Upgrade 30 amp campground pedestal to 50 amp

[totaljustice]

We are at Sherwood Forest in the Annapolis Valley and it gets FRIGGING hot down there in July and August. I was looking at the soft starts and they look like a great idea but was told by the dealer that they would void my warranty on the A/C units if I put them on. If I have any issues after the upgrade, I might say the hell with it and put them on anyway but it depends on how things work out. They are a definite possibility though. The East Coast of Nova Scotia does have cool nights from the Ocean but on the Bay of Fundy the water is much warmer than the ocean and the area gets a lot of stupidly high humidity.

[GlasNav]

Originally Posted by totaljustice

We are at Sherwood Forest in the Annapolis Valley and it gets FRIGGING hot down there in July and August. I was looking at the soft starts and they look like a great idea but was told by the dealer that they would void my warranty on the A/C units if I put them on. If I have any issues after the upgrade, I might say the hell with it and put them on anyway but it depends on how things work out. They are a definite possibility though. The East Coast of Nova Scotia does have cool nights from the Ocean but on the Bay of Fundy the water is much warmer than the ocean and the area gets a lot of stupidly high humidity.

I'm surprised regarding the Soft Starts voiding a warranty as they are an improvement. We even used them shipboard on large 3 PH AC motors.

As far as humid on the West side of NS, very familiar with that fighting dense fog up Fundy to ST John, NB. Only made port calls in Halifax during the dead of winter bringing Jet Fuel in for the airbase.

A couple of times thru Canso was always interesting.

[NH_Bulldog]

Considering that many AC manufacturers sell/install their own soft starters, with some even coming pre-installed from the factory, claiming one will void a warranty is a big stretch. In this case, there is good protection from the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act (at least in the US).

Further, reputable soft-start brands like MicroAir offer a free 2-year extended warranty should a warranty claim be denied by a manufacturer within their own 2-year warranty period. A properly installed soft-start will prolong the life of an AC unit, not shorten it.

[GlasNav]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

Considering that many AC manufacturers sell/install their own soft starters, with some even coming pre-installed from the factory, claiming one will void a warranty is a big stretch. In this case, there is good protection from the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act (at least in the US).

Further, reputable soft-start brands like MicroAir offer a free 2-year extended warranty should a warranty claim be denied by a manufacturer within their own 2-year warranty period. A properly installed soft-start will prolong the life of an AC unit, not shorten it.

I have Micro-Air Easy Starts, made in the USA, aren't Chinese knock offs from Amazon, and their warranty only proves the quality of their devices.

https://www.micro-air.com/

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by totaljustice

We are at Sherwood Forest in the Annapolis Valley and it gets FRIGGING hot down there in July and August. I was looking at the soft starts and they look like a great idea but was told by the dealer that they would void my warranty on the A/C units if I put them on. If I have any issues after the upgrade, I might say the hell with it and put them on anyway but it depends on how things work out. They are a definite possibility though. The East Coast of Nova Scotia does have cool nights from the Ocean but on the Bay of Fundy the water is much warmer than the ocean and the area gets a lot of stupidly high humidity.

The installation of the soft starts may or may not void your warranty. I would not be talking to the dealership to find that out, I would talk to the manufacturer of the A/C units as they are the ones Keystone will work with for warranty. If they don't have a problem Keystone should not either. The dealer only does what Keystone tells them, or allows them to do (unless they for some reason chose to do a non authorized repair "on the house" - which would be highly unusual).

I can somewhat understand a manufacturer not just giving an open check to anyone that wanted to self install a soft start and then cover whatever damage might occur. I know people that don't know a 10 penny nail from a nut driver....or red from green.

[totaljustice]

I thought the same thing about them. Checking with Keystone is a great idea. The Soft starts I was looking at are from Softstart RV. They seem to be high rated. Anyone have any experience with that brand?

[totaljustice]

Also I got the impression from the dealership that they didn't know what I was talking about. So I think they were just giving me a generic don't do it answer. Originally I approached them to have them install the Soft straps before I took possession of the trailer.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by totaljustice

I thought the same thing about them. Checking with Keystone is a great idea. The Soft starts I was looking at are from Softstart RV. They seem to be high rated. Anyone have any experience with that brand?

Keystone brokers warranty claims with the manufacturer of the A/C unit so it would make sense to contact the A/C unit's manufacturer as their warranty is what is in effect, not Keystones or the dealers.

