Home charging stations

[RedHoncho01]

I'm curious if anyone who has a Grand Touring Aviator or Grand Touring Corsair has had a charging station installed in their garage.  What brand did you choose and why?  Did you have to pull a new line to your garage or was there existing wiring that sufficed?

 

I'm considering the Pulsar Plus Wallbox or Chargepoint.  There are pros and cons to each.  My Lincoln dealer put me in touch with Webasto as they have a nationwide contractor that does the installation for a set fee.  The problem I have is they do not have inventory of their chargers. I'd be curious about anyone's experience with Webasto chargers and installation.

[twintornados]

51 minutes ago, RedHoncho01 said:

I'm curious if anyone who has a Grand Touring Aviator or Grand Touring Corsair has had a charging station installed in their garage.  What brand did you choose and why?  Did you have to pull a new line to your garage or was there existing wiring that sufficed?

 

I'm considering the Pulsar Plus Wallbox or Chargepoint.  There are pros and cons to each.  My Lincoln dealer put me in touch with Webasto as they have a nationwide contractor that does the installation for a set fee.  The problem I have is they do not have inventory of their chargers. I'd be curious about anyone's experience with Webasto chargers and installation.

 

Both cars come with a level two charger that you can have a 220v line installed in your garage and plug that in. Is there an advantage to using the above mentioned 3rd party charging stations installed?

[RedHoncho01]

50 minutes ago, twintornados said:

 

Both cars come with a level two charger that you can have a 220v line installed in your garage and plug that in. Is there an advantage to using the above mentioned 3rd party charging stations installed?

According to my dealer, using the cord at 120V which is standard in most garages will produce a charge time of ~10 hours vs. 3 - 4 hours at 220V.  I didn't realize the charge cable included can be used with either voltage.  It may be smarter to just get the 220V outlet installed.  

[murphy62]

1 hour ago, RedHoncho01 said:

According to my dealer, using the cord at 120V which is standard in most garages will produce a charge time of ~10 hours vs. 3 - 4 hours at 220V.  I didn't realize the charge cable included can be used with either voltage.  It may be smarter to just get the 220V outlet installed.  

Plan ahead.  I rewired my garage 3 times over the years.

20 amp 240 volt circuit for 2013 Ford Fusion Energi.  (12 gauge copper wire)

50 amp 240 volt circuit for 2014 Tesla Model S (6 gauge copper wire)

100 amp 240 volt circuit for 2016 Tesla Model S90D (2 gauge copper wire)

Fortunately no rewiring was required for the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD ER.

 

The voltages in the US are 120/240 and have been since the power grid was created.

 

[RedHoncho01]

I get frustrated with the Lincoln website.  There is so little detailed information about charging their PHEVs. 

 

Until this discussion, all I knew was there was a charging cable included that could be plugged into a 120V outlet.  Now, I know it can also be plugged into a properly wired 240V outlet.  All I will need to do is have an electrician come to my home and run wiring for a new outlet and not have to worry about purchasing a charging station.  That's a huge cost savings.  Even my dealer was unaware of the capability of plugging into a 240V outlet.

 

I appreciate all the sage advice from you folks!

[HotRunrGuy]

16 minutes ago, RedHoncho01 said:

I get frustrated with the Lincoln website.  There is so little detailed information about charging their PHEVs. 

 

Until this discussion, all I knew was there was a charging cable included that could be plugged into a 120V outlet.  Now, I know it can also be plugged into a properly wired 240V outlet.  All I will need to do is have an electrician come to my home and run wiring for a new outlet and not have to worry about purchasing a charging station.  That's a huge cost savings.  Even my dealer was unaware of the capability of plugging into a 240V outlet.

 

I appreciate all the sage advice from you folks!

 

RedHoncho01, we had this conversation back in mid-July, have you had an electrician come out and see if the existing wiring to your 32A 240V circuit was adequate to use with the supplied 120/240 cord?  Or are you just planning on having a new circuit run?

 

HRG

[RedHoncho01]

11 minutes ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

RedHoncho01, we had this conversation back in mid-July, have you had an electrician come out and see if the existing wiring to your 32A 240V circuit was adequate to use with the supplied 120/240 cord?  Or are you just planning on having a new circuit run?

