SoftStartRV Soft Start for RV Air Conditioner, RV AC Soft Start Kit for Air Conditioner, Easy Start Even with a Small Generator, 100% Waterproof, Trailer Camper, Motorhome HVAC -NetworkRV

I have a 2003 Roadtrek 190 Versatile RV, fitted with a Dometic Cool Cat 10,500 BTU Heat Pump Air Conditioner. I wanted to be able to run the air conditioner using my Pulsar PG2300iS 18000watt running (23000watt peak) Portable Gas-Powered Quiet Inverter Generator. Unfortunately, when I turned the air conditioner on the generator would stall every time. Then I decided to get a SoftStart unit. The first task was figuring out where the wiring was hidden in the air conditioner. It turned out to be easy enough. I had to remove the roof cover and unscrew two lockdown screws at the rear of the air conditioner to be able to move the a/c backward. I also removed two screws from inside the RV to take off the front cover. I found that I could push the a/c back and rotate it slightly to get at the wiring compartment cover, held in place with two more screws. The a/c heat pump circuit diagram was attached to the inside of the cover. I went to the SoftStart website to look for a wiring diagram that matched my diagram. Unfortunately, none of the available examples matched mine. So, I put in a ticket request for help and they answered the same evening with a quick diagram to get me started, and with a promise that a professionally designed diagram for the Cool Cat was being processed. Armed with the rough diagram I was able to work out all but one of the connections. Installation was easy. Mainly cutting and splicing five wires into the circuit wiring. The step by step directions that came with the unit were excellent. I did have an issue with the Blue wire. It was shown directly connected to R on the compressor. I tried that and it didn't work. Because my unit is a heat pump there is a Cold Control also connected to R. I solved the problem by removing the White wire, going to the Cold Control, at the Run Capacitor, and connecting the Blue wire to the White wire. Problem solved! Now, the Pulsar 1800watt generator starts the a/c unit every time. The SoftStart unit is amazing. It is so gentle and quiet that it is hard to believe that the a/c unit is running. The cool air certainly proves that it is. The SoftStart's online help was impressive. They not only responded quickly via email but they had also attempted to contact me by phone several times to give me wire by wire directions. I live in a black hole for cell phone signals and was not getting their calls. So they sent further emails asking me to contact them. I do have previous a/c experience as well as an electronics background so I was able to work out the final part of the puzzle myself, but they were 100% there trying to help. Please DO NOT attempt to install a SoftStart unit based on my review. Always contact SoftStart and they will advise you to step by step with their phone assistance. All in all, I highly recommend the SoftStart unit. It is amazing, and if you have a basic air conditioner unit then you will be able to make use of the online information and excellent included installation notes, and live phone call assistance if necessary to do the installation. If you don't feel comfortable doing the installation then do contact an electrician to have the work done. Capacitors can hold a dangerous charge even after the power has been disconnected and electricity is potentially lethal so don't take any unnecessary risks I think that the SoftStart unit is worth every penny.

I finally decided I needed to add softstart to my RV AC when I decided to move to a solar generator instead of my pair of Honda 2000's in parallel that I used to lug around when dry camping. I could never get a single Honda 2000 to start my AC and would need both... I wonder if this softstart would let me do that? But doesn't matter - I switched to an Ecoflow that probably could handle the startup surge, but why stress it? This softstart was pretty easy to install. I had to lookup my particular AC model (Dometic something) and the instructions tell you where to run all the wires, jumpers, etc. Just make sure to double-check everything. I had done some of it and realized I'd done the wrong wire on one part (I read the letters from the AC incorrectly at first), so I'm glad I checked again before starting it up. That was my fault for not being more thorough, no fault of the instructions which were correct. After getting the wiring correct and finding a good spot to mount it, well... that was it, I was done. I flipped the breaker back on, went inside and started it up, and wow, it was SO much nicer when starting. Before, the AC would "clunk" when starting up and was pretty loud during that startup phase. Now, it starts up nice and calm, the clunk is gone, and that "hum" I'd hear for the first couple seconds when the compressor and fan were starting up had all but disappeared. I mean, there's still the noise of the fan and compressor, but you get to skip the other noise. Which is great if you have this running on and off at night because those clunks and hums are distracting. There are more expensive softstarts out there but this one, I think, is a good value. There are also cheaper ones out there and I'm kind of skeptical of those. This one seems solidly built, works great, and the manufacturer has been around for a while so I feel like they'll stand behind the product. As far as how it works to reduce the initial amp draw, I didn't do any direct measurements to get the peak current before/after install. Other people have done exactly that, so you can refer to them. I do know that my single Honda 2000 inverter generator couldn't start up previously (I'll have to try that at some point now), so the startup current definitely exceeded what that could handle. I even had trouble getting the AC to start if I was using a 15A circuit to power my RV... it would trip the breaker (it's a 30A trailer, but using the adapter to just keep it plugged in at home to keep batteries charged, etc... I tried getting the AC to start while nothing else was running, and the breaker would always trip). Now with the softstart and using the energy monitor on my Ecoflow, I could see that it ramps up nicely and my AC averages between 7-8 A (at 120V) which is far less than I imagined it would use. With that in mind, assuming the softstart lets it gently ramp up to that 7-8A (or could be up to 13A for a 15A circuit), I bet I could use a single generator or a 15A circuit to run *just* the AC to start it up, and a couple other low current things. My converter, for example, is a 55A converter. If it decides it needs to charge my batteries, it could be using 5-6A of 120V all by itself. Anyway, all that other stuff aside, this unit does exactly what it says, the price is decent, easy enough to install, etc. Worth the price and effort it takes to install it.

