Why do you buy an expensive wall charger unit for home when Ford gives you a 14-50 plug?

[jvoglmn]

Help me understand this one. I've owned a few EVs over the past 5 years and I never understood why people do this.

You have to run 240V/50A to the garage anyway, so there's that cost. But why hard wire in a wall unit that you have to purchase separately, in addition to the cost of getting the power to the garage? Why not just put a Nema 14-50 wall plug in the garage and use the charger Ford gives you with the car?

The MME can take up to 48A, and the plug on the wall is 50A, so you would set the car to charge at 40A safely. (80% of total available 50A for safety!)

At 40A you will always be fully charged to 80% or 90% by morning with the Ford charger.

So why do people do that? Is it a cool factor thing? Or is it just so you can keep the Ford one in the car?

Thanks folks.

My electric utility had a program too good to pass up. Charge between 12 AM and 6 AM at 2.9 cents/KWH. Required installation of an EnelX Jukebox. Lifetime warranty for a monthly rental fee that breaks even at year 6. I can carry the portable with me for travel.

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[Dark Matter GT]

Best reason: They just look cool.

 

[Auto Motive]

Keep in mind that if you have to run a new outlet a 50A line the code required wiring is 6g, which will end up costing as much as the charger unless you luck out and your panel is close to your garage.

I got a 50 amp installation ran 50 ft to garage at $1000. Prices increased 4 times since 2019 especially for 6 GA wire. We will use the supplied 240v which gives you 21 to 25 miles per hour.

 

[mwtechy]

Help me understand this one. I've owned a few EVs over the past 5 years and I never understood why people do this.

You have to run 240V/50A to the garage anyway, so there's that cost. But why hard wire in a wall unit that you have to purchase separately, in addition to the cost of getting the power to the garage? Why not just put a Nema 14-50 wall plug in the garage and use the charger Ford gives you with the car?

The MME can take up to 48A, and the plug on the wall is 50A, so you would set the car to charge at 40A safely. (80% of total available 50A for safety!)

At 40A you will always be fully charged to 80% or 90% by morning with the Ford charger.

So why do people do that? Is it a cool factor thing? Or is it just so you can keep the Ford one in the car?

Thanks folks.

For me several reasons.

1) It was my first electric car and I was worried I'd be in a position where I'd have to drive really far the next day and not have enough charge, or really far several days in a row. I don't have a 240v in my garage, only 120 so it takes 3 days to charge the damn thing.

2) The charging stations around me have been hit and miss, still haven't found a working DC fast charger either as all the local ones are EvGo. Still have to find one working right.

3) Midwest still has a long way to go to be renewable friendly. Most of our energy is coming from coal in my state, had to subscribe to Arcadia power just so they can get wind energy onto the grid for me to purchase. So not charging at home is basically burning coal.

 

[Blake1dogs]

Help me understand this one. I've owned a few EVs over the past 5 years and I never understood why people do this.

You have to run 240V/50A to the garage anyway, so there's that cost. But why hard wire in a wall unit that you have to purchase separately, in addition to the cost of getting the power to the garage? Why not just put a Nema 14-50 wall plug in the garage and use the charger Ford gives you with the car?

The MME can take up to 48A, and the plug on the wall is 50A, so you would set the car to charge at 40A safely. (80% of total available 50A for safety!)

At 40A you will always be fully charged to 80% or 90% by morning with the Ford charger.

So why do people do that? Is it a cool factor thing? Or is it just so you can keep the Ford one in the car?

Thanks folks.

I 100% agree with you. I found myself falling into the same trap as many searching for a Level2 $500+ charger to gain 7-10/miles/hr of charging. I lucked out having 240v/50a in the garage and paid an electrician $170 to install a clean looking setup for my Ford Mobile charger. Since I've plugged it in tonight...in 4hrs 44 minutes I've added 85 miles using 28kWh or $1.84. Who really cares that I could have increased charging by 30% or so and potentially saved pennies. Car will be ready to go in the am either way.

 

[kennethjk]

I 100% agree with you. I found myself falling into the same trap as many searching for a Level2 $500+ charger to gain 7-10/miles/hr of charging. I lucked out having 240v/50a in the garage and paid an electrician $170 to install a clean looking setup for my Ford Mobile charger. Since I've plugged it in tonight...in 4hrs 44 minutes I've added 85 miles using 28kWh or $1.84. Who really cares that I could have increased charging by 30% or so and potentially saved pennies. Car will be ready to go in the am either way.

