Preparing for Mach-E charging at home - preparation and installing charger

[VirgilBoy21MME]

Yes. Just a 240V circuit. My range not dryer have additional 120v circuits in them.

Much appreciated!

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[VirgilBoy21MME]

I would have your electrician wire it as a standard 14-50 receptacle. It is true that most, if not all, EVSE do not use the neutral wire. Not pulling the neutral from the panel might save you a few bucks today, but if you ever need it at a later date it will cost you a lot to run 1 wire at that time.

Very helpful!

 

[Maquis]

I would have your electrician wire it as a standard 14-50 receptacle. It is true that most, if not all, EVSE do not use the neutral wire. Not pulling the neutral from the panel might save you a few bucks today, but if you ever need it at a later date it will cost you a lot to run 1 wire at that time.

I second this recommendation. Run the neutral at installation.
Some one mentioned that many dryers and stoves do not have a neutral run to them. Those are old installations. A 4 wire circuit has been required by code since at least 2008.

 

[Nemshick_s]

Nice overview video of what it will take to install a car charger from scratch.

Question. I had my Ford charger installed in February. The charger works fine but if you go onto ForPass/account/Charge Station/Insights there is a graph that appears that is suppose to display KWH used. Does your's work? i.e does it display how many KWH was used? Mine stopped working in April. I have reached out to Ford but so far have been unable to get it fixed...

 

[cordley]

I'm trying to plan where I'm installing my Chargepoint tomorrow and I hoped someone would feel generous with their time to make some measurements for me. Since the tax credit is about to expire, I can't wait for the "small station wagon" to arrive. This was hard to search for to see if someone already asked this.

I've got blue tape on the garage floor to help me visualize my distances from the area where I'm going to mount the Chargepoint. If I backed into the garage, I MIGHT, just barely, be able to still charge. I've looked at Ford's tech specs sheet for the vehicles' dimensions so that I could put the blue tape down.

Something doesn't appear right. I've triple-checked my measurements and the car looks like it is longer than my 2019 Edge(sold it). I googled for the Edge's dimensions, which is 188.8", and the Mach-E is 186". I had plenty of space to walk in front of the Edge when parked in the garage. When I look at the blue tape on the ground, it looks much tighter than when the Edge was parked there. The Mach-E is only 2.8" shorter but the tape makes it look longer...

Would someone mind measuring and telling me the distance, in inches, between:

1) the center of the charge port and the front edge of the Mach-E.
2) the front edge of the Mach-E and the center of the front tire.
3) the back edge of the Mach-E and the center of the rear tire. (for a different idea brewing...)
4) the center of the charge port and the center of the front tire.

I'll be using this info to add blue tape to the floor.

Also, is the center of the port connection really 36" from the ground? It seems low when I stand there with the measuring tape and Chargepoint vehicle connector in hand visualizing what it would be like when the car is there.

This answer will help me determine which side of my breaker panel the mount will be and how low to put it so I could possible charge while backed-in.

Did you ever get an answer to question #1?

 

[cordley]

I'm trying to plan where I'm installing my Chargepoint tomorrow and I hoped someone would feel generous with their time to make some measurements for me. Since the tax credit is about to expire, I can't wait for the "small station wagon" to arrive. This was hard to search for to see if someone already asked this.

I've got blue tape on the garage floor to help me visualize my distances from the area where I'm going to mount the Chargepoint. If I backed into the garage, I MIGHT, just barely, be able to still charge. I've looked at Ford's tech specs sheet for the vehicles' dimensions so that I could put the blue tape down.

Something doesn't appear right. I've triple-checked my measurements and the car looks like it is longer than my 2019 Edge(sold it). I googled for the Edge's dimensions, which is 188.8", and the Mach-E is 186". I had plenty of space to walk in front of the Edge when parked in the garage. When I look at the blue tape on the ground, it looks much tighter than when the Edge was parked there. The Mach-E is only 2.8" shorter but the tape makes it look longer...

Would someone mind measuring and telling me the distance, in inches, between:

1) the center of the charge port and the front edge of the Mach-E.
2) the front edge of the Mach-E and the center of the front tire.
3) the back edge of the Mach-E and the center of the rear tire. (for a different idea brewing...)
4) the center of the charge port and the center of the front tire.

I'll be using this info to add blue tape to the floor.

Also, is the center of the port connection really 36" from the ground? It seems low when I stand there with the measuring tape and Chargepoint vehicle connector in hand visualizing what it would be like when the car is there.

This answer will help me determine which side of my breaker panel the mount will be and how low to put it so I could possible charge while backed-in.

 

[Maquis]

Did you ever get an answer to question #1?

47” give or take 1/2.

 

[cordley]

47” give or take 1/2.

THank you so much.

 

[dww]

Looked at about 15 pages and didn't see much on 120V Level 1 charging.

I'm at a condo and getting a 50amp/240V charger is going to be tough for at least 6 months and my Mach E is being built now and scheduled for delivery 2/16.

I have a 20Amp/120V in my storage space next to my parking space. Two questions:
- I'm guessing I can charge 10 hours and get about 18KW of energy, is that about right assuming I can pull 16Amp? So around 20% on my Premium AWD Ex.
- Can I put the charger on anywhere in my circuit? I also have an outlet, light switch and fan. The fan and light I'll put on a timer so they don't come on when I'm charging. Easiest is the opposite side of the wall from the switch/fan.

