Glad it was helpful! Over my years working on things, I have had a few instances when the breaks indeed had become weak. In my home, I had my (2) main 100 amp breakers get tired. I was driving myself crazy looking for all other solutions, when the electrical engineer at work said to me to just change the set of breakers. Never had a problem after that. This happened AGAIN at two campground pedestals over my four years of full time travel as well. The Dutch Star was trying to pull all 50 amps from the pedestal, but the breakers would trip. The camp electrician replaced them, and we were back in business!
Thanks Mark for the video. At 62 my climbing days are over too. Had to get 3 AC covers replaced on our trip to Florida over Christmas. To my knowledge our two center units are original and our front and back units have been replaced once. You are doing the right thing. Yes breakers do get tired and I too have left them in too long before replacing. It's just one of those things I don't really think about much. The soft start should remedy your situation. So far we have only camped in 50 amp campgrounds and have not had to worry about a 30 amp situation. Please update us on your upcoming trip to the Tampa RV show. I appreciate your channel. You are living the dream. We hope to retire next year and travel just not full time. Hopefully 1/2 time.
Thanks Marco for your words of wisdom on this issue. You have a tone in your voice that makes it easy to follow your reasoning for adding the Soft Start. Looking forward to more Sue and Mark "jabbing one another" next week. (and I like your humpty dumpty rule)
We added a soft start this year (had it installed, saved all my life by diy, now fortunately have the finances to have it done). Now the AC starts up without the loud noise and in my opinion runs quieter.
Nice job in the overall explanation. Throughout the AC industry, be it residential, or RV, the more times the AC cycles, it is exposed to inrush current, aka, locked rotor amps(high current). The hard start kit, soft start kit, reduces that inrush current taking that load off the start windings of the compressor. Don't hesitate to ask your AC contractor for a professional opinion on both residential or RV as it is the same principle for both.
Your videos are sooo good ♥️ I don't own RV but still I watch your videos! There's something in it that at end of the day it helps me relax 😄 Keep up the good work!
Hi Mark and Sue! Very good video on the soft start air conditioning. Glad you are getting it fixed. And that you had someone do it. Now all three a/c’s should be working. Hopefully! Hope you and Sue had a great Christmas. Have a great night and week and see you soon!
Yes doing all you can to help a 120volt RV A/C unit start is a good thing. Years ago we would install a hard start kit on a 120 volt home system like a window unit to give it a kick to start , but with the tight tolerance of voltage and amp draw in a RV this soft start unit seems to be the trick…now that you have new A/C breakers get a infrared thermometer gun and monitor breaker temperature you can catch a breaker going bad before it fail. Lose wires on breakers or neutral can cause issue…Greta video.. travel safe..
I installed my SoftStart myself in 2022. I had a problem at first. Its important to crimp the connectors well so there is a good connection. Tech support was excellent. I did wonder if I should have hired a tech. If you aren’t the type that can troubleshoot, get a tech. Once I checked and fixed the connectors, I was fine.
Merry Christmas and wish you the best New Year. Hope you’re enjoying that Florida weather by now. We just got our second snow fall, at least it was a white Christmas.
Mark and Sue Hope you are both doing well. I just ordered 3 soft starts for my Winnebago (PREVOST) 😜. I appreciate the $90.00 discount. Now I can buy 25 gallons of fuel!😂😂😂 safe travels!
Awesome! Thank you Tom! I was just looking at video footage from when we were in Gaffney SC, and got to see your Prevost in the background again! You message was great timing. For a man with your skills, I am sure your installation will take less than an hour and a half for all three of them,..........including a bathroom break and a snack! Sorry for all the snow you are getting. I saw the big blower you have for your place.
Thanks Mark and Sue! Planning on getting those installed on our 2 units. Looking forward to any follow-up you have on this! Happy Healthy New Year! Brendan & Lena
I can surely see why you would want those. I do believe they will extend the life of any unit for sure. Great video and Merry Christmas and have an awesome New Year🎊
It's like watching CNN from 30 years ago. You're talking about one thing and the screen has text about something else. I couldn't keep up. But great information. Thank you.
