Just Joined The Gang - Looking for Advice

[rsummerset]

FYI: my Emporia just turn 4 years old. I got it for several reasons, but mostly because it can be tired to their energy monitoring system and it can automatically throttle back charging to excess solar only and you can watch your power and where it goes. Nerd factor played into this one. the cable on the emporia is a beast…and super high quality

I have it with a 14-50 plug, because it allows me a high powered outlet for a small welder, that i hardly ever use and it gives me the option to plug an RV in (which I don’t even have). Basically, it gave me options.

40 amps of charging is more than enough. If I really need some juice bad, I run down to the local supercharger.

but with the plug, I do check the terminal torques yearly to ensure they have not loosened up. They have not.

go to State of Charge on YouTube for tutorials, for all of the dirty details.

I am hearing good things about Emporia! It sounds like you have it hooked into your solar, correct?

And you do make a good case for having a charger powered through an outlet and performing yearly maintenance... I doubt if I would have any of those uses for a 240 volt outlet so hardwired is still beating out a 240 volt outlet for my use case by a little...

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[rsummerset]

One advantage of hardwired is one less fail point. In the other hand, a plug in does give you the option of less expensively switching chargers should you need to do so down the line.

with the original purchase of our Tesla M3 AWD, we bought a Tesla charger and paid an electrician to hardwire it. No problems at all through our selling the Tesla this April in exchange for a new 2024 Mach E GT.
While awaiting Ford Power Promise to deliver thru QMerit, we used the Tesla Charger with an adapter. We noticed the adapter hit warmer than we liked. When the Ford Pro Charger arrived, the electrician hardwired it, too. Only problem is that the charger software is not good. So based on advice received here, we bought an Emporia Pro and the electrician is scheduled to install next week after the holidays.

Had we opted for plug in, I obviously could have "installed" it myself without a new permit.

I see you have made very valid points for both options! Thanks for the response!

 

[mdolan92869]

Though I am still weighing the option to hardwire or go 240 volt outlet (hardwired is currently winning) I am definitely going to check my electric company to see if they have any rebates on certain chargers as well as time of day discounts...
Is there a reason you use the Ford app as opposed to ChargePoint charger to set the preferred charging window and limits? Do you feel that the Ford app makes smart EV charges unnecessary?

I use the Ford app (or in the car) to set charging times. I don't set the charger so that if I have EV friends over, they can plug in and charge while they're here, like last night. My friend's Tesla (I have the J1772-NACS home adapter) went home will a belly full of electrons. Didn't need to futz around with the charger times, just plugged in.

 

[Tampamike]

I’ve done both. Originally, 5 years ago, I had an electrician install a NEMA 14-50 outlet and used the Ford charger that came with the car. I mounted the included bracket on the wall next to the outlet and left the charger in place, plugged in. It only got unplugged for long road trips which was, maybe twice a year. That worked fine until the Ford charger started to show the amber light indicating it was overheating and slowing the charge. Even then, I kept using it for months because even with the slower charge rate, it could still charge the car overnight. (The included Ford chargers don’t seem to last very long before showing the amber light.)

Ended up trading in for a newer 2024, still using the included charger until I saw an amber light on it. Decided it was time to buy a wall unit And figured that I would just go with a hard-wired unit. I bought the ChargePoint with a Tesla plug figuring that the next wave of EV’s were all coming with the NACS plug and I already had the adapter but also because that model was significantly cheaper.

Now I have both a hard-wired CP on a 60 amp breaker and the NEMA 14-50 outlet on a 50 amp breaker along with the Ford charger stowed in the trunk. The first setup was cheaper - no charger purchase and cheaper electrician charge for only the plug But ended up paying for the more expensive charger and install later, FWIW.

 

[Chris-MMEX_GT500]

Juicebox went out of business....

Ford Mobile Charger is not reliable long-term. Emporia is a top quality charger. Consider a hardwired 48amp charger on a 60amp breaker.


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I will second the emporia, excellent charger and it also outperforms the Ford charger.

