A few charging questions

[MachEnthusiast]

Hey there. I've owned my GT since October but I'm just getting around to looking more deeply into charging and really have only just started to use public charging. I have a few questions below.

1) I have a NEMA 14-50 240V plug on a GFI-protected 50 AMP circuit in my garage dedicated to my Mach-E. Would there be any benefit, at all, to spending money on a charging station (the ford one or Chargepoint, or whatever). It seems like these products are mostly aimed at vehicles that don't come with level 2 chargers, and the Ford mobile charger with the above setup I listed should be equivilent.

2) Is there any way I can easily test how many amps and any other relevant stats for what the car is drawing? Besides looking in the app at the expected time of charge completion. Or will this require special equipment to test?

3) I wasn't aware of the Plug-And-Charge setting until this week. Will this setting make it so I don't have to download the proprietary app for every charging network and set it up when I first park? For example, last week I went to a "Volta" charger for the first time and spent a good 10 minutes screwing with their app before I could walk away.

4) Is the above procedure also a replacement for having to find a charger in the Fordpass app and activating that way?

5) Has anyone set up a charger on the exterior of their home (versus how I have it in my garage near the plug and panel)? Pros/Cons? How easy was it?

6) Do people find they have to back in to most public charging stations as they were positioned for vehicles (like Tesla) with the charger in the back and will not reach to our charging port in front of the driver's door?

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[Blue highway]

1 it’s convenient to have a level 2 charger in the garage and leave the Ford one in the trunk as needed…. Not necessary but convenient.

2 your circuit is good for 40a continuous. Most level 2s let you set max current.

3 plug and charge is cool…. It only works on a few charger networks most notably EA.

5 yes people put them outside…. Works fine but in the garage is out of the elements and more secure

6 I mostly use EA chargers and pull in… not back in. I do wish charging cables were longer but I can usually make it work with no drama.

 

[PilotMark]

I don't have my MME yet so can't talk to public charging but I've have the garage ready.
Ford suggests 12 feet from wall plug to the port on the car.
I installed a 14-50 50 amp that supports 40 amp draw. The charger that comes with the car draws 32 amps.
I'm going to start with the one that comes with the car.
My electric company offers a rebate if I have a smart charger (Chargepoint Flex), so I expect I'll get one and keep the one with car.

 

[Ming]

The mobile charger is limited to 32A. With a wall charger, you can get up to 40A off the NEMA 14-50. This may not really matter for most people though. Most wall chargers let you set a different max current. Some smart ones let you better control and track the charging. In short, there are some benefits but certainly is not a must.

 

[Ming]

Believe electrify america is the only network left on plug and charge. They build mostly DCFC along freeway, probably is the most useful network for trips rather than Tesla supercharger. I typically head in to charging stall, but for some of them I've used back in should also work.

 

[c max]

For example, last week I went to a "Volta" charger for the first time and spent a good 10 minutes screwing with their app before I could walk away.

the volta chargers I have used are free, just plug in and go about my business......I've used them at the small mall and our local county zoo

 

[RickMachE]

The Blue Oval Charge Network has over 75,000 chargers, 20,000 locations. Greenlots, EA, EV Connect, EV Go, Flo, Chargepoint, and SemaCharge. Just select charger in the FordPass app. https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/f150-lightning/features/ev-charging/blueoval-charge-network/

Plug and Charge is EA. Don't know what else works with it at this point.

 

[mkhuffman]

You may have already seens the posts about it on the forum, but the Ford mobile EVSE is known to overheat in warm ambient temperatures when charging at 32 Amps, slowing the charging rate down significantly. Maybe yours doesn't do that, but mine does. Even if yours doesn't overheat I would invest in another charger.

Many people on this forum recommend the Grizzl-e 40 Amp charger. Get the one with the 14-50 plug and you can start using it immediately. Then you have a backup charger in case one of the fails.

I put my Grizzl-e in my frunk and use it when traveling because the Ford mobile EVSE is too slow when it overheats. I use the Ford EVSE for 120V charging only now since it does not overheat at that charging speed.

 

[mccdeuce]

1) a 14-50 stand alone charger would be able to give you more amperage than the mobile one, not sure if that would make a difference to you. Some electric companies will give you a time of use lower rate if you have a connected charger that they can monitor the use of.

2) With a connected charger you would be able to monitor the stats, otherwise you would need some amperage meter on the outlet or breaker.

3) Plug and Charge is great for anything in the blue oval network. Some of the older networks just dont work with MME at all. regardless of app or anything else.

5) Yes. A good outdoor capable EVSE such as the Grizzl-E would do just fine outdoors. I have a Grizzl-E DUO inside my garage, but have one cable inside and the other routed outside through a water tight bushing. I prefer this set up as that keeps the expensive and more vulnerable parts out of the elements.

6) Sometimes. I like backing in so find myself doing that just because I like it.

 

[Garbone]

Yup,

Our Grizz has a 24 ft cable and lives outside. The wife can pull in forward or reverse and plug in either way. Had the driveway blocked for a week with a dumpster when they put a new roof on, still could get the grizz to reach. If it was in the garage that would not have been possible. Depends on your georgraphy I guess.

 

[generaltso]

3) Plug and Charge is great for anything in the blue oval network.

Not really. Plug and Charge currently only works with EA stations.

 

[Miav8r]

I don’t know other EVSE’s, but Grizzl-e has a built in GFI and they specify a NON-GFI breaker.

 

[MachEnthusiast]

the volta chargers I have used are free, just plug in and go about my business......I've used them at the small mall and our local county zoo

This one was free too, but it has a sticker on the side that says you still have to go into their app to activate it, even once you plug in. I'd be surprised if yours was charging without activating. Considering they subsidize the charge with ads or something.

 

[mccdeuce]

Not really. Plug and Charge currently only works with EA stations.

I though I had gotten it to work with what appeared to be a non-EA station - but maybe it was just free, or it was owned by EA and just didn’t look their normal ones.

 

[c max]

This one was free too, but it has a sticker on the side that says you still have to go into their app to activate it, even once you plug in. I'd be surprised if yours was charging without activating. Considering they subsidize the charge with ads or something.

as of the last time I used the volta, no activation, no anything......plug in and it charges.....miles added to my estimated GOM......I haven't charged in a month even though I am at the store all the time...I'll check tomorrow to see if they have changed their procedure.......maybe it's a state thing.....I'm in NJ

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