Sounds like a great deal Mark . Seems about 1 to 2 years ago I had read someone had made a DC compressor that started up softer and the AC units. I can only guess DC because of solar power. This was for house units as well. Yea that would make it hard to get under a lot of structures as well. Let us know how well this works out for you please.
Mark, your "No roof" rule is one that I will adopt as well. I am too darned old to be bouncing off the ground because I didn't want to pay someone else to do a job.. Life is too short for that macho BS! haha By the way, I did have someone install the soft starts in my coach but really haven't had enough time to see the difference yet. I had them installed when I had my 1600 watt solar system installed by Continuous Resources in Utah.
Some folks have asked if the units start quieter. Sue & I both think they are quieter starting up,.....but I would say that's impossible. I think it is in our heads! The electrical "work" to start the A/C unit is staying the same,.........it is just being performed at 1/2 the current peak, for DOUBLE the amount of time. But that time is measured in milliseconds, which is a really TOO FAST a time for ears to hear a change I think. Now that is a LONG TIME for electrical heating, SO THERE IS A CHANGE! Plenty of other channels with electrical engineering backgrounds have explained the function of these units, with meters and oscilloscopes to backup the narrative. I was just trying to tell folks that it is easy to have RV Techs to put these things in for you if your not comfortable doing it yourself! Our real test for these units will be coming up shortly. We will be on a 30amp dry camping spot for 7 days in Tampa when we are at the 2022 Florida RV Supershow! We don't expect to be tripping breakers this time around.
Sue & I both think they are quieter starting up,.....but I would say that's impossible. I think it is in our heads! The electrical "work" to start the A/C unit is staying the same,.........it is just being performed at 1/2 the current peak, for DOUBLE the amount of time. But that time is measured in milliseconds, which is a really TOO FAST a time for ears to hear a change I think. Now that is a a LONG TIME for electrical heating, SO THERE IS A CHANGE! Plenty of other channels with electrical engineering backgrounds have explained the function of these units, with meters and oscilloscopes to backup the narrative. I was just trying to tell folks that it is easy to have RV Techs to put these things in for you if your not comfortable doing it yourself! Our real test for these units will be coming up shortly. We will be on a 30amp dry camping spot for 7 days in Tampa when we are at the 2022 Florida RV Supershow!
I bought 3 of the SoftStarts for my 2019 Tiffin Phaeton in March of this year and installed them myself. You are 100% right! The startup load on my A/C units is greatly reduced and the A/C units are much quieter. Also, I am able to run 2 A/C units on 30 amps. The SoftStart is worth every penny. Ironically 2 of the units took me 30 minutes to install on each A/C unit. The third took me 90 minutes because the third unit wasn’t wired according to the manufacturer wiring diagram. It worked but I wired it according to the diagram with the SoftStart and that unit seems to work much better now. I highly recommend the SoftStart.
Yes,.......we are looking forward to being able to use the A/C on 30 amps while cooking,...........or using something else,..........like the dryer,........ without having something trip out on me just because of a 150 millisecond peak current event.
Even before I saw in your video I knew that you must have Dometic A/C's. I have had my Class A Diesel Pusher for three years and have had to replace my Dometic A/C's five times and i only have two on my rig. Dometic A/C's are garbage.
Because of our usual travel pattern, we have used the Lawrenceville GA location the most. We have also have service done in Lewisville TX and in Phoenix AZ. We were parked 2 miles from the Las Vegas shop, but thankfully had no service issues at that time!
@@OurJourneyInMyles To bad you coulden't make the AIM rally in Las Vegas the first of this month. It was great fun. We stayed at Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. Not as close to the NIRVC site but they had people available at the rally.
