Meet the Pecron 500W DC Car Charger. It’s a universal power station car charger and your new best friend for on-the-go power. This DC to DC charger turns your car, RV, van, or truck into a powerful and fast charger for any power station.
The power coming off the Pecron Car Charger is almost identical to the power from solar panels. And that means you can use it to charge any power station through the solar DC input. It even uses the universal MC4 connectors found on most solar panels.
Now you can quickly charge a power station while driving. And not just the very slow rate from the cigarette lighter port. Gone are the days of waiting for sunlight or hunting for an outlet.
With the Pecron 500W DC Car Charger, your road trips just got a whole lot more electrifying.
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What is the Pecron 500W DC Car Charger?
Pecron understands the importance of portability with power stations. With this universal power station car charger, you can forget arriving at your campsite with a dead power station. Or one that only fills up a tiny bit after hours of driving.
The main benefit of this car charger is that instead of using the slow cigarette lighter, it uses MC4 connectors with a much higher voltage.
The result is super fast power station charging from your RV, truck, car, or van.
With a maximum charging rate of 500W, this can replenish up to 500Wh of battery capacity in an hour of driving. From the cigarette lighter outlet, the maximum charging rate is typically 120W (12V at 10A). The Pecron car charger is about four times the power. That means you charge your power station’s battery four times faster.
A great feature of this car charger is that it can connect to any 12V or 24V car battery and alternator system. Then adjust the voltage to make sure it turns on the power station charging without hurting your vehicle’s battery (or RV house battery).
The output of this Pecron DC charger for power stations is a couple of MC4 connectors. These are the exact same connectors that are universal for solar panels. You don’t have to mess around with extra adapters. If you can connect a regular solar panel to your power station, you can connect the Pecron DC charger.
When you want to charge a power station while on the go, it’s impossible to beat the Pecron 500W Car Charger.
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PECRON 500W Car Charger for Cars, RVs, etc. |
Buy on Pecron |
| Specification | Pecron 500W Car Charger |
| Output Voltage | 42V |
| Output Current | 13A (max) |
| Output Wattage | 500W (max) |
| Output Connectors | MC4 (solar panel) |
| Input Voltage | ~12V to ~30V |
| Input Current | 50A (max) |
| Input Connectors | Ring terminals (for battery posts) |
| Inline Fuse Rating | 100A |
| Dimensions (in.) | 7.6×3.5×2 |
| Dimensions (mm) | 193x90x52 |
| Warranty | 12 months |
| User Manual | Pecron 500W Car Charger |
How This Car Charger Works
How this universal car charger for power stations works is simple:
- Connect the input to your vehicle’s car battery using the ring terminals
- Connect the output to your power station using the MC4 connectors
- Turn on your vehicle and turn on the Pecron Car Charger
- Watch the alternator’s power charge your power station
How can it do this? And what’s the benefit of using this compared to the usual power station car charger (cigarette lighter)?
It’s able to do this because every vehicle already has the ability to charge a battery. When the engine is running, it powers the alternator, which sends electricity to the car’s starter battery to keep it charged.
This Pecron Car Charger simply taps into that system. It can understand when your car is running (based on voltage fluctuations) and takes part of the electricity coming off your alternator. Then it uses that to charge your power station.
The Bluetti Charger 1 has now stepped in as one incredible alternative to the Pecron Car Charger. This Bluetti uses similar connections and can be used with Bluetti power station and ones from other brands.
There are many DC to DC car chargers that can do this same thing. But they’re designed to take the power from one battery and send it directly to another battery. They’re often not compatible with power stations. That’s because power station’s have built-in charging systems, so trying to use most DC to DC chargers is like stacking a charger on top of another charger. It doesn’t work well, if at all.
What this Pecron DC charger for power stations does is change that situation. It turns the power into the same type of energy that your power station expects from solar panels. So it essentially tricks the power station into thinking it’s attached to solar panels, when it’s actually attached to your car or RV. You can do this with all sorts of ways to generate off-grid DC power.
As long as your power station can accept the 42V output of the Pecron charger, it will charge just like solar panels with the same voltage would. Ingenious!
Power Stations That Work with the Pecron Car Charger
Many power stations can use the Pecron universal power station charger. But not all.
