Which Charger to use?

[Crullbri]

Hi everyone. I am new to the group as of last night and new owner of a used 2023 Lightning with 1000 miles on it. The charger that came with the car has a 110v plug and a 220v plug. I was at 63% and the 110 plug in said full charge in a day and a half. If i am reading correct, if i use the 220v plug and get an outlet for it in the garage, it would charge about 30 miles every hour. That charge speed is fine if it is true. Can I get input on if this is worth doing, or if i should in vest in a different charger all together? I do not drive everyday. I only do local trips with the occasional trip from Tucson to Tempe. thanks in advance for your input. Brian

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[Tfarrell73]

If you're referring to the mobile charger, I don't think you'll get anywhere near 30 miles per hour. Maybe 15? I don't have that.

 

[OtterJohn]

New owner myself. I had a 220 NEMA 14-50 outlet put in the garage near the driver's side quarter panel (conveniently, right next to my electrical panel) and use the mobile charger. Works fine. I just plug in at the end of the day (like I do my phone) and charge overnight. Install was cheap and it works great.

 

[RickLightning]

Hi everyone. I am new to the group as of last night and new owner of a used 2023 Lightning with 1000 miles on it. The charger that came with the car has a 110v plug and a 220v plug. I was at 63% and the 110 plug in said full charge in a day and a half. If i am reading correct, if i use the 220v plug and get an outlet for it in the garage, it would charge about 30 miles every hour. That charge speed is fine if it is true. Can I get input on if this is worth doing, or if i should in vest in a different charger all together? I do not drive everyday. I only do local trips with the occasional trip from Tucson to Tempe. thanks in advance for your input. Brian

You don't get miles per hour, just like a gallon of gas doesn't give you miles. It all depends on how you drive, temperature, etc.

The 110v will give 1.1kW, so you can do that math for the truck. 131 / 1.1 or 98/1.1 depending on the battery size.

The 220v is 30amps (requires a 14-50 outlet and 50 amp breaker), and it will give the truck around 6.5kW, so do that math - 131/6.5 or 98/6.5.

Since these trucks typically get less than 2 miles per kilowatt hour on the highway, that match shows you that you won't even hit 20 miles of range. In winter, knock off another 20% or more.

The Ford Mobile Charger may also not last, it has failed for a lot of people.

I use a 48amp hardwired (>40amp requires hardwiring) JuiceBox. Utility companies sometimes sell discounted chargers, or provide rebates - mine gives you $500. Then there is a 30% tax credit on the charger and the electrical work (after you subtract the $500).

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[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

Get either the Tesla Universal Charger or the Emporia charger. Tesla does double duty and allows your Tesla buds to charge when they come over. Emporia is the best value for a true 48A EVSE. Go to Emporias website, put the charger in your cart, then abandon the order. You'll likely get a discount code in the next ~48 hours encouraging you to complete the purchase.

I really like the fact I can jam ~17 kW of juice into my truck, but the extra price for the FCSP does not justify buying it on the open market if you can get by with the 11 kW Emporia (or Tesla) can provide.

 

[Peddyr]

The Ford Mobile Charger may also not last, it has failed for a lot of people.



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I would install a 220 NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage as many of us have done. The Ford Mobile charger is slow and will fail you when the heat goes into the 90's. I found this out the hard way this past summer. You can do a search of the Forum and see all the recommendations for chargers you can mount on the wall. I went with the Emporia(https://shop.emporiaenergy.com/products/smart-home-ev-charger-ul-listed) and have nothing but good things to say about it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can declare the cost of the outlet, parts/labor, and the new charger on your taxes. Welcome to the Forum and good luck with your new whip.

 

[TomB985]

You don't get miles per hour, just like a gallon of gas doesn't give you miles. It all depends on how you drive, temperature, etc.

The 110v will give 1.1kW, so you can do that math for the truck. 131 / 1.1 or 98/1.1 depending on the battery size.

