Shopping for a Home Charger

MattG

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I am still trying to get ramped up on all this electric car stuff, so please forgive my ignorance, but just to make sure that I am understanding correctly, we actually have the option to use a different home charging solution than the Ford Connected Charging station that Ford will be offering? What are the benefits to going with one of the alternatives like the ones mentioned above in this thread, as opposed to simply going with the Ford Connected one that we can buy with the Mach E?
Yep, anything with that J1772 plug should be compatible.

Advantages of the Ford charger? tough to say at this point, I haven’t seen much details. But I would check for max charge rate and what software features it offers. I suspect that last point, the software, will be the biggest differentiator in these hardwired fast chargers.
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Yep, anything with that J1772 plug should be compatible.

Advantages of the Ford charger? tough to say at this point, I haven’t seen much details. But I would check for max charge rate and what software features it offers. I suspect that last point, the software, will be the biggest differentiator in these hardwired fast chargers.
The Ford Connected Charging Station will charge 50% faster than the Ford Mobile Charger that comes in the car.

Other vendors have EVSE units you can buy. They vary in quality like any other after-market accessory. They also vary in features. The Ford Connected Charging Station will be WiFi equipped and integrate with the Mach E and the FordPass app on your phone to give you maximum control. Of course, it may turn out you have all of that control just by connecting to the car. We don't know yet.

If I were starting from scratch I would install one. The Ford Connected Charging Station is competitively-priced for a 48A EVSE with WiFi. However, since I have a Clipper Creek 32A installed already and would have to get a new circuit panel box to switch, I'm sticking with what I have.
 

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I am still trying to get ramped up on all this electric car stuff, so please forgive my ignorance, but just to make sure that I am understanding correctly, we actually have the option to use a different home charging solution than the Ford Connected Charging station that Ford will be offering? What are the benefits to going with one of the alternatives like the ones mentioned above in this thread, as opposed to simply going with the Ford Connected one that we can buy with the Mach E?
Think of the EVSE/charger as a fancy extension cord. You can pay more for one with more bells and whistles (Ford Connected Charger with WiFi and remote access) or pay less for a basic one (many of them on the market that just offer up a simple connection).

Plus it's a mobile charger, which I'm guessing probably won't hold up quite as well as a wall charger designed for daily use. (Although I don't really know of that's the case or not. Just assuming.)
Actually the mobile charger is designed to be banged around and plugged/unpluged from the wall more.

On the J1772 end I think they all use the same spec/rating where they are good for tons of insertions/removals.

Although look at the different J1772 connectors:
Ford Mustang Mach-E Shopping for a Home Charger evse2
Ford Mustang Mach-E Shopping for a Home Charger evse3

By far the one that feels the "cheapest" is the Ford Level-1 (rightmost one, the one that comes with the Focus Electric and C-Max/Fusion Energi's--its the black box in the background on the bottom picture).
Next up in quality "feeling" (yeah I know subjective) is the Clipper Creek (2nd one from the left).
Both of those have a plastic clamshell on the outside that feels very light and both are considered "portable" EVSE's.
The Bosch/SPX connector (leftmost) feels like a solid piece of plastic and is very sturdy.
Finally the JuiceBox connector (large orange cable, 2nd from the right) is the heaviest of them all and really feels like something substantial.

Note, however, when plugging each into the car they all have the same feel: There is not much clearance between the inner side of the EVSE connector and the one on the car. You can tell when plugging in that its a tight fit (you don't have to push hard but you can feel the air being displaced) and note on the bottom picture that you can see the gasket preventing water intrusion in the connectors. For all four of them the process of plugging them in feels the same regardless of the "feel" of the connector itself (this has also been consistent on all 3 of the plugin vehicles I have driven).
 

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I am still trying to get ramped up on all this electric car stuff, so please forgive my ignorance, but just to make sure that I am understanding correctly, we actually have the option to use a different home charging solution than the Ford Connected Charging station that Ford will be offering? What are the benefits to going with one of the alternatives like the ones mentioned above in this thread, as opposed to simply going with the Ford Connected one that we can buy with the Mach E?
It can be very confusing for sure. Ford isn't helping matters by calling their unit a "Charger" because that isn't what it does. Remember, the charger is in the car.....all we have to do is supply power to it. We need some way to connect the vehicle to a power source so the onboard charger can replenish the battery. There are a variety of ways to provide power in a variety of voltages and there are a variety of battery sizes with a variety of on board chargers. There also are a variety of different plugs out there. For the sake of this discussion, we are talking about the J1772 connector which is the plug choice that Ford is using.