What you have to look for is the solar input voltage specifications. If it can accept up to 42V, then your power station can use this car charger.
Here are some examples of power station solar input specs that are suitable for this 42V power:
- PECRON E3600LFP: 32V-150V
- PECRON E2000LFP: 32V~95V
- EcoFlow Delta Pro 3: 30V-150V
- EcoFlow Delta 2: 11V-60V
- BLUETTI AC300: 12V-150V
- BLUETTI AC180: 12V-60V
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2: 12V-60V
And here are some examples of power stations that CANNOT use this Pecron charger since 42V is too much:
- PECRON E300LFP: 12V~28V
- EcoFlow RIVER 2: 11V-30V
- BLUETTI AC50B: 12V-28V
- Jackery Explorer 300 Plus: 12V-27V
A very important part of using any power station is to stay within the voltage limits of the solar input. If you connect too many solar panels to a power station and the voltage is too high, you can cause serious damage. That’s why understanding how many solar panels can you use is crucial.
Since the output of the Pecron 500W Car Charger is 42V, that’s what the power station must be able to accept.
The Bluetti Alternator Charger 1 has a major advantage here. It has adjustable output voltage from 15V to 56V, so you can pair it with almost any power station.
Generally, it’s only the very small power stations that can’t take this sort of power. And if they’re that small, then using the car’s cigarette lighter outlet is usually suitable anyway. It’s just a low-power version of a car charger.
For the bigger power stations that need more power than the cigarette lighter provides, the Pecron’s 42V output is usually fine. That’s well within the specs for many power stations in the mid-range and large side of the scale. And that’s where this high-powered DC car charger for power stations is the best fit. It even works for very large systems like the EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra, which can be a great way to get a boost of charge while you’re on the road with your RV.
Find and compare the specs for Bluetti and EcoFlow power stations.
If you have an EcoFlow power station, you might want to check out the EcoFlow Alternator Charger instead. It has a faster max charging rate of 800W and other features like backwards charging, letting your power station jump start a dead car battery. The downside is that it’s much more expensive and it uses a proprietary connector. That also makes extending any cable difficult.
Benefits of Using the Pecron 500W DC Car Charger
The main reason to use this car charger over the standard cigarette lighter charging is speed. The cigarette lighter ports are not meant to provide a ton of power. They’re great for phones and small electronics. But when it comes to charging a big battery, they limit the power and it will take forever.
Your vehicle can almost always provide a lot more power. You just have to connect directly to the system to use it. And you need to connect safely.
This Pecron 500W Charger for Power Stations uses that approach. And it features an inline fuse for safety. Plus, it also has a built-in on/off power switch. So you always have the control you need.
Another major benefit of this car charger is that you can still charge your power station while on a trip, even if you’re out and about during the day.
If you usually depend on solar panels to charge a power station, days when you drive around a lot can be challenging. How do you leave a power station hooked up to solar panels at a campsite if you’re not there? That’s usually too risky due to theft. And it’s hard to bring it with you. You don’t want to hassle with charging your power station while exploring a national park.
This car charger takes those concerns away. Go on about your exploring and just bring the power station with you. Any time you drive, it will quickly replenish the battery. No solar panels needed. You can charge your phone while camping without a problem.
The MC4 connectors are an amazing design feature of this car charger. By mimicking the solar panel output and connectors, it’s amazingly easy to connect this to any power station. Whatever you use to connect your power station to solar panels should work for this car charger too.
For example, many EcoFlow and Bluetti power stations use XT-60 or XT-60i connectors for the solar panels. EcoFlow and other brands sell MC4 to XT-60 (and XT-60i) adapters. This one adapter will work for nearly any solar panel you want to use, and it will also connect your car to your EcoFlow power station. Jackery uses a different 8mm adapter, but you can get MC4 to 8mm adapter easily as well.
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Nuofany MC4 to XT60 Adapter Connector 24in |
Buy on Amazon |
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EcoFlow Solar to XT60/XT60i Charging Cable |
XT60 on EcoFlow XT60 on Amazon |
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JacEnergy MC4 to 8mm Adapter Cable |
Buy on Amazon |
User Guide: Instructions and Tips
Using this high powered power station car charger is straightforward. The installation is something many people can do at home. And if you don’t want to do it, you can take it to almost any auto stereo installation shop, RV repair technician, or anyone else familiar with running DC wiring through vehicles.
