[87Skier]

Originally Posted by oldgold70c10

Although it sounds good, it is probably not a great idea to try soft starting a split-phase motor (cap start-cap run, or cap start-induction run) like is used on an air compressor. These motors pull a lot of amps on start up because they are high torque motors, and need to come up to speed quickly.
The type of motor usually used for soft-start is a 3-phase motor, and they are available with built-on or separate inverters/vfd module, so you can operate them from a single-phase power source

I forgot to mention this.

Also, soft-starting reduces the average current, not the peak current through the coils.