Lightning EA Charging for EV Dummies

[GDN]

Important to note how each Charge Station charges (Per Minute or Per KW) and the maximum charge speed (up to 150 kw/h). Reviewers to date have found maximum speeds for the Lightning at 120 kw/h 0%-80%, then dropping off to half or less. Also, choose locations with more than a single station in case of disrepair.

We don't have a lot of data yet, but @OutofSpecKyle actually had 170kWh or maybe (171) I forget which, in his charge session, he showed this in his video. He started at a much lower SOC than Tom did in his video. So it is hopeful to hit this peak at least.

Either is truly abysmal for Ford and a battery this size. they should be able to hit that lower 40% with 250 at a minimum then slow the rest of that curve down to maybe 150kWh.

So many good things about this truck, but the few key things about a BEV are the well, the battery, the charging and the motors and so far Ford isn't showing they excel here.

Sponsored

 

[VTbuckeye]

If the DCFC is charged by the kwh use your free kWh. If it is by the minute, we charge fast enough that it is cheaper. Also the EA membership gets you a discount and cost $4 per month. You can cancel as soon as it is activated and it remains active for the month. 0.43 vs 0.31 ... The 4 dollars pays for itself after 33kwh.

 

[jefro]

On my last car I'd have to sit in the car and read or listen to radio. Ideally you would be near some other place where you can eat or shop or such. EA chargers and even Superchargers are never near a good steak house. Haven't seen them at Bass Pro yet. I'd go over the time limit there.

 

[sotek2345]

On my last car I'd have to sit in the car and read or listen to radio. Ideally you would be near some other place where you can eat or shop or such. EA chargers and even Superchargers are never near a good steak house. Haven't seen them at Bass Pro yet. I'd go over the time limit there.

I recently stopped at one near a Quaker Steak and Lube which was some pretty good eating (first time going there).

 

[Firestop]

We don't have a lot of data yet, but @OutofSpecKyle actually had 170kWh or maybe (171) I forget which, in his charge session, he showed this in his video. He started at a much lower SOC than Tom did in his video. So it is hopeful to hit this peak at least.

Either is truly abysmal for Ford and a battery this size. they should be able to hit that lower 40% with 250 at a minimum then slow the rest of that curve down to maybe 150kWh.

So many good things about this truck, but the few key things about a BEV are the well, the battery, the charging and the motors and so far Ford isn't showing they excel here.

FYI: This video came out yesterday….

 

[GDN]

FYI: This video came out yesterday….

Correct it did and Tom does great work, but Kyle recorded the same day and shows hitting 170kWh up to 80%. And make no mistake these batteries are huge. It they can’t take more than 150/170 kWh for some amount of time it is POOR engineering. It may be limitations of the pouch cell technology too.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Thanks, guys. This was educational for the new EV owners.

 

[Firestop]

Correct it did and Tom does great work, but Kyle recorded the same day and shows hitting 170kWh up to 80%. And make no mistake these batteries are huge. It they can’t take more than 150/170 kWh for some amount of time it is POOR engineering. It may be limitations of the pouch cell technology too.

Yep, I can see your point..the charge rates to capacity is not the best. I‘m not not an engineer, EV expert, nor a Kool-Aid drinker. I’m just a highly analytical pragmatist who is also a realist, which I guess sometimes can leave me some in conflict with myself.

I saw Kyle’s video, along with Tom & Kyle’s conversation on an InsideEVs video blog about their respective Lightning test drives and short DC charging experiences where they discussed this issue. Tom was upfront in that discussion that he was relaying data in his new video that was provided by Ford, that his brief charge results during his test drive were “close“ to Ford‘s provided data; but, that full charge tests still needed to be completed to see the real world results to prove their data.

https://insideevs.com/features/585753/ford-f150-lightning-rivian-scout/

At the end of the day, I find myself accepting, the F-150 is going to:
1. Loose roughly 50-60% of its stated EPA or real world non-tow range (depending on a lot of variables) when towing moderate to heavy loads (~5-10,000#).
2. Generally need to be charged when it hits 20% capacity and disconnected at 80%, it’s going to take about 45 minutes to do so, and I’m going to have to forgo a 100% top-off unless I have a lot of time to kill (90-95 mins)…. or, if I’m remote from another charging station.

