Last month a relatively new company Active Controls LLC contacted me to enquire if I’d be willing to test out and review one of their products called the ActiveStart. The ActiveStart is an electronic device you plug in between the RV AC power source (RV Park power, generator, or inverter) and its input power cord.
Features & First Test using Park Power
In this part one video, I unbox and go over the features of the ActiveStart SoftStart 30 AMP – ACS30P. Then hook it up to RV park power and show you the smartphone app and its settings.
AC Startup in RV Park & Off Grid with Generator & Inverters
I put the soft start function to the test in this video, trying to start my Furrion RV Air Conditioner. No problems hooked up to a 30 amp RV park service, but ActiveStart failed to start the AC using my three off-grid power sources. 2000W Generator and a 2400W Lithium Power Station and 3000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter.
Likes:
USA Company
Small Business
Good Surge Protection
Decent Build Quality
Nice App
Dislikes:
Didn't Start Furrion AC Off Grid
Outdoor Use Only
140 VAC High Cut-off
Yes, the ActiveStart owner/engineer says he was the designer of the Soft Start product. Seems the wired-in soft starters work well but the plug-and-play are a hit and miss thing.
Seems like a good company. Very responsive and pleasant to deal with. He figures my generator is just too small for the 14.5K AC. He says generators usually have the best luck as they can handle a little lag in the ramp up.
Gonna try another unit that has had its programming modified to see if it will work on my 3000W inverter. Figures my inverter may be garbling the waveform a bit under the high load. Also, testing out the unit that gets wired directly to the air conditioner. Stay tuned. :)