more tolerant of the higher locked rotor currents required during start up.


What I do is just make sure the extension cord is as short as possible, as high quality as possible and the contacts are clean and tight. I check the cord too through out the day to make sure it's not getting hot.

Thanks for your reply. Yes we have run ours with no problems at home but not sure what the electrical might e like in homes we visit!

[Rock]

U can run it plugged into 20 amps but I bet u if u had a watchdog hooked up it would shut down power for very low voltage at start. On day ur compressor will fry.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by jkkinder

Which unit is recommended the one made by soft start or the micro air unit? We are traveling & visiting lots of family but not certain our A/C will run on house power? We are traveling with a cat so must run the A/C in hot climates.


Does anyone have an esttimate of the installation costs? (my hubby is NOT mechanical).

I went with the SoftStartRV, https://www.softstartrv.com/ , because of the recommendation it received from Mike Sokol. He has many videos on YouTube about RV electrical systems.

I have a Coleman Mach 15, I just followed the instructions and watched a couple of YouTube videos on the installation process. It was a pretty simple install and it worked on the first power up. Just make sure you disconnect the 120volt shore power and turn off your 12volt source as well. Just a wire stripper, wire cutters and crimper, couple of screw drivers, that was about it. It took me about 45 minutes because I went slow and triple checked everything.

When finished I tested it. I stayed on the roof while my wife turned on the AC. On the first try I thought I had messed up because I never heard the compressor start up, just the fan. To my amazement the compressor was running and blowing cold air into the RV. Then I turned it off, waited a few minutes and tried it again, this time with my hand on the compressor. I felt the compressor start but never heard it over the fan noise!

The other AC mod I made was to install the RV Airflow kit, https://www.rvairflow.com/pages/the-details It increased the air flow coming out of my AC vents tremendously. Before the kit my air flow was 8-10 mph, measured with my hand held digital wind speed gauge, and after the install it measured 17-20 mph out of the same vents! I am ready for summer!

[poohbear]

I would suggest if your electrically inclined to get the actual compressor brand/model , then go to a HVAC supply and get the start relay & cap specd by the compressor mfg. The generic hard start kits are good for a little boost but getting the right one will solve a lot of the gen starting problems. Only opion of retired AC fixer. I have a Champion 4000 & no problems with AC.

[TCNashville]

I just ordered a MicroAir 364 Soft Start with the install kit from Amazon. Hopefully after install, I'll be able to run my Coleman 15K with my 2000w Champion inverter generator. This is the best install video I could find and very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6H_sUguUN4