Ford Mobile Charger - Everyday Use - Why Not?

[nvabill]

Prior to taking delivery of my car I bought a brand new Ford Mobile Charger dirt cheap to put in my garage on a somewhat permanent basis by just leaving it plugged in and keeping the one that came with the car in the car.

My question is am I missing something by not having a permanent mounted charger to use with the car? I admit to only having the car for a week but this charger is functioning flawlessly, if it stops I can just throw it away and then make a decision from there.

But for now I consistently get 22-23 miles of range for every hour plugged in, I can set charge times in the app, I can set total charge in the app, the thing just works great. So, why do so many go out and buy an expensive charger for home use, is there something I don't get by using this charger daily? That is other than a mile or two more range for every hour plugged into the car.

*Update, I think I will take the one in the car and put it in the garage for daily use as it has a 3 year warranty, there is that.*

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[DevSecOps]

I think the main reason for a lot of people is to have something to use on the road if you get into a situation where you need it (i.e. Campground). Unplugging and plugging into the NEMA 14-50 constantly is not advised and it wouldn't be feasible to always move it to and from the car. I've used my 120 adapter at my dad's house and remote AirBNBs.

The Ford charger doesn't charge as fast as aftermarket ones either. For some reason a lot of people have the Ford one break on them. Lastly, no charging metrics are provided.

 

[nvabill]

I think the main reason for a lot of people is to have something to use on the road if you get into a situation where you need it (i.e. Campground). Unplugging and plugging into the NEMA 14-50 constantly is not advised and it wouldn't be feasible to always move it to and from the car. I've used my 120 adapter at my dad's house and remote AirBNBs.

The Ford charger doesn't charge as fast as aftermarket ones either. For some reason a lot of people have the Ford one break on them. Lastly, no charging metrics are provided.

Yeah, I figured the plug and unplug thing so that's why I picked up a second one and leave one in the car. I realize these things aren't but so good but I got it cheap and it is doing everything I think I need. That's why I was trying to figure what I was missing.

 

[DevSecOps]

Yeah, I figured the plug and unplug thing so that's why I picked up a second one and leave one in the car. I realize these things aren't but so good but I got it cheap and it is doing everything I think I need. Tha's why I was trying to figure what I was missing.

A lot of people use them. I think the key is that you have a backup should one go out. You're fine in my opinion.

That's why a lot of people keep a spare propane tank, so when the BBQ shuts off the food isn't ruined.

 

[ChuckA]

My question is am I missing something by not having a permanent mounted charger to use with the car? I admit to only having the car for a week but this charger is functioning flawlessly, if it stops I can just throw it away and then make a decision from there.

But for now I consistently get 22-23 miles of range for every hour plugged in, I can set charge times in the app, I can set total charge in the app, the thing just works great. So, why do so many go out and buy an expensive charger for home use, is there something I don't get by using this charger daily? That is other than a mile or two more range for every hour plugged into the car.

*Update, I think I will take the one in the car and put it in the garage for daily use as it has a 3 year warranty, there is that.*

22-23 miles per hour from the Ford mobile charger is real good. I used my mobile charger like this for my 1st 9 months ownership and got 17-19 miles per charging hour. I installed a JuiceBox 32 so I could calm my range anxiety wife and carry the mobile charger in the MME. I didn’t need max charging speed so that’s why I installed a 32A, not a 40A or 48A.

 

[nvabill]

A lot of people use them. I think the key is that you have a backup should one go out. You're fine in my opinion.

That's why a lot of people keep a spare propane tank, so when the BBQ shuts off the food isn't ruined.

Yeah I think just having a spare is the key, if you only have one and it goes out you have to do DC fast chargers until you get a replacement.

 

[nvabill]

22-23 miles per hour from the Ford mobile charger is real good. I used my mobile charger like this for my 1st 9 months ownership and got 17-19 miles per charging hour. I installed a JuiceBox 32 so I could calm my range anxiety wife and carry the mobile charger in the MME. I didn’t need max charging speed so that’s why I installed a 32A, not a 40A or 48A.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised with how good it is doing, I mean seriously a 10 hour plug in gives me over 200 miles range.