You will need a 240V outlet, but it is worth the investment.

 

[Doobster6]

Finally retired my 2007 Cadillac Escalade las night! It was sad to see her go with all her years of loyal service and over 220K miles of fun! But it was time to move on... So needless to say, going from a massive gas guzzling vehicle to a much smaller, faster, and modern electric vehicle is a major lifestyle change!

So far with just a ride from the dealership to home I can say I truly do enjoy the ride! I miss the roominess of the Escalade and the ability to see over most vehicles when driving, but I can tell I am going to have fun getting to know this new stallion!

One area where I will need to educate myself on more is charging. I thought I had a fairly good understanding of how it worked with the research I did before buying, but now I know how much I have to learn. I plan to do most of my chargeing at home so I know to will need to eventually have a 240 V outlet installed in my garage. I just don't know if I should rely on the Ford Mobile Power Cord package that came with the vehicle or buy one of the suggested level 2 chargers like JuiceBox, Emporia, or ClipperCreek. And is signing up with Blue Oval useful for remote charging or should I use individual charging apps l I keep the one provided by Tesla?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I have used the mobile charger exclusively since bringing my 2024 Premium 4X-ER home 17 months ago. The car is always garaged and plugged in at all times. Being retired, we don’t drive all that much and so only have 7,500 miles on the car. I charge to 90% every night after midnight, which means that it is usually charging from no less than 75%-ish to 90%; many time from 85% to 90%. I also charge to 100% every thousand miles. So far so good with zero problems.

When I picked up the car from the dealer, it showed 100% charge and 303 miles. In 2025, during late Spring/early Fall when outside temps are ideal, I saw 312 miles after those 100% charges, a reflection of my ‘Whisper-only’ driving style I guess.

 

[Herbknowsit]

[/QUOTE]
My experience wasn't like this scary picture but could have been if I didn't catch some advice on this very forum. Had home charger installed (ChargePoint) and it would not connect to wifi so they sent another one. Used same electrician to install the replacement and found he was indeed using the cheap, fire prone receptacle!! Gave him an earful, sent him some YouTube proof of fires and he put in the proper one. Thing is, he''d done quite a few home installs! He said he would be going back to check on them and I hope he did and replaced the light duty Levitons with the Hubbell. As others pointed out, what is ok for a dryer or other 220 tool isn't always ok for EV chargers pulling more juice for longer periods.

 

[Mr. Toejam]

I am hearing good things about Emporia! It sounds like you have it hooked into your solar, correct?

And you do make a good case for having a charger powered through an outlet and performing yearly maintenance... I doubt if I would have any of those uses for a 240 volt outlet so hardwired is still beating out a 240 volt outlet for my use case by a little...

Yup, the energy monitor tells the EVSE how much juice to out during the peak hours.

and yes, I have the EV certified 14-50 outlet.

 

[rsummerset]

I recommend, YouTube. There are a lot of videos out there that will help you to become familiar with your Mach-E and all of its features and capabilities, as well as limitations.

Thanks for the reply. But I spent a lot of time on YouTube months before purchasing the vehicle. I still use Google search, YouTube, AI, ect, to familiarize myself with my vehicle as well as get more details on advice received from forums like this. Google searches normally end up referring to YouTube and Reddit channels. Reddit channels sometimes send me to a forum like this which I find very helpful because I can educate myself in a conversational manner as opposed to only watching a video...
With that in mind, are there YouTube channels you recommend?

 

[rsummerset]

How long do you plan to stay in your current home? If you're planning on moving relatively soon, you might want to avoid hardwired.
Does your electric company have time of use charge rates? If it is significantly cheaper to charge at off-peak usage times, you will probably want a smart charger instead of relying on Ford's charge scheduling, which prioritizes charge target over electricity cost. If you don't have time of use electric rates, you can go with a "dumb" charger and save some money.

