Hang Ford Mobile Charger from the 120V cord, or lay on the ground?

[the golden eel]

There are a handful of 120V outlets available at my work for EVs. The outlets are on posts roughly 3 feet off the ground.

The outlets are unused every day. I was thinking I should plug in at work to try and keep the battery warm as I live in a cold climate. Especially after reading the excellent cold weather strategies from @Mach-Lee

Is it bad to have the Ford Mobile Charger hang from its 120V plug? I assume it is not recommended.

But then should I use an extension cord so the Charger is laying on the ground? That doesn't seem right either, to just leave it laying in the snow and ice for 8 hours.

What do you all do in this situation? Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks, and Happy New Year to all.

Sponsored

 

[ddeluce]

The portable charger is not designed to hang from the plug so better to have it sit on the ground or somehow attach the unit to the post.

 

[RickMachE]

Bring a 5 gallon bucket to work, put the charger on the overturned bucket. Then put it in the bucket and in the car to go home.

 

[bshaw]

Something to keep in mind, the Ford Mobile Charger is not the most durable piece of equipment. There have been many reports of people who used theirs daily starting to have trouble with the unit overheating. Although if you're only doing an L1 connection daily when its cold outside, maybe that will be ok for the long term?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Remember on 120V the battery won’t heat until charging has finished, so set the charge level low (e.g. 50%) if your primary objective is heating.

I think hanging by the cord is okay as long as you check the adapter insertion daily to verify it hasn’t pulled out. I would just look quick rather than mess with an extension cord. Up to you.

 

[the golden eel]

Remember on 120V the battery won’t heat until charging has finished, so set the charge level low (e.g. 50%) if your primary objective is heating.

I think hanging by the cord is okay as long as you check the adapter insertion daily to verify it hasn’t pulled out. I would just look quick rather than mess with an extension cord. Up to you.

Thanks. I forgot you mentioned it charges before it can heat at 120V. My starting charge level of 90% is down to 85% when I get to work, so yeah, I could set it to 85% or so here at work.

I know it's not the heaviest box, and that 120 cord does seat in the charger very nicely. But I agree, the idea of an extension cord and laying the charger on the ground is less appealing than hanging from the cord.

 

[Mrn]

If the post at work is small enough in circumference, I would consider putting an elastic strap around the charger and the post with a quick disconnect on the loop.

 

[Neil4Real]

I had mine hung by the 240v plug for about 6 months before I mounted it properly. Never had an issue. While they’re not heavy duty, the plug connection is pretty strong, so I think you’d be fine. I definitely don’t think it’ll disconnect while charging and fall to the ground.

Sponsored