 

HRG

I will definitely have an electrician come out to check the current wiring from the old laundry room.  I definitly don't want to create a fire hazard situation.  I have a few months to get this done as I won't receive my vehicle until late September.

 

I have a 120V outlet in the garage currently.  It is GFI and actually is a shared circuit with an outlet that is outside the house so I don't think this would be a good option for charging.

 

I've been frustrated trying to find information on the supplied charging cable that comes with the vehicle.  My dealer didn't even know the charging cable was 120V/220V capable.  

Edited August 2, 2021 by RedHoncho01

[HotRunrGuy]

21 hours ago, RedHoncho01 said:

I've been frustrated trying to find information on the supplied charging cable that comes with the vehicle.  My dealer didn't even know the charging cable was 120V/220V capable.  

 

Both Aviator and Corsair information references a "dual-voltage charging cord", which leads me to Ford/Lincoln part # VLC5Z-10B706-B, but none of the parts sites include the manual for it.  I'm thinking it may be very similar to the Webasto version, 12 amps @ 120V, 16 amps at 240V. See attached pdf for socket information.

 

https://accessories.lincoln.com/gfci-integrated-cord.html     If you look closely at the picture in the link, it shows (1) rotated pin, probably the NEMA 6-20R.

 

HRG

Webasto dual-voltage charging cord.pdf

Edited August 3, 2021 by HotRunrGuy

[RedHoncho01]

4 hours ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

Both Aviator and Corsair information references a "dual-voltage charging cord", which leads me to Ford/Lincoln part # VLC5Z-10B706-B, but none of the parts sites include the manual for it.  I'm thinking it may be very similar to the Webasto version, 12 amps @ 120V, 16 amps at 240V. See attached pdf for socket information.

 

https://accessories.lincoln.com/gfci-integrated-cord.html     If you look closely at the picture in the link, it shows (1) rotated pin, probably the NEMA 6-20R.

 

HRG

Webasto dual-voltage charging cord.pdf

Thank you.  It says it has a 240V adapter.  I'm curious as what that plug looks like.  That's the biggest piece of the puzzle as I need that to have the proper outlet installed.

[HotRunrGuy]

6 hours ago, RedHoncho01 said:

Thank you.  It says it has a 240V adapter.  I'm curious as what that plug looks like.  That's the biggest piece of the puzzle as I need that to have the proper outlet installed.

 

I'm betting this,,,,,,

 

HRG

[rampagex7]

On 8/1/2021 at 3:04 PM, RedHoncho01 said:

I'm curious if anyone who has a Grand Touring Aviator or Grand Touring Corsair has had a charging station installed in their garage.  What brand did you choose and why?  Did you have to pull a new line to your garage or was there existing wiring that sufficed?

 

I'm considering the Pulsar Plus Wallbox or Chargepoint.  There are pros and cons to each.  My Lincoln dealer put me in touch with Webasto as they have a nationwide contractor that does the installation for a set fee.  The problem I have is they do not have inventory of their chargers. I'd be curious about anyone's experience with Webasto chargers and installation.

 

I have 2020 Aviator GT, have had it for about 18 months now and love it.  I've written posts in other Aviator forums about charging and the most important thing I would point out to you is that no matter what method you use to charge your Aviator (either the Lincoln OEM charge cord or dedicated charging station) be aware that the vehicle itself has a small 3.7KW on board charging module (which is the part that actually charges the high voltage battery) and no matter what you plug it into it is not capable of charging any higher/faster than 3.7KW (about 16A at 240V (Level 2)) and takes about 3.5 hours to charge fully. 

 

I put a charging station in my garage at home and I have one outside my office at work as well.  My top recommendation would be the JuiceBox Pro 40:  https://evcharging.enelx.com/store/residential/juicebox-40   The best thing about the JuiceBox chargers is they have built in wifi and a companion app which is amazing, it gives you so much information and stats about your charging, voltage, amperage, electricity usage, graphs, etc.  They just revamped the JuiceBox with a new design earlier this year that is much better than the old one and they also redesigned the charging cord to be much lighter and more flexible as on the old model the cord was heavy and could get very stiff especially in the cold. 

