Charging at home via 110?

[dbsb3233]

A dryer that pulls 30A might work perfectly fine on a 30A circuit. People plug their 30A dryer into a 30A circuit -- wire, breakers, outlet -- all the time. It just depends on how long the drying cycle lasts.

But how many amps the dryer uses is irrelevant when it comes to a circuit for your EVSE. The EVSE is a different use case because the charging cycle is longer than the drying cycle. Referencing the dryer doesn't add (or subtract) anything significant from the discussion. It's like referencing a 100W lamp when deciding if a circuit will support a 2000W hair dryer.

My other point was that you don't want what you might call a 40A+ circuit. Having thicker cable is great but ideally you want the breakers to match the EVSE.

From this POV the splitter box doesn't seem like a good solution. It only supports 24A and the Mobile Charger is going to pull 30A from the get-go.

Oh it may work to draw the full amperage that the circuit is rated for, but it's sure not recommended. Thus the 80% rule. Plus you're teetering on the edge of popping the breaker frequently.

You're right about trying to use the 30A Ford Mobile Charger in the 24A splitter though (or a 24A anything). If doing that, they need a charger that only draws 24A. Like my Grizzl-E that I just lowered the power on to 24A to lower my Demand Charge peak.

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[Joetz]

I have no capacity in my fuse box and moving soon. I'm using the 110 and so far it's okay. Only 230 miles this week and it's kept up okay.

Will definately go to L2 at next house though. The 110 is slow but effective.

Have you considered using a “quick 220”

 

[crownmountain]

I ordered Splitvolt splitter that sits on 240v dryer outlet and automatically switches between a dryer and an EV. Hope to avoid ordering a multi-thousand dollar installation of a dedicated charger.
Haven't tried it yet.

Did you try this with the Mach-E charger/EVSE and did it work? Or as suggested did it trip the breaker?

 

[RedStallion]

Did you try this with the Mach-E charger/EVSE and did it work? Or as suggested did it trip the breaker?

I bought Grizzle set to 24A. If you connect Ford's mobile charger it works for couple hours and then trips the breaker. So if you are fine with 2h charges then you don't need EVSE.

 

[LagerHead]

My commute is pretty short (5 miles each way). Is there something wrong with just using the free charger from Ford every night rather than buying and installing a faster charger? Even if I drive more than that sometimes, I figure the slow charger will catch up. There's also an EA fast charger near my house if need it. Am I harming the battery or being inefficient to just use the basic setup?

120V charging will work fine for the scenario you outline but it's sub-optimal depending upon what special situations crop up. I charged on 120V for a year at our second home and it worked but was far from ideal so I installed a 240 EVSE and it's a lot better. It will add value to the home in coming years considering how fast EV ownership is starting to grow.

Since EV owners don't charge to 100% unless needed, it can add a lot of flexibility if you can add, say 50 miles in a hurry before you leave on a spontaneous trip. When I was on 120V it would take 14 hours! to add just 50 miles before I left. With my EVSE I can add the 50 additional miles in just over an hour while I pack the car for the trip and get ready to go.

 

[LagerHead]

With 240V AC charging, even at 48A the charge rate is still close to 1/10 C. Can't imagine charging at 1/20 C is any better as far as battery longevity is concerned.

Charging losses are generally proportional to the square of the charging current. Voltage doesn't have any significant effect on charging losses but higher voltage reduces the charging time. Consequently charging at 12A 240V will have fewer losses than charging at 12A 120V because the time will be shorter, and charging at 12A 240V will be more efficient than charging at 24A 240V because the losses will be less.

Exactly! Charging at 48A (or as high as your level 2 EVSE will go) is not a problem for EV batteries - it's a small faction of the current you get from a fast DC charger. Just make sure the circuit is in good condition and you are good to go.

I actually suspect charging super slow, like from a 120V outlet is sub-optimal for battery health.

 

[c max]

I have been charging with a 120 line with my c max energi for 8 years and now with the MME.............with the c max Ford said a full charge in 7+ hours, never took that long, 5 hours max.....with the MME, according to the numbers provided on FordPass, I have been getting about 6 miles per hour of charge compared to Ford's estimate of 3 miles per charge......I know, not great if you need big miles added to the battery every night for a commute the next day, BUT still double the original estimate.....one day I added 30 miles of EST Range for a 5 hour charge, plenty for my needs.....

ps.....I may still be adding a 240 line......I'll see....

 

[Garbone]

Just plugged in the splitter to try. The car draws a hair shy of 30 amps. Voltage dropped from 211V to 206.5V, which represents about 135W (2%) of losses in the circuit and wires.

I worry the voltage drop represents resistive loss on the wiring under load. Would be an interesting to see if that number dips as the charge sessions continue and and the heat stress on the conductor builds.

If your breaker starts popping have them replace it when they come and install your dedicated 14-50 circuit.

Edit,: Oh, just saw your Grizzl-E post. Still, if that breaker popped a lot it may need replacement. They degrade and start tripping under less load than rated.

 

[trutolife27]

If you're driving that little amount. I'm sure there is a level 2 free charger at a park or somewhere around you also. You could go to a place that has one for 3 hours on the weekend and charge right back up.

 

[crownmountain]

I bought Grizzle set to 24A. If you connect Ford's mobile charger it works for couple hours and then trips the breaker. So if you are fine with 2h charges then you don't need EVSE.

Thanks!. I decided to go with the purchase of a Clipper Creek LCS-30P 24A with a NEMA 14-30 plug that fits my existing garage outlet. Now the race is on will it come before I need a charge

 

[Stangracer]

That's why I said "circuit", not outlet. You need a 40A+ circuit for a 32A charger (or the 30A charger like the Ford Mobile, since breakers are usually rated in increments of 10A).

A dryer is usually 24A, which is why it works on a 30A circuit.

The prior owners of our home had plans to install a hot tub but never finished. There's a professionally installed sub box in the garage with a single 30 amp breaker. The breaker for the sub box in the main breaker box is 40 amp. Could I replace the 30 amp breaker with a 40amp and install an outlet for the Ford mobile charger?

 

[dbsb3233]

The prior owners of our home had plans to install a hot tub but never finished. There's a professionally installed sub box in the garage with a single 30 amp breaker. The breaker for the sub box in the main breaker box is 40 amp. Could I replace the 30 amp breaker with a 40amp and install an outlet for the Ford mobile charger?

Probably. As long as the wire gauge is sufficient for 40A between the main and the sub (which should be a given since it's on a 40A breaker), and there's no other breakers in the sub that would be sharing that 40A feed.

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