The J1772 connector has 5 ports. 2 are used for communication and up to 3 are used to supply power to the vehicle. 1 of the communication ports is a proximity wire and is there for safety purposes. This is very important and very necessary. The other communication line allows the power supply (EVSE) to communicate with the car. It basically says "Hey, I have detected an EV is plugged in!". The vehicles verifies this and asks the EVSE how much power and what type it is able to provide. Based on the reply, the car makes a request for power and is specific with voltage and amps. The EVSE sends it down the cord, through the plug and into the on board charger. The vehicle can regulate that power flow by requesting more or less power etc. Super smart.

So, Yes! You can absolutely use a different EVSE power supply station than what Ford provides, as long as it has a J1772 connector. The MME comes with it's own EVSE so you really don't need to buy anything else. All you have to do is provide a suitable receptacle for it to plug into. The EVSE that Ford provides with the car can charge Level 1 or Level 2. If you are going to install a plug, then make it compatible for Level 2 and you are good.

The benefits of using the EVSE provided by Ford is less cost but it comes with less convenience because you will have to unplug it from the wall in order to take it with you on longer excursions. it also appears to be a solid state EVSE which isn't as robust as a contactor type wall unit (in my opinion).

The optional Ford Connected EVSE that will be available for additional cost is able to provide 50% more power to the vehicle compared to the EVSE that comes with the car so it will charge faster. Other than that, there aren't any other benefits that I am aware of but without seeing Fords connected EVSE I can't comment too much. I have read their technical papers and the features are fairly standard. Well, they are pretty cool features, but not exclusive. Meaning, you will probably have all those features available to you anyway via in car controls or you cell phone etc.

The VersiCharge unit discussed earlier is a very good EVSE station but it has a max rating of 32 amps which is fairly standard with many of the offerings out there. Until recently, there hasn't really been a need for anything more powerful because EV manufacturers weren't providing on board chargers that could handle more power than that. Tesla is excluded since it doesn't utilize J172 connector native). Now we have the MME, which DOES have a larger more powerful charger on board. So....if we want to charge at home at max speed, we need an EVSE capable of providing up to 48 amps (which is 50% more than a 32 amp unit). There aren't many choices of EVSEs out there that are capable of 48 amps so Ford has brought their own design to market to fill that void.

To be clear.....a 48 amp EVSE is NOT REQUIRED. You can use a 16 amp EVSE in Level 1 or 2. You can also use a 24, 32 or 48 amp Level 2 unit. As long as they have a J1772 connector they will work. You car will charge at different speeds depending on which method you use.

Lastly......to confuse you even more. :)
Your on board connector is actually a CCS port. Stands for Combined Charging System. Because the MME is also capable of DC fast charging....it needs a port with BOTH the J1772 receptacle and the DC plugs. If you look at the business end of a CCS connector, you will see the 2 communications ports in J1772 spot are used along with two very large ports for DC charging. The 3 other (medium) sized plugs in the J1772 spot are dummy plugs since they are not used for DC fast charging. It was simpler to combine the two ports so the car can still communicate and the proximity sensor would function. Something that is even MORE important when dealing with DC power for safety reasons.

I hope this helps. I wish there was a simple answer like "No, you don't need to use Ford's connected box." but it's not really that simple of an answer. If you have nothing now.....and you own your own home, and your electrical distribution panel is near where you plan to mount your EVSE then buying Ford's Connected box is a very reasonable idea. It is competitively priced and will provide all the power the on board charger could ever need. The upcharge is minimal for the long term benefits.

You definitely want a level 2 EVSE of some type. Don't try and make do with just Level 1. It can certainly be done but you will miss out on lots of other benefits that L2 provides. Just my $0.02...
 


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Been using a ClipperCreek LCS-20P unit with our Fusion Energi. No issues to report in the 6 months we've had it. Its plugged into a 60-amp circuit in the garage. Probably upgrade to something with some more power after the Mach-E arrives.

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I'm also new to the BEV landscape, so forgive my ignorance!

