Getting garage charger ready to receive my Mach E

[AlbanyIan]

Just so you don't feel bad, my house is older (build around 1900) and doesn't have a garage, so my EVSE is going to have to be exterior mounted. I am having an electrician run a 100A circuit to future proof for the Lightning I have reserved and it's associated 80A EVSE. Hiring an electrician because I don't trust myself with surface mounting conduit that looks nice and also to confirm that I don't need a larger main electrical service (currently 150A).

I wonder how long its going to be before someone burns their house down charging his/her Mach-E?

I assume you're thinking of putting a 100A breaker in your 150A service panel? I'd be surprised if the panel's manufacturer makes a breaker for that panel with the specs you're looking for.

I had a 200A service installed about 10 years ago to replace a 150A inferior panel installed back in the 80's in an 1850 house with a detached garage. I'm having an electrician help wire up the service in the garage after my 15 year old son digs the trench, and we lay the conduit to the garage. We'll then be able to install the level II charger safely...

I also converted the electric range to propane this summer but our big draw is the well pump and the dryer. Serendipity that the range died and my wife wanted gas!

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[sotek2345]

I wonder how long its going to be before someone burns their house down charging his/her Mach-E?

I assume you're thinking of putting a 100A breaker in your 150A service panel? I'd be surprised if the panel's manufacturer makes a breaker for that panel with the specs you're looking for.

I had a 200A service installed about 10 years ago to replace a 150A inferior panel installed back in the 80's in an 1850 house with a detached garage. I'm having an electrician help wire up the service in the garage after my 15 year old son digs the trench, and we lay the conduit to the garage. We'll then be able to install the level II charger safely...

I also converted the electric range to propane this summer but our big draw is the well pump and the dryer. Serendipity that the range died and my wife wanted gas!

You are absolutely right - safety is key. That is why I am hiring and electrician for this.

 

[MMXX500]

Yep, what @generaltso said. I would personally recommend just keeping the included charger in the car to travel with you, and get a new EVSE for your garage. You could get one that uses your existing 30 amp plug, or rewire a new plug and circuit that can handle a 50 amp capable model.

I have an older NEMA 5-20 plug (20 amp circuit) installed in 2011 when I got my Volt (which only had a 15 amp EVSE). It’s worked fine with two Volts and an i3, and it works just fine with the Mach-E, too, but it only adds 10 miles of range per hour. With the much longer range, I find my self thinking in the long term I will want to replace it with a more powerful circuit/EVSE, but I’m making it work for now.

I have access to a NEMA 5-20 outlet that is currently being used to charge golf carts, If I plug the provided Ford mobile charger into this outlet would it get me around 10 miles of range per hour of charge time? I was planning on using it when needed but thought since its 120v I would only get around 3 miles of range per hour of charge time.

10 miles would be great if that's the case, do you need to change any settings in the car or just plug in?

 

[SpacePony]

I have access to a NEMA 5-20 outlet that is currently being used to charge golf carts, If I plug the provided Ford mobile charger into this outlet would it get me around 10 miles of range per hour of charge time? I was planning on using it when needed but thought since its 120v I would only get around 3 miles of range per hour of charge time.

10 miles would be great if that's the case, do you need to change any settings in the car or just plug in?

The easy answer is that you cannot plug the Ford mobile charger into a NEMA 5-20. The plug is physically incompatible, and the charger won’t know what to do with 20 amp service even if you adapted it (it only knows 110V or 50amp 220 from a 60 amp circuit). But you can get a portable charger that has a NEMA 5-20 plug and knows how to handle 20-amp service. The one I’m using was originally for my 2012 Volt and worked just fine with an i3 and now the Mach-E.

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