[jasin1]

i’ve had to warranty hvac systems for many many years…if you do anything to alter the system i installed during the warranty period and i feel that it caused a problem then unfortunately you would not be covered and in fact get charged for the service call

I’ve had customers burn up transformers, blower motors and circuit boards….even had them let someone inexperienced add refrigerant and over charge the unit…..people add humidifiers and don’t upgrade the transformer to handle it…...then everything goes south and they want me to take care of it.

You have to be a detective unfortunately…i look around and notice they are painting and realize they took the tstat off to paint and wired it wrong when they reinstalled.

There is no easy way for the guy in the field to know if your soft start caused an issue but why would he take a chance on replacing the compressor and have it fail again because of voltage irregularities.

Everyone thinks a warranty call doesn’t cost anyone but the manufacturer but labor is usually not covered so the owner of a small company pays that himself.
Parts are covered but even that can be a royal pain with paperwork and sending things back to supply house or manufacturer….Some places will test the failed parts and charge the contractor if the parts prove to be good after all.
warranty work is not profitable unless maybe your a Ford,Chevy etc dealer

Also the magnuson moss act or whatever it’s called probably only protects you if you don’t alter the way a machine was designed to function.
…example..you can’t install nitrous kits on an engine or big performance upgrades without nullifying your warranty….Now if the manufacturer approves the soft start brand then that’s different…but would probably want a qualified installer…just like lippert won’t let you use anything but the gooseneck hitch they approve even though a lot of people think differently

[totaljustice]

Originally Posted by jasin1

i’ve had to warranty hvac systems for many many years…if you do anything to alter the system i installed during the warranty period and i feel that it caused a problem then unfortunately you would not be covered and in fact get charged for the service call

I’ve had customers burn up transformers, blower motors and circuit boards….even had them let someone inexperienced add refrigerant and over charge the unit…..people add humidifiers and don’t upgrade the transformer to handle it…...then everything goes south and they want me to take care of it.

You have to be a detective unfortunately…i look around and notice they are painting and realize they took the tstat off to paint and wired it wrong when they reinstalled.

There is no easy way for the guy in the field to know if your soft start caused an issue but why would he take a chance on replacing the compressor and have it fail again because of voltage irregularities.

Everyone thinks a warranty call doesn’t cost anyone but the manufacturer but labor is usually not covered so the owner of a small company pays that himself.
Parts are covered but even that can be a royal pain with paperwork and sending things back to supply house or manufacturer….Some places will test the failed parts and charge the contractor if the parts prove to be good after all.
warranty work is not profitable unless maybe your a Ford,Chevy etc dealer

Also the magnuson moss act or whatever it’s called probably only protects you if you don’t alter the way a machine was designed to function.
…example..you can’t install nitrous kits on an engine or big performance upgrades without nullifying your warranty….Now if the manufacturer approves the soft start brand then that’s different…but would probably want a qualified installer…just like lippert won’t let you use anything but the gooseneck hitch they approve even though a lot of people think differently

That's why I called the dealership in the fist place. I haven't taken possession of the trailer yet so I was hoping to have the dealer install them before they deliver it and that's when I got the "it will void your warranty" line. The funny thing was that during the whole discussion with them, I got the feeling that they had no idea of what I was talking about. I still don't even know what make/model A/C units are on it yet but when I find out, I'll be contacting Keystone and the unit manufacturer to get their answer.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by totaljustice

That's why I called the dealership in the fist place. I haven't taken possession of the trailer yet so I was hoping to have the dealer install them before they deliver it and that's when I got the "it will void your warranty" line. The funny thing was that during the whole discussion with them, I got the feeling that they had no idea of what I was talking about. I still don't even know what make/model A/C units are on it yet but when I find out, I'll be contacting Keystone and the unit manufacturer to get their answer.

Sounds like you took the right approach…you may pay a markup for the parts thru the dealer as opposed to buying yourself but again unfortunately There has to be money in there to cover any possible issues during the warranty period….

They likely have a default “it will void” because in the last couple of years, especially,there is a significant portion of owners adding solar….adding inverters and trying to run everything off grid.
I’ve seen people on here make major structural and electrical modifications…oftentimes not based on any kind of formal or practical knowledge …and sometimes not even based on common sense

[firestation12]

Originally Posted by totaljustice

Absolutely! And I just got a call from the owner this morning. He had an electrician out yesterday for something else and had him look at it. The wiring will apparently handle the upgrade so all I have to replace is the circuit breaker plug and housing. The owner said that he was going to take care of it and that I'll only have to pay for the parts. So I'm thrilled about that. I will update when it's done in a month!

Total Justice wins again!