Am I crazy - L1 at home is adequate?

[RickLightning]

I don't think that's correct. I had a lower powered l2 charger(16a, roughly 3.5kw) and had no problems preconditioning.

The big reason I have an L2 48amp charger is what has already been mentioned... Being able to strategically charge when power is off-peak/cheap. I have solar and power walls, so I am able to balance things out if I can charge when the power is cheap as I'm not home during the day when the solar is providing power. If I was on an L1 charger, I would need to charge the whole time the vehicle is in the garage in order to maintain battery for my my 35 mile round trip commute.

Did you measure the battery temperature before and after? You're in California... In the cold of winter, when the battery pack is 30 degrees and it gets warmed to 59 degrees, that's quite different.

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[laselvasurf]

Did you measure the battery temperature before and after? You're in California... In the cold of winter, when the battery pack is 30 degrees and it gets warmed to 59 degrees, that's quite different.

Nope, I did not. The cabin was warm and the vehicle had 100% power when I left. Outside temp was around 35-40 degrees for the week I was charging with the lower powered 16A charger.

 

[MTBAZ]

So, wait. You have an ER, so you got a FCSP sitting in a box, but you still limit yourself to L1 charging? Why? Is it because your service isn't capable of sustaining an additional 240V circuit, or because adding it is too expensive?

1. It's riding season in AZ. Ride first, make sure bikes are repaired, then work later.
2. don't need it for what I currently do.
3. needs work (AKA time) to setup. 2 new sub panels and running a new 100 amp circuit across the house.

 

[Maquis]

I don't think that's correct. I had a lower powered l2 charger(16a, roughly 3.5kw) and had no problems preconditioning.

The big reason I have an L2 48amp charger is what has already been mentioned... Being able to strategically charge when power is off-peak/cheap. I have solar and power walls, so I am able to balance things out if I can charge when the power is cheap as I'm not home during the day when the solar is providing power. If I was on an L1 charger, I would need to charge the whole time the vehicle is in the garage in order to maintain battery for my my 35 mile round trip commute.

I think it is correct. See post 22. In your case, your battery likely made up the extra couple of KW.

 

[JonS]

You again assume incorrectly. The F-150 will not precondition the battery on 120v, it can't supply enough juice. And it won't use the battery to do so. It will warm the cabin only. You can again verify this with an OBDII adapter and an app - but it's been done dozens of times on the Mach-E.

Ok, good to know someone has science'd this . Subjectively I would have said something was going on as the instrument cluster never showed a cold battery. However if the OBDII adapter is not showing a preconditioning state then that is fairly conclusive.

Is there anything tested/documented around the truck triggering a warming state to protect the HVB when not plugged in during extreme conditions?

 

[mr.Magoo]

You again assume incorrectly. The F-150 will not precondition the battery on 120v, it can't supply enough juice. And it won't use the battery to do so. It will warm the cabin only. You can again verify this with an OBDII adapter and an app - but it's been done dozens of times on the Mach-E.

I don't know about pre-conditioning, but the truck does heat the battery while "running" and plugged in to a 120V charger, so perhaps "remote start" is your workaround.
I'm just getting my logging capabilities set up so I don't have enough data to draw a definitive conclusion, but this is something I observed over the weekend.

Granted, using battery power to heat your battery is.. well... counter productive and will reduce range overall.

 

[cvalue13]

I have a FCSP sitting in the box because I can’t find an electrician with enough familiarity to install the damn thing. Went through 3 prior attempts, probably 6hrs of meetings and chats, and after all that… I just wore out.

Would be great to find someone in central Texas that would take my money, but good help is hard to find

 

[Pioneer74]

I have a FCSP sitting in the box because I can’t find an electrician with enough familiarity to install the damn thing. Went through 3 prior attempts, probably 6hrs of meetings and chats, and after all that… I just wore out.

Would be great to find someone in central Texas that would take my money, but good help is hard to find

Do you just want it to charge or do you want the backup power system?

 

[cvalue13]

Do you just want it to charge or do you want the backup power system?

Ideally, I also want a generator backfeed plug that adequately addresses the floating/bonded neutral issue from the truck. That, it seems, is mentally taxing for some.

Not that the charger installation alone was straightforward to discuss, either.

 

[eopiela]

I use Steve for all my solar/battery/inverter needs. He can do it. I plan to use him when I get my FCSP.

 

[Maquis]

I have a FCSP sitting in the box because I can’t find an electrician with enough familiarity to install the damn thing. Went through 3 prior attempts, probably 6hrs of meetings and chats, and after all that… I just wore out.

Would be great to find someone in central Texas that would take my money, but good help is hard to find

Wiring the FCSP is no different than wiring any 240V device. 3 properly-sized conductors in an approved cable or raceway.

The genny inlet to use ProPower for backup is completely unrelated installation.

Good luck finding a competent contractor…there has to be one in your area.

 

[Pioneer74]

Ideally, I also want a generator backfeed plug that adequately addresses the floating/bonded neutral issue from the truck. That, it seems, is mentally taxing for some.

Not that the charger installation alone was straightforward to discuss, either.

Well, it's not just a plug to deal with the bonded neutral. You have to put in a transfer switch and sub panel. Should be easy to do.

 

[Chado]

L1 charging a EV is quite a continuous load at the house outlet, if you are using L1 I would at a minimum replace the outlet with a high quality one and monitor the wall plate temp

 

[adoublee]

I don't know about pre-conditioning, but the truck does heat the battery while "running" and plugged in to a 120V charger, so perhaps "remote start" is your workaround.
I'm just getting my logging capabilities set up so I don't have enough data to draw a definitive conclusion, but this is something I observed over the weekend.

Granted, using battery power to heat your battery is.. well... counter productive and will reduce range overall.

I'm not sure that looks like a battery pre-conditioning, just seems to keep battery temp above a minimum needed to take some charger (an apparently not enough charge to keep the battery from re-cooling off). The power used looks well above L1 maximum, so must be using some battery power to provide a bit of heat to itself. However, this seems to just demonstrate L1's inability to heat the battery by itself.

 

[Monkey]

L1 charging sucks.

That said, my Lightning has been plugged into 120V recently as I've been out of town. It's garaged so not that cold. It does seem to do some conditioning of the battery while plugged in but only minimal. I can't tell much, but I've been informed that the fan and such run occasionally and my wife and son have driven it a couple times for short trips so topping off on 120V is fine for now. For more serious charging we have to share our L2 charger with the Tesla... Until I get the FCSP installed.

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