No. We only boondock when going to a Harvest Hosts or repair facility. We LOVE an all electric coach, and believe it is way safer than a coach with propane onboard. We couldn't imagine full-timing in a rig without a residential refrigerator. You need one that is LARGE and COLD,....all the time. All of this convenience does require you to have great batteries, solar, and stay at places that allow generator use when needed if not plugged into shore power! We are plugged in 350 days a year!
@@OurJourneyInMyles Our "Glamping" Journey In Myles!! lol. Agree about the residential refer. Solar panels & lithium batteries are getting better & cheaper! I'm waiting for an affordable Solar Panel Awning!!. Appreciate the feedback! Thx!
#1A/C unit would work OK sometimes, and work great for a week. Then other times, it would kick out for no reason. Since it was OEM from June 2013, I wanted to start fresh and NOT try to get it fixed.
Adding softstarter is okay, replacing the breakers is not neccecary, waste of money....., you theorie about this point is incorrect....., Merry Christmas to you all......😇
Thanks for checking the episode out. Over my years working on things, I have had a few instances when the breaks indeed had become weak. In my home, I had my (2) main 100 amp breakers get tired. I was driving myself crazy looking for all other solutions, when the electrical engineer at work said to me to just change the set of breakers. Never had a problem after that. This happened AGAIN at two campground pedestals over my four years of full time travel as well. The Dutch Star was trying to pull all 50 amps from the pedestal, but the breakers would trip. The camp electrician replaced them, and we were back in business!
RV A/C units are super cheaply made, small, expensive and low profile. When you use them as much as we do because we full time in a warm climate, it is tough on them. I think the owner BEFORE me didn't worry about low voltage, and decreased the life in the first three units he owned, replaced two of them, and then one of thise was just a bad unit from the factory. It is only the original OEM one that went bad on my watch that I now just replaced! Fingers are crossed I can go a few years now!
The two prior failures were from the previous owner, and then one of those replacements failed within two weeks. I believe the #1 OEM one that I replaced just died from continual use since June 2013. I have now done everything humanly possible to give my A/C units and easy life! Fingers crossed. I am also certain now I will be able to run the A/C and other things easily while at the Tampa RV Show while on a 30 amp hookup.
Mark, have you heard of the microair easy start which supposedly does the same function but is underwriter laboratories (UL) certified where as the soft start product is not.
I did NOT know the SoftStartRV wasn't UL approved. When looking at these units, it looked like the SoftStart was way easier to install. I did not like the learning process you had to take the MicroAir through, and the exact start up procedure you had to follow. I wanted a device an RV tech could just slap on and they would be done!
The softstart product is probably a fine option, but my comfort level would be a little better knowing the MicroAir unit has passed the UL rigorous safety test, especially being installed on the roof of my RV.
You make a compelling argument for SoftStart units. I also did not know about weakening of circuit breakers. Great info. Great video.
Glad it was helpful! Over my years working on things, I have had a few instances when the breaks indeed had become weak. In my home, I had my (2) main 100 amp breakers get tired. I was driving myself crazy looking for all other solutions, when the electrical engineer at work said to me to just change the set of breakers. Never had a problem after that. This happened AGAIN at two campground pedestals over my four years of full time travel as well. The Dutch Star was trying to pull all 50 amps from the pedestal, but the breakers would trip. The camp electrician replaced them, and we were back in business!
Thanks Mark for the video. At 62 my climbing days are over too. Had to get 3 AC covers replaced on our trip to Florida over Christmas. To my knowledge our two center units are original and our front and back units have been replaced once. You are doing the right thing. Yes breakers do get tired and I too have left them in too long before replacing. It's just one of those things I don't really think about much. The soft start should remedy your situation. So far we have only camped in 50 amp campgrounds and have not had to worry about a 30 amp situation. Please update us on your upcoming trip to the Tampa RV show. I appreciate your channel. You are living the dream. We hope to retire next year and travel just not full time. Hopefully 1/2 time.
Keeping your Home Base is the best overall scenario!
The Softstart unit is a must for rigs with multiple ACs and microwave ovens.
Yes,.........we agree!
