Just Joined The Gang - Looking for Advice

[Maquis]

Hardwired charger. No question. The wall plug is a potential point of failure. A dedicated circuit is definitely better.

Charging my Mach e takes about 3x the power of my clothes dryer. I wouldn't feel comfortable pulling 10.5 KW through a 240 volt dryer socket.

A dedicated circuit is required, it’s not optional.

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[SpaceEVDriver]

Thanks for the advice! I will ask the same question that I asked others... What is the advantage of hardwired?

There are three advantages of hardwired, IMO:

1. You can go up to 48 Amps (60 Amp breaker and branch circuit) instead of staying at 40 Amps (50 Amp breaker and branch circuit) or below. That’s a 20% increase in charge rate. Not always needed, but worth it if you do need it.
2. It’s safer. One less connection, one less chance for things to overheat.
3. I know without a doubt that it’s on a dedicated circuit. Whenever people start messing around with outlets, they think it’s meant to be used for multiple things. I’m my biggest enemy in this respect. So hardwiring my EVSEs means I know I won’t absentmindedly think I can unplug the EVSE and “oh, I’ll plug it back in as soon as I’m done."

 

[Sikkun]

And is signing up with Blue Oval useful for remote charging or should I use individual charging apps

It’s useful because it allows you to activate a bunch of charger brands from one app (ford app). And if you don’t take road trips long enough to justify buying Tesla Membership or Electrify American membership you can just plug and charge at either of them (and now IONNA) which is the easiest way to charge.

 

[ThomF]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You are going to enjoy your new pony.

I've had my vehicle for over 3 years and continue to use the Ford supplied charter--with almost zero issues. From my perspective, you can use it reliably and save yourself some money.

I rely upon Ford Blue Oval and have found it pretty seamless. I don't use DC charging often, but on occasional trips it has been seamless. Plug it into a Tesla Supercharger and it simply works.

 

[condition5]

Is Ford still offering the Ford Power Promise incentive? Did your dealer mention it?

I also thought I had asked all the right questions about home (and public) charging. It's all second nature now, but I was suffering until I had fast charging at home (especially in near zero temps of last January).

Here was my adventure from a year ago:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...days-from-delivery-to-l2-power-at-home.42377/

 

[dalola]

OP, do you know your electrical requirements at your house, meaning, will you need panel upgrades, or extensive work to get a 240v circuit? Pending that situation, consider that "smart" EVSE's will allow you to charge at reduced amperage to be compatible with different sized breakers/wiring. Unless you need to charge quickly, you may not need the full 48A circuit. If you have the panel capacity, then sure, go as big as possible. If you don't, or have a smaller amperage 240v circuit already in existence, consider that as well. I charge on an existing 20A 240v circuit, at 16A, it's good for about ~15 miles of range added every hour, which satisfies our needs just fine.

So, I would access your homes electrical situation first, then make a plan based on that, vs. your charging requirements.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Juicebox went out of business....

Ford Mobile Charger is not reliable long-term. Emporia is a top quality charger. Consider a hardwired 48amp charger on a 60amp breaker.


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This.

Always go hardwired.

 

[Peugfan]

I think hard wiring is over rated, but that is just for myself….I would not suggest that others do not hard wire. A 14-50 EV rated receptacle on a 50 amp circuit allows you plug in a backup mobile charger should your main charger fail. A properly wired and torqued receptacle is just as safe as long as you are not frequently pluging/unplugging especially if you don't need the speed of 48 amp input. I've checked mine occasionally and the plug barely gets warm with 6AWG wiring. YMMV.

 

[IgorKl]

Hardwire is the great option, you can charge at 48A speed, but I opted dedicated outlet so I limited to 40A outlet. I like Costco warranty. I know many chargers would last years, but Costco accepted my JuiceBoxes return when company seized US operation so I bought pair Wallboxes from Costco.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I am still using an old, “dumb” 240V EVSE at 32A on a 6-50 outlet. I got rid of my Ford Mobile Charger and instead got a Tesla Mobile Connector since I already had a Tesla L2 adapter and I needed a reliable mobile EVSE that could work with a 10-30 outlet that was at my friend’s duck club.