The 220v is 30amps (requires a 14-50 outlet and 50 amp breaker), and it will give the truck around 6.5kW, so do that math - 131/6.5 or 98/6.5.

Since these trucks typically get less than 2 miles per kilowatt hour on the highway, that match shows you that you won't even hit 20 miles of range. In winter, knock off another 20% or more.

The Ford Mobile Charger may also not last, it has failed for a lot of people.

I use a 48amp hardwired (>40amp requires hardwiring) JuiceBox. Utility companies sometimes sell discounted chargers, or provide rebates - mine gives you $500. Then there is a 30% tax credit on the charger and the electrical work (after you subtract the $500).

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All of this. I've hated the "miles per hour" charging metric since I started driving EVs four years ago. It's a meaningless number because of how much efficiency depends on driving style. That part is no different than an ICE truck, but it matters when you can't fill up in five minutes. I use a Tesla Wall Connector and Lectron adapter, which is configured for 40A. That's 9.4 kW, and the vast majority of that goes into the pack.

Charging speed is a simple math problem. Think of your battery as a bucket, and the charging hardware as the size of the hose you fill it with, measured in kW. You fill a 130-gallon bucket a heckuva lot faster at 9.4 GPM than you do 1.

 

[shutterbug]

I use a 48amp hardwired (>40amp requires hardwiring) JuiceBox. Utility companies sometimes sell discounted chargers, or provide rebates - mine gives you $500. Then there is a 30% tax credit on the charger and the electrical work (after you subtract the $500).

I think hard wired EVSE is the best and safest choice. Based on experience from MME owners, the mobile charger that Ford provides is not the most reliable choice for long term use.

 

[Newton]

Hi fellow new Lightning Owner! I have owned EVs for the last three years and also have some experience with relatively high amperage electrical systems and have a bit of a different take than many other owners.

I would get the smallest charger that meets my needs. If I don’t have any time constraints such as a small window of cheap electricity, then all that I need is a charger that recharges the car overnight. It is like a phone charger, nobody really cares anymore how fast their phone charges as long as it is at 100% when they wake up.

I have a 32A EVSE (7.6KW) which requires a 40A circuit breaker. I bought it when I first got an EV and didn’t know much about EVs, and even that turns out to be larger than I need even for the fairly inefficient (2.2 miles/KW) Ford. Yesterday I drove about 100 miles, plugged in at 49% and charged up to 90% in 6 hours. I plugged in at 5:30pm and it was done by 11:30pm. A faster charger may have been done by 8:00pm, but I didn’t even get up until 5:30am this morning, so what would I care?

At another location I have a 20A EVSE (4.8KW) and while I have not yet charged the Ford there yet, it turned out to be plenty of overnight charge for my Kia and my E-Golf. I don’t drive much when I am there so I only charge a couple of times a week, but I have always reached my charging goal overnight even if the cars are depleted.

One thing that concerns me a little is that although the cars themselves are pretty safe, charging an EV requires continuous high amperage draw – and that is something that residential building codes were not designed to accommodate until recently. Most EV owners don’t seem to have any real concept of the energy involved or the heat that can be generated at even 30A (google Ohms law). People seem to be fixated on recharging time and ignoring the fact that the more amps always means that there is more heat and risk — which even if it is small is probably unnecessary for most people. There are plenty of pictures of melted chargers and outlets on the internet, and there don’t have to be. Every heating and cooling cycle makes metal expand and contract slightly, more so with more heat and over time that causes connections to loosen up, which causes more heat, and eventually you have a problem.

I’m a bit bummed that my favorite low amperage charger (Clipper Creek 20a) is no longer sold. It is possible to find chargers that can have the amp draw dialed down, and I might end up doing that when I add an outdoor charger for my Ford. I am leaning towards adding a WallBox charger (up to 48A) with 6ga wiring and then turning it down to 30 just to have even more leeway.

 

[Roy2001]

If you're referring to the mobile charger, I don't think you'll get anywhere near 30 miles per hour. Maybe 15? I don't have that.