Let’s break down how to install the Pecron 500W DC Car Charger for your power station.
How to Install the Pecron 500W Car Charger
The basic idea for the Pecron 500W Car Charger is that it connects to a battery on one end and your power station on the other. By connecting to a vehicle’s battery, it can pull the energy from the alternator to the power station.
Consult Pecron’s User Manual for the full installation guide, tips, and warnings. But here’s is a quick rundown of how to install the Pecron Car Charger for power stations in any car or RV:
- Location: Identify the location you want to place or mount your Pecron Car Charger. It should be close to your power station while also making sure the cables can reach your car battery. And it needs some room to vent.
- Wire: Run the cables from the Pecron charger to your vehicle’s battery and connect it using the appropriate terminals. This may require changing the terminals and lifting carpet or interior trim pieces. It also means locating a place to feed the wire through the firewall. If you have difficulty with this step, a professional stereo installer or RV shop should be able to do this with ease.
- Connect: Connect the input from the car battery to the Pecron Car Charger. Then connect the Pecron’s output to your power station.
- Power On: Turn on your vehicle and power on the Pecron Car Charger by pressing the on/off button.
- Calibrate: Calibrate the Pecron Car Charger’s voltage using the dial on the Pecron 400W Charger. If the Car Charger is pulling power when your vehicle is off, you need to turn the dial to increase the voltage. If it does not charge when the vehicle is running, you need to lower the dial to decrease voltage.
By following these simple steps, you can install this high-powered power station charger for your car or RV. The calibration is a critical step to ensure it doesn’t drain your battery while the vehicle is off. But you can also unplug the unit and use the power button to make sure it is off.
Review the Pecron User Manual and be sure to follow all of the tips and warnings list on there, which has a long list of items including things like:
- Do not block the vent fans
- Use proper connectors and wiring techniques to avoid short circuiting the system
- Do not use in wet or high-temperature environments
- Turn off the main switch of the charger when not in use for a week or more
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PECRON 500W Car Charger for Cars, RVs, etc. |
Buy on Pecron |
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Nuofany MC4 to XT60 Adapter Connector 24in |
Buy on Amazon |
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JacEnergy MC4 to 8mm Adapter Cable |
Buy on Amazon |
Real-Life Scenarios
Understanding the specs and theoretical charging values is easier said than done. So in this section, we’ll go over some real-life examples of what you can expect from this car charger for a select group of power stations.
Even if you don’t have one of these power stations, you can see how long this DC car charge takes to charge batteries of a certain size. You’ll just have to make sure your power station’s solar DC input can accept the 42V 13A output.
~2,000Wh Battery: PECRON E2000LFP or Bluetti AC200L
Let’s start with some pretty big portable power stations. With 2,000Wh, you have enough juice to charge phones, run a fridge, and keep a host of small gadgets up and running for many hours. These are some of the biggest portable power stations around, only outdone by systems designed for whole-home backup use.
Here are the specs of some power stations that have a battery near 2,000Wh:
- Pecron E2000LFP: An impressive unit with a 1.92kWh battery pack. Its solar input includes ports that can accept anywhere from 32V to 95V, and will pull up to 15A.
- Bluetti AC200L: An excellent Bluetti power station with a 2,048Wh battery and solar input of 12V to 145V at 15A.
- EcoFlow DELTA 2 Max: Another great power station with a 2,000Wh battery pack and two solar inputs, both accepting 11V to 60V at 15A.
All of these power stations have a solar input voltage range that accepts the 42V of the Pecron 500W Car Charger. And they all accept up to 15A. So these specs are within the power station’s limits and the two should function flawlessly together. The power station can accept the full 13A of the Car Charger and most importantly, it is within the voltage limits.
Once the Car Charger is connected and properly calibrated, you can turn on the car and expect to see 42V and 13A of power running to the power station.
The Pecron Car Charger will provide up to 400W of energy. To figure out how long it will take to charge a power station with the Pecron car charger, you just divide the battery’s capacity in watt hours (Wh) by the Pecron’s 400W output. That gives you an estimated number of hours.
