MEP803A Feeding Whole House and AC Compressor - Soft Start Needed?

[USAMilRet]

I have a 3.5 ton AC Compressor/Heat Pump for my 2000 ft^2 home that will be fed by an MEP803A along with other household electric items. Load management is key and things are on timers for a reason. I read a thread about draw current (inrush) on AC Compressors and how that inrush current need to be moderated to something that the MEP803A will handle.

So which is the better unit as they all seem to do the same. Micro Air Easy Start, Sure-Start Soft Start, ENCORE CSS soft start....

And the list goes on. So which is considered to be the better unit for a 3.5 ton AC/Heat Pump unit in Florida where the ambient temp is ~95F and the feel like is ~ 115F? ..... and inrush current controllers do not cost $300....

 

[devilphrog]

I am looking at the Copeland units as they are recommended / manufactured by the same people who make 95% old the HVAC compressors for the residential market.

Not to say that the other ones are bad, but I'd stick with the same manufacturers to prevent any future potential warranty issues.

 

[gatorbob]

I chose Micro-Air and found the support to be great.

 

[USAMilRet]

Should I be looking at specific brands for matching compressor and the soft start, as I have a Bryant AC Unit? So whatever compressor Bryant is using. I kind of get the impression that it really does not matter based on the limited research I have been able to do. Are they all going to run in the $300 plus range?

 

[gatorbob]

I think devilphrog was saying that Copeland is a parts supplier for many of the major HVAC manufacturers out there.

AFAIK, most of the HVAC brands offer an OEM hard start kit but not all offer a soft start kit. Mine did not.

The $300+ I paid looked to be about normal. I saw one vendor that was 3X that but that was an outlier. It's expensive unfortunately. I decided on Micro-Air just due to other good reviews on the support. Someone else in FL on this board hooked one up just before summer started.

The results are pretty dramatic. Mine knocked off 85 A for my 3.5 ton heat pump. Puts me in the high 30s for inrush, at least as best I can measure that without an oscilloscope. That's with my max feature on the meter. My inrush feature won't work anymore on the compressor because it stops measuring too soon.

 

[csheath]

My 803 starts and runs my 3.5 ton Goodman package unit just fine with the regular start capacitor. I wouldn't attempt to run the heat strips but the ac heat pump starts right up.

I turn off all the 240 breakers except the well and ac. If I need to cook or heat water I will shut the ac off.