Ford Pro Charging Station vs. Nema 14-50 outlet

[Curtis G]

Greetings current and future Lightning owners. Trying to decide if I should have an electrician come and install a Nema 14-50 in my garage now or wait until I receive the Ford Pro Charging station after my 2023 Lighting Lariat (Avalanche Grey) is delivered in approx 1 month?

I'd like to have a decent charging option when I receive the pickup, but don't know how long the Pro Charging station will take to arrive. Also don't want to hire an electrician to come for two different jobs if not necessary.

Any thoughts, recommendations or input would be appreciate. Thank you.

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[LightningLover]

They usually arrive within about a week or two of the truck's delivery.

 

[Pioneer74]

It took a month before I got my FCSP.

 

[Ostrichsak]

NEMA 14-50 is about as universal of a 50A/240v receptacle as you'll find. I would plan to keep that and do the Ford one in addition (rather than replacing with) and you'll be glad you did moving forward. Heck, about the only reason to even install the Ford one is the 2-way functionality if that's something you're interested in. The higher A/C charge rates are only beneficial on a super-infrequent basis IMO based on personal experience.

 

[O’Majestic1’slightnigF150]

NEMA 14-50 is about as universal of a 50A/240v receptacle as you'll find. I would plan to keep that and do the Ford one in addition (rather than replacing with) and you'll be glad you did moving forward. Heck, about the only reason to even install the Ford one is the 2-way functionality if that's something you're interested in. The higher A/C charge rates are only beneficial on a super-infrequent basis IMO based on personal experience.

In have both. And I agree. A couple good features about the 14-50: if you get the right charger you can unplug, pull one pin on a bracket and take with you. Also you can get a dumb charger and you don’t have to program it or worry about WiFi, plug in and let your vehicle control.
My FCSP keeps derating to lower amperage’s because of overheating so it ends up at 60 amps or less anyway.

 

[Crilly]

When the pro charger Comes in you can put a 50-14 cord. On it and set it to 32 amps.

 

[PV2EV]

I just got my FCSP today, and picked up the pickup on the 14th.

If you have the panel capacity, you could run a 14-50 for temporary and future use, and also prewire for the FCSP, possibly saving money/time.

Another option is to install the conduit and wire for the FCSP, with a 50A breaker (if the wire fits) on one end and the 14-50 outlet (if the wire fits) on the other. Then change the breaker to 100A and replace the 14-50 outlet with the FCSP.

 

[JustBuyATesla]

My Lightning is my family's 3rd EV. I don't think you'll ever regret having more amperage in the garage than less, so I would suggest running a fair amount of lines (200-250?) out to your garage depending on what your house allows. The electrician can install a 14-50 outlet (50 Amp line) which should hold you over until the FCSP arrives and gets installed. 50 Amps will roughly charge the truck at 15 miles per hour of charge which should be good enough for almost anyone's daily needs.

 

[Tony Burgh]

I did both also. But I don’t regret the FCSP. The mobile charger is fine for most cases but if you need fast, well, it isn’t it. BTW, you can run the FCSP at lower power than the mobile charger on 240v. Nothing runs slower than the mobile charger on 120v.

 

[skyak]

50 amp breaker = 40 amp delivered to truck. 240v x 40 a = 9.6 kW, battery is 131 kW so will charge empty to full in ~14 hours or 20% to 80% in ~8.5 hr. For overnight charging this should meet the needs of most people.

edit **my early experience is ~20 miles per hour using FCSP at 40 amp max setting (50 amp breaker)**

 

[Ostrichsak]

My Lightning is my family's 3rd EV. I don't think you'll ever regret having more amperage in the garage than less, so I would suggest running a fair amount of lines (200-250?) out to your garage depending on what your house allows. The electrician can install a 14-50 outlet (50 Amp line) which should hold you over until the FCSP arrives and gets installed. 50 Amps will roughly charge the truck at 15 miles per hour of charge which should be good enough for almost anyone's daily needs.

50A@240v outlet would charge at double that or 30mph unless I misunderstood what you're saying.

 

[SoFLALightning]

I took advantage of an old irrigation pump circuit right at the garage because the panel is at a horrible place to run a new circuit and am charging at 20A (16A to truck)/240v. Just be realistic with your range and your average charging. I am about 24 miles round trip to work and only charge 2 nights a week.

 

[ddbrooke]

I had a 14-50 installed before I got the truck. It cost me $425, mostly for labor. I got the FCSP about a week after I picked up the truck. I've put over 2000 miles on the truck and I've charged at home 8 times and now realize that using the mobile charger long term is not a good idea. I've scheduled an electrician to install a 100amp sub-panel for the FCSP. I'll de-rate it to 48amps and keep the 14-50 as a back up.

 

[Dirtriderx99]

I had a 14-50 installed before I got the truck. It cost me $425, mostly for labor. I got the FCSP about a week after I picked up the truck. I've put over 2000 miles on the truck and I've charged at home 8 times and now realize that using the mobile charger long term is not a good idea. I've scheduled an electrician to install a 100amp sub-panel for the FCSP. I'll de-rate it to 48amps and keep the 14-50 as a back up.

Why isn’t it good long term?

 

[ddbrooke]

Why isn’t it good long term?

It’s a pain in the butt to have to get it out, plug in, pack it back up again. Then there is the wear and tear on the 14-50 parts. Sandy Munro did a video on the failure of parts that weren’t designed for the sustained high current load that EV charging puts electrical components. It’s the reason why the Charge Station Pro has torque requirements for the incoming power connections. Loose connections equals high resistance, high heat failure points that risk burning down your house.

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