For those installing a 240V outlet, there seems to be a choice between NEMA 6-50 & 14-50. Any advantage of one over the other? Since the ford mobile charger uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, I was going to get a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed first, then maybe add on an EVSE later on. Any thoughts or comments?
 

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For those installing a 240V outlet, there seems to be a choice between NEMA 6-50 & 14-50. Any advantage of one over the other? Since the ford mobile charger uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, I was going to get a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed first, then maybe add on an EVSE later on. Any thoughts or comments?
You just stated the primary advantage. :)

In some cases, 6-50 could be easier to install because it's missing the neutral wire (needed for 120V but not 240V). But if you're putting in new wires or they're already present and appropriate, go for the 14-50.
 

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I'm also new to the BEV landscape, so forgive my ignorance!

For those installing a 240V outlet, there seems to be a choice between NEMA 6-50 & 14-50. Any advantage of one over the other? Since the ford mobile charger uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, I was going to get a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed first, then maybe add on an EVSE later on. Any thoughts or comments?
I believe the Ford charger is ha
I'm also new to the BEV landscape, so forgive my ignorance!

For those installing a 240V outlet, there seems to be a choice between NEMA 6-50 & 14-50. Any advantage of one over the other? Since the ford mobile charger uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, I was going to get a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed first, then maybe add on an EVSE later on. Any thoughts or comments?
If you can handle it, have 60 amp capable wiring and circuit installed for your outlet. That way, if you later get the Ford EVSE charger, it can be hardwired to that circuit and handle the full 48 amp charging. It can be costly to run the wiring and to pay for the breaker and you would not want to have to replace it all when you get the Ford charger.
 

macchiaz-o

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The Ford Connect Charge Station does not seem to be available yet on parts.ford.com. The pre-COVID info I had showed this, so it may be delayed a bit:
  • Part number: ML9Z-10C823-A
  • Delivery available September 2020
Interesting. Not sure we'd seen the part number before. So a quick Bing search shows a few sites already listing it, though without too much detail, or conflicting info (e.g. Made in Germany, Made in USA).

$799 (can't add to cart or see shipping yet)
https://www.fordracingparts.com/part/ML9Z-10C823-A

$881.99 + $0 shipping
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-ml9z10c823a

$897.18 + $50.41 shipping (you save $178.82 :rolleyes:)
https://www.levittownfordparts.com/sku/ml9z-10c823-a.html

So the Summit Racing option is actually the best value, because that kit specifically includes a Ford and a Mustang. You could always resell them if you don't need the extra vehicles.

Seriously, though -- what I'd still like to see:

- part number and cost for the mobile charger that's included with the car
- additional pigtail options for the included mobile charger (e.g. NEMA 14-30)
 

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I have the JuiceBox 40A EVSE unit and I am happy with it. It was only a little more expensive than the 32A unit and if you watch Costco, they put it on sale every now and then.

My Chevy Bolt only draws 32A, but the Mach-E will draw the full 40A from this unit.

If you purchase the Ford Connected Charging Station, you will have available the full 48A that the MME can use for charging. However, you will have to run the correct size electrical cabling and a 60A breaker for this unit. Extra expense, and you will have to make sure your breaker panel has the capability to add a circuit of this size.

The only real world difference to you is that the 48A EVSE will recharge your fully depleted Mach-E 88 kWh battery about 2 hours faster than the 40A EVSE. That is approx 8 hrs vs approx 10 hrs.

To me it makes no difference as I almost never fully deplete the 60 kWh battery in my Chevy Bolt now. So the extra expense required for the 48A EVSE is not necessary. I plug it in the car when I get home, and it is always fully charged and ready to go by 6:30 AM then next morning.

Hopes this helps in your selection process!

Jim
 

jhalkias

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This looks like a pretty interesting and cost effective unit. Right now only up to 40 Amp, but looks like they have some new products coming in the pipeline. All made in North America.

 

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Been using a ClipperCreek LCS-20P unit with our Fusion Energi. No issues to report in the 6 months we've had it. Its plugged into a 60-amp circuit in the garage. Probably upgrade to something with some more power after the Mach-E arrives.

BK2EV
We've had our Leaf for almost 3 years, using the Clipper Creek without a hitch. Ours is the LCS-30, so a 24A unit. It fully charges our Leaf's 30 kWh battery in ~5 hours. I hadn't realized it's actually slower than the mobile charger that will come with the Mach E.
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