Pulsar charger vs. Ford Connected charger

[khbkhb]

Anyone know of a detailed comparison? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H3PPJX...2FGP9XMH1ODJC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&tag=

Our Mach-E remains in limbo (order confirmed, but no VIN generated) but we live in hope, so are starting to looking into tweaking our garage.

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[RickMachE]

First check with your utility company for rebates which may be brand, and or model, specific.

 

[khbkhb]

I'm less concerned about rebates than making the optimal "technical" choice. Clearly, the Ford charger will pull/push a few more amps (which is good) and has the potential to have special bonus communication with the pack. I have seen nothing like a teardown/reverse engineered thread, so I'm purely shooting in the dark on that score.

It would seem ( for example) the pulsar charger has a variety of nice features, and the potential to run multiple on a single circuit has an appeal with respect to future-proofing (of course, with only a 3 yr warranty, looking too deeply into the future may be ill-advised. Or thinking of a fast DC bidirectional future ;>).

So I was hoping someone here already had hands-on experience with both, or enough hands-on with the Ford charger to say it's the best thing since sliced bread, and works flawlessly in their home/commute context :>

Or someone had a Pulsar burn their house down (and not due to improper installation ;>) or something equally catastrophic that might lead me to exclude it from consideration.

The youtube review above makes some pretty compelling points in favor (although based on the older 40amp version. I'm assuming the 48v version is at least as well done, and the app has the same functionality ... and I know how much trouble my assumptions have gotten me in the past). Given our location just outside of Denver, the cable being problematic in the deep freeze does give me a little pause, but our primary charge location is almost certainly inside the garage, and we could restore the heating to the garage (it stays relatively warm anyway)...so I did not think that (mis)feature was fatal.

I expect to have a licensed electrical do the install; for code compliance, insurance compliance, and my wife's peace of mind. While I have sometimes been called an electrical engineer, most of my focus has been on software (a pair of hw patents notwithstanding).

 

[Texas-E]

Welcome to the forum. There are quite a few different opinions on chargers, and my advice is not to overthink it too much. For most units, hardwired will allow you to charge the fastest. Putting a plug in will give you the most flexibility.

Lots of posts on chargers… make a drink, and dig in. Hopefully, you’ll quickly realize that there are not many “I hate my charger” posts, which says a lot about the actual differences.

 

[khbkhb]

>“I hate my charger” ...
Of course, one has to have more than one to have a basis to complain about ;>

My old sparrow (15+ yrs back) was "fine" (13 optima yellow tops, built in charger, 120v) until after a year or so the pack would be horribly unbalanced .. so the first batch of owners didn't start intensively complaining until year 2 ;>

Of course, Ford engineering is vastly better than Corbin's (their previous expertise was in motorcycle seats) and industrywide there's better engineering, standards and expectations (GM Bolt/LG issues notwithstanding) so I don't expect anything nearly as exciting as with my Sparrow (and the time I melted a battery at freeway speed).

Anyway, I haven't found a lot of folks with the Ford branded charger speaking up; Aerovirment/Webasto seems like a sound company, the Pulsar seems a bit more feature-full. It may boil down to just what we can get in a timely fashion (but since the 'stang itself isn't on a defined schedule, I may punt until later ... and have the electrical put in a NEMA plug *and* a plate for where we could hard-wire in .. if he has time on his next visit for other tasks.

 

[Texas-E]

>“I hate my charger” ...
Of course, one has to have more than one to have a basis to complain about ;>

Not exactly the way it works, and I think you might have missed the point entirely, lol.

Best of luck with your search. Buy both and write up a great analysis for us.

 

[Kevin C]

I have the Wallbox Pulsar Plus. It has been great so far. Installation was easy. The app works well. That being said, I can't compare it to the Ford charger. As you said, the potential to run multiple Wallbox chargers on a single circuit was very appealing to me.

 

[RickMachE]

JuiceBox 48 works great, and can share the circuit with another JuiceBox charger. App allows you to change the power down if you want to.

Supply may dictate your decision, many chargers have been, and continue to be, sold out.

 

[generaltso]

I haven’t used the Ford charger, but I have a Pulsar Plus and a ChargePoint Home Flex. If I were only going to get one, I’d go with the ChargePoint. I don’t see the advantage of paying more for one with a Ford logo on it. I think I’ve read reports that the Ford charger doesn’t even tell you the rate at which it’s charging. That would be enough of a deal-breaker for me.

 

[khbkhb]

... but I have a Pulsar Plus and a ChargePoint Home Flex. If I were only going to get one, I’d go with the ChargePoint. ...

What do you like better about the ChargePoint?

 

[generaltso]

What do you like better about the ChargePoint?

I like the ChargePoint app better because you can see a graph of the charging curve of the entire session. It also shows the total electricity cost in real-time as it’s charging, while the Pulsar only shows the cost when the charging session has finished.

I also like that the ChargePoint gives you the flexibility of using the included plug at 40 amps or hardwiring to get 48 amps if you change your mind. With the Pulsar, you have to make that decision up front.

The form factor of the ChargePoint is also better, in my opinion. I like having the holster integrated so that it’s backlit, and it swivels down so that the cord hangs straight down vertically.

 

[BMT1071]

+1 for the CPHF. No other charger for comparison but I also like the app and the form factor of the unit.

 

[methorian]

I have two Pulsar Pluses installed in Power Sharing mode and have been very happy with them. No issues since I installed them back in February. Can't compare to other smart units as I was coming from a Grizzl-E Classic.

App works well, and they do have a cloud integration with Home Assistant, which is pretty cool if you're a data nerd like me.

 

[quitepossibly]

JuiceBox 48 works great, and can share the circuit with another JuiceBox charger. App allows you to change the power down if you want to.

Supply may dictate your decision, many chargers have been, and continue to be, sold out.

The Juicebox uses the JuiceNet cloud to load share though. If your internet connection goes down, then the Juicebox defaults to 6 amp charging. The Pulsar Plus uses a local communication wire for load sharing, so it will load share without an internet connection.

Also, the Pulsar Plus has a much nicer charge connector than the Juicebox. Both have a stiff cable though.

 

[khbkhb]

The Pulsar Plus uses a local communication wire for load sharing, so it will load share without an internet connection.

I haven't spotted their documentation online ... is that an additional bit of wiring or do they use the 240v wires themselves (powerline style) or ? I'd assumed they'd use Bluetooth, but you know what they say about assumptions ;>

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