If you divide a 1,920Wh battery by the 400W, you get 4.8 hours. So to charge the Pecron E2000LFP with its very substantial 1.92kWh battery, it will take almost 5 hours. For the 2,048Wh of the Bluetti, it’s a slightly longer 5.12 hours.
That is a pretty long drive and takes some hours to charge. But these are large batteries. If you were to connect a 2,000Wh battery to the regular car charger through the cigarette lighter, you’d only get 120W of power to work with. 2,000Wh battery divided by 120W is over 16 hours! So this device makes the changing time go from more than 16 hours down to about 5 hours. Well worth it.
Keep in mind that there are other things that can impact the time it takes the Pecron Car Charger to charge a power station or battery. These include:
- The protective measures that the power station’s battery monitoring system (BMS) uses to protect battery health. These usually cause charging rates to slow down when the battery is above 80% or so. This helps ensure the battery isn’t overcharged and the charger doesn’t cause damage.
- The Pecron might not always provide the full output power if it’s not available from the vehicle. This depends on many factors, such as your alternator’s capability. The Pecron sends out 13A at 42V, but on its input side, it will take 12V or 24V at up to 50A. If your vehicle doesn’t provide the full 50A on the low-voltage side, you can expect lower current (amps) on the output side. One option is to upgrade your alternator to a high-amp version. Many vehicles offer this. 50A is not an extreme amount, but it can push some small alternators.
- Alternator output may vary based on the speed and the other car electronics in use, such as headlights, car stereo, etc. It’s relatively common for some alternators to provide higher output when the car’s engine is running at higher RPM. If sitting idle, the output may be lower than while driving. And if your headlights are on or other high-energy electronics are in use, they might fight over the power. You can test your alternator output.
No matter what, the Pecron 500W Car Charger is a substantial upgrade over the car’s cigarette lighter port.
1,000Wh Battery: EcoFlow Delta 2 or Jackery Explorer 1000
If you cut the battery size in half, you are still left with a great power station for camping adventures, road trips, and some light backup use at home. This can charge a 12Wh phone about 75 times, run a 60W fridge for a couple days, and be a lifesaver if your other power sources are cut out.
It also does a great job at working with the Pecron 400W Car Charger. Here are the specs for some power stations with a battery around 1,000Wh:
- EcoFlow Delta 2: A great product in the EcoFlow lineup with a 1,000Wh battery with solar input of 11V to 60V at up to 15A.
- Jackery Explorer 1000 v2: One of the best Jackery power stations, with a 1,070Wh battery and two solar inputs accepting 12V to 60V at 10.5A.
- BLUETTI AC180: One of the most popular Bluetti power stations with specs of a 1,152Wh battery and 12V to 60V at 12A for its solar input.
The first thing you want to notice is that all of these still have a voltage range that accepts the Pecron 500W Car Charger’s output of 42V. All three go up to 60V, which is very common among mid-size power stations. And this is a critical aspect that allows the Pecron Power Station Car Charger to work with this group of power stations.
Then you can turn to the current (amps). There you’ll see the EcoFlow current of 15A is above the 13A max output of the Pecron. But the Jackery and Bluetti power stations with ~1,000Wh battery are slightly lower than the 13A from the Pecron Car Charger.
Is this a problem? Most people would say no. Overpaneling is a widely accepted method to maximize solar charging, and it involves attaching solar panels with more current than the power station can handle. Since amps are pulled in (not pushed like voltage), the power station just takes what it needs. Many people say it’s like connecting a 2A device to a 15A or 20A outlet, which we do all the time. The power station cuts off the amps, just like it does when the battery is full too.
In this case, both the Jackery and Bluetti are still very close to the 13A output. The Jackery is slightly lower, but it’s still only about 24% over the input’s limit.
Now let’s see how that impacts how long it takes for the Pecron 500W Car Charger to charge these power stations.
The EcoFlow is simple. You just take the battery size of 1,000Wh and divide by the 500W of the Pecron, and you’re left with just two hours! So you can get half the battery full in just one hour. As a reminder, the charging rates will always be a little longer due to expected DC inefficiencies and the fact that power stations will intentionally slow down charging to protect the battery (when it’s close to reaching full or when it gets too warm). But this is still a lightning fast charging rate.