 

My second recommendation would be the ChargePoint Home Flex https://www.chargepoint.com/drivers/home/  I have a Chargepoint unit at work and I would have to say that the charger itself is slightly better than the JuiceBox in terms of design, aesthetics and function but I find the JuiceBox app a bit easier to use than the Chargepoint.  Another benefit of the Chargepoint is that it's capable of higher charging current of up to approx. 52A if it is properly hardwired to a 70A breaker.  That wouldn't be useful to you now with an Aviator GT which can only handle 16A but it is great for "futureproofing" if you ever upgrade to a BEV in the future.

 

As for general tips for installing a charging station you definitely need to plan and consult with an electrician if you're not knowledgeable about electrical stuff.  You also should check your local electrical codes as to what is and isn't allowed based on the capacity of your incoming electrical service from your utility if you have 100A or 200A service.  Where I live in Toronto the electrical codes set by Ontario Electrical Safety Authority are quite strict when it comes to EV charging stations.  When my electrician installed the charging station at my house he ran into some problems with the inspector because I only have 100A incoming electrical service coming from the street and I have existing loads in my breaker panel for an electric range and electric dryer so because they are worried about overloading the panel they would not issue a permit for the charging station unless the charging current could be restricted to no more than 32A on a 40A rated circuit (with #8 wire) even though the JuiceBox charging station I bought is capable of a max charging current of 40A on a 50A rated circuit (with #6 wire). 

 

The good thing is the Lincoln OEM charging cable (actually made by Webasto) that comes with the Aviator GT is rated for 240V 16A which is the max charging rate the vehicle can handle anyway so if you don't want to incur the cost of installing a dedicated charging station you could just use that all the time and all you need to do is install a 240V 20A NEMA 6-20R receptacle in your garage which shouldn't cost much.

 

See my previous posts about charging and related stuff in the other Aviator forums for more info.

Edited August 5, 2021 by rampagex7

[RedHoncho01]

10 hours ago, rampagex7 said:

 

I have 2020 Aviator GT, have had it for about 18 months now and love it.  I've written posts in other Aviator forums about charging and the most important thing I would point out to you is that no matter what method you use to charge your Aviator (either the Lincoln OEM charge cord or dedicated charging station) be aware that the vehicle itself has a small 3.7KW on board charging module (which is the part that actually charges the high voltage battery) and no matter what you plug it into it is not capable of charging any higher/faster than 3.7KW (about 16A at 240V (Level 2)) and takes about 3.5 hours to charge fully. 

 

I put a charging station in my garage at home and I have one outside my office at work as well.  My top recommendation would be the JuiceBox Pro 40:  https://evcharging.enelx.com/store/residential/juicebox-40   The best thing about the JuiceBox chargers is they have built in wifi and a companion app which is amazing, it gives you so much information and stats about your charging, voltage, amperage, electricity usage, graphs, etc.  They just revamped the JuiceBox with a new design earlier this year that is much better than the old one and they also redesigned the charging cord to be much lighter and more flexible as on the old model the cord was heavy and could get very stiff especially in the cold. 

 

My second recommendation would be the ChargePoint Home Flex https://www.chargepoint.com/drivers/home/  I have a Chargepoint unit at work and I would have to say that the charger itself is slightly better than the JuiceBox in terms of design, aesthetics and function but I find the JuiceBox app a bit easier to use than the Chargepoint.  Another benefit of the Chargepoint is that it's capable of higher charging current of up to approx. 52A if it is properly hardwired to a 70A breaker.  That wouldn't be useful to you now with an Aviator GT which can only handle 16A but it is great for "futureproofing" if you ever upgrade to a BEV in the future.

 

As for general tips for installing a charging station you definitely need to plan and consult with an electrician if you're not knowledgeable about electrical stuff.  You also should check your local electrical codes as to what is and isn't allowed based on the capacity of your incoming electrical service from your utility if you have 100A or 200A service.  Where I live in Toronto the electrical codes set by Ontario Electrical Safety Authority are quite strict when it comes to EV charging stations.  When my electrician installed the charging station at my house he ran into some problems with the inspector because I only have 100A incoming electrical service coming from the street and I have existing loads in my breaker panel for an electric range and electric dryer so because they are worried about overloading the panel they would not issue a permit for the charging station unless the charging current could be restricted to no more than 32A on a 40A rated circuit (with #8 wire) even though the JuiceBox charging station I bought is capable of a max charging current of 40A on a 50A rated circuit (with #6 wire). 

