A solar generator is a great way for people who are new to solar power to get started without much effort. Just plug in the solar panels and go. Over past years I have collected, purchased and repaired over 40 solar generators and portable power stations of various kinds – definitely enough to experience their ups and downs.
I recently performed an endurance test and review of the Pecron E600 LFP solar generator / portable power station. Note it was provided for evaluation from the manufacturer – I don’t get any commissions for sales.
Test Overview
The endurance test consisted running a 5000btu 120vac window air conditioner for 7 days straight in my solar shop, while charging from 3-4 100 watt solar panels – all day. This type of test, while slightly unreasonable for a system of this size, is designed to expose any flaws in system cooling and overall performance.
Of course I also tested the DC outputs and USB charging, which performed fine. I ran an induction cooktop and made coffee as well (while running the air conditioner, no less). A small air compressor was also used as a demo load.
4 100 watt 12 volt solar panels in both series and series + parallel configuration were used for the solar input with a voltage open circuit of 40-80vdc.
Endurance Test – running 9 loads plus 5000btu AC!
I pushed this E600 LFP hard cooling a workshop where the interior temperature was a bit warm. This portion of the test was done over a week. There was no evidence of overheating or overload after 70+ hours of heavy operation.
The 1200w sine inverter has a strong surge capability (2000w according to manufacturer). While charging 3 phones, running camera light and table lamp, an induction cooktop, charging 2 tool batteries AND running my DC chest freezer, the E600 managed to start and run my 5000btu window AC.
Judging by the sound of the AC when starting, it was a challenging inductive load for the inverter, but it did not cut out or fail in any way.
Summary and Thoughts
After a week of hammering the E600 LFP, I had to admit this unit is strong, its performance impressed me. Air conditioning is a very difficult load for a small unit to run, but it handled it without complaint.
The solar input is rated for 300 watts, but I pushed it beyond that for hours – again with no overheating, error codes or complaints.
As a result of its performance, this E600 LFP will become one of my most used machines in the solar workshop.
Also posted on this page is a more detailed video review. Thanks for reading and see you later – Dave, SPE
URL / Discount Code
Manufacturer product URL
https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-e600lfp-1200w-portable-power-station-lifepo4
Manufacturer discount code
(provided by manufacturer PECRON)
SOLAE600LFP
Note: The code above is only valid for the E600 LFP model
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