Now let’s turn to the Jackery with its 1,070Wh battery. This time, the charging rate is limited to 10.5A at 42V, which is equal to 441W. So instead of 500W, the Pecron will only be able to fill at a 441W rate. The 1,070Wh battery divided by 441W is 2.4 hours. It’s a larger battery and a slightly slower rate, and the theoretical charge time is still less than 2.5 hours. In reality, it’s probably just over 3 hours. This is still a very reasonable and fast rate of charge. Take that same 1,070Wh battery and charge it from the 120W cigarette lighter, and you get almost 9 hours. So we’re increasing the charging rate more than three times.
The Bluetti has the biggest battery in the group, so it’s going to take the longest. And it’s just barely under the Pecron’s 13A charging rate since the Bluetti can take 12A. But at 42V and 12A, you still get 504W, that’s over the expected 500W from the Pecron! So the 1,152Wh battery at 500W charging rate is just 2.3 hours. All around impressive.
500-600Wh Battery: Pecron E600LFP, EcoFlow River 2 Max, or Bluetti AC60P
Now we’re talking about some of the entry level power stations. These are great for keeping small devices like phones, tablets, and camera or drone batteries charged up. And they can handle some LED lights and other electronics. But you don’t want to depend on them for fridges or other larger appliances.
Let’s review the specs for these 600Wh to 500Wh power stations:
- Pecron E600LFP: 614Wh battery and solar input of 32V to 95V at up to 15A.
- EcoFlow River 2 Max: 512Wh battery and solar input of 11V to 50V at 13A.
- Bluetti AC60P: 504Wh battery and solar input of 12V to 28V at 8A.
There’s a problem to point out with one of these power stations and the Pecron 500W Car Charger. The Bluetti AC60P only accepts up to 28V. Since the Pecron puts out 42V, you cannot use it with this input. That is a critical point and any power station that has a DC input that can’t accept a voltage of 42V will not work.
But the other two both have suitable voltage. And they both go up to at least 13A. They both will also get charged VERY fast since any 614Wh or 512Wh battery will be charged by 500W in just over an hour, but perhaps an hour and a half or more depending on the power station’s BMS and charging intelligence.
Some power stations, like the Pecron E600LFP, do limit the charging to a lower wattage than you can see from the volts/amps. In this case, the Pecron E600LFP limits it to 300W maximum solar/DC charging. But that’s still going to charge that 614Wh battery in about 2-3 hours.
So do you really need the Pecron 500W Car Chargers for these power stations?
It still makes a big difference compared to the car cigarette lighter. Since they usually only put out no more than 120W (10A at 12V), that 120W rate will still take upwards of 4 hours or more to charge a 500Wh battery. The Pecron Car Charge is significantly faster and makes a daily adventure turn into a big charging session for your power station.
For the Bluetti, you’ll still have to stick with the car charger or the solar panels. You could potentially get a device called a buck converter that lowers voltage, making it so you could use the Pecron Car Charger. But finding one that fits the specs well on both sides can be difficult. And wiring this up properly introduces a host of issues that we only recommend if you really know what you’re doing. And in that case, it might be worth considering other creative ways to charge your power station from your car.
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PECRON 500W Car Charger for Cars, RVs, etc. |
Buy on Pecron |
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Nuofany MC4 to XT60 Adapter Connector 24in |
Buy on Amazon |
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JacEnergy MC4 to 8mm Adapter Cable |
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Wrap Up: Pecron 500W Car Charger for Power Stations
The Pecron 500W DC Car Charger is a must-have accessory for power station owners that need fast charging while driving. If your power station can take the 42V power, the Pecron DC Car Charger will make it think that solar panels are connected. And it turns your car, truck, RV, or van into a fast power station charger that keeps your adventures running.
Looking for other options? If you have an EcoFlow power station, the EcoFlow Alternator Charger is worth checking out. Not only does it do 800W charging rates, it also can feed energy the other direction and use the power station to recharge the car battery (or any other 12V or 24V battery. The EcoFlow Dual Fuel Generator is another great charging option when solar doesn’t cut it.
Bluetti has also recently introduced the Bluetti Alternator Charger 1. It is nearly identical to this Pecron charger, but offers adjustable output voltage and a slightly higher 560W max output. We recommend the Pecron or this Bluetti unit, but the Bluetti’s adjustable voltage offers even more flexibility. Learn more about the Bluetti Charger 1 in our full review.