Not sure how long I plan to be in my home. I have lived here for over 15 years but I really do not plan to move in 5 years. Maybe 10.
And electric company research is next on my list. It appears they have EV educational programs and time of use recommendations as well as potential rebates and savings. I will take this weekend to research and sign up with their program

 

[rsummerset]

I don't know where you live, but we don't need to get a permit to swap out an end unit like a charger.

Turn off breaker.

Undo connection screws.

Undo mounting screws.

Remove old charger.

Install new charger.

Connect wires in the exact same place the old wires were.

Turn on breaker.

Ideally, measure an hour later with temp gun.

We bought a 2nd charger, and my wife and I added it to the circuit. Then, when JuiceBox ran away from its customers, we replaced the circuit boards in the JuiceBox chargers with OpenEVSE boards. Didn't get any permits, none needed.

I believe this comment is for Bad Dolphin?

 

[rsummerset]

The Ford Promise program that came with my 2025 Mach E Premium included an Emporia “Classic” charger with installation allowance. I exceeded that due to the long distance between my breaker box and garage plus inspection is a consumer cost. The company doing the installation would only hardwire the unit with a 60 amp breaker even though the Emporia can be set to limit current within the safety zone of a 50 amp service. They do this because of liability reasons since there is no preventing the customer from changing to the higher setting. I’ve been using the Emporia since November 18th and it is working as expected. It’s also a Smart Charger that allows me to get 5 cent per kWh discount by charging between 7pm and 2 pm the next day.

Sounds like a good deal with the included Emporia Charger and installation allowance. Inspection and permits are a potential cost I have not thought of. And the Emporia sounds like a solid charger based on recommendations. I will see if there are any potential rebates on it. Thanks

 

[rsummerset]

I’ll add that my Emporia home station is all I need for local travel but I frequently make trips from my home in upstate NY to my mother in laws house in Flemington, NJ. A one way 165 trip starting off at 100% from my home charger is well within range and on the last trip in freezing temperatures my GOM said I had 36% left. I bring my Ford portable charging cord and have plugged it in to her garage outlet to get some level 1 topping off but it really needs a good 30 minutes on a nearby Electrify America charging station at at Shop Rite grocery store to first boost it up to 80%. I’m planning to get a 220v 50 amp service put in her garage so on future trips we can just charge up with my portable cord. All part of the learning curve I suppose but so far it works and I am never going back to gas!

These are the types of comments that are helping prevent any EV buying remorse I might have (actually I don't have many so far but I only have had the vehicle for 4 days)!

 

[rsummerset]

You’ll figure out all the charging. In the end, it’s all pretty simple. I went from a 05 CTS to my 21 Mach E in March 2021. The CTS was the coolest most fun car I had ever had until I got in the pony. There may very well be and hopefully there is a more exciting car in the future but as of now I still really enjoy the electric pony. It’s fast, cool, fun to drive, reliable, and safe. I just got home from a ski day today, had a great time at little Willard Mountain in upstate New York and had a great time driving the pony over and back.

You are absolutely correct. In the end I assume all of us figure these things out and things normally work out in the end! Any anxiety I might be experiencing is just excitement.
And it seems we were in similar predicaments. Going from my 2007 Escalade is a huge change for me. When I bought it new in late 2006 I told the Cadillac dealer to give me all the bells and whistles... Video players in the head rests, retractable running boards, 22 inch chrome rims... I had fun in that big a$$ vehicle for all those years and over 200,000 miles!
But I am really enjoying this much smaller but charismatic horse! Getting to know it and figuring out how to get the best out of it is gonna be fun!!!

 

[Maquis]

Thanks for the reply. But I spent a lot of time on YouTube months before purchasing the vehicle. I still use Google search, YouTube, AI, ect, to familiarize myself with my vehicle as well as get more details on advice received from forums like this. Google searches normally end up referring to YouTube and Reddit channels. Reddit channels sometimes send me to a forum like this which I find very helpful because I can educate myself in a conversational manner as opposed to only watching a video...
With that in mind, are there YouTube channels you recommend?

Tom Moloughney’s “State of Charge” is a comprehensive collection of knowledge regarding EVSEs and charging.

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