Intelligent AC motor soft starter

Designed for single phase compressors of up to 6.5kWatts (6.5 shaft horsepower), i-Start's patented switching technology not only reduces start-up currents to less than 45Amps, it reduces electrical load and hence wear on the starter as well, offering the potential of longer life for both compressors and starters alike.

Soft starters are required by power authorities to limit the current drawn from the mains to below 45 Amps when a motor starts. Drawing larger currents causes phenomena such as light flicker or can cause other motors to stall, or circuits to overload. While i-Start is both innovative and unique in its operation, it's offered to market at a lower price than any similar Australian or overseas made product.

i-Start protection features include: "auto-shutdown" and "start-up lock-out" if mains voltage is less than 100V; "auto-random-restart" timer function, which ensures multiple compressors on the same circuit don't restart simultaneously following a power brown-out or black-out; and "auto-shutdown on motor fault" or on i-Start fault conditions. An indicator LED indicates normal, fault or re-start/shutdown conditions.

The unit comes in a water-resistant housing with an O-ring sealed cover and takes only minutes to connect to the motor and the mains supply. The only field serviceable part is the capacitor, which can be easily replaced.

A variant will be offered later this year with an RS232 interface that allows units to be connected to Building Management Systems or data-loggers, so operational parameters (on/off times, fault type and time, etc) can be monitored or alarms raised. Suitable data-loggers and remote access devices are also available.

This product is available to OEMs and wholesalers of air-conditioning systems and compressor motors. MOQs apply.