Tips or thoughts on fire mitigation strategies

[RickMachE]

Congratulations!

We are also new to Mach E with our 2024 GT purchased late April. We sold our 2018 Tesla M3 dual motor and replaced it with the Mach E.

Long experience and much research on the Tesla battery (which is different than the Mach E) plus years of various battery bank maintenance on Airstream trailers lead us to believe that optimum usage keeps the battery around 50%. Both Ford and Tesla advise 80% charge to be depleted no lower than 20% for daily driving.

With our short daily runs, our habit has been to charge to 80% and recharge every time we come home during sun hours (we have extensive solar array) as our utility charges $.43 per kWh--day or night.

So purely for battery longevity, aim to bracket 50%. But you may have other considerations (TOU rates, high or low overall utility rates, solar or no solar, etc.)

80-20 is a great place to start and see how it works for you!

Seal the garage and put in a HALON system like they have in ship’s engine rooms?

Halon is no longer produced, it was banned in 1992. Production ended at the end of 1993.

A halon system, in a home or garage, would be expensive. And dangerous to a person who could suffocate.

https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-pro...n,for specialty fire suppression applications.

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[Tomm]

My Halon comment was younger in cheek. I did not know it was no longer available until I posted. My Navy time was a long time ago.

 

[Tomm]

Tonge not younger

 

[ex2bot]

I haven’t mentioned this before because I didn’t want to add to the irrational fear of evs, but when I first got my Mach-E in early 24, I was using the Ford Mobile Charger with the level 1 plug. Didn’t think at all about plugging it into the same circuit the garage freezer was on.

One day, after five+ hours of charging, the circuit tripped. Electrician I called yelled “holy shit” when he took the plate off the light switches nearby in the house. I didn’t look at it, but I assume he found some singed wires.

I now use a dedicated 50 amp circuit. My (probably overreacting) precautions are that I don’t charge after we’re asleep, and I don’t charge for more than about four hours continuously, which is usually more than enough. Scheduling a pause during prime time saves me $ anyway.

 

[ChrisO]

I haven’t mentioned this before because I didn’t want to add to the irrational fear of evs, but when I first got my Mach-E in early 24, I was using the Ford Mobile Charger with the level 1 plug. Didn’t think at all about plugging it into the same circuit the garage freezer was on.

One day, after five+ hours of charging, the circuit tripped. Electrician I called yelled “holy shit” when he took the plate off the light switches nearby in the house. I didn’t look at it, but I assume he found some singed wires.

I now use a dedicated 50 amp circuit. My (probably overreacting) precautions are that I don’t charge after we’re asleep, and I don’t charge for more than about four hours continuously, which is usually more than enough. Scheduling a pause during prime time saves me $ anyway.

Like @B177y said the Ford Mobile Charger uses close to the maximum for that kind of circuit. Any other load on the circuit is a real risk. And from my own experience, I have now realized that it is actually unlikely that a given outlet in a garage is the only thing on that circuit.

Another thing that just occurred to me given your statement about your light switches is just how the other things on the circuit would be wired.

Say the power comes into the circuit breaker, and then goes to a light switch, and then goes to the outlet you are using. That means when you charge in that outlet all that current is flowing through the connections in the light switch. So, just one wire in all of this path can add a lot of resistance and maybe sparking. So, the fire might not even start at the charger outlet!

EV charging needs to be a dedicated outlet or hardwired to the circuit breaker!

 

[dtbaker61]

All - I've put a deposit down on a new 2023 Premium AWD with EXT battery and I'm stuck waiting on two recalls to clear (the 12v battery lockout recall and the backup camera recall).

That said, I did a search on these forums to see if other owners of Mach E's have any thoughts or tips on how best to mitigate the risk of HVB fires. To be clear, I am well aware that these risks are extremely small based on the current data. So, I am not wanting to debate safety of EVs vs ICE or Hybrids. Rather, I would like to steer the discussion towards if the worst were to happen, how might an EV owner (Mach E) specifically best prepare their home and family for such an event either at home or on the road? What are best (and reasonable) preventative measures that can be taken?

Additional comments/Questions I have:
-I do not currently have an EVSE installed at my house--I am currently getting quotes to hardwire a chargepoint charger via licensed electrician. I have reviewed various other threads on here related to charger install. With each of the electricians, I have stressed the importance of proper install and having things done per the code. I also am looking to have a surge protection device installed for the EV.
-Thoughts on charging in garage vs outdoors related to safety? I've read a wide range of opinions on this. My home has an attached garage. Installing outdoors isn't out of the question, but we do have a lot of trees near our driveway and I'm not sure parking outdoors is going to give a significant level of mitigation to our home, other vehicles, and neighbors.
-I've read through the owners manual, so understand that overcharging and discharging fully the battery will accelerate the wear on the battery.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. While I do believe that the risks are low, I still seem to think that the industry, public, and first responders may not have clear guidelines on how to handle such an event--particularly in rural areas of the US like where I am located.`

- make sure your wiring is up to code (6awg on a 50amp circuit)

- make sure wire connections are torqued properly

- set charge max to 32amps

 

[Lb8403]

I have SimpliSafe and just added a fire alarm (sensor) above the charger station so it will alert me or trip the alarm if anything goes crazy. I also recommend putting one in your laundry room (dryer).. I park my car outside.

Hope this helps

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