soft start on ac

[Robokatz]

Hello all, I am just about to take delivery of a 22 3231CK that just arrived from the factory. It of course has the new energy efficient Coleman A/C units (neither of which work by the way, hopefully dealer will fix in the next few days before we pick up). Anyway, I know the 2021 Montana came with EZ/Soft Start systems from factory, but tech says our new 2022 does NOT have EZ/Soft Start. Does anyone else with a 2022 and the new Coleman units HAVE EZ start, or was that deleted for 2022 as being unnecessary? Tried to find info on Keystone site to no avail.

Thanks,

[bcrvman]

Originally Posted by Robokatz

Hello all, I am just about to take delivery of a 22 3231CK that just arrived from the factory. It of course has the new energy efficient Coleman A/C units (neither of which work by the way, hopefully dealer will fix in the next few days before we pick up). Anyway, I know the 2021 Montana came with EZ/Soft Start systems from factory, but tech says our new 2022 does NOT have EZ/Soft Start. Does anyone else with a 2022 and the new Coleman units HAVE EZ start, or was that deleted for 2022 as being unnecessary? Tried to find info on Keystone site to no avail.

Thanks,

Good luck on getting the AC units fixed by the dealer. As far as the soft start, only believe your own eyes. Go up on the roof and take off the covers to see if they are there. This will be doubly important when the dealer replaces the units since they will not come with soft start from an AC dealer that is something Montana adds. Good luck.

[rames14]

Robokatz, only the Super Solar came with soft start. It’s part of the SS package.

[Robokatz]

I HAVE the 1,200 solar system, but wondering if for 2022 they dropped soft start since the new A/C units “power saver” units, so maybe not needed? Anyway, need answer from Keystone, and as I said my inspector today says neither unit blowing cold, and heat pump not working either. Hopefully they can diagnose and fix by Tuesday as we are picking up on Wednesday.

[rames14]

Robokatz, this is right off of the Montana website:
COMPONENTS

2, 30A solar roof ports w/ MC4 connectors & 10 AWG MPPT solar charging circuits
4, Future Solutions 300-watt solar panels & CS2 splitters
2, 50A Victron SmartSolar MPPT charge controllers w/Bluetooth app
3000-watt inverter/charger w/ built-in transfer switch (all outlets inverted)
2, soft start air conditioners
Zamp Solar portable solar charge port
Victron SmartShunt battery monitor w/Bluetooth app
Victron Cerbo GX
Battery Guardian
2, 270 Ah Dragonfly Energy heated Lithium-ion batteries
Precision Circuits power control system

[rames14]

https://www.keystonerv.com/solarflex-12

[Robokatz]

I did see that list, but also know that website is sometimes not accurate. I certainly was expecting the soft starts, so the big Q is why don’t I have? Maybe wrong unit installed? If so, I would hope factory will ship 2 to the dealer to have dealer install, in a perfect world dealer already sells them and has on hand to install before we pick up. Our shakedown trip next week is to a full hookup site, and central CA weather 60-70 so A/C not needed anyway….but sure will be in a few months!

I will keep everyone posted.

[Robokatz]

Quick update as I just received inspection report. The A/C units tag says “Coleman Mach 15 PS, Soft Start,” do I do believe these new units have some type of built in, not add-on, low power start system, which would account for inspector not seeing the Soft Start hardware. The model numbers are not showing up online, maybe Keystone exclusive? Other changes from official list: the A/C shrouds are black, should be white. Also, I did not get 2 GC3 270 amp batteries, instead received 6 100-amp batteries. Certainly don’t mind the extra 60 total amps, but heavier overall and more space taken up.

Anyway I will keep you updated.

[Mikendebbie]

Black vs White AC shroud…
I have had many white AC shrouds over the years. They all got dirty and had moldy black spots. I don’t miss power washing them to get them clean. I’ll take my black shroud over the white shroud any day!

[rames14]

Ron Marlin’s unit is almost identical to mine. They came off the line within a week of each other. I have black covers, he has white. Also, in that short period, they changed from slide valves in the level up panel to controlling them via In Command. Just depends what they have in stock, I guess.

[Robokatz]

Good morning everyone, I contacted Keystone and received some answers to my questions/issues:

First, I was told that the Coleman Mach 15 PS units used on the Super Solar 1,200i-L rigs have a built-in "soft start" system (using that term generically), which is why my inspector did not see the add-on components that all of us think of when we talk about a "soft start" system on an A/C unit. Apparently the non-1,200 units get a slightly different A/C unit.

Second, on the shroud color: Since the new Coleman Mach units all look the same, in order to differentiate the "soft start" units from the non-"soft start" units (for installation on 1,200i-L rigs, they decided to order the "soft start" units with BLACK shrouds, hence the black shrouds on my unit.

Third, as for my receiving SIX 100 amp GC2 batteries instead of 2 GC3 batteries: Apparently the GC3 batteries have been pulled from sale by Battleborn as they need to undergo a required "crush" test that apparently is required, but never done. I am told that testing process can take up to a year, so in order to continue to sell the 1,200i-L units, the only option was to switch to the 100 amp GC2 batteries that had passed that test. At this point then all 1,200i-L units will have six 100 amp batteries.

Not sure if the website descriptions of the Super Solar will be updated, or if dealers even know about these changes, but this just reinforces my comment a few posts ago that you cannot rely on descriptions on the Keystone website, and certainly not the dealer.

I will continue to update you on anything else I learn, in the meantime both of my A/C units still not operational, hopefully dealer can figure out the problem as we are supposed to drive 5 hours tomorrow to pick the RV up on Wednesday, and I really don't want to but the unit if NO A/C's or heat pump.