Reduce your RV air conditioner startup power demand by up to 75 percent and eliminate that loud, clunking compressor noise. Start and run your AC without the fear of tripping a breaker or overloading your generator.
A soft start device reduces the initial inrush current when an AC compressor kicks on. Instead of that harsh power spike that can trip breakers or overload generators, the soft start gradually ramps up the compressor's motor, making it easier to start an AC unit on limited power sources (like small generators, shore power, or inverters).
If you've ever worried your air conditioner would trip the breaker just as you're drifting off to sleep, or you've dreaded that loud, clunking start in the middle of the night, this soft start will help you relax. Once you install this device into your Penguin II, your AC compressor starts up quietly and smoothly. Your RV stays comfortable and your sleep stays undisturbed.
You want to stay off-grid, visit state parks, or camp in the mountains, but small generators or limited hookups make running your AC tough. This soft start reduces startup demand by up to 75 percent, letting you power your Penguin II air conditioner on a smaller generator, at altitude, or alongside your coffee maker. And it's designed to resist vibration, flames, dust, and rain, this unit is made for life on the move. An integrated bypass contactor and start capacitor keep your AC safe, even in tough conditions. So wherever you camp, you can enjoy more places and longer trips without worrying about power limits.
It's frustrating to worry about repairs or replacement costs on the road. By smoothing out every start, this soft start limits the strain on your AC's motor and compressor, helping prevent wear and extend the life of your system so you get more reliable cooling season after season.
Nobody wants a complicated install, especially when youre ready to hit the road. This controller is pre-wired and mounts right inside your rooftop unit with included hardware. Three built-in LEDs show you status and help diagnose any issues fast, so you spend less time troubleshooting and more time enjoying your adventure.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, everybody. Andy here with etrailer.com. Let's take a look together at this Dometic Soft Start for your Penguin II Electronic Air Conditioner setup. So this has been designed to work with your Dometic Penguin II Electronic Air Conditioner units. And this soft starter is going to reduce the power needed to start your Dometic Penguin II Air Conditioner for a more efficient operation. This is designed and tested really for all RVs and motor homes.
And this is going to be perfect for boondocking or supplementing generator power in high altitudes. This is going to let you run your air conditioner on a small generator, or simultaneously with small appliances. You will need one soft start controller per air conditioning unit. So one is required per AC unit. So this has several benefits.
This is going to limit the stress put on the motor, the compressor, and drive train to extend the life of your air conditioner. The built-in start capacitor controls the torque to ensure smoother starts and stops. So this is going to eliminate trailer shaking and loud clunking start noise from your compressor. You're not gonna be jolted awake in the middle of the night with this. This is also going to prevent overheating using an integrated bypass contactor.
It's gonna resist vibration, flames, and this is IP65 rated against dust and low pressure water jet spray. It's probably gonna be hard for you to see from that distance, but we do have LED lights here that's going to show the operation status and alert you of potential faults. This is gonna be a a pre-wired installation. It does include everything that you see here. The pigtails, the bracket, cable ties, and instructions.
You're not gonna have to worry about cutting wires or crimping wires or anything like that. And let me leave you with a few measurements just so you have a good idea of the size. So it might be kind of tricky here. I wanna give you the length, and I thought the best way to measure the length would be from end of post to end of post here where the cables start to go out. So lining my ruler up there as best as I can, hopefully you can see that. Let me move this, maybe that'll be a little bit better for you. So it looks like the width here, again, from end of post to end of post, we're sitting pretty close to eight and a quarter inches long. And then the width, we're sitting right at about three and seven eights inches, I'm sorry, three and a quarter inches wide. So about three and a quarter inches wide. And then the height, from bottom to top, pretty close to four inches. I'm gonna call it about three and seven eights inches tall. This has a maximum working temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. And this weighs about two or three pounds, it's not terribly heavy. But again, it includes everything that you see here. I think that's gonna wrap up our real quick look today. I do hope that our brief time together was helpful for you. And again, my name is Andy. Thank you for joining me.
I installed this device in a 2024 Airstream Caravel 16RB's Dometic Penguin II air conditioner.
As usual, etrailer did a great job. Fast shipping, at a reasonable price. Nothing to complain about.
My AC works great after the installation. I ran it for about 20 minutes in each (cool and heat pump) mode. During that time the power consumption never exceeded 1900 Watts. That means that you will be able to run this the air conditioner using power a home 15A outlet, or a Honda EU2200 power generator.
The following notes are tips for people who will use this product in similar applications.
1. If you're not electrically knowledgeable, hire someone to do it. The instructions in the installation guide (that you will need to download from the internet from Dometic) is not 100% correct.
2. The installation guide provide instructions for many Dometic air conditioners. Among others, it has one section for Penguin ii (Electrical) and one for Penguin ii (Mechanical). AFAIK, the latter type does not exist, mine is the former type.
3. I didn't need to use electrical tape to tape up the obsolete wirings, you can just unplug the whole wire and remove them for a cleaner installation.
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