Thus, the current Lightning really isn’t designed for long-haul towing or long distance remote travel (e.g. little or no DC chargers on or near your route), and that’s “ok” for my intended use of the vehicle. Putting aside all of the media event-generated “excitement“, I haven’t seen anyone claiming the vehicle will perform otherwise…including Ford.

My take is the F-150L probably isn’t the best choice for someone if:
1. They’re towing distances more than 120-150 miles/day on a consistent basis, and/or;
2. They can’t live with, or find charge stations on their expected longer travel routes, that will allow them to live within the vehicles 20-80% charge capacity range.

In these situations, it’s probably better stay with an ICE version until the battery technology and recharge engineering improves at the F-150’s target price point.

I’m not sure this makes the 2022 vehicle poorly engineered, there’s just room for improvement within this model’s limitations (probably driven by cost/value considerations). I vaguely remember Tom commented during the blog video that some software changes could possibly be made to improve charge rates at both ends of the projected curve that could extend higher charge rates and shorten the 10-90% charge to near 70 min??? We will have to wait to see if Ford Engineering can make that happen in the 2022 version.

I feel 10-90% DC charge times of EVs optimally need to be below 30 min. (thus vastly improving the 20-80% range), but I’m not convinced that is achievable yet at mass consumer price points. I would also agree with your “poor“ engineered perspective if the vehicle was being promised to perform beyond the imitations stated to date by Ford…I may have missed that, but I haven’t seen or heard of that to date.

 

[rtw819]

Some more thoughts and recommendations for you...

Always plan for a backup, such as a RV Park or a Friend's Home (Level 1 or 2) along the route in case of broken Charge Stations. Carry NEMA Plug Adapters in addition to the Ford Mobile Charger, just in case.

Hit the road with a 100% charge if possible and be aware at a 20% Charge left you will probably have only gone up to 250 miles (ER Battery Lariet). Travel Non-Interstate Highways at 55 MPH for Best Mileage. Remember, this is a Vacation, not a Speed Contest.

Check for recent Plugshare check-ins and view any reports for the stations you plan to visit in advance to make sure they are still working (more important where there is only one or two EVSE at a site) and plan accordingly. Something else to remember or be aware of -- many of the Non-EA stations are slower and will cap out at 50kW or 62kW and will do in a pinch, but aren't as fast as the EA stations. EA locations usually have 4, 8 or more units per site, but the other branded sites typically do not have anywhere near as many stations (at least not in the Midwest anyway).

For road trips, backup DCFC plans for (relatively) nearby reachable stations along your route are always a good idea -- but not always available. While infrequent, entire charging sites can be offline for various reasons. Checking Plugshare can be important to the success of your trip! It will be interesting to see how well the Lightning's on-board Nav handles some of these types of situations.

Having an available L2 charger at overnight layovers or at the destination always helps recoup range as long as you aren't planning to drive around at the destination.

This one kind of goes without saying, but if there are no charging options around your destination, be sure to plan to have enough range to do any running around at your destination and enough to be able to make it back to the last DCFC on your return trip, plus a little buffer to be safe in case elevation/weather/temperature changes might affect that return leg.

With Electrify America, be prepared to switch to a different cable/unit/station if you have challenges initiating charges on a particular machine when you pull into a site. Sometimes EA machines can be hit-or-miss when plugging in (though I haven't had a chance to try this with a Ford yet). We've had to call EA support from the station to get charges started numerous times on trips over the past few years. While they have gotten better, they sometimes still have a way to go.

Make it habit to be sure to check your on-board charging settings/limits are set appropriately before walking away from the vehicle, say, before you end up sitting down and ordering dinner. This is especially important if you're travelling in any areas where cellular reception may be less than desirable and you might not be able to adjust things remotely via app.

If you want to stay during the charge, pick up Burgers or a Pizza before arriving at the Station. Otherwise try to select a station within walking distance of something interesting. If you do not stay do not overstay your time or you may piss off someone waiting for your spot.

In addition to being courteous to other drivers, many EVSE providers (especially EA) have steep idling fees after your vehicle stops charging. Be prepared to get back and move the vehicle or be prepared to pay if you leave it sit. They will send you plenty of notifications if/when you get close to accruing any idling fees.

Finally, you are all set to drive on after making sure your now 100% Charge will get you to your next pre-planned Charge Station.