Been working with my HOA since June....complicated so I'm trying to make the best of it.

Thanks anyone for any help you can provide.

Doug

 

[dbsb3233]

Looked at about 15 pages and didn't see much on 120V Level 1 charging.

I'm at a condo and getting a 50amp/240V charger is going to be tough for at least 6 months and my Mach E is being built now and scheduled for delivery 2/16.

I have a 20Amp/120V in my storage space next to my parking space. Two questions:
- I'm guessing I can charge 10 hours and get about 18KW of energy, is that about right assuming I can pull 16Amp? So around 20% on my Premium AWD Ex.
- Can I put the charger on anywhere in my circuit? I also have an outlet, light switch and fan. The fan and light I'll put on a timer so they don't come on when I'm charging. Easiest is the opposite side of the wall from the switch/fan.

Been working with my HOA since June....complicated so I'm trying to make the best of it.

Thanks anyone for any help you can provide.

Doug

When I measured the power of the included Ford Mobile Charger plugged into 120V, I was getting about 1250 watts (roughly 11A).

While it's always recommended to be the only thing on the circuit, you should be fine with one light on too (ideally an LED bulb). I'd probably avoid the fan though. In 10 hours you might only be adding around 12 kWh (~40 miles).

Anywhere on the circuit is fine as long as the wiring is good, although make sure it's not an old loose outlet. You want good tight contact when pulling that much power through the connection for hours. It's like a space heater, or a microwave.

 

[engnrng]

When I measured the power of the included Ford Mobile Charger plugged into 120V, I was getting about 1250 watts (roughly 11A).

While it's always recommended to be the only thing on the circuit, you should be fine with one light on too (ideally an LED bulb). I'd probably avoid the fan though. In 10 hours you might only be adding around 12 kWh (~40 miles).

Anywhere on the circuit is fine as long as the wiring is good, although make sure it's not an old loose outlet. You want good tight contact when pulling that much power through the connection for hours. It's like a space heater, or a microwave.

This has been my experience as well, good numbers from @dbsb3233 . Therefore, you will likely be on that 120V charger every night, depending on your commute/use. Thing is, even if you don’t recoup your entire usage each day, you can likely charge longer on weekends, or go to a L2 or L3 charger on the weekend, possibly while shopping, to top off for the next week. Would be interested in hearing what you end up with and the choices you make about charging, @dww . Good luck!

 

[dww]

When I measured the power of the included Ford Mobile Charger plugged into 120V, I was getting about 1250 watts (roughly 11A).

While it's always recommended to be the only thing on the circuit, you should be fine with one light on too (ideally an LED bulb). I'd probably avoid the fan though. In 10 hours you might only be adding around 12 kWh (~40 miles).

Anywhere on the circuit is fine as long as the wiring is good, although make sure it's not an old loose outlet. You want good tight contact when pulling that much power through the connection for hours. It's like a space heater, or a microwave.

Thanks for the info....When you measured the 1250 watts, was that on a 15 amp circuit or 20 amp? Was thinking i could get a little less than 12 amp on a 15 amp circuit and less than 16 amps on a 20 amp circuit. (80% of circuit rating)

 

[dtbaker61]

Thanks for the info....When you measured the 1250 watts, was that on a 15 amp circuit or 20 amp? Was thinking i could get a little less than 12 amp on a 15 amp circuit and less than 16 amps on a 20 amp circuit. (80% of circuit rating)

you won't get any more out of a higher amp circuit. The current is limited by the charger and not modifiable via a setting. When charging with 120v, the car limits current to be 'safe' for the lowest common 120vAC outlet circuit... which is typically a 15amp outlet, which means 11-12amps is all the charger will allow to be safe for the bulk of circuits used in residential construction.

level 1 charging on 120vAC, you will charge at a rate that will add about 3 miles of range per hour of charge.... roughly 30 miles overnight with 10 hours of charging.

 

[dbsb3233]

Thanks for the info....When you measured the 1250 watts, was that on a 15 amp circuit or 20 amp? Was thinking i could get a little less than 12 amp on a 15 amp circuit and less than 16 amps on a 20 amp circuit. (80% of circuit rating)

I think my garage circuit is 20A, but it shouldn't matter. I don't think the EVSE can actually detect what size breaker is protecting the circuit. Pretty sure it just draws the same regardless. And the circuit doesn't deliver any more power based on the breaker being 15A vs 20A. It'll just trip the breaker if you try to pull more than that.

The 80% rule is just the safe recommended amount of load for a circuit, to avoid tripping the breaker when you get little surges.

 

[dww]

you won't get any more out of a higher amp circuit. The current is limited by the charger and not modifiable via a setting. When charging with 120v, the car limits current to be 'safe' for the lowest common 120vAC outlet circuit... which is typically a 15amp outlet, which means 11-12amps is all the charger will allow to be safe for the bulk of circuits used in residential construction.

level 1 charging on 120vAC, you will charge at a rate that will add about 3 miles of range per hour of charge.... roughly 30 miles overnight with 10 hours of charging.

Thanks for the information. Was hoping I could set it for 16 amps to save me 30% charging time.

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