Question about my 240V outlet

[RDZ89]

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[shutterbug]

I currently have this 240V outlet for my dryer. As you can see the prongs are angled differently then the standard 3 prongs. What can i do in this case ? is it as easy as replacing the dryer receptacle? sorry for being a rookie, my first ev and not an electrician

If you don't want to do any electrical work, you can buy a juice Box charger, and an adapter they sell for 10-30 outlet.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Disregard found solution. feel free to delete

I recommend hiring an electrician to install a 50 amp circuit with a "NEMA 14-50R" receptacle. This is what is required for Ford's mobile charger EVSE.

Your current receptacle appears to be a "NEMA 10-30R," which is 30A instead of 50 (the mobile charger requires either a 40 or 50 amp circuit).

Your current circuit may be lacking a ground connection (10-30 doesn't have a ground pin). A ground connection is required and the good chargers will try to verify that it is present.

 

[ebeponyan]

30A outlets can only safely charge at a continuous current of 24A. Unfortunately, the Mach-E mobile charger runs at 32A, so you will be tripping your breaker and/or risking a fire trying to charge without a <=24A EVSE. If you don't have access to another outlet on a 40 or 50A breaker with an appropriately beefy wire gauge, your best bet is to stick with L1 charging on 120V, or to buy a L2 charger which runs, or can be configured to run, at 24A or lower.

Check with your utility. You may be able to get a smart charger (CP Homeflex, Juicebox, etc) for more or less free. These are more expensive than their 'dumb' counterparts, but come with some nice features and generally allow for configuring specific charge speeds so you can upgrade to a 50-60A circuit some time in the future without buying a new charger. On the other hand, a 'dumb' 24A charger is portable, and may open some doors for you on road trips at destinations with 30A outlets (clothes dryers, many RV hookups), but not a 50A outlet (electric ranges, welders, fancier RV hookups).

Go with what makes sense for you. Ultimately, L2 is going to be "overnight speed" whether you're charging at 24A/5.76kW or 48A/11.52kW (~15h vs ~7.5h 0-100%). And true 0-100% on a L2 charger is probably a very rare use case at that, since you'll likely roll into your destination with at least a few kWh of charge left in the battery.

 

[RDZ89]

awesome guys. thanks so much for the responses. i thought i would be ok with this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00STD8S7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but guess not. I charge at work most of the time, was just seeing if i can charge every now and then at my parents house since i'm living in an apartment currently.

 

[krafty81]

I picked up a Chargepoint at Home Depot and had a 14-50 plug installed in my garage. Love it. Great app too.

 

[ebeponyan]

awesome guys. thanks so much for the responses. i thought i would be ok with this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00STD8S7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but guess not. I charge at work most of the time, was just seeing if i can charge every now and then at my parents house since i'm living in an apartment currently.

Depending on the mileage demands while you're there, you would likely be fine just plugging in at Level 1 speeds. Especially if there's a fast charger nearby in case you really start getting low. Sure, 0-100% on L1 takes 70 some hours, but if you look at it the other way, you can break even driving 60 miles over a few hours per day and plugging in L1 when not driving. And you don't even need to break even if you're just talking about a weekend here and there.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I used a 30 amp socket like that, with the same plug adapter from Amazon, for a week or two while waiting for my electrician to install my NEMA 14/50 socket on a 40 amp circuit.
But I also wasn’t using the included charging cable. I was using a Grizzl-E EVSE which allows you to adjust your amperage. So I dialed that back to 24 amps and it worked great. Once I got my 40 amp circuit, I ditched the adapter and dialed the Grizzl-E up to 32 amps.

 

[CHeil402]

awesome guys. thanks so much for the responses. i thought i would be ok with this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00STD8S7C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but guess not. I charge at work most of the time, was just seeing if i can charge every now and then at my parents house since i'm living in an apartment currently.

