Pecron has been in the portable power station game for several years, and with its latest generation of products, is starting to move into Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LiFePO4) packs. These cells offer the benefit of thermal stability, meaning they are more durable than their NMC lithium-ion counterparts. They also typically offer a longer life than their NMC counterparts, with 3-4 times the number of charging cycles before degrading to an 80% of their rated capacity, depending on pack configuration.
On paper, the Pecron E2000 LFP is an absolute tank of a unit, boasting specs only found on higher end units from more established brands in the space, at an absolute bargain of a price. At the time of this writing, it is currently listed at $1,499 and is on sale for $1,099. For instance, the E2000 LFP offers 2,000 watts of continuous AC power output with up to 4,000 watts of surge capacity. This allows quite a bit of flexibility, given its nearly two kilowatt-hours of storage capacity.
That capacity can be further expanded, as Pecron built in the ability to expand on the base unit. The company built in a special trunk cable adapter that allows one or two Pecron EB3000 battery packs ($1,599 MSRP, currently on sale for $1,399) to be connected to the E2000 LFP for a total of just over 8 kWh of storage capacity. Having the flexibility to upgrade the capacity later on for what feels like a fairly reasonable price is a nice bonus for this system.
On top of that, this unit can gulp down the solar power with up to 1,200 watts of solar charging at a time, which translates to 2-3 hours for a full charge. On the AC side of things, Pecron has an optional super-fast charging function that can deliver a full charge in just under 2 hours.
Usage
We tested the Pecron E2000 LFP with our normal array of heavy duty appliances and found that it was easily able to keep up, even with our devices pulling over 1,850 watts for several minutes.
We varied the wattage, disconnecting and reconnecting some of the higher draw devices to test its responsiveness. We found that regardless of how fast we are able to switch the devices on or off, the unit was able to keep pace, cycling power up and down to meet the need.
It’s easy to imagine the Pecron E2000 LFP functioning as the base unit for a work truck with a solar panel or two up top. This type of a setup could replace the traditional gas generators often carried to job sites to keep the array of power tools and compressors running throughout the day. With the E2000 LFP’s ability to pull in up to 1,200 watts of solar at a time, a job-site could literally cycle this entire unit’s capacity 3 to 6 times depending on the amount of sunshine and the geography.
That’s a ton of work that this unit enables each and every day using just the power of the sun. Its ability to push out 2,000 watts continuous and up to 4,000 watts peak makes it well suited to running power tools, and even serving as a full house battery system, where this would patch directly into the base appliances running in the home.
Recharge
The Pecron E2000 LFP can recharge from a standard AC wall outlet thanks to its included AC quick charger. This is one of the largest external charging bricks we’ve seen, and it seems to know it’s on the large side given that it comes with its own built in handle. Plugging the brick into a wall outlet and the battery’s proprietary DC connector, it pushed out a consistent 555 watts of power to the E2000 LFP, starting at a 45% state of charge.
At that rate, we would expect to see a full charge of the unit in 3.5 to 4 hours. The Pecron E2000 LFP has two of the high power barrel connectors and lets you put them both to use at the same time. You can purchase a second AC quick charger for $149 to effectively double your AC charging speed, cutting the charging time down to 1.5 to 2 hours. It seems like an odd choice, given that many other units allow charging of 1000 to 1800 watts, but it’s nice to have the option.
Overall
All told, Pecron has packed an impressive amount of functionality into a rather compact unit with integrated handles onto the corners and ruggedized bump stops on all eight corners of the unit. Pecron even offers a handful of well-configured kits that transform these base stations and expandable systems into ready-to-use portable solar generator systems.
For more information about the Pecron E2000 LFP or to purchase one for yourself, head over to its online home.
Pecron E2000 LFP Portable Power Station Specs
- Chemistry: LiFePo4 cells
- Dimensions: 16.1 x 10 x 11.6 inches
- Weight: 48.5 lb / 22 kg
- Capacity: 1,920 Wh (25.6V/75Ah), expandable up to 8,064 Wh total with up to 2 Pecron EB3000 (optional)
- Cycles: LiFePO4 battery with 3,500+ life cycles to 80%
- AC Output: 2,000W AC pure sine wave inverter continuous output, 4,000W peak
- DC Output: 12V
- DC Wireless Output: 15W wireless charger
- AC Input: 120V/60Hz pure sine wave
- DC Solar PV Input: Voc 12V~18V / 100W max /7A max, 2 x Voc 32V~95V / 600W max / 15A max, 1,200W max solar charging
- DC Automotive Input: 12~18V–100W max
All images credit: Kyle Field, CleanTechnica
Disclaimer: Pecron provided the E2000 LFP to the author for the purposes of this review.
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