|
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Out there somewhere
Posts: 1,620
|
Pecron Q3000S, who needs a full solar install?, Not Me!
This a review of a device, but mostly insight for anyone who might want solar but has some of the same conditions, issues and thought processes that I have! It’s a bit lengthy, but I wanted to get my point across the best way I could without leaving too many questions on the table. I’m also not a professional on solar or a product reviewer, nor am I affiliated with anyone or product. I’m just a part time RV’er.
Due to the current situation, pertaining to crowded CG’s, for the past year I’ve been contemplating and researching on installing a full solar system for 1-2 nights, on that rare occasion, that I want to or have to boondock. I wanted a system with 300-400W panels, a 2,000+ inverter and 250+ AH of AGM Bats etc.., in my 2019 Redhawk 25R, (which has a Pre wired entry gland on the roof). Taking into consideration these following facts;
-We may be trading up in the next few years,
-I’m no longer in any kind of physical shape to do a full install myself.
-I didn’t want someone working on my rig that I don’t know and trust.
-Not much room for any extra gear.
-Keep the cost as low as possible.
-Don’t expect to run AC on such a small system,(use my gas gen during the day).
-I want to “KISS” (keep it simple) My wife needs a “KISS” lol
Finding myself needing to travel from FL to AZ within the next 3 months, I decided that I need to do something fairly quickly incase I cannot get into these crowed CG and have to boondock. So my solution was to purchase a portable power station, (aka solar generator). I narrowed it down to the Bluetti AC200P and the Pecron Q3000S. I ultimately decided on the Pecron Q3000S and 300W of SunPower Flexible solar panels. I chose the Pecron over the Bluetti AC200P for a few reasons;
-Bluetti has too many features I don’t need, (more to go wrong, especially the touch screen). Remembering My wife needs a “KISS”
-Bluetti has the option of purchasing an additional bulky hand cart, (Pecron’s built in)
-Bluetti has 2,000KWH, which is not bad but the Pecron has 3,034KWH!
-At the time of purchase I was able to get a Hobo Tech 10% discount, so both were priced pretty much the same. I may add if I was concerned about staying off the grid as long as possible I probably would’ve went with the Bluetti or the Titan because of the large amount of Solar they both can handle and their quick charging features, Also the Titan’s batteries are expandable by stacking them and it has a 30 amp plug output! But the Titan is on back order for a couple of months and it is very pricey, comparatively.
The Cons of the Pecron Q3000S are;
-It’s sloooooow AC charging rate and a built in PWM, (but knowing that I plan on using it for 1-2 nights, then hopefully get into a CG with full hookups, this was not a big issue).
-It’s solar input specs are narrow and not very high at all.
The Pros of the Pecron Q3000S;
-It’s massive 3,034 KWH in a small footprint.
-It has only 2 ON/Off mechanical push buttons for AC/DC. (“KISS”)
-It has a simple to read, Oldschool, LED display.
-It has a 2,000W inverter that has a very low, efficient power consumption.
-If you encounter any overloads, it just resets itself without hunting and pecking through on screen menus.
Wanting to store the power station inside my rig because of weather, security and the weight of this things, (60lbs), I decided to store it, semi-permanently, behind my drives seat, (between the slide out wall and drives seat). It fits perfectly there and is readily removable.
For installation and operation, I wanted to just plug in my shore power cord with a 30/15 amp adapter, install a house battery disconnect, (as to not charge the house battery while using the power station). Install a weatherproof, 15 Amp female receptacle outside, on my wall slide, run 12/2 romex under the dining room bench seat, to a 15amp male receptacle inside, terminating on the back of the interior slide wall of my dining room bench seat, (facing the drivers seat, right behind the power station). Also install a required PV, 15 Amp breaker panel in the compartment end of the wires coming in from the roof, to an SAE, interior outlet so I can plug my solar panels into the Pecron, with it’s included MC4/SAE adapter.
My first use was a test flight from 6:15pm to 7:30am. I switched HW and fridge to LP. DW and I both took showers, used the Vortex bathroom exhaust fan, watched YouTube on our 55” TV with fire stick for 3 hours, never turning off our mobile WiFi router and it’s battery backup, had on 2 lights when needed, made tea in a AC powered tea kettle, left 2 night lights on all night, including 2 strings of LED ground lights around the RV, charged our 2 iPhones overnight, and ran a small, AC powered fan in my bedroom to keep cool and drown out any outside noise. And I need to mention that I forgot to throw the disconnect on my house battery, so the Pecron was charging the house battery all night also.
The results were amazing!, we only used 13.7 KWH! And ran the Pecron down to 56% from 99%. I never heard the cooling fans go on, and didn’t experience anything different from being plugged directly in to shore/pedestal power! So far I’m very very happy with the Pecron. Once I have the solar panels installed, hopefully by end of this month, I’ll give an update.
Another note, the Pecron will serve many other purposes. I plan on using the Pecron as a backup for small appliances in my S&B, charge a trolling motor batter and move it into a “new to us” rig, if we do decide to sell ours.
I Hope this wasn’t tooooo long or seemed self serving to anyone. I’m no expert by no means, I just love to help and share good experiences with other like minded camping folk!
|
Linear Mode
