Hard start capacitor

cavie wrote:

cliffy49 wrote:
I have this posted on another forum and don't seem to be getting any answers to the question.

Okay guys, my knowledge of electricity does not even make me dangerous. I have been doing a lot of reading in regards to getting a generator for my toy hauler and came across the term "Hard start capacitor". From what I could gather this works the same as a soft start kit.

If that is true, why would you use one versus the other. The only reason I can find after doing very limited research is that the soft start kit is $300 versus the $10-$15 for the capacitor. If some one could please explain the difference and also the pros and cons for each, I would greatly appreciate it.

Please take it easy on me, as I stated I know nothing about electricity other than don't stick a butter knife in the wall outlet. Thanks for all your help.

I may have been involved if the other forum. Hard start Cap and soft start are tow very different things. Soft start ramps up the voltage slowly. It is best for a low voltage situation on newer equipment and marginal impassivity on 30 amp services. Hard start is just a larger "Kick in the ass" on start up usually used of older compresses. That being said, I am an electrician and use a Hard start on my 2011 A/C because I have a constant low voltage problem in my camp ground and I am cheap. If you have a newer unit on 30 amps I would go with the Soft Start. If say 5 years or older go with the hard start. Neither will do damage to your unit.

Cavie, thank you. This is the simplistic type of answer I was looking for.

As for some of the others, I am sorry I took up your time with my question. Going forward, if all you have for an answer is search, I would prefer that you don't even take the time to respond. If I had enough knowledge about electricity a search would have been sufficient. As my knowledge is very limited I was hoping that I could get an answer here. Yeah, I know this is a little harsh, but I always thought that the ide of the forum was to help those of us that needed it. Sorry for the rant but sometimes you just got to unload.

Mods, if this is inappropriate I apologize and you can do as you see fit with this post.