Charging Options

[wwise]

Hey F-150 Lightning fans. I was fortunate to receive a Wave 5 invite from my local Ford Dealer for a MY22 Lariat. I am guessing realistically Sept/Oct delivery? It is supposed to come with the Ford Charge Station Pro 80 amp charger but from what I am hearing the chargers are running behind schedule (Shocker! I know!) and are not being delivered to the customer prior to delivery of the truck. I have inquired about the cost to install in my garage and unfortunately my breaker box is approximately a 90 Ft run to my garage and as I am sure most are aware the cost of the wire alone is sky high now plus install costs. My question is: What options do I have other than the Ford Charge Station Pro? I will have approximately 12-14 hours every night to charge. Is the Emporia Smart Level 2 EV Charger 48 amp Nema 14-50 or Hardwired Indoor/Outdoor Charging station $449 on Amazon a possible alternative for me? I am trying to be proactive and plan ahead. Any opinions/feedback from Ford Lightning Forum Members would be greatly appreciated! FYI... My local dealer received their 1st F-150 Lightning delivery today a Platinum version and I got to see it before delivery to the customer. Wow! Beautiful truck! But...It did not come with the Ford Charge Station Pro Charger and my sales manager confirmed they were running behind schedule. Thanks and look forward hearing your opinions and feedback! Walt

 

[PeterF]

In my honest opinion the charge station pro is overkill for regular residential use - unless of course you want to utilize the reverse charge option (witch is awesome albeit with a VERY costly install).

Does anyone know if the Lightning comes with a 240V charge cable? Our Mach-E did. That is more than sufficient to charge the MME and the Lightning for 12-14 hours - unless you plan to empty the battery completely every day.

I know that some MME owners just had a 240V outlet Installed in their garages and plugged the charge cord into that.

I personally have a chargepoint L2 charger - but we could easily have gone with a “dumb” L2 charger - the timing etc can be controlled from the Lightning.

 

[wwise]

Thanks Peter! That is what I am hearing is that the Charge Station Pro might be overkill for my needs. I will look into your suggestions. Thanks! Walt

 

[PeterF]

My pleasure. We’re not going to use the Charge station Pro. We’re sticking with the L2 we have.
And congrats on your order.

 

[wwise]

Thanks! Walt

 

[svoelpel]

Hey F-150 Lightning fans. I was fortunate to receive a Wave 5 invite from my local Ford Dealer for a MY22 Lariat. I am guessing realistically Sept/Oct delivery? It is supposed to come with the Ford Charge Station Pro 80 amp charger but from what I am hearing the chargers are running behind schedule (Shocker! I know!) and are not being delivered to the customer prior to delivery of the truck. I have inquired about the cost to install in my garage and unfortunately my breaker box is approximately a 90 Ft run to my garage and as I am sure most are aware the cost of the wire alone is sky high now plus install costs. My question is: What options do I have other than the Ford Charge Station Pro? I will have approximately 12-14 hours every night to charge. Is the Emporia Smart Level 2 EV Charger 48 amp Nema 14-50 or Hardwired Indoor/Outdoor Charging station $449 on Amazon a possible alternative for me? I am trying to be proactive and plan ahead. Any opinions/feedback from Ford Lightning Forum Members would be greatly appreciated! FYI... My local dealer received their 1st F-150 Lightning delivery today a Platinum version and I got to see it before delivery to the customer. Wow! Beautiful truck! But...It did not come with the Ford Charge Station Pro Charger and my sales manager confirmed they were running behind schedule. Thanks and look forward hearing your opinions and feedback! Walt

I am driving my 5th EV. First was a Leaf that I just charged from a 110 wall outlet. Second was a Tesla S. I installed a NEMA 14-50 on a 50 amp breaker in my garage and used the L2 charging cable that came with the car. Skipping to my current EV which is a Chevy Bolt, I was surprised that it did not come with a L2 charging cable. So being my normal frugal self I took a chance with a generic L2 charging cable from ebay for $125, and it has worked fine for the past 18 months. I just checked and it is no longer available on ebay. The best current price for a L2 32amp plug in NEMA 14-50 was this one at $255.99. https://www.ebay.com/itm/393066742361?hash=item5b849a8259:g:xG4AAOSwzoxeAyYZ
If you want to take a chance on a very inexpensive cable take a look at this

Level 2 J1772 EV Charger (240V, 32A, 25FT) with NEMA 14-50P

Work with your EV with J1772 Plug! Fitment:Nissan LEAF, BMW I series, Chevy Volt, Chevy Bolt, Fiat 500e, Ford C-Max Energi, Ford Focus Electric, Ford Fusion Energi and more. 👉 This level 2 EV charging cable will offer you up to 5x the charging

shafoni.com

I think most of these generic cables a make at the same one or two factories in China and then labelled under various names by resellers.

 

[ICED Lightning]

Funny, and while talking about Charging 'amperage' control, my wife's New KIA SORENTO PHEV(Plug In Hybrid), which can drive much of the time in 'electric only' mode, just like any EV, has only the standard 240v J1772 charge port - there is NO option to ever use any DC FAST CHARGER, and well, it makes sense, as the battery is small, is only a 32 mile range, so the 'need' to ever have any dc fast charging would make little sense, especially when the car has an ENGINE, too!
But, today we found a sweet little 'setting' for the Charging, with the ability to 'schedule' when you will leave each morning, I suppose so that charging is actually completed at that timeframe, AND a three-level 'Charge Amperage' setting, which I found interesting: It provides for 'Regular', 'Medium', and 'Reduced' speeds. Now, it doesn't go into detail, and it doesn't allude to whether this is referring to the 120v Charge Cable that comes with the car, or if you are using another EVSE 240v cable option, which we do.
I think this is a setting that provides the owner the ability to 'dial down' the amount of amperage the 120v outlet will be asked to provide, in the event you are in a situation where you are 'sharing' the outlet, or the circuit, with other equipment, devices, appliances, or anything else that might also need power, in order to limit any 'tripping' of the circuit's breaker. For instance, her mother's home has a garage that she could arrive at and easily plug into one of the outlets, if she needed to. But, the garage has several freezers that her mother keeps running there, so if the car is set to draw the maximum amount of power, 12amps, as stated on the EVSE provided with the car, she could easily and quickly trip the breaker, or it may trip when one of the freezers kicks on. Lowering this amperage would be prudent, and a good option, although I can see that it's also probably very infrequently needed. I can see it more if you are in an emergency roadside situation, but since this car is a HYBRID, the engine will take you home - so, while a good 'idea' for any EV, it doesn't seem to have a ton of merit in a HYBRID - but, we can only hope this type of 'dial down' option is available in the LIGHTNING. That makes a LOT of sense for EVs since they don't have an engine to help out. If you are in a big squeeze situation, being able to 'dial down' either 120v or 240v amperage might be the difference between being able to 'charge', and not.

Another situation would be where you are 'sharing' power, even for your OWN sharing needs, such as if you are towing a camper. The campground may only have a 30amp 120v outlet, with NO OTHER outlets. If that's the case, with the correct adapter, you could plug the TRUCK into the campground 30amp 120v outlet, and plug the camper into the Truck's 20amp 120v outlet. Since the truck, while charging, is obviously going to sustain the MOST amperage over a very long charging timeframe, being able to 'dial down' that to 10amps, or even 8amps, might leave enough for the 30amp campground outlet to support both the charging of the truck, while also providing enough to do most everything in the camper, maybe even air conditioning.

 

[wwise]

Thank you to all for your feedback!!! Very helpful!!! Walt