Need advice for temporary charging solution

[RickLightning]

Since it's good for 30 days, I won't miss out on anything by checking it out tomorrow. I've only used the EA station once, used the free points with Plug N Charge. Now I'd like to make sure I know how to flip that off and use the app to charge from EA. I'd rather test it out by myself, in town, vs discover an issue on the road with the family.

You don't need to flip anything off.

Open EA app, swipe charger, plug in.

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[Zprime29]

You don't need to flip anything off.

Open EA app, swipe charger, plug in.

I thought I read somewhere that you need to toggle off the plug n charge in the FordPass app? This is all new to me, hence my wanting to get familiar with it before heading out of town.

 

[RickLightning]

I thought I read somewhere that you need to toggle off the plug n charge in the FordPass app? This is all new to me, hence my wanting to get familiar with it before heading out of town.

No.

If you plug in first, Plug and Charge will run.

If you swipe with the app, then when the screen tells you to, plug in, the EA app will control the session, Plug and Charge won't run.

Some turn off Plug and Charge just to make sure, but it's not necessary.

If you're traveling across states, take a look on the EA site to see if any of the states you will be in charge by the minute, vs. by the kWh. Works out to about 1/2 the price. If you have free hours, use them in per kWh states, not per minute states.

Another tip - keep track of the free hours, and end your session when they are used up. Unplug, activate charger with EA, and plug back in to finish. Otherwise, you'll pay the full price to finish.

 

[Zprime29]

I'll be heading to El Paso, looks like Texas does per min. So I'd want to charge only enough to get there and do full charge at per min rate. Nice...That's a great tip!

 

[RickLightning]

I'll be heading to El Paso, looks like Texas does per min. So I'd want to charge only enough to get there and do full charge at per min rate. Nice...That's a great tip!

Right. And then fill up before leaving the state. Maximize charging in per minute states as much as possible. Even hit the last spot in the state despite having enough. The rate is close to what many pay at home.

I use a factor of 1.75 with my Mach-E (Lighting will be faster). In other words, ON AVERAGE, a good EA charger will give 1.75kW per minute, charging from 20 to 80%. So, in 1 minute you'll get 1.75kW in the per minute state, and pay 29 cents on Pass+. In the per kWh state, you'd pay 63 cents. Hence, less than 1/2 the cost. I see rates between about 1.6 and 1.85, so I use 1.75.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I use a factor of 1.75 with my Mach-E (Lighting will be faster). In other words, ON AVERAGE, a good EA charger will give 1.75kW per minute, charging from 20 to 80%. So, in 1 minute you'll get 1.75kW in the per minute state, and pay 29 cents on Pass+.

I've been optimizing my sessions, avoiding charging above 80% when not needed and starting with enroute pre-conditioning, with sessions starting as low an SOC as I can get on a trip, lately running a mean rate of charge 2.05 KW/MIN (1.95 to 2.15 KW/MIN) on my Lightning.

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

I use an adjustable mobile charge on a y split cord for my dryer and can confirm that 30 amps trips the 30 amp breaker very quick. Mine is now set at 24 amps and ran 12 hours a night with 0 issues. cant wait to get my charger installed.

I run my charger just fine on dryer plug with adapter to 14-50 plug. My dryer breaket is 40 amp on panel and gird charger always pulls just under 32amps. L

I use an adjustable mobile charge on a y split cord for my dryer and can confirm that 30 amps trips the 30 amp breaker very quick. Mine is now set at 24 amps and ran 12 hours a night with 0 issues. cant wait to get my charger installed.

So for us on weekends at our cabin I run our Ford mobile charger, so at max 32amps never a problem. We have two 30amp breakers feeding dryer plug. At wall outlet we have a short y-split 14-50 plug adapter feeding dryer and ev charger. We just have a system where dryer is never run if charger being used.

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

I run my charger just fine on dryer plug with adapter to 14-50 plug. My dryer breaket is 40 amp on panel and gird charger always pulls just under 32amps. L

So for us on weekends at our cabin I run our Ford mobile charger, so at max 32amps never a problem. We have two 30amp breakers feeding dryer plug. At wall outlet we have a short y-split 14-50 plug adapter feeding dryer and ev charger. We just have a system where dryer is never run if charger being used.

Please ignore first comment, it posted by mistake when I went to check my breaker box again hmmm

 

[Zprime29]

Ya, as much as I want to try it, I'm second guessing it. It just 2 weeks, it will be an annoying 2 weeks, but I will survive. Can't wait to start level 2 charging at home.

