I am in need of a soft start/stop for a 1 HP single phase motor, does anyone have any idea where I can find a low cost unit for this project? I would accept new used or refurbished

Thanks

try www.surpluscenter.com

why soft start? the motor is going to draw extra current until it gets to speed. at that size, it's still likely there is a centrifugal switch that shuts off a starting winding as the motor spins up. if it doesn't get to speed, you burn out that winding.

if the motor is tripping the breaker, you don't have a motor rated breaker on there. they have a larger overload tolerance exactly for this reason.