 

The good thing is the Lincoln OEM charging cable (actually made by Webasto) that comes with the Aviator GT is rated for 240V 16A which is the max charging rate the vehicle can handle anyway so if you don't want to incur the cost of installing a dedicated charging station you could just use that all the time and all you need to do is install a 240V 20A NEMA 6-20R receptacle in your garage which shouldn't cost much.

 

See my previous posts about charging and related stuff in the other Aviator forums for more info.

I have decided to forgo installing a charging station in my home.  It just doesn't make economic sense especially since I'm retiring at the end of this year and probably won't remain in this home after a few years.

 

I have an available unused dryer 32A 240V circuit just inside the door from my garage.  I'll get a licensed electrician to run a circuit about 4 feet to my garage and install the NEMA 6-20R outlet.  Then I can use the Lincoln charging cord with the 240V adapter.  I don't believe I will need to have any permits but the electrician will know if I do.

[twintornados]

2 hours ago, RedHoncho01 said:

I have decided to forgo installing a charging station in my home.  It just doesn't make economic sense especially since I'm retiring at the end of this year and probably won't remain in this home after a few years.

 

I have an available unused dryer 32A 240V circuit just inside the door from my garage.  I'll get a licensed electrician to run a circuit about 4 feet to my garage and install the NEMA 6-20R outlet.  Then I can use the Lincoln charging cord with the 240V adapter.  I don't believe I will need to have any permits but the electrician will know if I do.

 

Moving the outlet will be your least expensive option and it can be a selling point that your garage is "EV ready" for the next owner.

[RedHoncho01]

OK, so after all this dicussion I have come to a couple of conclusions: 

 

1) A home charging station isn't financially feasible for a PHEV.  Running the circuit, buying the charging station and doing the installation would cost somewhere between $1500 - $2000.

 

2)  The dryer circuit I want to use isn't going to be as easily accessible as I first suspected.  I had an electrician out earlier this week to put in a new GFI outlet in my garage as the one that was there kept tripping out.  It was most likely the original one installed in 1997 when the house was built.  While the electrician was there I had him check out the circuitry for the dryer outlet I was wanting to use.  I don't know who wired this home when it was built but they must have had plenty of wiring to use.  The wiring goes from the breaker box in the basement, up through a wall, apparently across the space between our first and second floors and down the wall into the laundry area.

 

The good news is we have an auxilliary circuit box that was installed when we had more outlets put in our basement.  The plan now is to run a 50A circuit across the basement and up into our garage wall and install the NEMA 6-20R outlet there at a cost of around $400 - $500.  

[HotRunrGuy]

7 hours ago, RedHoncho01 said:

The good news is we have an auxilliary circuit box that was installed when we had more outlets put in our basement.  The plan now is to run a 50A circuit across the basement and up into our garage wall and install the NEMA 6-20R outlet there at a cost of around $400 - $500.  

 

A 50amp circuit feeding a 20amp outlet?

 

HRG

[TexasRedneck]

2 hours ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

A 50amp circuit feeding a 20amp outlet?

 

HRG

 

Actually a smart idea - install a sub panel w/a 25 amp breaker for the charger outlet and have extra capacity in case you want to add other loads later.

[RedHoncho01]

11 hours ago, HotRunrGuy said:

 

A 50amp circuit feeding a 20amp outlet?

 

HRG

I'm future proofing.  I probably will only be in this house for a couple of more years.  Having the 240V outlet in the garage with a 50A circuit is smart.  The next owner will just need to swap out the outlet for their use.  A real estate agent who is a friend told me this is a selling point.

[akirby]

1 hour ago, RedHoncho01 said:

I'm future proofing.  I probably will only be in this house for a couple of more years.  Having the 240V outlet in the garage with a 50A circuit is smart.  The next owner will just need to swap out the outlet for their use.  A real estate agent who is a friend told me this is a selling point.

