How many amps should I set the charger for?

[Billyk24]

32A is plenty if you've already got the infrastructure.

If you're putting something in, I'd put in a 48A charger on a 60A circuit.

I have 2 EVs and alternate a single 32A cable between them to charge them both. No issues. That's only because I already had an outlet in my garage. I'd rather spend $0 and get 32A charging than spend >$0 for more charging speed. I get about 30mi/hr (Tesla, but Ford won't be far off).

32A on Tesla giving 30 miles of range? The Mach E won't provide anywhere near 30 miles.

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[Mustang302b4u]

If "portable charger" refers tothe one that came with the Mach E, dont plan on using it daily. Find another brand for such duty.

Yeah, that’s my plan now.

 

[Space_Pony]

I hardwired an Autel 50 amp maxicharger and it charges at 46.5 amps. It sounds like your set up to get something similar. I would skip the outlet and hardwire it.

 

[bbulkow]

i am also in the market for an adjustable charger. i didn't realize if i am traveling and find a 30a circuit (which are common in older houses, driers), you have to go down to 24a (or 30a ok if less then 2 hours continuously). the point of the travel chargers is emergency use, to but be able to use drier ports seems a big gap.

so which small adjustable portable charger is in vogue?

 

[dtbaker61]

I’m about to pull the trigger on a level 2 charger. I have a 2023 premium standard range battery. How many amps should I set the charger for? How many amps does the portable charger provide?

the portable plug-in L2 is hard set to 32 amps max, requiring a Nema 14-50 outlet usually set up with a 50amp breaker. HOWEVER, I would highly suggest using a 40amp breaker to prevent plug/outlet from melting if pulling more than 40 amps accidentally with an aftermarket charger with variable settings.

if you go with a hardwired EVSE you 'could' set it to 36 or maybe even 38 amps, but it will be safer if limited to 32amp.

Be SURE that conductors and neutral are 6awg, and ground is 8awg

 

[dtbaker61]

i am also in the market for an adjustable charger. i didn't realize if i am traveling and find a 30a circuit (which are common in older houses, driers), you have to go down to 24a (or 30a ok if less then 2 hours continuously). the point of the travel chargers is emergency use, to but be able to use drier ports seems a big gap.

so which small adjustable portable charger is in vogue?

the included portable uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, and is set to pull no more than 32 amps.

If you get a portable with a 30amp 'dryer' plug/circuit, then the charger MUST limit current to 24amps to prevent overheating

 

[bbulkow]

the included portable uses a NEMA 14-50 plug, and is set to pull no more than 32 amps.

If you get a portable with a 30amp 'dryer' plug/circuit, then the charger MUST limit current to 24amps to prevent overheating

not my reading of the code, you only downgrade if you are pulling a continuous load more than 2 hours. if you are charging for 30 minutes you can do 30a, no?

in any case 32 is more than 30 which is why i asked the current recommendation of adjustable portable chargers.

Got a recommendation?

 

[RickMachE]

not my reading of the code, you only downgrade if you are pulling a continuous load more than 2 hours. if you are charging for 30 minutes you can do 30a, no?

in any case 32 is more than 30 which is why i asked the current recommendation of adjustable portable chargers.

Got a recommendation?

No. 24.

 

[dtbaker61]

not my reading of the code, you only downgrade if you are pulling a continuous load more than 2 hours. if you are charging for 30 minutes you can do 30a, no?

in any case 32 is more than 30 which is why i asked the current recommendation of adjustable portable chargers.

Got a recommendation?

I do not have a recommendation for a portable with 30amp plug.

I have found that NEMA 50amp outlets are widely available at campgrounds, and homes set up for 'generic' plug-in charging.... so the Ford mobile charger hard-set to pull 32 amps with the NEMA 14-50 plug pigtail is fine.

 

[dbsb3233]

The natural tendency is to always want "more power!", but that's not always prudent if not really needed. Thicker wiring is always good, but drawing more power than needed always increases risk, even if just modestly. Over years of heavy use, cord connections can wear and weaken, plugs can get looser. Weak spots are susceptible to heat, and more power exacerbates that. Everything is over-engineered for safety, of course, but still. Remember that most 240v devices don't usually run continuously for 8-10 hours at full power like an EVSE does.

I dial mine down to 24A even though I have a 50A circuit. That still adds about 60 kWh in 12 hours overnight. More than enough for my driving pattern. Some people may need more, but that's usually plenty.

 

[Neandrewthal]

There's also a matter of heat and waste. The higher charge you run into the car the more heat (read: fans running in the summer in your garage turning it into a sauna) and wasted electricity because of the heat, the fans, pumps and EVSE efficiency go down. Charging around 32 amps usually keeps the fans off or mostly off. This saves you a few pennies a day in power costs, and possibly more if your sauna heats up the house, which triggers your AC to run more.

That's interesting. 10Kw would be considered very slow charging for a 91 kWh battery, so I'm surprised there's any measurable drop in charging efficiency. And Aren't EVSEs just a relay with some control?

 

[shelnian]

I use an Emporia EVSE (charger) I bought from Amazon. I Have it plugged into a Bryant 14-50 outlet connected with 6/3 to a 50A breaker. I use the Emporia app to set the charging current to 32A because in Washington I haven't had any heat issues. You can use the app to change the charge current to pretty much any current you want (has a slider that goes from 6A to 48A). This would allow you to reduce heat generation by lower the charge current when needed. The Ford provide portable EVSE is well known for not handling heat very well at all so shouldn't be use in hot environments unless you can keep it cool.

 

[Just Lurking]

not my reading of the code, you only downgrade if you are pulling a continuous load more than 2 hours. if you are charging for 30 minutes you can do 30a, no?

The NEC (National Electric Code) section 625.42 Rating says (in part):

Electric vehicle charging loads shall be considered to be continuous loads for the purposes of this article.

 

[Ajax]

This thread is making me wonder if I should decrease my amperage. I have a Chargepoint Home Flex on a 60A circuit set to pull 50A, but I don't necessarily need that power and would like to avoid wear and tear—heat is an issue here as well but not to the point it would increase A/C bills given the garage location.

I can't reduce the amperage in the Chargepoint app, so is the only way to do it to remove it from my account and re-pair/reprovision it?

 

[dbsb3233]

This thread is making me wonder if I should decrease my amperage. I have a Chargepoint Home Flex on a 60A circuit set to pull 50A, but I don't necessarily need that power and would like to avoid wear and tear—heat is an issue here as well but not to the point it would increase A/C bills given the garage location.

I can't reduce the amperage in the Chargepoint app, so is the only way to do it to remove it from my account and re-pair/reprovision it?

I just found a Reddit thread that said people were able to get it to work that way. Remove it from your account, unplug the unit for a while, then add it again like it's new.



Apparently they took away the ability to change the amperage on the fly because some users were setting it higher than the car or circuit could handle (i.e. didn't know what they were doing). But the installer needs to be able to set it, under the assumption that the installer knows what they're doing. Sounds like they had a special installer app for a while but then users started getting their hands on that too, so now it appears only a full removal/reinstall is what it takes, hoping that's enough of a PITA that users won't bother. The guy above set up a new account too but others said that's not necessary.

At least that's what I gleamed from the thread.

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