As others have said many utility company’s including mine have a 400 discount on charges so the net cost is under 200 and with the federal credit that gets reduced even further. Seems like a minimal cost and the Ford supplied charger can be left in the car.

 

[Billy Biahop]

I bought the Grizzl-E charger. I ordered a Chargepoint charger from Amazon at first. It was listed at $999 CAD but indicated it was backordered. No big deal to wait a few weeks. Two weeks latee, Amazon sends me a cancellation notice indicating it was “damaged during shipping” when there was never a shipping notification. Smelling a rat, I check the Amazon site and the price is now $1199 CAD. I CALLED Amazon and they won’t honor my previous transaction.

So I did some research and ordered the GRIZZL-E. It’s made here in Canada for Canadian winters, was $700 CAD and I could order it direct from the manufacturer without going to Amazon.

I have now been telling my friends this story and steering them away from Chargepoint, which seems to be dealing directly through Amazon here in Canada. I don’t do blatant ripoffs.

 

[RetiredDP]

Simple: I keep the mobile charger in the car to use for traveling. I bought a wall charger (Pulsar Plus) to have one permanently plugged in my garage. Remember, NEMA 14-50 outlets are not made to be continuously plugged and unplugged. It'll wear out the outlet. It's not your regular household 110v outlet.

Also, my utility offers a rebate. Coupled that with the 30% tax credit, the cost is very affordable.

Also, the Ford Mobile Charger is 32 amp, not 40 amp. With my schedule I needed the faster charge. AND, there's also the question of reliability. If your mobile charger fails, you'll be stuck. With a 2nd, primary charger, you can use the mobile as a back-up if the primary fails, and you'll never forget to take the mobile on a trip.

 

[RetiredDP]

This question might have been addressed on these forum elsewhere but which is the best Level 2 charger to install at home / garage. The 2 options I am researching are Chargepoint (https://www.chargepoint.com/drivers/home/chargepoint-home-flex/) and the Ford Connected charge station (https://www.ford.com/buy-site-wide-content/overlays/mach-e-overlays/ford-connected-charge-station/). Seems like the former offers more flexibility on planning and scheduling your charging hours and explore the peak - off peak cycles better. Also they allow you flexibility of changing the amperage on your charge cycle between 14-50A. The one downside is it's backordered at this time, which isn't a biggie for me since I have a couple of months before my car gets delivered.

I agree with most of the other users here. Between the federal and local utility provider rebates, it seem like a no brainer to be taking the car charger in an out at all times. Also the flexibility of being able to track charging and spends along with being able to set schedules is hard to turn down.

I went with the Alpha charger due to the Chargepoint Flex's backorder situation, because of the abusive overcharge dollars being asked for the Flex, and because of the way the Flex's cable stiffens up in the cold (I live in snow country). Go Canada!
alphaevcharger.com

 

[TGIF]

Maybe I got lucky. I ordered the Home Flex from Amazon with 14-50 plug per my electricians advice. It was back ordered at the time but looks to have been shipped and coming in early this week. Price has since gone up $300! What’s with that?

My utility company has a rebate of $500 on it. I will use the charger for my PHEV until the MME comes in. Don’t know if I can double dip the Federal tax credit for installation and equipment with the rebate. If I can, it won’t cost me much at all. Otherwise a few hundred dollars.

I’ll be able to keep the mobile charger in the MME for emergencies

 

[Motomax]

looks like the 40A supply box that plugs into a Nema 14-50 outlet is around $650. think the gov't will buy in on my $1,000 install costs for the 14-50?

I’ve been wondering if I could technically pay myself to install my outlet and maybe some new tools “required” for installation and claim that on my rebate ?. Do you need to submit any receipts? Lol

 

[dhoerl]

I’ve been wondering if I could technically pay myself to install my outlet and maybe some new tools “required” for installation and claim that on my rebate ?. Do you need to submit any receipts? Lol

If you pay yourself, that’s income to you, so in USA must report it to stay legal.

 

[Glen]

I think the Level 2 wall charger is more robust and will last longer with less problems. My humble 2 cents.

 

[dbonsett]

I leave the factory charger in the car and only use it for travel. My home charger is a bit faster and runs cooler. If it ever fails I have the factory supplied charger until my home charger is fixed/replaced.

That makes sense.

 

[Rt1AWD]

My previous car Nissan Leaf was purchased for very specific reason - save money. That is why I didn't install this level 2 charger..........

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