Questions from a beginner

[evfinder]

My 22 Select came with the Ford charger but I have never used it. I had a 16amp charger that I used with my Prius Plug-in and I have just kept using that. It is capable of using a 220V outlet (L2) but I use it at L1 and keep the Ford charger in the car as a back-up. Right now I drive about 30 to 40 miles on weekdays and often less on weekends. I charge every couple of days with an overnight charge taking me from just 70% to around 90%.

You didn't say what sort of commute you have but installing an L2 charger is probably a good investment although workplace charging is also good.

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[mccdeuce]

I sold my Ford Mobile Charger within a month of buying the car. 2 amperage choices to me is not mobile as you never know what you are hoping to get.

I have had the Grizzl-E mini for a few months and am very happy with it.
When I bought our first EV I setup on my dryer port - the 24amps is really more than enough.

 

[Stanmckinney]

I have never looked at my mobile charger

 

[JWill58]

Please forgive my ignorance. I am scheduled to finalize my purchase and pick up a Premium Mach-E from the dealership tomorrow. This will be my first EV. The particular model I am looking at does not include the Ford Mobile Power Cord (most window stickers I saw for Job 2 2023 premiums listed it as a $500 adder, but not this particular car).

Do I need this cord, or are there better options? I do plan to have an electrician install a level 2 charging station at home in our garage. In the meantime, we have many chargers available at my work lot.

At home we have an unused dryer outlet in the laundry room, which is right next to the garage. I don’t know the amperage of that outlet, so I will need the electrician to tell me.

Do I need a Ford mobile power cord? Or is there a better 3rd party power cord I should buy? Do I need a mobile power cord at all, if I have a charging station at home and at work?

as far as stations for home, I have seen people mentioning wallbox and GrizzlE - are these good options?

Thanks again. I am at the very beginning of a steep learning curve.

I was in the same situation as you. I bought my MME one week ago and it didn’t come with the mobile charger. I was able to purchase it from my Ford dealer at cost for $292. My spouse plugged it into an unused dryer outlet in our basement. Luckily there is a window and place to park the car near the window. It worked perfectly! It took about 3.5 hours to charge from 79% up to 100%.

 

[Marc S]

Are you a PSEG customer? I got my level 2 charger (Juicebox) through the PSEG marketplace at a steep discount. Furthermore, I am enrolled in a program that gives me a rebate every month when I charge between the hours of 11PM and 6AM.

 

[ddeluce]

I have a dedicated 50 AMP circuit with a Wall Box charger on it. Works great and can charge at up to 40 AMPs. The Wall Box is a smart charger which gives you more control on over the charger. I have set a schedule in the charger so that it only provides power during off-peak hours. In the Mach-E I just set a charging limit of 90% without having to set a schedule.

 

[Toeknail]

Are you a PSEG customer? I got my level 2 charger (Juicebox) through the PSEG marketplace at a steep discount. Furthermore, I am enrolled in a program that gives me a rebate every month when I charge between the hours of 11PM and 6AM.

Yes, I am a PSEG customer. I heard about the rebate for off-peak charging, but I had not heard of the PSEG marketplace; I will check it out!

 

[Fremont Kid]

Very good advice from all. I have used my mobile charger at home. It is connected to a 40A circuit.
Surprised that a mobile charger is not included with your Premium. However, mine has been replaced twice due to poor performance during high ambient temps - as another commented. Dealer replaced free.
My advice is to determine how much you are willing to pay for a charger compared to your driving needs. For me, after 1 1/2 years I've not needed to charge faster than the mobile charger to meet driving needs. Overnight charging has been adequate.
That said, charging at 120V is a slow joke. Only 3 miles added per hour. At that rate your MME may require 3-4 days to achieve 80% charge. Also, if charging at 120V use an outlet rated at least 20A or the heat buildup may melt the outlet or ignite. Never install cheap or undersized capacity just to save some $ initially. You could spend much more long term.
Search this forum for previous comments. A lot of beneficial guidance.

