Soft start for ACs

[TripleGGG]

Originally Posted by Pacman774

You folks are referring to the Soft Start that is added to the A/C units?
Can someone explain to me what it actually does? We camp in Florida, A/C is a very critical component~

I have Microair East starts on both ACs. Here is their description.

https://www.microair.net/collections...r-conditioners

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[SargeW]

Originally Posted by Dejus

I have a 2017 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40SP. I use a Power Watchdog EPO surge protector. Sometimes when I have two or three ACs running, the Watchdog will cut the power, due to overcurrent.

I'm wondering if a SoftStartRV would help with that? The issue seems to be too much current draw when two ACs kick in at the same time. I know those are designed to support two ACs on 30 amp service, but maybe would help on 50 amp too?

A little clarification before you go out and spend the money. I have the same year and model rig as you do. I recently had to replace a failed Mach 8 AC unit, so I had lots of experience running with 2 AC's in the desert heat.

Your front AC is wired on line 1, and the other 2 are wired on line 2. My failed AC was the front one on line 1. So I watched carefully as my power draw increased on Line 2 whenever both AC's were on. I never did get taken off line in the 10 days I was at the park, except once when the power went down in whole area for a few hours.

If you are seeing a big spike in power usage, are you monitoring the panel up over the top of the drivers seat, the Precision Circuits panel for the Amp draw while 2 AC's are running? Which AC's are you running at the same time?

I am currently running my front AC (line-1) and my bedroom AC (line-2). I am currently pulling 16 amps on line 1, and 20 amps on line 2. And the DW is running the clothes dryer. You shouldn't be overloading your power panel or any one line since most likely your front AC is running alone on Line 1.

There may be other issues with the voltage being supplied by the park coming into the pedestal that is not high enough, or is dropping out. My Progressive Industries surge guard will take me off line if the power on either line drops below 104 volts. Check the incoming power from the park first, and then make sure your surge guard is working as intended. They do wear out from time to time.

[DRM901]

I have 2 older (2014) Coleman Mach 8s, 15k btu heat pumps. The 3rd one is a new Coleman Mach 8. The new one is much better in start up amps, noise.

At $310 each, that is at least a good down payment on a new unit.

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[Dejus]

Originally Posted by SargeW

Your front AC is wired on line 1, and the other 2 are wired on line 2. My failed AC was the front one on line 1

Interesting; I didn't know that. We hardly ever use the front AC; keeping the bedroom cool is the priority, so we usually have the mid and rear ACs going more than the front one. That could be a factor.

Originally Posted by SargeW

There may be other issues with the voltage being supplied by the park coming into the pedestal that is not high enough, or is dropping out.

Yeah, most parks don't have a problem, but some are definitely more problematic than others.

(By the way, if you're on Facebook, check out the Tiffin Allegro Bus 2016-2018 Owners group; your knowledge could be a valuable addition there!)

[ehunt]

A state park we often go to is upgrading the pedestals from 30 AMP to 50 AMP. Problem is they are not upgrading the infrastructure to the campground because it would tear up a lot of ground and trees. So last time we were there if we tried to run two ACs on their 50 AMP service the Power Watchdog would shut us down due to one line going below 104 AMPs, nothing to do with start up the ACs would already be running. Just let me now the Power Watchdog is doing it’s job, and made me wonder how much damage was being done to AC units for those without an EMS.

[AimHigh]

Like hmitchmd, I installed 3 on our Phaeton and I can easily run 2 A/Cs on 30 Amp and all 3 on 50 with easy quiet startup pulling only 10-11 amps each at start. You don't get that jolt at startup either. They do give military discounts also. Bill in tech support is great. Good luck

Jerry

[F4Gary]

Soft Start now has an inline model that you plug your RV into much like an EMS at the pedestal.
Not sure if it goes before or after the EMS.


It's called SoftStartUp.

[Tskadberg]

$600 plugged into a pedestal. Im not that trusting.

[Dejus]

Originally Posted by F4Gary

Soft Start now has an inline model that you plug your RV into much like an EMS at the pedestal.
Not sure if it goes before or after the EMS.

SoftStartUp doesn't help in my situation, as it's only 30 amp.

I have purchased and installed two SoftStartRV units, on the mid and rear ACs (the two we use the most). They definitely make the startup much more quiet. Time will tell if they solve the power spike issue. But they're worth it to us for the quieter startup and possible easing of wear on the ACs.

[wingnut60]

Just an FYI--there are two different startup power reducing units: EasyStart by MicroAir (believe this to be the original of the two) and SoftStart. Common usage for mentioning the two has evolved to calling them both softstarts, so just know there are 2 different brands when asking about them.

[RandomDV8]

One Boat Unit for our 28 ft ski boat was $500 years ago. Inflation probably puts it over a grand now.😄