Soft Start vs Easy Start: Which is Better? (Differences)
In those no shore power situations, the weather can still get hot. However, your generator is not powerful enough to start your AC unit. To get cool, you need to adapt your AC unit to start even when the generator is not up to the task.
Price-wise, they are the same. However, for longevity, it has been said that Soft Start will last longer than the Easy Start. Customer service is another issue and one company may excel while the other is not so great.
To learn more about these two companies and their AC product, just continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about before you make your purchase. Both products do the same thing but one company may be better than the other
AC Soft Start 101
What is a Soft Start For An Air Conditioner?
Normally, an air conditioner will try to start the compressor and the fan at the same time. This task needs a lot of energy. With the soft start process, the compressor is started after the fan.
What that means is that the AC unit needs less energy to start the two devices. The delay is not long but long enough so that you can use a smaller generator to start and run your AC unit.
This design makes the adaption perfect for those who want to remain cool while they boondock. They can use the bigger generator to power other electrical devices and their smaller one can be dedicated to the AC unit.
While these two products are good and do what has been claimed, you can also build your own soft start system for less money. Also, you can start the fan on your AC unit first, and wait 15 seconds while it runs before turning the AC unit on low for 215 seconds.
After that second step, you can move the AC unit to high cool. This manual operation not only saves you some money, but it also uses less energy to start the cooling process in your RV. You can use a 2400 Yamaha generator to do this process.
Remember running watts is always lower than starting watts and if you start the AC unit on fan and high cool first, you will trip a breaker. If you do these steps, the generator will have enough power to run the AC without tripping anything. This was done on a 13,500 BTU AC unity.
How Does Microair Easy Start Work?
The best way to answer this question is to quote Micro Air directly:
“The solution is to reduce the peak LRA so we created EasyStart. EasyStart is designed to connect directly to the compressor motor and reduce the power surge that occurs on start. It does this by controlling the power supplied to the windings of the motor on each AC cycle. EasyStart gradually increases this power until the compressor is running.
This increases the time it takes the motor to get up to speed and creates a very smooth start that reduces the peak current by 50 to 70%. An RV rooftop 16 KBTU, the 120-volt compressor can now start with under 20 amps of current.”
That is what this product is designed to do and so far, we have not run into anyone stating otherwise. They are all happy with how this product operates and it does save them on start-up power.
You just have to be patient with your motor and compressor. Give them time to get started and soon your RV will be cool and you can enjoy the day. Compare your electric bills to make sure you are saving some money.
What is The Difference Between a Hard And a Soft Start?
A hard start is where you use a lot of electricity to get a motor started. You will see this in the difference between the start-up watts and the run time watts. Usually, the start-up watts are 3 to 4 times greater (an example) than the run time watts.
This power surge can be risky but generally, there is nothing you can do about it. A soft start lowers the amount of electricity sent to your AC unit’s motor and that reduction reaches up to 70%.
This lack of electricity is easier on your motor and protects it from overheating and other possible damage. Plus, the motor starts smoothly making it easier to work. You do not reduce any lifespan with a soft start while a hard start may lower the lifespan of the AC unit.
The soft start system seems to have a 99% efficiency rating and is an economical solution to higher energy bills. While the hard start will shorten the time it takes for the motor and compressor to get p to speed it can be hard on both parts as well as the capacitor.
The soft start seems to bypass the capacitor in its operation.
Are Soft Start Kits Worth It?
From everything we have read in our research, this does seem to be worth the $299 cost for either the Easy Start or the Soft Start products. One owner has said the start-up is quieter as is the compressor and you do not hear the latter part cycling on and off throughout the night.
Other owners have no complaints and one is getting ready to install a second soft stater in his RV. In other words, these products do work. Installation time is a DIY process and should not take you more than 1 hour to install either soft start option.
Some of the pros of these units are-- easy to use, lower your costs, are very versatile, and are not limited to AC units only, and more. One of the biggest pros is that it helps extend the life of your AC motors.