Thanks Marco for your words of wisdom on this issue. You have a tone in your voice that makes it easy to follow your reasoning for adding the Soft Start. Looking forward to more Sue and Mark "jabbing one another" next week. (and I like your humpty dumpty rule)
Thanks once again for stopping by!
We added a soft start this year (had it installed, saved all my life by diy, now fortunately have the finances to have it done). Now the AC starts up without the loud noise and in my opinion runs quieter.
Yes! Another success story! The roof, ladder and bending thing isn't for me anymore.
My thoughts exactly!
Nice job in the overall explanation. Throughout the AC industry, be it residential, or RV, the more times the AC cycles, it is exposed to inrush current, aka, locked rotor amps(high current). The hard start kit, soft start kit, reduces that inrush current taking that load off the start windings of the compressor. Don't hesitate to ask your AC contractor for a professional opinion on both residential or RV as it is the same principle for both.
Great comment Larry,....thanks!
Your videos are sooo good ♥️
I don't own RV but still I watch your videos!
There's something in it that at end of the day it helps me relax 😄
Keep up the good work!
That is an awesome comment, and much appreciated as I slave away for next Sundays video!!
Hi Mark and Sue! Very good video on the soft start air conditioning. Glad you are getting it fixed. And that you had someone do it. Now all three a/c’s should be working. Hopefully! Hope you and Sue had a great Christmas. Have a great night and week and see you soon!
Thanks 👍 Sherri.
Yes doing all you can to help a 120volt RV A/C unit start is a good thing. Years ago we would install a hard start kit on a 120 volt home system like a window unit to give it a kick to start , but with the tight tolerance of voltage and amp draw in a RV this soft start unit seems to be the trick…now that you have new A/C breakers get a infrared thermometer gun and monitor breaker temperature you can catch a breaker going bad before it fail. Lose wires on breakers or neutral can cause issue…Greta video.. travel safe..
Great comment Kirk.
I installed my SoftStart myself in 2022. I had a problem at first. Its important to crimp the connectors well so there is a good connection. Tech support was excellent. I did wonder if I should have hired a tech. If you aren’t the type that can troubleshoot, get a tech. Once I checked and fixed the connectors, I was fine.
I agree Joey. In my case I am just not comfortable up on the roof of the RV anymore.
Merry Christmas and wish you the best New Year. Hope you’re enjoying that Florida weather by now. We just got our second snow fall, at least it was a white Christmas.
Merry Christmas,..........it really is better when its white!
Thank you Mark I just ordered two of them. I wanting to get them for awhile now you just made my mind up thank you. Bob
Thanks a lot. If you install them yourself, please take your time and stay safe.
Mark and Sue
Hope you are both doing well. I just ordered 3 soft starts for my Winnebago (PREVOST) 😜. I appreciate the $90.00 discount. Now I can buy 25 gallons of fuel!😂😂😂 safe travels!
Awesome! Thank you Tom! I was just looking at video footage from when we were in Gaffney SC, and got to see your Prevost in the background again! You message was great timing. For a man with your skills, I am sure your installation will take less than an hour and a half for all three of them,..........including a bathroom break and a snack! Sorry for all the snow you are getting. I saw the big blower you have for your place.
Thanks Mark and Sue!
Planning on getting those installed on our 2 units. Looking forward to any follow-up you have on this!
Happy Healthy New Year!
Brendan & Lena
I will be on a 30 amp hookup the week of Jan 18th through the 23rd whole at the Tampa RV Show. That will be the test.
Thank you for the fantastic information.
Your welcome Marti.
Good plan Mark. Prevention rather than reaction.
Fingers crossed.
Very informative video Mark
Glad it was helpful Dennis!
I can surely see why you would want those. I do believe they will extend the life of any unit for sure. Great video and Merry Christmas and have an awesome New Year🎊
Happy new year you guys!
It's like watching CNN from 30 years ago. You're talking about one thing and the screen has text about something else. I couldn't keep up. But great information. Thank you.
Exciting hey!!
Merry Christmas from Sheboygan!
