Preparing for Mach-E charging at home - preparation and installing charger

[WiilysStang]

Methorian, thank you for the fast response.

I can understand putting in the dedicated charging station and keeping the EVSE in the car. I live in the US and you do, all the public charges that I use have the EVSE attached and I plug that into my car. I have never had to use the EVSE outside of my home. When I was in Portugal, I noticed that car owners needed to supply their own EVSE, it was not attached the charging station. Certainly if I was traveling to someone’s home and staying a while bringing the EVSE would be beneficial, but I use public chargers when traveling, but only on a limited basis.

You mention about a tax credit for installing the 240/14-50 outlet, is this new? I installed mine in 2018 and never heard of this.

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[machefan]

Currently an owner of a 2018 Nissan Leaf SL. Rather than buy a wall charging unit, I opted to put in a 14-50 NEMA wall plug, 50-amp breaker, #6 wire. The manufacturer called for a 40 amp breaker, but I put in the 50 thinking about cars in the future. So my Leaf comes off lease in the next few months and seriously considering the Mustang. I guess my question is why do people want these wall chargers when it is just cheaper and efficient to just put in the 14-50 wall plug because the EVSE supplied will fit right into this plug? Not only are you paying to have the wiring and breakers done, but now putting a wall charger in.

We are buddies, I have the same, but just passed it down to my 17YR son. I installed the 14-50 plug because the leaf came with a 32 AMP charger / 14-50 plug. If I had to do it again I would go with THHN and conduit, just to future proof it for higher amps. We are capped at 40 amps when not using the hardwired versions. Basically anything above 40 AMPS goes hardwired etc.

 

[WiilysStang]

We are buddies, I have the same, but just passed it down to my 17YR son. I installed the 14-50 plug because the leaf came with a 32 AMP charger / 14-50 plug. If I had to do it again I would go with THHN and conduit, just to future proof it for higher amps. We are capped at 40 amps when not using the hardwired versions. Basically anything above 40 AMPS goes hardwired etc.

Yep, we are capped at 40 amp. I put in the 50 amp breaker for the future and of course the #6 gauge wire.

 

[machefan]

You mention about a tax credit for installing the 240/14-50 outlet, is this new? I installed mine in 2018 and never heard of this.

Tax credits started in 2019 and was renewed for 2021, when you purchase a new one for the MME you will get a 30% tax break. I am guessing you will need to return the Nissan one with the Leaf, so that should put you in the market.

 

[methorian]

Methorian, thank you for the fast response.

I can understand putting in the dedicated charging station and keeping the EVSE in the car. I live in the US and you do, all the public charges that I use have the EVSE attached and I plug that into my car. I have never had to use the EVSE outside of my home. When I was in Portugal, I noticed that car owners needed to supply their own EVSE, it was not attached the charging station. Certainly if I was traveling to someone’s home and staying a while bringing the EVSE would be beneficial, but I use public chargers when traveling, but only on a limited basis.

You mention about a tax credit for installing the 240/14-50 outlet, is this new? I installed mine in 2018 and never heard of this.

Having the mobile EVSE in the car as backup isn't for public charging station use, it's generally for an emergency where there are no public charging stations around (IE - your Mach-E's battery is almost depleted, no public charging nearby, but there's a hotel/gas station/etc, so you stop and plug it into a 120V just to get a tiny bit of juice while calling a friend/family member/roadside company).

I doubt many folks will actually put themselves in this situation, but all it takes it one time for it to be "worth it" in my opinion.

As for the tax credit, you can find that here:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8911.pdf

 

[DaveRuns]

I have E Pony on my 2016 Escape right now. Already had some questions about that . . .

I would head to the DMV now if I could to register a plate for my existing car. However, the issue is due to COVID, you can't just walk into a DMV without an appointment. The soonest appointment I can get isn't until March. By then, I should have the car and it'll be a moot point. Oh well.

 

[methorian]

I would head to the DMV now if I could to register a plate for my existing car. However, the issue is due to COVID, you can't just walk into a DMV without an appointment. The soonest appointment I can get isn't until March. By then, I should have the car and it'll be a moot point. Oh well.

You can order new Virginia plates online, that's what I've always done.

www.dmv.virginia.gov

You can also just "reserve" a plate number for like 90 days I believe. Since you're pretty close to delivery you should be able to just do that.

 

[WiilysStang]

Good point about having the EVSE for emergency use. Personally, never use the car for a trip knowing I have to recharge to get home. The car is used 90% for my business meetings. I know the distances I have to travel, usually go on a full charge and no problem returning home. With a 150 mile range (at best), I am limited for long trips. Hence, this car with a longer range battery.

I had one other question, and I apologize in advance if this is answered elsewhere on this forum: Is the only way to buy this car is online? Can I go to a dealer and buy? If I buy online, you cannot haggle on the price/lease etc which we normally do. Can someone either answer this or point me in the right direction?
thanks.

 

[Maquis]

Wish I could do this in Illinois but one is required to get an Electric Car plate (pay more to renew because we don't pay motor fuel taxes) and they're random number only.