 

[glucola]

Please ignore first comment, it posted by mistake when I went to check my breaker box again hmmm

Inquirng on old thread , awaiting approval for 240 v plug ; how far is your dryer outlet to ev , i'm about 55 Foot , will I be ok with extension cord/

 

[cdherman]

Inquirng on old thread , awaiting approval for 240 v plug ; how far is your dryer outlet to ev , i'm about 55 Foot , will I be ok with extension cord/

You have left out far too many details. Are you planning to charge with the mobile power cord, which reputedly will charge at 30A? If so, you will need a pretty large extension cord for 30A over 55ft.

Other threads indicate that you cannot derate the Lighting via settings to a lower rate of charge. This is unfortunate if true. Might want to explore. Many EVs now allow you to "tell" the vehicle to charge at a lower amperage. Particularly useful when using an EVSE designed for say 40A, but plugging into a much lower amp circuit.

Understand: The vehicle and the EVSE can negotiate based on what the EVSE is designed to deliver. BUT, the wiring upstream from the EVSE is unknown to the vehicle and the EVSE. Current wiring systems (in place for approaching 100 years) cannot tell devices what a given circuit is capable of.

Hope this makes sense.....

 

[ScubaSteve_TheReal]

Inquirng on old thread , awaiting approval for 240 v plug ; how far is your dryer outlet to ev , i'm about 55 Foot , will I be ok with extension cord/

I’m not that far but have been using this for past 8months with 32amp charger. From amazon of course lol.
Camco 50-Amp Camper/RV Extension Cord | Features Power Grip Handles, Copper 6/3 + 8/1-Gauge Wires, and Rated for 125/250 volts/12,500 watts | 30-foot (55195)

 

[glucola]

Thanks For input

 

[RickLightning]

You have left out far too many details. Are you planning to charge with the mobile power cord, which reputedly will charge at 30A? If so, you will need a pretty large extension cord for 30A over 55ft.

Other threads indicate that you cannot derate the Lighting via settings to a lower rate of charge. This is unfortunate if true. Might want to explore. Many EVs now allow you to "tell" the vehicle to charge at a lower amperage. Particularly useful when using an EVSE designed for say 40A, but plugging into a much lower amp circuit.

Understand: The vehicle and the EVSE can negotiate based on what the EVSE is designed to deliver. BUT, the wiring upstream from the EVSE is unknown to the vehicle and the EVSE. Current wiring systems (in place for approaching 100 years) cannot tell devices what a given circuit is capable of.

Hope this makes sense.....

You don't need to explore. None of the Ford EVs allow you to change settings to lower or raise your charging rate. And the Ford Mobile Charger cannot be adjusted either. The Lightning version pulls 30amps, the Mach-E version pulls 32amps.

So no negotiation takes place. The truck asks for up to 80amps, the Mobile Charger will provide 30amps. A standard 30amp dryer outlet is not designed for a continuous 30amp pull, it needs to be no more than 24amps. So, you need to buy an EVSE that delivers 24amps max.

Now add in an extension cord, which also has to be rated for a continuous pull of 24amps.

 

[Jseis]

The limiting factors are the 30 amp dryer breaker which will trip eventually as the mobile charger will pull 30+. Then the feed from the panel to the dryer needs to be at least AWG 8 copper (not Aluminum) to pull the 32 amp peak of the mobile charge.

This is why you hire a trained electrician. You’ll need to upgrade the panel breaker to at least 40 amp.

Also, my mobile charger went red light of death at 40,000+ miles in the MME. I switched to CP Home Flex that charges at about 9 KWh and can easily replace 90 miles in 5 hours.

I sat down and did some calcs on relocating the charger such that I can do inside or outside charging (summer outside and run the plug-in side through a small pass thru door) and realized that to take full advantage of the CP Home Flex max out put I’ll need a 50 Amp breaker and 35’ + of AWG 6 and realistically I’ll probably go to AWG 4 as the run is nearly 40’. That 40’ of AWG 4 copper is not cheap. And the run needs to be in conduit and the cost of that simple extension is likely $3,000. Since our garage is separately metered from the house that makes the upgrade easier except the 100 amp utility panel installed by the former owner has 300 amps of breakers! 🫣 because garage apartment with stove/baseboard heat/hot water tank! Switching out the utility panel for a 300 amp is $$$.

So.. be warned. Nothing comes cheap or easy.

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