Ford 48amp Charger vs other makes?

[Garbone]

I am currently looking at charging solutions.

https://www.ford.com/powertrains/battery-electric-vehicles/#home-charging

My question is aside from cost will their be an vehicle integration advantage to having a Ford high amp Charger vs something like a 50amp juice box.

For me the actual install will be pretty easy so that is not the issue, my concern if by saving a few hundred bucks on a charger will I loose functionality.

Who plans on getting the Ford offering? I know the other choices are good setups.

Luckily for me I should have a few months to noodle this one out as I have not received a build date yet.

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[generaltso]

The only real advantage is that you'll be able to manage the Ford branded charger through the Ford Pass app. But any smart charger will have its own app for management, so that's not worth the extra money in my opinion. I personally prefer the ChargePoint Home Flex.

 

[methorian]

There's a few threads on this already, check out the stickies here: https://www.macheforum.com/site/forums/battery-charging.8/

To answer your question - No, you wouldn't loose out on almost anything with another EVSE. The only real advantage of the Ford Connected Charge Station is that it is capable of 48A charging. The "smarts" can be found on many other EVSEs, and the only smart advantage of it would be integration into the FordPass app. Many of us choose "dumb" EVSEs since there's less components to fail and we don't lose much since the Mach-E itself is already internet connected, so we can always start/stop charging/etc from the FordPass app.

 

[generaltso]

Many of us choose "dumb" EVSEs since there's less components to fail and we don't lose much since the Mach-E itself is already internet connected, so we can always start/stop charging/etc from the FordPass app.

One thing to keep in mind is that the MME doesn't currently display the charging speed. So if you're using a dumb charger, you won't be able to tell how much power is being drawn at any given time. That may or may not be important to some people.

 

[DaveRuns]

I am currently looking at charging solutions.

https://www.ford.com/powertrains/battery-electric-vehicles/#home-charging

My question is aside from cost will their be an vehicle integration advantage to having a Ford high amp Charger vs something like a 50amp juice box.

For me the actual install will be pretty easy so that is not the issue, my concern if by saving a few hundred bucks on a charger will I loose functionality.

Who plans on getting the Ford offering? I know the other choices are good setups.

Luckily for me I should have a few months to noodle this one out as I have not received a build date yet.

I installed a JuiceBox 40 EVSE (installed a 240v 50amp outlet). Like the FordPass App, the JuiceBox has its own App that does essentially the same thing. I guess one advantage the Ford Charger has over most is that it's 48amps, so potentially it will charge faster than my 40amp JuiceBox. I guess it depends on what you install.

 

[JamieGeek]

One thing to keep in mind is that the MME doesn't currently display the charging speed. So if you're using a dumb charger, you won't be able to tell how much power is being drawn at any given time. That may or may not be important to some people.

Level-2 doesn't really have a charge curve until the very very end since its so slow compared to DCFC.

You get the minimum of either the car or the EVSE and its pretty constant.

My Bolt doesn't show the current charge rate, for either Level-2 or DCFC (see pic below of the dash during a DCFC charge).

Sure, I have a JuiceBox that shows the rate on a display (it will also go to 80amps if I tell it but I can't due to the circuit its connected to). I looked at it once and haven't since (because it just ramps up to what was set and stays there). I rarely use that EVSE anyway (it only has a 3ft cord and thanks to the Bolt FIRE recall I've been keeping it outside so have to use the EVSE with the 20ft cord instead which has a green LED on it).

Bolt dash during DCFC:

(Yeah I don't have a pic of the center display--I think it was off--so I don't know if it shows the charge rate there either.)

At any rate, the EVSE that comes with the car is perfectly capable of charging it (even with 240V) so you can take as much time as you'd like to determine if you want to get the Ford EVSE or not.

 

[dbsb3233]

One thing to keep in mind is that the MME doesn't currently display the charging speed. So if you're using a dumb charger, you won't be able to tell how much power is being drawn at any given time. That may or may not be important to some people.

Although for L2 charging (which is only 11 kW or less), that shouldn't really matter. Unlikely the car would ever slow an L2 charger down.

 

[DaveRuns]

Level-2 doesn't really have a charge curve until the very very end since its so slow compared to DCFC.

You get the minimum of either the car or the EVSE and its pretty constant.

My Bolt doesn't show the current charge rate, for either Level-2 or DCFC (see pic below of the dash during a DCFC charge).

Sure, I have a JuiceBox that shows the rate on a display (it will also go to 80amps if I tell it but I can't due to the circuit its connected to). I looked at it once and haven't since (because it just ramps up to what was set and stays there). I rarely use that EVSE anyway (it only has a 3ft cord and thanks to the Bolt FIRE recall I've been keeping it outside so have to use the EVSE with the 20ft cord instead which has a green LED on it).

Bolt dash during DCFC:

(Yeah I don't have a pic of the center display--I think it was off--so I don't know if it shows the charge rate there either.)

At any rate, the EVSE that comes with the car is perfectly capable of charging it (even with 240V) so you can take as much time as you'd like to determine if you want to get the Ford EVSE or not.

I like how the it tells you how long before 80% completion. I hope the Mach E does that as well (on some kind of app or the screen would be nice).

 

[dbsb3233]

At any rate, the EVSE that comes with the car is perfectly capable of charging it (even with 240V) so you can take as much time as you'd like to determine if you want to get the Ford EVSE or not.

Yep, unless he wants to order in the next 3 days to get the 30% federal tax credit for 2020. But if he misses that, might as well just wait until the car arrives, use the mobile charger to see how he likes that, then decide if he wants to buy another one.

 

[generaltso]

Level-2 doesn't really have a charge curve until the very very end since its so slow compared to DCFC.

Although for L2 charging (which is only 11 kW or less), that shouldn't really matter. Unlikely the car would ever slow an L2 charger down.

I think the charging curve (even on Level 2) really depends on the car. My Outlander tapers down quite low for the last 30 minutes or so of charging. It also drops charging rates to almost nothing at random points during the charging session to do a rebalancing of the battery cells. The car doesn't show charging speed, so the only reason I know this is because I have access to graphs of the charging rate through the ChargePoint app. Is this important info? No, not really. But I still like to see it. I know not everyone will care, but it's worth pointing out.

 

[generaltso]

Yep, unless he wants to order in the next 3 days to get the 30% federal tax credit for 2020. But if he misses that, might as well just wait until the car arrives, use the mobile charger to see how he likes that, then decide if he wants to buy another one.

That was renewed for 2021.

 

[dbsb3233]

I like how the it tells you how long before 80% completion. I hope the Mach E does that as well (on some kind of app or the screen would be nice).

From the screens we've seen, it appears that may be about the ONLY thing the charger screen show us on the Mach-E screen. It appears to show a start time and a projected end time (presumably to 80%).

I wonder how accurate it is though. And whether it will keep changing. Like it it says 11:15 when you start, but then creeps to 11:21, then 11:26, then 11:32...

 

[dbsb3233]

That was renewed for 2021.

Really?? I hadn't heard that news. What, just in the last couple days?

 

[generaltso]

Really?? I hadn't heard that news. What, just in the last couple days?

Yeah, it was part of the new spending/stimulus package.

 

[ChasingCoral]

One thing to keep in mind is that the MME doesn't currently display the charging speed. So if you're using a dumb charger, you won't be able to tell how much power is being drawn at any given time. That may or may not be important to some people.

True but don’t EVSEs generally provide a pretty flat charging curve?

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