They also prevent overheating which protects your motor from damage. So yes, for the results you get, these kits are worth the money. If you are not sure how to install the kit, one of the companies offers rooftop tech help.
What that means is that you send the company a message and they will schedule a time with you and talk you through the installation process. That is going the extra mile.
Soft Start vs Easy Start
This is a difficult comparison to make as both companies have made a top product that works as claimed. Plus, they both offer those soft start products at the same price, $299, and give you discounts from time to time.
It is hard to compare when both companies do the same thing and have products that work well. The big difference is how both companies operate. For Soft Start, you get rooftop assistance, no restocking fee, free shipping, a free install kit, a 3-month free trial with a 100% money back guarantee, and a free year of an extended warranty.
You do not get those benefits with Micro Air. Unless things have changed, Micro Air charges a 25% restocking fee, the installation kit is approx $10, and you do not get rooftop aid.
The Micro Air easy start takes about 5 restarts before the AC unit is ‘trained’. This takes about 15 minutes to do. This process is not a part of the soft start process.
To know that you installed the soft start option correctly, there are 3 LED lights on the product. When they all light up green, you know it is installed correctly.
Micro Air Easy Start Reviews
You will always need to take reviews, no matter the product, with a grain of salt. Reviews are subjective, easy to influence, and sometimes just phony. But so far we have not run into any extreme reviews that raised any red flags.
The owners of this system seem to be very happy with their new part and simply stated it worked as claimed. Another owner simply said their Micro Air Easy Start worked great no matter where they went in the country.
Then another owner stated that the technology used in the Easy Start option is proven technology which means there is nothing ground breaking about these products.
The biggest complaint that we saw about this product is that it is not unique and is very expensive. There are owners who said that there are hard start capacitors that do the same thing as these two products. But those capacitors cost $100 less.
Then, there were owners, as we quoted earlier in this article, who said you could build your own easy start system for $20. Another used a manual method that worked for him.
All these products do is charge you for the work they do on your behalf. It may be worth trying to build your own and save some money.
How To Install RV ac Soft Start
First off, Easy Start has a 30-minute installation video to guide you through the process. You can view that video at this link. For the Soft Start product, you have to remember that RV AC units are wired a bit differently.
That means that these instructions may not totally apply to your AC situation. Most websites are not typing out the instructions. They just provide videos of their efforts to install this product. One such example is a 30-minute video found on this website
The videos will be a better option than our trying to type instructions here. You can see the steps they take and copy them very easily. Plus, 30-minute instructions will take up too much space than we have for this topic.
E Trailer does the same thing. When asked this question. They just post a video and let you handle it from there. Keep in mind that the products will come with a set of instructions and if you have any questions, you can contact Soft Star.
When you do that, you send them an electrical diagram of your AC unit and they will send you a color-coded diagram in return to help you install their product. That is good customer service as well.
Does Furrion AC Have a Soft Start?
The answer to this question is yes and no. The Furrion Chill Replacement RV Air Conditioner for Coleman Setup item # FACR15SA-W-C has a soft start built in. That may be good news for some owners.
If your unit does not have this built-in feature these products should have universal application. We suggest that you call the company or your dealer and ask them which Furrion AC units have this built-in capacity.
We checked a couple of units on Amazon but did not see this option listed in the descriptions. They may have been listed but under different labels. We just can’t be sure.
But with the universal design, it doesn’t matter if they are built-in or not. It is not hard to wire in one of these products and take advantage of their efficiency.
In some cases, the soft start or easy start products may help protect you from overloading the circuit when you turn on your Furrion AC units. Check the products out and see how they will help you when you start your AC units.
Some Final Words
It seems that going the soft start or easy start routes is in your best interests. Not only do you protect your motor and compressor but you also save some money in the long run.
The question is how much money will you save and when will that savings pay for these products? Cutting down on your electrical use helps free up money that is needed elsewhere. Do some comparisons and see which option is best for you.
The easy installation and service make buying either one of these products worthwhile. So far, there have not been any major complaints that would cause any red flags to be raised.
Check out the reviews and compare products and then decide which is the best route for you.
