Small three phase induction motors can be started direct-on-line, which means that the rated supply is directly applied to the motor. But, as mentioned above, here, the starting current would be very large, usually 5 to 7 times the rated current. The starting torque is likely to be 1.5 to 2.5 times the full load torque. Induction motors can be started directly on-line using a DOL starter which generally consists of a contactor and a motor protection equipment such as a circuit breaker. A DOL starter consists of a coil operated contactor which can be controlled by start and stop push buttons. When the start push button is pressed, the contactor gets energized and it closes all the three phases of the motor to the supply phases at a time. The stop push button de-energizes the contactor and disconnects all the three phases to stop the motor.
In order to avoid excessive voltage drop in the supply line due to large starting current, a DOL starter is generally used for motors that are rated below 5kW.