Our state is so backward....an extra $100 for EV plates (which I don't really have a problem with) but won't allow a vanity plate which would result in even more revenue!

 

[methorian]

Good point about having the EVSE for emergency use. Personally, never use the car for a trip knowing I have to recharge to get home. The car is used 90% for my business meetings. I know the distances I have to travel, usually go on a full charge and no problem returning home. With a 150 mile range (at best), I am limited for long trips. Hence, this car with a longer range battery.

I had one other question, and I apologize in advance if this is answered elsewhere on this forum: Is the only way to buy this car is online? Can I go to a dealer and buy? If I buy online, you cannot haggle on the price/lease etc which we normally do. Can someone either answer this or point me in the right direction?
thanks.

You can certainly visit your EV certified Ford Dealer to order/purchase. Know that the Mach-E isn't likely to see much/if any price lowering since it is invoiced to the dealer at MSRP, feel free to try your luck though!

 

[Maquis]

Currently an owner of a 2018 Nissan Leaf SL. Rather than buy a wall charging unit, I opted to put in a 14-50 NEMA wall plug, 50-amp breaker, #6 wire. The manufacturer called for a 40 amp breaker, but I put in the 50 thinking about cars in the future. So my Leaf comes off lease in the next few months and seriously considering the Mustang. I guess my question is why do people want these wall chargers when it is just cheaper and efficient to just put in the 14-50 wall plug because the EVSE supplied will fit right into this plug? Not only are you paying to have the wiring and breakers done, but now putting a wall charger in.

One thing to remember is that for continuous loads (which an EV charger is) the NEC limits circuit utilization to 80%. This means that the maximum charge rate from a 14-50 on a 50 A circuit is 40 amps. The direct-wired Ford-Connect Charge Station wired to a 60 A circuit can charge at 48 A. So you are getting increased charge capacity with the direct-wired wall charger.
#6 wire is likely compliant on a 60A breaker, but a 14-50 is not!

 

[DaveRuns]

Good point about having the EVSE for emergency use. Personally, never use the car for a trip knowing I have to recharge to get home. The car is used 90% for my business meetings. I know the distances I have to travel, usually go on a full charge and no problem returning home. With a 150 mile range (at best), I am limited for long trips. Hence, this car with a longer range battery.

I had one other question, and I apologize in advance if this is answered elsewhere on this forum: Is the only way to buy this car is online? Can I go to a dealer and buy? If I buy online, you cannot haggle on the price/lease etc which we normally do. Can someone either answer this or point me in the right direction?
thanks.

The general answer is: Yes, the main way to buy this car is online. With that said, there are going to be many cars that were reserved, ordered, and delivered to dealerships where the buyer passes on their choice. It's entirely possible you could work something out with that dealership to purchase the car. Keep in mind that you'll likely have to pay over the MSRP though, as dealers are going to look to cash in on the high-demand. An example of this was last week in Dallas. There was a car available for $5K over MSRP. You may want to reach out to dealers in your area and ask them to keep you in mind for vehicles that come available.

 

[DaveRuns]

You can order new Virginia plates online, that's what I've always done.

www.dmv.virginia.gov

You can also just "reserve" a plate number for like 90 days I believe. Since you're pretty close to delivery you should be able to just do that.

I moved to VA over the summer and my car was previously registered in Massachusetts. I think for 'new' car registrations, I actually have to show up at the DMV, right?

 

[methorian]

I moved to VA over the summer and my car was previously registered in Massachusetts. I think for 'new' car registrations, I actually have to show up at the DMV, right?

Are you trading in/selling a car when you purchase the Mach-E? If so, is it registered in Virginia (has VA plates)? If yes to both, you can go ahead and order new personalized plates for it via their website.

If you aren't trading in/selling a car when you get your Mach-E, but you do have vehicles registered in Virginia, you should be able to reserve a personalized plate on their website as well.

The dealer will handle the registration of the Mach-E, just let me know if you've reserved a personalized plate or if transferring one from a current vehicle.

 

[timbop]

I had one other question, and I apologize in advance if this is answered elsewhere on this forum: Is the only way to buy this car is online? Can I go to a dealer and buy? If I buy online, you cannot haggle on the price/lease etc which we normally do. Can someone either answer this or point me in the right direction?
thanks.

Yes, you can place the order through the dealer, but it is unlikely that dealers will haggle below MSRP. Even if you order online, you supply a dealership from whom you actually buy the car - and it is that dealership that sells you the car (not Ford). So, the buying transaction is no different than any other car.

As for buying an EVSE, there is a ton of discussion on it. The summary is:

• As stated, the wiring and circuit breaker must be rated for 125% of the amperage supplied by the EVSE. This is because a continuous load creates more heat
• Some like the idea of hardwired because you can go over 40A; the 14-50 connector is rated for 50A but per above, you can't actually draw more than 40A for a prolonged period
• Buying a "smart" EVSE over using the included dumb EVSE allows more detailed reporting of charging current and history. Most other smart functions the car does by itself
• Addiitonal benefits of buying an EVSE over the included one: weatherproofing, keeping the included one in the car for emergencies, and the aforementioned benefits of a "smart" EVSE

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