While on the road, as others have said, don't plan to charge to 100% unless you absolutely need the full range to get to the next DCFC station, in addition to having plenty of spare time to wait for those last 10-15%, and assuming there truly aren't any other DCFC stations in between stops. Leaving from home with 100% charge is generally the best way to start out a long trip if you don't have to immediately charge again to make it to the next DCFC hop. (Midwest charging is still a little sparse in places!)

Hope this gives some extra food for thought.

 

[Sdctcher]

FYI: This video came out yesterday….

Excellent Video - Well worth a 20 minute view if you have the patience to try to understand the charts he provides.

My Main Uptakes are:

Plan to Charge at EA Stations, if possible (at least initially) in order to use up the Free Ford 250 KW at an estimated $0.32/Minute rate. Simply use Plug and Charge by presetting your Ford Pass Account with Credit Info, then hook up and the App will automatically start the charge (according to your preset limits).

Plan on a 40 Minute Charge Session (under normal driving and climate conditions) if you start at 15% and end at 80%. Get as low as 0% only if you are a Risk Taker because you may not have enough charge to find another working Station if the one you pick is down for some reason. That extra 15% on the low end will extend your session by up to about 10 Minutes.

Do not plan on maximizing your charge from 80% to 100%. It may cost you up to another 60 Minutes of time and up to $18 more at $0.32/Minute X 60 Minutes for about 25 More KW to top off.

At an Estimated 320 Mile Starting Range for a Lariat ER (at 100%), at 15% your will have about 50 miles of Range Left. After Charging up to 80% your Charge will take you another 210 Miles before you are back at the 15% Mark.

If you use another brand of Charge Station or one rated at 350 KW (Vs 150 KW) you will gain no advantage because the Lightning will accept not much more than 150 KW.

It is important to understand the rate charged by a Station. If you choose a slower station which puts out 75 KW but charges by the minute you will pay double for the session. In that case you might want to relocate to a 150 KW Station or one that charges per KW.

As stated by other posters, most stations will start to charge stiff overtime fees at 10 minutes or so after the battery is full so if you do not stay with the truck, watch your app for alerts or you will pay the piper, besides maybe pissing off the guy in line behind you.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Finally, you are all set to drive on after making sure your now 100% Charge will get you to your next pre-planned Charge Station.

80% for time & dollar value

 

[Maquis]

Currently, you cannot get EA’s member rate if you use P&C. So turn off P&C once you use up the gratis kWh. Hopefully, they can get this to work in the future.

Also, some states require pricing per minute by law. In case you find yourself somewhere and all stations charge by minute, even though you may have used the same network other places and paid per kWh.

 

[wheelz2000]

I'm with ya. I think you'll figure it out pretty quickly. When I had the tesla model 3, it was pretty simple to plug in and I figured out I had to use the app to track the timer to see remaining time to full charge...didn't want to get charged for an idling fee as tesla put it.
I thought it would've been nice for tesla to include a simple window in the app instead of logging in to see charging status as that can reduce rage as well. Ya know, like the tickers espn uses to post a sports score in a small window on your phone without logging in, so the charging status is just there when you connect for charging. I think that would be beneficial....
Ford are you listening? Can you add a small ticker status window in the ford app?

 

[Maquis]

I'm with ya. I think you'll figure it out pretty quickly. When I had the tesla model 3, it was pretty simple to plug in and I figured out I had to use the app to track the timer to see remaining time to full charge...didn't want to get charged for an idling fee as tesla put it.
I thought it would've been nice for tesla to include a simple window in the app instead of logging in to see charging status as that can reduce rage as well. Ya know, like the tickers espn uses to post a sports score in a small window on your phone without logging in, so the charging status is just there when you connect for charging. I think that would be beneficial....
Ford are you listening? Can you add a small ticker status window in the ford app?

FordPass does have a banner while charging:

You do have to tap “Details” to see current charge level.

Also, some fine folks have created customizable widgets for both iOS and Android that can do exactly what you want (I think). Head over to the Mach-E forum and search “Widget.”

 

[wheelz2000]

Ok...does it appear outside the app or do you have to be in the app to see the window you are providing in your post. The pix looks like it's within the app. I could be wrong but thats what it looks like to me. Something like a simple status outside the app should be made available for smart watches as well so customers can get info on their watches without even looking at their phones. It sounds kinda techy, but man that'd be handy.

Sponsored