Ford Lightning Top 5 things to make a fantastic tuck better

[Firestop]

When I owned my EV I ended up purchasing a 25’ charging cord on Amazon with five different plugs since friends I visited did it or not all have the same dryer vent plugs. It worked great and fortunately I still have it One less thing to buy

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[GreenLady]

Do you mind posting a link?

Looks like it’s no longer available on Amazon BTW I paid $259.99 in 2020, looks like prices have gone up!

 

[beatle]

I am thinking that for items 3&5 it will be necessary to obtain a third party mobile charger that has a selectable maximum current draw, especially if you think you may be charging another EV that also does not have a selection to limit the current from the EVSE. It would have been nice if that was a feature on the Ford mobile charger included with the Lightnings.

Ford already has adapters for 5-15 and 14-50 plugs that come with the mobile EVSE. These adjust the maximum current from 12A to 30A. They just need to make them for other plugs.

The Tesla UMC is probably the most flexible with 8 different interchangeable plugs, though it also requires an adapter to plug into the J1772 inlet on non-Tesla vehicles, and those adapters aren't particularly cheap. Still, those adapters are nice for charging on Tesla destination HPWCs as well.

 

[KingKilowatt]

Just so I understand properly, we need a 40 amp outlet or higher for the portable charger?

To use the included portable charger you will need a 14-50 plug and wiring to support it. Code requires you to overate The wiring (40 amp circuit is only good for 32 amps) if your going to be using it for many hours of continuous use. There are a few other threads that go into this in great detail.

 

[KingKilowatt]

Looks like it’s no longer available on Amazon BTW I paid $259.99 in 2020, looks like prices have gone up!

Nice to have the different ends. With a 16 amp max that’s only 3.8kW and not going to let you max out any of the 30 amp plugs. With the lightning‘s massive battery just be prepared for it to take a bit to charge.

 

[SmokingtheMeats]

To use the included portable charger you will need a 14-50 plug and wiring to support it. Code requires you to overate The wiring (40 amp circuit is only good for 32 amps) if your going to be using it for many hours of continuous use. There are a few other threads that go into this in great detail.

This is a killer for me when I travel to some remote locations that do not have an available 14-50 plug.
Ford’s site states a normal household 120v plug would suffice.

 

[Amps]

Ford’s site states a normal household 120v plug would suffice.

It may, if you're going to be in that remote location for at three full days of continuous charging to add ~50% to the battery's state-of-charge.

 

[VTbuckeye]

This is a killer for me when I travel to some remote locations that do not have an available 14-50 plug.
Ford’s site states a normal household 120v plug would suffice.

Most people just don't comprehend how big this battery is and how small a charge they get from a 120v outlet at 12 amps. Many phev cars have batteries like kiddie pools. The 100 to 150 mile range EV have a battery like an above ground pool. Our trucks have batteries like a moderate sized in ground swimming pool and a semi would have an Olympic size pool battery. Charging on 120V is like using a garden hose. 240v x 30 amp would be like filling it from 6 or 7 garden hoses at once. 150kw charging would be like a fire hose.

 

[SmokingtheMeats]

Most people just don't comprehend how big this battery is and how small a charge they get from a 120v outlet at 12 amps. Many phev cars have batteries like kiddie pools. The 100 to 150 mile range EV have a battery like an above ground pool. Our trucks have batteries like a moderate sized in ground swimming pool and a semi would have an Olympic size pool battery. Charging on 120V is like using a garden hose. 240v x 30 amp would be like filling it from 6 or 7 garden hoses at once. 150kw charging would be like a fire hose.

I completely understand this, but in the situations where I take it to cabin that doesn't have a 40 amp plug available, I wanted to see if I could plug it in for a few days to charge it back up.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I completely understand this, but in the situations where I take it to cabin that doesn't have a 40 amp plug available, I wanted to see if I could plug it in for a few days to charge it back up.

Many people new to EVs do not understand the charging complexities and they may stumble across this.

As long as it is not too cold, 120V could slowly make a difference to your charge level. My experience with other plug in vehicles is that they may use almost all of that 1.4kw to warm the battery enough to charge without adding much charge. If all you have is 120v, just know that it will be slow and may not make a huge difference.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Ford is providing a Mobile Charger with both a 120v and 240v option. When you think about the options that most folks will ever run into when it comes to Level 1 or 2 charging, those two are by far the most common, even if you need an adapter infrequently for special situations.

If you want to think about emergency charging needs, while traveling in remote locations with few DC Fast Charger options - look up/search for CAMPGROUNDS or RV PARKS. Many of these now have NEMA 50amp 240v outlets at some/most camp sites. You can plug right in.
I have seen at least one RV Park off I75 in Georgia shown as a 'EV Charge Station' location on plug share, since they can provide EV Owners a $10 Level 2 charging option. There are probably many more rv parks and campgrounds along your travels than you have even imagined. While ever park may have not considered allowing an EV to simply park in a site and 'charge' for some time, if you offer some money, they might.

 

[beatle]

As long as it is not too cold, 120V could slowly make a difference to your charge level. My experience with other plug in vehicles is that they may use almost all of that 1.4kw to warm the battery enough to charge without adding much charge. If all you have is 120v, just know that it will be slow and may not make a huge difference.

Another distinguishing penalty of 120v charging is the lower efficiency. While charging my Tesla, 240v efficiency is 85-90% and 120v is only 65-75%, and that's with garaged temperatures in the 60s. The battery ultimately receives about 1kwh per hour on 120v @ 12A.

 

[Amps]

I completely understand this, but in the situations where I take it to cabin that doesn't have a 40 amp plug available, I wanted to see if I could plug it in for a few days to charge it back up.

Is it your cabin that you return to or a rental cabin? Does it have any 240V appliances like a range or water heater? If it does, it may be easy to get what you need, even if it’s not 40A.

 

[SmokingtheMeats]

Is it your cabin that you return to or a rental cabin? Does it have any 240V appliances like a range or water heater? If it does, it may be easy to get what you need, even if it’s not 40A.

It’s a 26 man cabin built in the 50s with some upgrades. I’ll need to figure something out

 

[GreenLady]

Nice to have the different ends. With a 16 amp max that’s only 3.8kW and not going to let you max out any of the 30 amp plugs. With the lightning‘s massive battery just be prepared for it to take a bit to charge.

When I plugged into the dryer receptacle my car took a few hours. I figure on plugging my Lightning in overnight.

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