 

[Mach-Lee]

It's working now, but in 3-6 months when it degrades you'll probably get fed up with it dropping charge speed and replace it with something made better.

 

[nvabill]

It's working now, but in 3-6 months when it degrades you'll probably get fed up with it dropping charge speed and replace it with something made better.

Yeah, that will probably be the case and I will go for something else. I am pleasantly surprised by how good the Ford Pass app is for what I need as I hear so many buying wifi and such with their chargers.

 

[RickMachE]

Kind of surprised to see this asked by a longtime forum member as it's been discussed many times.

In addition to charging speed and having a charger in the car at all times, there are other reasons:

- many utilities provide a large rebate, or sell discounted chargers. Mine gave me $500.

-ended last year, but a 30% tax credit for charger and install. That brought my net cost down well below $100, and I can charge up to 48amps.

-car will pull juice outside of charging hours if it thinks it needs to warm the battery, or precondition the car. At peak electric rate, I I want to make that decision. With my smart charger, I can control the schedule.

- smart vs dumb charger. A bunch of available data via reports.

- the Ford Mobile Charger seems to have a high failure rate due to heat.

- My utility gives me another $100 a year to override my charging hours to charge in surplus times and not charge in shortage times. Stupidly, they try to charge during surplus peak hours sometimes. No thanks. My smart charger prevents that even though the utility changes the car schedule working with Ford.

- I have a 25' cord.

- I can run two identical, JuiceBox chargers off one 60amp circuit and charge two vehicles at the same time.

-I am getting a whole house generator installed in a week. If I need to charge, I can lower the amperage and keep the generator from having to run at full load.

- FordPass is anything but reliable.

Might have missed some.

 

[nvabill]

Kind of surprised to see this asked by a longtime forum member as it's been discussed many times.

In addition to charging speed and having a charger in the car at all times, there are other reasons:

- many utilities provide a large rebate, or sell discounted chargers. Mine gave me $500.

-ended last year, but a 30% tax credit for charger and install. That brought my net cost down well below $100, and I can charge up to 48amps.

-car will pull juice outside of charging hours if it thinks it needs to warm the battery, or precondition the car. At peak electric rate, I I want to make that decision. With my smart charger, I can control the schedule.

- smart vs dumb charger. A bunch of available data via reports.

- the Ford Mobile Charger seems to have a high failure rate due to heat.

- My utility gives me another $100 a year to override my charging hours to charge in surplus times and not charge in shortage times. Stupidly, they try to charge during surplus peak hours sometimes. No thanks. My smart charger prevents that even though the utility changes the car schedule working with Ford.

- I have a 25' cord.

- I can run two identical, JuiceBox chargers off one 60amp circuit and charge two vehicles at the same time.

Might have missed some.

Thanks Rick good info.

 

[RickMachE]

Added 2 more.

 

[CarDreams]

Im down the home charging rabbit hole now.

Im down to the Grizzl-E (smart), Jucebox 40, and Emporia EV 48.

I have a Nema 14-50 installed and I have been using the Ford mobile charger since I got the car (May 2022), but all of the reports of it failing in a year makes me want to be proactive and buy a longer-term solution.

 

[nashbrydges]

I chose to install a L2 charger at home because I wanted to be able to keep the Ford one in the car for emergencies or trips...etc and not have to constantly have to plug/unplug.

 

[Tampamike]

I chose to install a L2 charger at home because I wanted to be able to keep the Ford one in the car for emergencies or trips...etc and not have to constantly have to plug/unplug.

There’s really no charging emergencies that the mobile charger will solve. If you run out of juice driving around your home then you’ve really done something wrong. You can take it on the road, just in case, if you want. How many times is that gonna happen - a few times a year? The plugging and unplugging at that rate isn’t gonna hurt the plug. Now if you’re on the road every week for work, that’s a different story.

I’ve taken mine on long road trips and used it exactly once unexpectedly (it wasn’t an emergency) and twice where I knew I was going to use it (Also not emergencies). It’s currently cozily plugged into the wall outlet in my garage.

If my utility company had a decent incentive (currently none) then I would probably buy a third party unit. At $600 for those, I’m gonna work my Ford mobile unit until it fails.

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