I got tired of fighting with my generator and decided to finally get this upgrade. They walked me through the process and the installation took a total of about an hour. Works exactly as it should. My generator no longer bogs down and the AC starts quieter, without that loud thump. Very happy i made this purchase.

Took about 2 hours to install. Would have been faster, but I always forget tools and I had to pee. Directions are very straight forward. The wiring diagram was a little odd, but reading the directions made it easier to understand. I tried running my 13,000 btu A/C with my 2300 watt generator before installing this with no luck. Generator instantly faulted. After install generator runs my A/C and entire camper like a champ. Also tried plugging it into an outlet in my garage before I installed this and tripped the breaker after about 5 minutes. I think my wife turned something on in the house on the same circuit causing it to trip though. After install I can plug it into the same outlet and so far has not tripped the breaker at all even after running for a couple hours while installing an inverter and odds and ends while letting the A/C keep me cool while working. The price point for me was a little high, but I am happy with my purchase. I was considering other brands, but I seen multiple youtube videos on this unit and opted to pay the extra $ to make sure I was getting a high quality product. I learned long ago that if you spend a little more on the things you buy, you won't have to take aspirin and blood pressure meds as much. I ran my A/C for about 25 hours over this last weekend while camping and used 5 gallons of gas in my generator. I don't know if this helped, but I was really surprised at how little gas I needed for how much I ran the A/C. If you are on the fence, just pay the extra $ and get this one. I haven't used their customer service, but I hear they are good. Hopefully I will never have to find out.

In May, we were in Key West in our 5th wheel RV when our entire site lost power. We connected a 4K generator to power our 12V fridge and our 1 AC unit. But when our AC unit kicked in, the generator went into overload and no AC…it was over 100 degrees inside the rig. Time to pack up and go home!!! I just installed the SoftStartRV, fired up the 4K generator, turned the AC to 55 degrees and no overload! At one point, the Generator went to 75% load and after a minute or so, it then dropped to 50%. The inside of the rig was again over 100% inside. Installation for my Colman Mach 3 AC Unit: In order to get the correct install instructions, I had to go on top of the RV, pull the cover off the AC unit, remove the cover plate for the capacitor and on the inside of the cover plate, there is a specific number that I needed. From there, I was able to go to the SoftStartRV web site and download the correct install instructions. I am now on top of the RV, it is 94 degrees outside, I have the Capacitor and Compressor exposed…and the first issue pops up. Instructions have two options…A = without a “Start-Relay” or, B = with a “Start-Relay”…I have no idea! At this point, I called the tech support and within 3 rings, Bill answered. He confirmed I did not have the Relay and then without hesitation, he walked me through the entire process. Example: Take the black wire off this piece, connect the SoftStartRV red wire to where the black wire was, then connect this wire to this place, remove the cover from the capacitor and connect this, then that, cover the exposed wire with electrical, etc., within 5 min, all 5 wires were correctly connected!!! Bill had me then fire up the AC system and ensure that there is a “Green Light” on the SoftStartRV box. Once I confirmed the light was green, installation was complete, all I had to do was, tie the wires up with the supplied Zip-Strips, Mount the SoftStartRV (the back has a double sided 3M mounting tape), then finally put the covers back on. Note: For my install, I used the following tools/items: Wire Crimpers, Wire Cutters, a Philips-Head #2 screw driver (for removing the covers), Electrical Tape, and a small socked set to remove the cover on top of the compressor…I think it was 5/16. All the wire connectors I needed were included with the unit. I am 100% impressed with the entire process…from shipping to install. Highly recommend this product.