 

[Adventureboy]

Upvote for hardwired Emporia. For the daily drive, I set it at 16 amps through the app. On heavier days, I set it to 32 amps. When I need power in a hurry, 48 amps is sweet. I only need 48A a few times per year, but really happy for it when I need it.

 

[NorthlandPhil]

You might check with your power company about discounts and rebates. I have time of day rates and charge between 11 pm and 5 am for lowest rate. I got a $500 rebate from MN Power back in 2024. Also got a 30% federal tax credit, but I don’t think that’s available anymore (?)

Probably would have gone with Emporia, but it wasn’t on the list for $500 rebate, so I went with ChargePoint, which has been problem free for me. I Charge at 40A (50A breaker). Hardwired. Honestly, 20A would work just fine for the driving my wife and I do.

i normally charge to 85%. 100% when planning longer trip the next day. (Mostly charge only to 80% on DCFC.) I set the preferred charging window and charging limit in the car (not on the ChargePoint charger). Actually I use the Ford app most of the time for this, which seems to work fine.

 

[Mr. Toejam]

FYI: my Emporia just turn 4 years old. I got it for several reasons, but mostly because it can be tired to their energy monitoring system and it can automatically throttle back charging to excess solar only and you can watch your power and where it goes. Nerd factor played into this one. the cable on the emporia is a beast…and super high quality

I have it with a 14-50 plug, because it allows me a high powered outlet for a small welder, that i hardly ever use and it gives me the option to plug an RV in (which I don’t even have). Basically, it gave me options.

40 amps of charging is more than enough. If I really need some juice bad, I run down to the local supercharger.

but with the plug, I do check the terminal torques yearly to ensure they have not loosened up. They have not.

go to State of Charge on YouTube for tutorials, for all of the dirty details.

 

[Bad Dolphin]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I got some old advice on JuiceBox? I have heard good things about Emporia but I am not sure if I would get hardwired or plugin. What is the advantage of hardwired?

One advantage of hardwired is one less fail point. In the other hand, a plug in does give you the option of less expensively switching chargers should you need to do so down the line.

with the original purchase of our Tesla M3 AWD, we bought a Tesla charger and paid an electrician to hardwire it. No problems at all through our selling the Tesla this April in exchange for a new 2024 Mach E GT.
While awaiting Ford Power Promise to deliver thru QMerit, we used the Tesla Charger with an adapter. We noticed the adapter hit warmer than we liked. When the Ford Pro Charger arrived, the electrician hardwired it, too. Only problem is that the charger software is not good. So based on advice received here, we bought an Emporia Pro and the electrician is scheduled to install next week after the holidays.

Had we opted for plug in, I obviously could have "installed" it myself without a new permit.

 

[DWIL]

Finally retired my 2007 Cadillac Escalade las night! It was sad to see her go with all her years of loyal service and over 220K miles of fun! But it was time to move on... So needless to say, going from a massive gas guzzling vehicle to a much smaller, faster, and modern electric vehicle is a major lifestyle change!

So far with just a ride from the dealership to home I can say I truly do enjoy the ride! I miss the roominess of the Escalade and the ability to see over most vehicles when driving, but I can tell I am going to have fun getting to know this new stallion!

One area where I will need to educate myself on more is charging. I thought I had a fairly good understanding of how it worked with the research I did before buying, but now I know how much I have to learn. I plan to do most of my chargeing at home so I know to will need to eventually have a 240 V outlet installed in my garage. I just don't know if I should rely on the Ford Mobile Power Cord package that came with the vehicle or buy one of the suggested level 2 chargers like JuiceBox, Emporia, or ClipperCreek. And is signing up with Blue Oval useful for remote charging or should I use individual charging apps l I keep the one provided by Tesla?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I recommend, YouTube. There are a lot of videos out there that will help you to become familiar with your Mach-E and all of its features and capabilities, as well as limitations.

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