Yes, as other pointed out, that outlet is rated for only 30 A. The issue is then that the included Ford Mobile Charger will pull 32 A and is not configurable, so you cannot use an adapter like that to plug it in as it would (should) trip the circuit breaker. You can certainly use that outlet if you have no other choice and 120 V charging isn't enough for you (which it very well may be), but you'll have to buy an EVSE (charger) that lets you set the max charge current to 24 A or less. The Grizzl-e is one of those options as @Murse-In-Airy pointed out. That's also what I have. And in the future if you ever upgrade to a 50 A outlet (which requires wiring rated for 50 A, not just a new outlet) you can reconfigure the Grizzl-e.

 

[PA Bob]

30A outlets can only safely charge at a continuous current of 24A. Unfortunately, the Mach-E mobile charger runs at 32A, so you will be tripping your breaker and/or risking a fire trying to charge without a <=24A EVSE. If you don't have access to another outlet on a 40 or 50A breaker with an appropriately beefy wire gauge, your best bet is to stick with L1 charging on 120V, or to buy a L2 charger which runs, or can be configured to run, at 24A or lower.

Check with your utility. You may be able to get a smart charger (CP Homeflex, Juicebox, etc) for more or less free. These are more expensive than their 'dumb' counterparts, but come with some nice features and generally allow for configuring specific charge speeds so you can upgrade to a 50-60A circuit some time in the future without buying a new charger. On the other hand, a 'dumb' 24A charger is portable, and may open some doors for you on road trips at destinations with 30A outlets (clothes dryers, many RV hookups), but not a 50A outlet (electric ranges, welders, fancier RV hookups).

Go with what makes sense for you. Ultimately, L2 is going to be "overnight speed" whether you're charging at 24A/5.76kW or 48A/11.52kW (~15h vs ~7.5h 0-100%). And true 0-100% on a L2 charger is probably a very rare use case at that, since you'll likely roll into your destination with at least a few kWh of charge left in the battery.

This is so interesting. I bought an adaptor for my father's 30a dryer outlet so I can charge when I visit him. I had no idea I could cause a problem. I did buy a JuiceBox that plugs in. I can take it with me.
Is there any chance there is a setting in the car to only draw 24 a instead of the full 32a with the FMC?

 

[Maquis]

This is so interesting. I bought an adaptor for my father's 30a dryer outlet so I can charge when I visit him. I had no idea I could cause a problem. I did buy a JuiceBox that plugs in. I can take it with me.
Is there any chance there is a setting in the car to only draw 24 a instead of the full 32a with the FMC?

Unfortunately, no.

 

[macchiaz-o]

This is so interesting. I bought an adaptor for my father's 30a dryer outlet so I can charge when I visit him. I had no idea I could cause a problem. I did buy a JuiceBox that plugs in. I can take it with me.
Is there any chance there is a setting in the car to only draw 24 a instead of the full 32a with the FMC?

As far as I understand it, you can set a 24A limit on your JuiceBox via its phone app. This will cause the car to pull no more than 24 amps.

 

[ebeponyan]

Is there any chance there is a setting in the car to only draw 24 a instead of the full 32a with the FMC?

Many EVSEs, particularly the less portable and often WiFi connected kinds, allow for customized charge settings including rate of charge. Most charge settings are controlled via an app, but charge rate/amp draw is generally toggled using DIP switches on the hardware itself, typically hidden behind the faceplate so you don't mess with it. Your Juicebox should have this capability.

There are many EVs, notably Teslas, that allow for configuration of the car's own EVSE via software. The Mustang Mach-E does not offer this capability, and I have not heard of any plans for this to be added OTA any time soon.

Good luck!

 

[Motomax]

This is so interesting. I bought an adaptor for my father's 30a dryer outlet so I can charge when I visit him. I had no idea I could cause a problem. I did buy a JuiceBox that plugs in. I can take it with me.
Is there any chance there is a setting in the car to only draw 24 a instead of the full 32a with the FMC?

The other issue he has is a lack of ground. The mobile charger wouldn’t even attempt to charge without a ground connection regardless.

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