installation was straight forward 5 steps spelled out good it all made sense and what better it fired right up and works great.

Pro: A Soft Start for AC units, and it does that well so far. Printed instructions for finding the appropriate installation procedure on the web are included. You just find your AC model and you get PDF istep-by-step instructions with pictures and wiring diagrams. You also get a Youtube video of the whole procedure. If that isn't enough, they offer to talk you through by cellphone. After I read the PDF and saw the video, the unit installed with no trouble, so I had no need for a talk-through. Con: This is a pricey item, particularly as you start with a working AC, and when you're done, you have a working AC! However, the advantage of being able to use the AC -and other items on a small generator is a game-changer for the boondocker or 15A camper. Anything else I didn't like? A small nitpick, but the wiring diagrams could perhaps contain the necessary information in fewer diagrams? The common AC units are identified by model name, so we had to use our model number to look up the name we didn't know, and then get the right instructions. This seems a well-made unit with excellent installation instructions. We had almost gotten used to the power-grabbing "clunk" every time the compressor started; now we have a gentle purr up to full power. Yes, we were worried that we might lose some cooling performance, but it seems the cooling is just as good as before. We've tried it on a 15A outlet and our little 2200i generator. Both perform without trouble now, but not before. In short, if you can buy this SoftStartRV, do.

Quite honestly the best step by step instructions ever. Suggest watching a couple YouTube videos so you know what you’re getting into. Take pictures of the wiring before you take anything off just to be on the safe side. Took me 15 minutes. They dramatically reduce the pull from a 2000 watt generator. Highly recommend them.

This amazing device works exactly as described. It functions flawlessly. When the ac kicks in, it’s so smooth, there’s no “hammer” when it starts. I can run the ac and microwave at the same time while plugged into a regular receptacle, as well as when plugged into my generator. I installed it on our 14 year old Coleman Mach rv air conditioner and installation was very simple. The step by step instructions from the SoftStart website made it really easy. One feature that I really appreciated was the small size of the unit itself. This enabled me to easily find a spot to install it that made it look like it was installed by a professional. I believe that the SoftStartRV will make it easier on my ac and easier on my generator.

I've just install the SoftStartRV SSRV3T in my travel trailer. Instructions were simple and clear. Installation was easy. The AC started and ran smoothly with my Honda generator EU2200i. The generator is also running smootly. The SoftStartRV operated as advertised. We're extremely satisfied. Definitively a big plus. We recommend to buy.

Received the unit promptly, but it was too cold here to do the install right away. Finally got to put the unit in and found the instructions incredibly easy to follow and the install went great. The unit worked well on the test run and seems to be quieter, not sure how much it saves on start up draw as my home plug supplies 30 amp. The draw test will come when we get to our seasonal site as it is a very old campground and only has 20 amp service to the sites. Update! OMG! This thing is awesome. Last year when the a/c cycled it would pull so much amps ( old campground and we are on a power supply that is only 20 amp) the satilite tv would cut out and reset. No more, not only that but we also run a bar fridge this year and still no issues.

Works awesome and very easy to install and help too keep the start up of our a/c units on our rv to a gentle start in instead of a hard start up I recommend this product to any rv owners

After two months of daily use, in my driveway on house shore power, and while camping, this soft start does exactly what it promises. I can now run the rv ac without tripping a breaker in the house or overheating any circuits. Everything about this company is first rate. The instructions are clear and specific, and the kit incudes every necessary item for a successful installation. I installed it on my old Dometic ac in an hour and a half. It’s an easy job for any competent diy-er I recommend using Wago connectors vs wire nuts. I hadn’t used them before, and now I’ll never use wire nuts (Mar connectors) again. You’ll also want a wire stripper/crimper, which you can find in any hardware store or on Amazon.