Soft start capacitors
Should every ac have a soft star cap installed? If so, why don’t they come that way? Is there any downside? Thanks
Forum Discussion
Atlee wrote:
Why not offer the soft start Micro air as an option. Knowing what I know now, I would spring for an additional $350-$500 for that option.
The SUPCO spp6 is available for near peanuts now. Why don't all A/C's come from the factory with those installed?GordonThree wrote:
soft start means some form of software is controlling the current limiting. microair for example, is a soft start controller
hard start means plain old physics is controlling the current limiting. SUPCO spp6 for example
why don't all ac units have one installed? cost and need. Most RVs that spend their entire life sitting at a seasonal or full time site, wired into the grid, don't need any help starting and restarting the motor. so the hard start cap would be one more thing that can wear out and need service, and it's not providing much benefit.
for soft starters, they're very expensive and again, mostly redundant.
why trailer manuf haven't switched over to inverter type split unit AC, with a digital compressor motor and separate fan motors, who knows ... these mini split roll off assembly lines by the millions and have decades of industry experience behind them now.
the old fashioned Coleman (assorted brands) rooftop units really seem dated, but maybe Elkhart has an enormous warehouse full of the Coleman, so they keep using them and keep building more?
COST. RVP offers a Hard Start kit on certain models, but it adds cost. A few dollars here and a few dollars there and you get hundreds of thousands of dollars saved. Hard Start kits are not really needed for Motorized with Gensets. They(RVP) offer the optional Hard Start kit if Towable makers want to option that for portable Gensets. Hard Starts are needed when towable owners use NON RV Gensets and go with portable gensets. If you dig into the Options when buying a new RVP AC you can special order the AC with the Hard Start kit. Very few retailers have the Hard Start AC's in stock. They have to order them. Not sure, but Dometic "may" have the option also. BTW, Elkhart is NOT the warehouse for RVP. Wichita, Kansas is. That is where they are built and shipped out of. Doug
