Ford Charger for Mach-E

hybrid2bev

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I'm having an electrician come out for an estimate on some work later this week - I need to have a new panel put in for unrelated work, but I'm going to have them also do a proper setup for the MME. My question is, for the absolute ideal case, since I have a chance to get it right the first time here, what should I specifically ask for? I think it's a NEMA 14-50 plug on a 60 amp circuit - is that right?
I would also check with your local utility so see if they offer discounted rates if you have a second meter.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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To get fastest charging speed for connected wall charger, it needs a hardwired connection to circuit rated to at least 60 amps.
So, just to make sure I'm 100% understanding, to get the fastest speed, the charger will be directly wired to the panel, and not connected through a plug, and there's no way to do a plug/unplug solution for the top level, meaning that basically it's a "permanent" charger installation at the home. Is that right?
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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I would also check with your local utility so see if they offer discounted rates if you have a second meter.
I haven't asked recently, but a few years ago I called my local electric utility (Ohio Edison), saying "hey I have a plug-in hybrid, what should I know about billing and the like?" and the woman was like, "why are you calling us about this? go away." They aren't exactly the most forward-thinking organization. They are very good at causing regional blackouts, though. ;)
 
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So, just to make sure I'm 100% understanding, to get the fastest speed, the charger will be directly wired to the panel, and not connected through a plug, and there's no way to do a plug/unplug solution for the top level, meaning that basically it's a "permanent" charger installation at the home. Is that right?
Yes. The "Connected Wall Charger" optional $799 MSRP accessory from Ford requires a hard wire installation. It will not include a plug.

The mobile charger (included with car) comes with two plugs. One of the two is NEMA 14-50, so to plug it in your electrician will need to install a NEMA 14-50R receptacle.
 


GoGoGadgetMachE

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Yes. The "Connected Wall Charger" optional $799 MSRP accessory from Ford requires a hard wire installation. It will not include a plug.

The mobile charger (included with car) comes with two plugs. One of the two is NEMA 14-50, so to plug it in your electrician will need to install a NEMA 14-50R receptacle.
ok. So I need to decide if I want to deal with a hard-wired charger - which seems to be reasonably priced (just looked and the Clipper Creek is $100 more) or just live with the slower charge. I'll end up with a new circuit anyway, it's just how big of a circuit I guess.

Thanks for your answers. :)
 

Stickboy46

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ok. So I need to decide if I want to deal with a hard-wired charger - which seems to be reasonably priced (just looked and the Clipper Creek is $100 more) or just live with the slower charge. I'll end up with a new circuit anyway, it's just how big of a circuit I guess.

Thanks for your answers. :)
For my Tesla, i went with the dedicated Charger.

1. It looks better
2. It allows me to leave the included mobile charger in the car in case I ever need it for some reason. One less thing to forget when going to travel.
3. If I ever move, It would be super simple to remove the wall charger to take with you and replace it with a standard plug. You can always adjust downwards in amperage, you can't adjust upwards without change wiring size.
 

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For my Tesla, i went with the dedicated Charger.

1. It looks better
2. It allows me to leave the included mobile charger in the car in case I ever need it for some reason. One less thing to forget when going to travel.
3. If I ever move, It would be super simple to remove the wall charger to take with you and replace it with a standard plug. You can always adjust downwards in amperage, you can't adjust upwards without change wiring size.
I follow and agree with the logic of the first two.
I'm not sure the third one's truly an advantage of a dedicated wall charger. I've moved after not having a dedicated one, and it's really easy: you unplug your portable one from the wall and drive off.
 

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I follow and agree with the logic of the first two.
I'm not sure the third one's truly an advantage of a dedicated wall charger. I've moved after not having a dedicated one, and it's really easy: you unplug your portable one from the wall and drive off.
I think my point isn't that it's an advantage .. it's just not that big of deal to swap it out. So it's not really a negative of the Wall Charger either.
 

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I installed a Blink charger a year ago. I choose it because they offered a $300 credit on their public blink chargers. It's a hard-wired charger but I just "hard-wired" a NEMA 14-50 plug on the end so I could have options later. It charges both my cars no problem. It's a dumb charger with up to an eight-hour delay. The credit made it really cheap. I don't know if they still offer it.
 

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Just in case anyone isn't aware, any brand wall charger will work just fine with the MME. Unless you really want it to have a Ford logo on it, there are a lot of options. I just installed the ChargePoint Home Flex over the weekend. MSRP on that is $100 less than the Ford version and you can get it right now to guarantee you'll have it before the tax credit expires. And if you have ChargePoint commercial stations around you, it's nice to see all of your charging history in one app. Most of my charging actually happens at a free ChargePoint commercial station at work, so all the more reason to go with ChargePoint at home (for me).
 

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ok. So I need to decide if I want to deal with a hard-wired charger - which seems to be reasonably priced (just looked and the Clipper Creek is $100 more) or just live with the slower charge. I'll end up with a new circuit anyway, it's just how big of a circuit I guess.

Thanks for your answers. :)
Just to add a little clarification, if you want to use the full power of the hard-wired Ford Wall Charger you will also need it to be on 60 amp dedicated circuit.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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dbsb3233

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ok. So I need to decide if I want to deal with a hard-wired charger - which seems to be reasonably priced (just looked and the Clipper Creek is $100 more) or just live with the slower charge. I'll end up with a new circuit anyway, it's just how big of a circuit I guess.

Thanks for your answers. :)
Depending on where your main panel is located, most of the work (and $$) by an electrician is in getting the circuit run from the outside panel into the garage where you need it. It would be fairly minor in the future to turn a hard-wire into an outlet, or vise versa. But once the wiring is in, the amperage of the circuit can't be increased. The gauge of the wire limits how much current it can carry (40A, 50A, 60A, etc).

Frankly, from a capacity standpoint, few people should need more than the included 32A (40A circuit) Ford Mobile Charger that adds 21 miles/hour. Rarely do people run their vehicles down to 10%, but even when they do, going from 10-80% (on the 300 mile version) only takes 10 hours overnight. Only people that have an unusual situation should need faster home charging than that. However some people will just want to leave the Ford Mobile Charger in the frunk so they don't forget it, and will buy another wall-mount charger for convenience. Then you just need to size the circuit to that charger.

And if you don't typically drive more than ~40 miles/day, it may just be worth waiting until you get the car before doing any electrical work. A standard 120V outlet will add 3 miles/hour. If you have a typical work schedule where you're out for maybe 10 hours and home for 14, that's 42 miles of recharge each night just from 120V. Enough to likely get by for a few months before deciding whether it install a 240V circuit, whether to use the included charger or buy a seperate one, etc. Can always use a public charger in a pinch if necessary.
 

GoGoGadgetMachE

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And if you don't typically drive more than ~40 miles/day, it may just be worth waiting until you get the car before doing any electrical work. A standard 120V outlet will add 3 miles/hour. If you have a typical work schedule where you're out for maybe 10 hours and home for 14, that's 42 miles of recharge each night just from 120V. Enough to likely get by for a few months before deciding whether it install a 240V circuit, whether to use the included charger or buy a seperate one, etc. Can always use a public charger in a pinch if necessary.
Completely understood. If I wasn't having unrelated work being done that's going to add a circuit (and force a panel replacement), I wouldn't be thinking as hard about it - I could use my existing Level 2 charger I use with my Fusion Energi and live with a slower speed. But like I said I'm thinking if I have to have a bunch of expensive work done anyway, might as well have this incremental change done.
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