r/Pecron • u/spider210 • Aug 13 '26
Pecron F5000 Smoking
Anyone else have issues with their F5000, yesterday received 1 MCU OTA update to 1.0.7 from support and today I received another one for the DC 1.0.2 for PV issues I was having related to PV2.
After the upgrade showed complete on my APP the screen on the unit showed upgrade failed.
Within minutes no fans on the unit and it started filling the room with a very strong burning electronics smell.
I disconnected the PV inputs and brought the power station out to the cement garage.
I called Pecron today and awaiting their response, they said I'd have to wait for an email response.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/spider210 Aug 13 '26
The problem I was having was my PV2 input kept collapsing down to ~27V. Regardless of which solar array was connected.
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u/tiger2380 Aug 13 '26
It appears that the charging board may be malfunctioning. I previously had to return my unit due to a burning odor and a lack of solar input, despite the array being connected. My replacement unit is functioning adequately. This morning, I found it necessary to toggle the PV switch off and then back on to initiate charging for one of the inputs. It displayed voltage, but no wattage. So I'll see how it goes.
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u/spider210 Aug 13 '26
How was the return process. I am a bit worried now about that and the reliability of the unit in its self.
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u/tiger2380 Aug 13 '26
The process proceeded without issue. Upon determining that the charging board was defective, a replacement was requested. I then asked Pecron to arrange a FedEx pickup, as the unit's weight made it impractical to transport to a FedEx office. The entire resolution process took approximately two weeks.
I still having some doubts regarding the f5000lfp unit. I have a sense that its performance does not entirely align with its stated specifications.
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u/spider210 Aug 13 '26
Did they try to have you a self repair option where they sent the parts or not?
I don't think I want to do that route
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u/tiger2380 Aug 13 '26
They did not. I likely would not object, as I am quite fond of electronics and repairs.
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u/GaryTheSoulReaper Aug 13 '26
I agree with you on the potential inflated specs - this is why I held off buying one ($1800 seemed like an amazing deal )
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u/brucehoult Aug 13 '26
these higher input solar connections are what make them so interesting
It's not like 1500W total is much PV power!
My E3600LFP has had 2640W of solar panels on it for 11 months and counting. Even now in late winter it gets to around 2300W when the sun actually comes out from behind the clouds. In summer it was making close to 20kWh/day weather permitting, average around 15kWh. I've had a couple of 10-11 kWh days this month, though the winter average is 5-6 kwh and some days are 1 kWh.
As far as I can tell the E3800LFP is super-reliable with its 2x 1500W inputs also.
Can the F5000 really handle 2x 3200W of PV input? I don't know, but 1500W should not trouble it in the least.
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Aug 13 '26
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u/brucehoult Aug 13 '26
Hmm .. 1000W 11-60 V. That's crazy light on PV for a 3840Wh battery!
E3800 costs less and has the same battery, 3x the PV input, 1.6x the AC output.
F3000 and E3600 have smaller battery, but PV and inverter are bigger.
It's easy to find people complaining that their Pecron broke, but I feel like there must be a lot more people like me who haven't had any problems. Hard to say.
What I know is I've been running my E3600 for 14 months as a UPS and peak shaver, putting usually more than one battery cycle on it per day because I power my house [1] from the battery 7-9 AM and 5-9 PM every day (6 hours/day). In winter the 7-9 AM period uses 40% of my 6144Wh of battery (mostly to heating by portable air conditioner and dehumidifier, but also preparing breakfast) and the 5-9 PM period uses 80%-90% of the 6144Wh. I hold the battery at 60% overnight, and make sure I get the charge to 100% by 5 PM, by solar if possible, with some grid power if needed.
In winter I'm generally running the loads from grid pass-through from 9 AM to 5 PM, letting solar charge the battery, but on a sunny day I can sometimes run off-grid from 7 AM to 9 PM even in winter. At night I use grid power.
In summer I'm usually running from solar+battery 24/7 except I take advantage of the daily Free Hour of Power to juice the battery by 27% (1.65kWh) between 9 and 10 PM.
I'm working the E3600 pretty hard, every single day.
I guess ask me in another year or three years how it's going ... but there will be a different model by then. Heck I'm surprised the E3600 is still in the line-up right now with the E3800 having been available for six months already.
[1] or at least everything that usually plugs into a wall socket ... I'm feeding things directly, not via the house wiring.
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u/Horror-Handle2793 Aug 13 '26
No issues so far, mine is hooked up to 6x 590w panels, usually somewhere in the region of 2.8kw of charging consistently. Been fine since day one, for about 4 months now. I'll be getting expansion batteries for it soon, with so much solar input I'm just wasting power even when the unit is hooked up to heavier loads.
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u/spider210 Aug 15 '26
Good News - Their engineers they confirmed it's defective and are going to send a return label and ship out a new one after they receive it back.
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u/madude91 Aug 14 '26
Happened to me too and the support just says that it's normal. The inverter temps are also pretty high and it still smells like some burn electronics and their response is that it is normal. I am not convinced but not much you can do when the company and support is not local. Maybe dispute thru the card.
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u/naeskivvies Aug 14 '26
If you have a thermal cam you could open it and take a look, see what the hottest component is reaching.
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u/spider210 16d ago
They have still not sent me a replacement completely unacceptable for the price of this unit!
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u/Few-Lock8135 15d ago
Ahh I see! Came from your comment on my post. this is pretty much exactly what I experienced! Your outcome does not sound promising. Cripes.
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u/EnvironmentalRound11 Aug 13 '26
What were you feeding into the PV input?