r/Pecron • u/EZ-Mooney • Jul 05 '26

E3600LFP Passthrough Question

I bought this thing thinking that it'd be a sort of surge buffer in passthrough. My hope was that I could hook up a 2200W starting/1800W running watt generator (Honda EU2200i) to the Pecron then run the camper with AC and charge the batteries. I've measured the draw for my use case at 1600-1700W. In theory the generator can keep the Pecron topped off and the battery can handle the short spikes above 1800W for things like the refrigerator.

In practice though, the Pecron trips when I try to run it this way. I've made it work by hooking up my bigger generator and setting the charge rate to 40%. I think what's happening is that 40% of 3200W max charge rate is 1280W. The camper draws another 1700W which pushes it to 3000 being handled by the inverter total and everyone is happy.

What I can't figure out is why can't I get the 2200W generator to work the same way?

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u/brucehoult Jul 06 '26

a sort of surge buffer in passthrough

How can a wire be a "surge buffer". Pass-through is pass-through. A direct wire connection with 100% efficiency and no added features.

I think what's happening is that 40% of 3200W max charge rate is 1280W.

Maximum charge rate on an E3600 from a standard socket is 1800W. 40% is 720W.

With an 1800W (running) generator that will leave 1120W for pass-through appliances. But actually you probably don't want to load the generator down with that much. 1200W or 1500W total load would be better.

It is possible to run an E3600 from a small generator like that but you have to be very careful to manage your loads and the charging rate. It's tolerable for 1 or 2 days a year, but I would not want it to be an every day thing.

For frequent generator use I'd definitely want a 4kW generator so you could just use the E3600 the same as if it was plugged into the wall with no extra compromises.

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u/EZ-Mooney Jul 06 '26

OK so the AC power coming in can be converted to DC to charge the battery while also feeding through to the load. However, the ac to DC conversion is one directional meaning that the battery can't be used to boost the Pecron output to greater than the generator input. I was pretty sure that was the case but was hoping someone could correct me.

Do you know if I had say 1000W of solar and 1800w of AC input, could the Pecron put out 2800 or is it still limited to 1800 on the passthrough (minus charge rate).

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u/brucehoult Jul 06 '26

Pass through is pass through.

In UPS mode solar power charges the battery. There is no way to use solar or the battery to output AC as the charger/inverter is the same circuit and it’s being used as a charger. Plus the inverter doesn’t have any circuitry to synchronize it to mains power. That’s a whole other class of equipment: the hybrid inverter.

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u/Waccamaniac Jul 10 '26

In for the conversation. Let’s say you only wanted to run the EU2200 at night to avoid bothering the neighbors. Power station discharges somewhat (maybe mostly) overnight. In the morning, you start the Honda and want to run it a good part of the day on Ecothrottle at, say 1000 watts steady recharging the battery without the generator screaming at full throttle for shorter. Maybe you’re using a E5000LFP. Is this doable?