Happy New Year to you John!
Good information, looking forward to see how the work for you.
You and me both! I have done everything humanly possible now to give my A/C units and easy life!
Sounds like a great deal Mark . Seems about 1 to 2 years ago I had read someone had made a DC compressor that
started up softer and the AC units. I can only guess DC because of solar power. This was for house units as well.
Yea that would make it hard to get under a lot of structures as well. Let us know how well this works out for you please.
I will be at the 2022 Tampa RV Show rally with only 30 amp service for 6 days. I expect it to be way better than last time we were on 30 amps!
Merry Christmas great Video and great content! Thanks Mark Travel safe
Happy holidays Brad! Thanks for checking in.
Mark, your "No roof" rule is one that I will adopt as well. I am too darned old to be bouncing off the ground because I didn't want to pay someone else to do a job.. Life is too short for that macho BS! haha
By the way, I did have someone install the soft starts in my coach but really haven't had enough time to see the difference yet. I had them installed when I had my 1600 watt solar system installed by Continuous Resources in Utah.
Some folks have asked if the units start quieter. Sue & I both think they are quieter starting up,.....but I would say that's impossible. I think it is in our heads! The electrical "work" to start the A/C unit is staying the same,.........it is just being performed at 1/2 the current peak, for DOUBLE the amount of time. But that time is measured in milliseconds, which is a really TOO FAST a time for ears to hear a change I think. Now that is a LONG TIME for electrical heating, SO THERE IS A CHANGE! Plenty of other channels with electrical engineering backgrounds have explained the function of these units, with meters and oscilloscopes to backup the narrative. I was just trying to tell folks that it is easy to have RV Techs to put these things in for you if your not comfortable doing it yourself! Our real test for these units will be coming up shortly. We will be on a 30amp dry camping spot for 7 days in Tampa when we are at the 2022 Florida RV Supershow! We don't expect to be tripping breakers this time around.
Mark, great video. Can you tell a difference in the noise level inside the coach when the AC’s start up with the Soft Start? Thanks much
Sue & I both think they are quieter starting up,.....but I would say that's impossible. I think it is in our heads! The electrical "work" to start the A/C unit is staying the same,.........it is just being performed at 1/2 the current peak, for DOUBLE the amount of time. But that time is measured in milliseconds, which is a really TOO FAST a time for ears to hear a change I think. Now that is a a LONG TIME for electrical heating, SO THERE IS A CHANGE! Plenty of other channels with electrical engineering backgrounds have explained the function of these units, with meters and oscilloscopes to backup the narrative. I was just trying to tell folks that it is easy to have RV Techs to put these things in for you if your not comfortable doing it yourself! Our real test for these units will be coming up shortly. We will be on a 30amp dry camping spot for 7 days in Tampa when we are at the 2022 Florida RV Supershow!
very cool
Thanks Allan.
👍😎🇨🇦🍻…. We had 2 softstart installed… more options if only 30 amps available…
Nice 👍! Thanks for helping other folks with your comment.
I bought 3 of the SoftStarts for my 2019 Tiffin Phaeton in March of this year and installed them myself. You are 100% right! The startup load on my A/C units is greatly reduced and the A/C units are much quieter. Also, I am able to run 2 A/C units on 30 amps. The SoftStart is worth every penny. Ironically 2 of the units took me 30 minutes to install on each A/C unit. The third took me 90 minutes because the third unit wasn’t wired according to the manufacturer wiring diagram. It worked but I wired it according to the diagram with the SoftStart and that unit seems to work much better now. I highly recommend the SoftStart.
Yes,.......we are looking forward to being able to use the A/C on 30 amps while cooking,...........or using something else,..........like the dryer,........ without having something trip out on me just because of a 150 millisecond peak current event.
Even before I saw in your video I knew that you must have Dometic A/C's. I have had my Class A Diesel Pusher for three years and have had to replace my Dometic A/C's five times and i only have two on my rig. Dometic A/C's are garbage.