30A x 240v = 7.2kWh, battery gets ~6kWh/hour actually, that translates to 12 miles per hour.

30 miles per hour is only possible with 80A charger.

 

[Crullbri]

Thanks Everyone. i came to the right forum. It sounds like i need to be concerned about summer heat in the garage. sometimes getting up to 100 degrees. Being new to EV's, i apologize for using miles charged per hour. thanks again. Brian

 

[shutterbug]

Thanks Everyone. i came to the right forum. It sounds like i need to be concerned about summer heat in the garage. sometimes getting up to 100 degrees. Being new to EV's, i apologize for using miles charged per hour. thanks again. Brian

Yes, you should be concerned about summer heat. Which is why you should plan to start charging very late night/early morning.

 

[flyct]

Simple math here.

Average mi/kw with my Lightning is 2.1
Average mi/kw with my Tesla Model Y is 3.6

I use 3 different EVSEs
1-Tesla Wall connector hard wired to 60 amps outputs 48 amps or 11.4 KW
2- Tesla Mobile connector plugged into a 14-50 50 amp outlet. Outputs 30 amps of 6 kws
3- A Tera ($169) EVSE plugged into a 14-50 50 amp outlet. It outputs 40 amps or 9.6 kws.

Lightning
1- 11.4 x 2.1 = 24 miles range per hour
2- 6 x 2.1 = 12.6 miles range per hour.
3- 9.6 x 2.1 = 20 miles range per hour

Tesla
1- 11.4 x 3.6 = 41 miles range per hour
2- 6 x 3.6 = 21.6 miles range per hour
3- 9.6 x 3.6 = 34.5 miles range per hour

 

[Adventureboy]

One thing that concerns me a little is that although the cars themselves are pretty safe, charging an EV requires continuous high amperage draw – and that is something that residential building codes were not designed to accommodate until recently. Most EV owners don’t seem to have any real concept of the energy involved or the heat that can be generated at even 30A (google Ohms law). People seem to be fixated on recharging time and ignoring the fact that the more amps always means that there is more heat and risk — which even if it is small is probably unnecessary for most people. There are plenty of pictures of melted chargers and outlets on the internet, and there don’t have to be. Every heating and cooling cycle makes metal expand and contract slightly, more so with more heat and over time that causes connections to loosen up, which causes more heat, and eventually you have a problem.

This is VERY true. Electrical systems are designed to operate at MOST 80% capacity. If you have a 100amp service, a 60amp outlet to run a 48amp charger or a 50amp outlet to run a 40amp charger will give you problems. 200amp service may still give you problems depending on your other appliances (air conditioners, hot tubs etc), but make sure it is connected securely. FCSP must be hard-wired which is way safer than an electrical outlet and plug.
I run a 40amp Grizzl-E Duo charger on a 200amp service to charge both my wife's Mach-E and my Lightning. It delivers 40 amps if one vehicle is plugged in, splits 20/20 amps if charging both, then when one finishes, it delivers 32/8 amps until the 2nd finishes. Drawing 40 continuous amps for 13 or so hours will definitely show any weakness in your electrical system. 98% of the time, I can get away with much less as Newton suggests and both vehicles are topped up usually before midnight. We drive about 50,000 miles per year across the two vehicles on this duo charger.

 

[Zprime29]

Being a fellow Tucson resident, I can say that I saw no drop in efficiency for our "winter" driving (based on Feb/Mar of '23 temps). We are still hitting near 90F and average mid 40's in the morning most of the winter with occasional drops. Probably more accurate to say, "knock off another 20% when at or below freezing."

I saw about a 10% drop with heavy A/C use. In June I was able to make it from north Tucson to the Phoenix airport and back with 20% to spare. Drove 70mph most of the way (little to no traffic), occasionally bumping up to 75mph when I was able to follow traffic. I recommend getting a level 2 EVSE hard wired then dial it down/up as needed. I agree that the Tesla UWC or Emporia are top picks.

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