Tagged With "Soft"

Easier to reply if we knew your equipment. My 2000i will run my ac but just the ac and converter. Turn on the microwave or electric hot water heater and it will drop out. I do not have the soft start.

What is any advice on a Soft Starter for a generator? Would like to boondock and relieve strain on this pricey component. Pros and cons appreciated. Thanks!

My Harbor Freight 2000w Predator will run my A/C at 6,800' since I added the MicroAir Easy Start. It's been 3 years. No problems yet. 300+ hours on the generator. So any 2000w+ should be satisfactory. I made a cable from the twist 30a connector to a standard 115/15a plug using a 10ga extension cord. Much easier to handle vs the heavy 30a power cable with the RV plug. I can also run lights and the TV with my Dish Tailgater using a small inverter. Hope this helps.

Thanks for feed back. Going with a beefier generator. Heard Harbor Frieghtvmentioned few times 8n forum. Really appreciate all the great advice. Take care and Keep Camping!

Only pros

Yes, that HF 3500 watt Predator gen just works. Yeah, it works great until asked to perform in hot environs. I've personally witnessed two that overheated and couldn't handle a 13.5k A/C unit and that was all that was asked of it. The internet also finds many complaints in this regard. It's unfortunate...such hope and promise. Bottom line is again..."ya get what you pay for".

I have several friends who tried them. They worked fine until put to real use. They consider them throw away 100 hour generators. In my mind they are pure junk with no parts or service support. But then I think that of everything HF sells. Honda is the way to go. If I didn't want to go Honda I'd go Yamaha and then Champion.

If one wants want a generator to run an air conditioner (or a microwave oven), they'll learn that air conditioners and microwaves widely vary as to their power requirements, even within varying AC / MW models of the same brand. It would be disappointing to choose a slightly-incapable-generator to power a slightly-too-large appliance. Historically, Honda started the 2000 watt generator craze with a 98 cc engine model (now updated to 121 ccs). Yamaha soon competed with their 79 cc model.

I decided to splurge and purchase the Honda EU3200i generator. Couldn’t be more pleased, and the power it has is amazing. Was able to start the AC unit, followed by a convection oven. The Honda App was also a nice feature, and was able to monitor power output.

My Harbor Freight 2000w Predator has worked flawlessly for 4+ years. Power outages of 10 days this past winter and 13 days in January 2022 put 350+ hours (I added one of those $10 hour meters from Amazon). It ran more items than the iPower 2000w inverter generator. Highly recommend. Just too bad the price has gone up over $150. I paid $429 back in the day. Hope this helps.

I’ve been considering adding a soft start for some time now. I recently noticed a large influx of competing models to the original Micro-Air. Of course, most of them are made in China with questionable warranty and reputation. Then I noticed the SpartanStart – Soft Start. I did a search here and did not see any reviews or comments. I promised Gary at Inverters-R-US that I’d write a review here after installation. The SpartanStart is made in Australia and comes with a 3-year warranty. Sold by...

Re: SpartanStart – Soft Start

So, I too have been eyeing the soft start and waiting for some reliable competition to come along and bring the price down. Can you share how you got the LOA discount applied? Also, which A/C unit do you have?

Well, Ok. It really was a two part review. The significance of "running" was referring to the 2k watt generator inverter. If I wrote a review as you suggested, such as: "I installed it and it started" then I believe I'd probably get a few questions for more detail.

https://community.lanceowners....1#617906715056913911 Call Gary at Inverters-R-US and ask for the discount. A friend of mine did that after I ordered and he also got the discount. My AC is the Airxcel Coleman Mach 15k BTU unit that came on my 2018 2375.

I understand that, @Charlie1 and knew that you knew the score. It's a technical point that one must be cautious to not mix the two events during generator operation. Some could interpret a mixed report to believe the device will improve the running side of things. No harm or foul meant by me. Apologies if it came out that way.

https://community.lanceowners....7#617906715057205227 No problem. As I think about it, another reason I added the "running" portion was that the watt usage continued on a slow steady climb over the first several minutes. I don't know enough about AC units to know if it's normal behavior before/after.

Hey everyone, We just got an exclusive on the brand new easy start from Micro Air. They are going on sale for black Friday. If you are in the market for a soft starter that is made in the USA we got em. Prices will be ridiculously low for the black Friday sale. The new one is in the store already but wait until you get the code to buy one. We are also going to include a free installation kit with every order. I will send an email out with the promo codes and post the codes on the forum too.

I recently installed (very easy installation) a SpartanStart on our Cougar's 15K AC unit. It starts the AC when connected to our EU2000i generator running in Eco Throttle mode with no problems.

One of the advantages with regard to the Coleman soft start is that it does not void the warranty on the Coleman-Mach AC's. I only discovered this fact after I had installed the SpartinStart. Regardless, I'm very happy with the SpartinStart's performance, it's made in Australia, it was easy to install, and it was about half the cost of a Micro-Air.

Another option is the Coleman soft starter. Since my AC is a Coleman mach, I felt it was a safe option. Works as advertised. About $200.00

@Charlie1 Thank you for the buying tip. In November 2023, I went to the Inverters R Us website and ordered the Australia-made SpartanStart soft starter for $146 including free shipping and tax. At that time they had a 20% discount going. In the meantime I installed it in my Dometic Penguin II 11k A/C. At 90 degrees ambient and 500' altitude, my Champion 2500 dual fuel inverter generator on propane and set to the eco mode, started and ran the A/C without a problem. The thunk noise of the...

I didn't remove anything.

Is there any benefit to having a soft start added to the AC if you're using 30 amp shore power?

It's a starting device and not a running device that operates for a half of a second or so during the first moments the compressor starts. Then, it turns itself completely off until the next restart of the compressor (not the fan....it has nothing to do whatsoever to the fan). The side effect could possibly be an extended life of the compressor due to the ease with which it starts the compressor. The compressor doesn't experience a jolt of amps hitting it all at once but that said,...

The installation directions say to remove any start-assist devices like start capacitors or start relays. Were there any that needed to be removed for your installation? I have the Mach15 on my 2018 1995.

I did not remove anything. Just followed instructions. I have an 11K Dometic Peguin II.

I choose the Micro-Air, figuring since they adapted, start capacitor and micro-timers, to RV AC, they deserve a little $. I see mine ramp up, in three or four steps, from inverter, depending on whether you count delay, from fan starting to compressor, as a step. Both the start and stops of compressor are smoother. Think pulling someone out, with chain vs strap. The fan starting first, just takes up the slack. The same amount of energy is applied, it's just spread out over longer periods. The...

Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it. David Daughters 254-717-3697