What he’s getting at is a 20 amp outlet on a 50 amp breaker isn’t the safest.  A 40 amp load could overload the outlet but the breaker won’t trip.  
 

The safest thing is to run 6 gauge wire but install a 20 amp double pole breaker for now to match the outlet.  It’s a 5 minute job to upgrade the outlet and breaker to 50 amp later.  You can still advertise that it’s wired for 50 amp outlet.

[RedHoncho01]

6 hours ago, akirby said:

What he’s getting at is a 20 amp outlet on a 50 amp breaker isn’t the safest.  A 40 amp load could overload the outlet but the breaker won’t trip.  
 

The safest thing is to run 6 gauge wire but install a 20 amp double pole breaker for now to match the outlet.  It’s a 5 minute job to upgrade the outlet and breaker to 50 amp later.  You can still advertise that it’s wired for 50 amp outlet.

I'm having a licensed electrician do this so I'm certain he will make it right.

[TexasRedneck]

15 hours ago, akirby said:

What he’s getting at is a 20 amp outlet on a 50 amp breaker isn’t the safest.  A 40 amp load could overload the outlet but the breaker won’t trip.  
 

The safest thing is to run 6 gauge wire but install a 20 amp double pole breaker for now to match the outlet.  It’s a 5 minute job to upgrade the outlet and breaker to 50 amp later.  You can still advertise that it’s wired for 50 amp outlet.

 

I think y'all are reading something into his comment that wasn't stated.  He's running a 50 amp circuit - meaning, that's the amp load it's capable of.  No mention as to the breaker being installed in the sub panel for his outlet.  I built a workshop in my back yard - 50 amp breaker on the main panel, feeding a number of lower-rated breakers on the sub panel in the workshop.  It's how you do 'em.  The 50 protects me from overloading the main circuit while the smaller breakers protect the individual circuits.  The actual wiring to the workshop is capable of over 100 amps - but I was raised by an old-school electrical engineer - you overbuild in case you want to upsize later.  At very least, THAT circuit will never give you a problem.

[RedHoncho01]

Had the owner of the electrical company out to my home this week.  He reviewed my setup and where we are going to run the service.  This is the same company that installed my subpanel.

 

Long story short, we are putting in 20A service as the maximum draw is supposedly 16A.  He said the way my service runs through the house it would be very easy for someone to replace the breaker and run new wiring to handle a higher amperage circuit.

 

He is hoping to get me on the schedule this week.

[TexasRedneck]

55 minutes ago, RedHoncho01 said:

Had the owner of the electrical company out to my home this week.  He reviewed my setup and where we are going to run the service.  This is the same company that installed my subpanel.

 

Long story short, we are putting in 20A service as the maximum draw is supposedly 16A.  He said the way my service runs through the house it would be very easy for someone to replace the breaker and run new wiring to handle a higher amperage circuit.

 

He is hoping to get me on the schedule this week.

 

Whatever works for you...me, I'd have the heavier circuit run to start with - I hate paying for something twice, and labor rates & materials aren't going to be getting any cheaper.  

[RedHoncho01]

I completely understand.  I probably will only be in this house a couple of more years.  I was going to future proof for the next owner but then decided better of it.

 

The next owner can spend the money if they want or need to.

[TexasRedneck]

Was at a customer's house earlier this week - new build.  He and his wife drive Tesla's and after reviewing the charging requirements, they upped his service from a 200 amp to a 400 amp....ouch!  All I can think of is the additional load that's going to be put on the electrical grid over the next few years - most of the infrastructure wasn't designed for a load increase of 30-40% on existing connections.  

[jniffen]

I noticed one article stating the US electrical infrastructure is not up to date to handle all this potential demand increase.

 

I am for going electric, but how will the apartment renters, people in trailer courts etc, be able to have EV?
I know it's many years down the road, but if world will eventually be most of not all EV, these things needed to be addressed.

 

The way my house is laid out, power coming in on one end and the garage on the other, with drywall ceilings and a patio out back and driveway and water/gas coming in the front, I don't see an easy, not terribly expensive, solution.