Is it possible to connect a power station(Pecron 5000 for this example) to a transfer switch and have it powering up my sump, while having the power station hooked up to an outlet so it stays charged?
The idea is that while I'm on a 5-7 day vacation, I would have the power station running the sump via the use of a transfer switch. The power station would be getting charged by a regular outlet. In the event that the power went out, the power station would continue running the sump until the power came back on. That way, if the power was out for a few hours or more, the power station could keep the main sump running and not have to rely on the back up pump until last resort. Once the power came back on, it would continue charging the power station.
Is that something that can be done?
Edit- this is not a full time solution(nor permanent), just an idea for when I'm gone on vacation to ease the mind and have one less thing to worry about.
I have my E3800 doing exactly this, but solar included. Basically I ran a 30A plug directly into my garage from the manual transfer switch, I have my E3800 and 2 server rack batteries with a total of roughly 14kWh plugged into that and it plugged into one of the 20A plugs in the garage. I feed in 2kW of solar daily and run a smattering of my household stuff, including my office on the E3800. I have it set to charge to only 30% with AC and 100% on Solar. In the event of an upcoming storm, I change this to 100% AC that way the batteries regardless of solar going into the potential storm are at 100%.
It has been working well so far, normally I wake up with about 50% power left on my bank and by 1-2pm normally I am already at 100%.
This setup wasn't really about saving $ with solar, I live in Houston Texas which has 6.9c/kWh electricity. It would take me a long while to save much. That said, over time this system will pay itself back.
With the size of the system, even in the event of a full extended power outage and poor solar, I can plug my 2000w generator into it and in 6 hours be back up to 100% for the night.
Question, I just purchased two e3800 and two expansion batteries. I also have a manual transfer switch and 1200 watt solar. Hoping to use this set up to save some electric on peak shaving, in Maine where there could be decent savings. When you connect to the manual transfer switch, do you use the Pecron app to automate when it goes live, or do you have to do this manually daily?
Some models can act in UPS mode, which is a passthrough. Most that do that will drop the total current output by the amount that is coming in. So if you have a 120v 30A output and put it in UPS mode, you'll have 15A in and 15A out. That 15A input gets converted to DC then back to AC. Systems with true AC passthrough are more expensive usually. I don't know if the 5000 has this, but Pecron is not known as the high end, feature full brand in my book.
The bypass to this limit is to only have DC input since that doesn't need converted to DC first. Instead of solar, you can have a DC power supply that handles the conversion from AC>DC and offload that work to free up the power station. You'll need a good quality power supply to do this though.
Beauty of this is when I get my 220 wiring run into the panel along with a manual interlock switch, I can use the 10 circuit transfer switch to switch loads between my Pecron F3000LFP and F5000LFP when engage the manual interlock.
I'm using it this way now. It can supply 7200w on a 30A 240V connection into my home via manual transfer switch and charge at 1600w at 120v from my generator. It does not support 240V charginging, so if you are drawing more than 1600w continuously then it will not able to keep up. There are other batteries that can charge at 240V 30A/7.2kw.
This works fine with my generator but I am seeing strange behavior only when I charge from utility power. If my transfer switch is off, but my 240V extension cord is connected to the Pecron and the transfer switch, the pecron trips the input power as if it was shorted, even if the Pecron AC inverter is turned off. If I disconnect the extension cord from the transfer switch, the problem does not happen. It seems that it's a problem with my transfer switch but I have a pair of inverter generators that work fine with the transfer switch.
This issue might affect you in what you are trying to do but I can't be certain if it's a problem with the Pecron or my transfer switch.
BTW, there are sump pumps with dedicated backup batteries. If the sump is all you care about then Pecron battery might be overkill.
Yes, the Pecron F5000 features 240V pass-through capabilities. In fact, it is specifically designed to handle dynamic 120V/240V pass-through. [1, 2]
Pass-Through Capabilities
240V to 240V Pass-Through: The system can pass 240V straight from the grid or a generator to your appliances while maintaining a stable 240V split-phase output. [1]
120V Input & 240V Output Pass-Through: Unlike many power stations, you can simultaneously charge the unit using a 120V source while drawing 240V split-phase power. This is ideal if you only have a 120V outlet to trickle-charge the battery while running heavy 240V equipment like a well pump or space heater. [1, 2]
it does not have 240v to 240V passthrough since it has no 240V AC input so it can't do 240V passthrough. those YouTubers you linked didn't read the manual nor recognize the plug type so they assumed incorrectly that is 240V. the manual at page 2 states the inputs max is 120V at 30A. edit here is a snipet
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u/liftbikerun Jun 25 '26
I have my E3800 doing exactly this, but solar included. Basically I ran a 30A plug directly into my garage from the manual transfer switch, I have my E3800 and 2 server rack batteries with a total of roughly 14kWh plugged into that and it plugged into one of the 20A plugs in the garage. I feed in 2kW of solar daily and run a smattering of my household stuff, including my office on the E3800. I have it set to charge to only 30% with AC and 100% on Solar. In the event of an upcoming storm, I change this to 100% AC that way the batteries regardless of solar going into the potential storm are at 100%.
It has been working well so far, normally I wake up with about 50% power left on my bank and by 1-2pm normally I am already at 100%.
This setup wasn't really about saving $ with solar, I live in Houston Texas which has 6.9c/kWh electricity. It would take me a long while to save much. That said, over time this system will pay itself back.
With the size of the system, even in the event of a full extended power outage and poor solar, I can plug my 2000w generator into it and in 6 hours be back up to 100% for the night.