Soft start on 3 A/C

[Oregon_Camper]

Sorry, it was early in the morning.... I meant to say soft start, not surge protectors.....

I still think you have this backward. Adding a surge protector (which is very valuable to do) will not have any impact on the 3 AC units starting abilities. You need soft starts for that.

 

[BryanValRox]

Not sure what you mean. Surge protectors that can be used at the shore power pedestal, but I have never heard of a softstart at the pedestal. Please provide more information. Surge protectors and softstarts are completly different products.

Hi Jim,
Check out this link.

SoftStartUP – Plug and Play Soft Start for RV A/C, Home AC units and Generators. %

SoftStartUP is the plug and play RV and Home air conditioner soft start controller that will start and run 2 A/C units using 30-amp or 50-amp power sources. Works right out of the box!

softstartup.com

Not endorsing this in anyway, just happen to find it on the web, while following this posting.
Plugs in at the pedestal. Pricy for sure!!

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Hi Jim,
Check out this link.

SoftStartUP – Plug and Play Soft Start for RV A/C, Home AC units and Generators. %

SoftStartUP is the plug and play RV and Home air conditioner soft start controller that will start and run 2 A/C units using 30-amp or 50-amp power sources. Works right out of the box!

softstartup.com

Not endorsing this in anyway, just happen to find it on the web, while following this posting.
Plugs in at the pedestal. Pricy for sure!!

Well....I learned something new today. I never knew this was a thing. Guess I would still avoid it, as I have a Watchdog Surge protector (hard wired) and I boondock and run AC from Victron 3000w inverter. I even turn the AC unit on while driving to precool the RV for when we arrive. This product would offer zero benefit to me, as I am not using Shore or Generator power.

 

[Lantley]

Hell Jim, (Oregon Camper) how many batteries amp hours ado you have? How long can you run your A/C on inverter power?
I'm looking to go that route at some point

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Hell Jim, (Oregon Camper) how many batteries amp hours ado you have? How long can you run your A/C on inverter power?
I'm looking to go that route at some point

I have 3x270Ahr batteries from Battleborn for a total of 810 amp hours. I also have 2000w of solar on the roof. While driving across Kansas last week, I was running the AC and the solar was providing more power than the AC could use. We arrived at camp at 78 degrees in main area with 100% battery life. If I have direct sun light, I could run run one AC all day long.

 

[Lantley]

Thanks Jim,
That gives me a good idea of what I need to do.

 

[southbound]

I just installed a Multiplus 3000 watt inverter, 2400 watts of solar & also have 3 230 AH batteries. I'm hoping to at least 2 A/C units
from battery & 3 a/c's when I run my generator. Will find out soon enough. My understanding of a soft start is it adds power boost to help overcome the large surge when the compressor starts. When I run a more than on A/C it trips the circuit on my generator.
I have Colman-Mach 4800 series A/C units so I tried to order the Coleman Mach Soft-Start but the are on backorder. Can anyone recommend a soft-start for a Paradigm? I see Micro-Air being used by some Alliance owners.

 

[Bozo]

Do a search for coleman s9ftstarts and you will get multitudes of sites that have them available.

 

[Bozo]

I might add, they soften the start surge, not increase it.

 

[Bozo]

RV Parts is where i got mine several weeks ago.

 

[Midnight Rider]

Hi Jim,
Check out this link.

SoftStartUP – Plug and Play Soft Start for RV A/C, Home AC units and Generators. %

SoftStartUP is the plug and play RV and Home air conditioner soft start controller that will start and run 2 A/C units using 30-amp or 50-amp power sources. Works right out of the box!

softstartup.com

Not endorsing this in anyway, just happen to find it on the web, while following this posting.
Plugs in at the pedestal. Pricy for sure!!

I have 3 AC’S. It may be cheaper to buy the soft start plug and play than to ad a soft start to each AC?
thoughts?

 

[BryanValRox]

I have 3 AC’S. It may be cheaper to buy the soft start plug and play than to ad a soft start to each AC?
thoughts?

Hello AMW,
Personally, I do not have soft starts installed on our 310 RL, I fully understand their function and consider them a valuable upgrade for certain camping environments. My belief is it comes down to how you use your RV and your personal preference.
IMHO, if I were to install them, I would go with the individual unit approach instead of the pedestal type. This way they are mounted locally at the A/C unit and would provide their benefit no matter how the A/C unit is being powered.
Specifically , if your rig isn’t hooked to shore power and a inverter or genset is providing the power.

 

[Bozo]

I have 3 AC’S. It may be cheaper to buy the soft start plug and play than to ad a soft start to each AC?
thoughts?

I got mine on sale for about 170 each. I prefer the individual install on each air. Really no need for soft starts anywhere else.

 

[2 Allies]

I also installed on all 3 ACs. Got them for $178 each for the Coleman brand. Installed all 3 in about 30 minutes. Work great! We can run 2 ACs on 30 amp service.

 

[Midnight Rider]

My 295mk Paradigm claims that 2 AC’s will run on 30 amp and has no soft stars on it?
Is the issue if the both try and crank on at the same time?

 

[BryanValRox]

My 295mk Paradigm claims that 2 AC’s will run on 30 amp and has no soft stars on it?
Is the issue if the both try and crank on at the same time?

AMW, in a nut shell you are correct.
The A/C unit draws substantial more amperage at compressor start up than it does under a steady state operation.
While this high amp draw only occurs very briefly it is what leads to tripped breakers when electrical demands are exceeded. If I remember my A/C tag correctly, it would draw @ 54 amps LRA vs @ 9 amps at RLA

 

[George]

Not sure what you mean. Surge protectors that can be used at the shore power pedestal, but I have never heard of a softstart at the pedestal. Please provide more information. Surge protectors and softstarts are completly different products.

SoftStartUP – Starting RV A/C Units From Anywhere, With Limited Power

softstartup.com

 

[Bozo]

MY valor would run 2 ac units on 30a as well. But, the soft starts make it even better. Softens the thump on compressor start. Nephew burnt up a 30a plug last weekend with 1 ac and m8crowave on his camper.

 

[George]

Here are the results I had before and after installing Softstarts on 3x Mach 3 13,500btu AC's. This chart is typical of all 3. Running Amps were slightly above on this one but below on another. The kits do not seem to make running amps lower or higher on their own, and they should not.
The Coleman kits were super easy to install.

 

[justdee]

I'm new to all this tech stuff and RV'ing. So I can only read and learn from you guys and rarely can give advice, but we are currently on our 3rd trip out in our 310RL. Last night, due the high humidity levels outside, we finally turned on our A/C's. We are on 30 amp service here in the state park and we turned on the rear unit along with the bedroom unit. Thus far, no issues with tripping the breaker and my wife even used the coffee maker this morning without issues. Now, I'm assuming that neither unit turned on at the same time? I can monitor my surge protector by the app, but I haven't been monitoring it when one of the units starts up. All I know is that when the are running, each on a separate leg, they are pulling 10 amps each.
With just the two units running, we have not needed the 3rd unit, BUT, come July in Texas, if we have to be at a 30 amp site, we may need that 3rd unit. From what I am reading, the soft starts would be a good investment for such a situation?