WOW! You win the contest David!
Which NIRVC location did you use? Hope you have a Happy New Year.
Because of our usual travel pattern, we have used the Lawrenceville GA location the most. We have also have service done in Lewisville TX and in Phoenix AZ. We were parked 2 miles from the Las Vegas shop, but thankfully had no service issues at that time!
@@OurJourneyInMyles To bad you coulden't make the AIM rally in Las Vegas the first of this month. It was great fun. We stayed at Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. Not as close to the NIRVC site but they had people available at the rally.
Have you done a vid comparing an all-electric DP vs a non all-electric (propane) DP? Any regrets going all-electric? Great info as always! Thx!
No. We only boondock when going to a Harvest Hosts or repair facility. We LOVE an all electric coach, and believe it is way safer than a coach with propane onboard. We couldn't imagine full-timing in a rig without a residential refrigerator. You need one that is LARGE and COLD,....all the time. All of this convenience does require you to have great batteries, solar, and stay at places that allow generator use when needed if not plugged into shore power! We are plugged in 350 days a year!
@@OurJourneyInMyles Our "Glamping" Journey In Myles!! lol. Agree about the residential refer. Solar panels & lithium batteries are getting better & cheaper! I'm waiting for an affordable Solar Panel Awning!!. Appreciate the feedback! Thx!
Was AC #1 not operational or did you replace it to ensure baseline performance across all 3 AC’s?
#1A/C unit would work OK sometimes, and work great for a week. Then other times, it would kick out for no reason. Since it was OEM from June 2013, I wanted to start fresh and NOT try to get it fixed.
These are the ticket! 2 hr labor worth paying!
That's what I thought. I am not the man I used to be. Did I ever tell you I completely "woodyed out" the entire inside of my 1986 Ford Econoline Van?
@@OurJourneyInMyles I think I rember that! Very well. I still have the dash template!
Adding softstarter is okay, replacing the breakers is not neccecary, waste of money....., you theorie about this point is incorrect....., Merry Christmas to you all......😇
Thanks for checking the episode out. Over my years working on things, I have had a few instances when the breaks indeed had become weak. In my home, I had my (2) main 100 amp breakers get tired. I was driving myself crazy looking for all other solutions, when the electrical engineer at work said to me to just change the set of breakers. Never had a problem after that. This happened AGAIN at two campground pedestals over my four years of full time travel as well. The Dutch Star was trying to pull all 50 amps from the pedestal, but the breakers would trip. The camp electrician replaced them, and we were back in business!
Is this ac failure common with all rvs.
RV A/C units are super cheaply made, small, expensive and low profile. When you use them as much as we do because we full time in a warm climate, it is tough on them. I think the owner BEFORE me didn't worry about low voltage, and decreased the life in the first three units he owned, replaced two of them, and then one of thise was just a bad unit from the factory. It is only the original OEM one that went bad on my watch that I now just replaced! Fingers are crossed I can go a few years now!
@@OurJourneyInMyles $$$$$
Maybe I missed it but what caused the failure of your unit(s)? Was it the higher starting current?
The two prior failures were from the previous owner, and then one of those replacements failed within two weeks. I believe the #1 OEM one that I replaced just died from continual use since June 2013. I have now done everything humanly possible to give my A/C units and easy life! Fingers crossed. I am also certain now I will be able to run the A/C and other things easily while at the Tampa RV Show while on a 30 amp hookup.
Mark, have you heard of the microair easy start which supposedly does the same function but is underwriter laboratories (UL) certified where as the soft start product is not.
I did NOT know the SoftStartRV wasn't UL approved. When looking at these units, it looked like the SoftStart was way easier to install. I did not like the learning process you had to take the MicroAir through, and the exact start up procedure you had to follow. I wanted a device an RV tech could just slap on and they would be done!
The softstart product is probably a fine option, but my comfort level would be a little better knowing the MicroAir unit has passed the UL rigorous safety test, especially being installed on the roof of my RV.
Can
Chan can do!