 

[Timmy1687]

I repurposed a drier outlet near the garage to use a 30 amp charger I found on Amazon. Working fine a year and a half later

 

[Toeknail]

A hearty thanks to everyone who provided such great info in response to my beginner questions. Here is an update:

I did pick up our new Mach E (Premium, AWD, Extended Range, vapor blue) on Monday night. Loving it so far.

I have gotten fantastic info from this thread which led me to not buy the ford mobile power cord. I may some day buy something just to have in case I ever need it, but it sounds like many never need it.

I got a quote today from a recommended local electrician/installer to add a 60 Amp hardwired charger in our garage. They will run the line from my basement breaker. Installation cost will be less than the rebate limit from my utility (PSEG), and I will get back another $250 of the cost of the charger itself ($550) from the state (NJ). So ultimately the out-of-pocket cost will only be $300.

In case this helps anyone going forward: I am going with the Chargepoint CPH50 charger. I noticed on the PSEG (utility) website that Ford is not listed among their list of approved EV manufacturers for the rebate. I called them and learned the way around this is to go with Chargepoint. Unlike many other EV manufacturers, Ford and Tesla do not share charging data with the utility. The Chargepoint charger does share that data. So with the Chargepoint charger, I will also be eligible for the off-peak charging rebate.

 

[CarsIMBwife]

@Toeknail , don’t forget to go onto the Ford website to reserve your NACS -> CCS adapter. There is a deadline for signing up to get it free. (June maybe?) You may not receive it until October, but you don’t want to miss out.

Welcome to the forum! There are some very knowledgeable folks here that are willing to help. I’ve learned so much from these folks.

Enjoy your new ride!

 

[c max]

A hearty thanks to everyone who provided such great info in response to my beginner questions. Here is an update:

I did pick up our new Mach E (Premium, AWD, Extended Range, vapor blue) on Monday night. Loving it so far.

I have gotten fantastic info from this thread which led me to not buy the ford mobile power cord. I may some day buy something just to have in case I ever need it, but it sounds like many never need it.

I got a quote today from a recommended local electrician/installer to add a 60 Amp hardwired charger in our garage. They will run the line from my basement breaker. Installation cost will be less than the rebate limit from my utility (PSEG), and I will get back another $250 of the cost of the charger itself ($550) from the state (NJ). So ultimately the out-of-pocket cost will only be $300.

In case this helps anyone going forward: I am going with the Chargepoint CPH50 charger. I noticed on the PSEG (utility) website that Ford is not listed among their list of approved EV manufacturers for the rebate. I called them and learned the way around this is to go with Chargepoint. Unlike many other EV manufacturers, Ford and Tesla do not share charging data with the utility. The Chargepoint charger does share that data. So with the Chargepoint charger, I will also be eligible for the off-peak charging rebate.

Funny, stopped at a light, guy next to me was driving a Lightning......opened his window, we talked, he was actually the guy at PSEG who was responsible for the program with the chargers and PSEG program......

 

[RickMachE]

I was in the same situation as you. I bought my MME one week ago and it didn’t come with the mobile charger. I was able to purchase it from my Ford dealer at cost for $292. My spouse plugged it into an unused dryer outlet in our basement. Luckily there is a window and place to park the car near the window. It worked perfectly! It took about 3.5 hours to charge from 79% up to 100%.

Do not use the Ford Mobile Charger on a 30amp circuit!

 

[CarGuyBill]

I have been using the Lectron V Box for almost two years without any issues. The model I have shows the Kwh that are transferred to the battery which I like as well as the temp, voltage etc. You can set it to what ever output you like. This is a page on Amazon with most of there models. https://amzn.to/4ag58rI

 

[JWill58]

Do not use the Ford Mobile Charger on a 30amp circuit!

Can you provide more details?

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