#start capacitor

I have spent most of my career being afraid of hard start kits; I heard too many horror stories of start caps exploding and sales technicians telling every customer they need one. It dawned on me recently that it may be time for me to take a more mature look at start capacitors, potential relays, […]

Now is the part where we get specific about start capacitors and inrush. If you haven't read the first three parts, please do so before reading this one, or it may not make sense. (You can find Part #1, Part #2, and Part #3 at these links.) I'm going to come out and say it […]

Before we get into the parts that will ruffle some feathers, let's talk a bit about what a “Start” capacitor is and what it does. First, let's review that both start and run capacitors connect between the leg of power opposite of compressor common and the start winding. Even though it seems like a run capacitor […]

This series of articles is one of those that will bug a lot of people because it will go against a lot of what you've been told about compressors, start capacitors, and inrush current. For that reason, I want you to work through a few thought experiments first and maybe even stop and try it […]

I was walking around at the AHR conference today, and I stopped at the booth of a popular hard start kit manufacturer (especially popular with white-shirt sales techs). I listened to the guy behind the booth “training” some municipal maintenance techs on the use of his hard start kit. (To be fair, I actually think […]

In this episode, Bryan speaks with James Bowman from Rectorseal about hard start kits, PTCR devices, run capacitors, compressor overheating, and the Kick Start product. We also go pretty in-depth on potential relays and how they operate. Hard start kits are mechanical potential relays connected to a capacitor, and they aid in starting the compressor. […]