Buying used 2012 FFE ?s about convenience cord

Hi, first post. I am going to pick up a used 2012 FFE and was looking for the specs on the convenience cord that comes with the vehicle. The Ford website lead me to the AeroVironment page where the specs they show have the cord with an adaptor for 240V 20a.

Does anyone know if my cord will include the Nematode 6-20 adaptor?

Thanks in advance!
Mike

If you buy the dual voltage version it includes the adapter so that you can plug into a 6-20 outlet and get level 2 charging at 3 kW nominal. Or you can remove the adapter and plug into a regular 120 V outlet for level 1 charging

I have one and use it often. It works fine with the FFE.

It works with residential 240 V and commercial 208 V power

michael,
Thanks for the response. I was looking into that charger as an option to spending the $$ for a Level 2. I was hoping that since the link from ford.com lead to AV's spec sheets that my focus would include the adaptor. I'll look at the spec's in the owner's material when I pick up the car. I'm hoping the adaptor is included, and I can save for the L2 down the line.

Note that the "convenience cord" that came with a 2012 FFE is 120V only (Level 1 only).

As far as I know; no FFE has ever come with an included Level 1/Level 2 cord: They have all been Level 1 only.

Unless they have changed that for 2015/2016.

jmueller- thanks for the info. Looks like I need to locate a cord or affordable L2 in the very near future.

couchracer said:

jmueller- thanks for the info. Looks like I need to locate a cord or affordable L2 in the very near future.

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What do you consider to be "affordable" for a L2 charger? I paid under $450 for mine, and installed it in my garage myself; of course, I already had an unused 50A circuit in my breaker box from a Jacuzzi tub that I don't have any more, which made it quite a bit easier for me.

Keith

In case there is a misunderstanding....If you get a Turbo Cord or similar, you don't need the Ford convenience cord at all. If you plug the Turbo Cord into a 120 outlet, it is equivalent to the Ford convenience cord. If you plug it into a 220 V outlet, it charges at 3 kW nominal level 2.

3 kW is pretty good, much better than level 1. But for a home installation, you will be happier with a wall mounted 6 kW class unit.

I work at an Electrical wholesale distributor. Considering the Evr-green mini from Leviton for the time being. Portable to some extent. I'll look into another they have as well. I did see a Voltec/Chevy Volt charger on craigslist for $320. I assume that it would work, but I'd rather not screw up the car too early.

None of these things will hurt your car. They are pretty universal.

If the Craigslist unit is 110V only, I wouldn't pay it. A 110/220 TurboCord is $599 brand new on Amazon, and if you are patient you can no doubt find a used one cheaper on ebay or craig.

michael said:

A 110/220 TurboCord is $599 brand new on Amazon

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Which is somewhat of a rip-off, IMO.

Besides, a TurboCord is no more useful than the Ford convenience cord if all you have is a normal 120v outlet.

And, if you have a 240v outlet, then you can do much better than $599 for portable Level 2 charging.

ClipperCreek sells portable 4.8 kW units for $485 and 3.8 kW units (which is the same power the as TurboCord) for $395, both with NEMA plugs attached.

4.8 kW for $485 is a much better deal than the TurboCord.

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product-category/20a-charging/

Yes the clipper creek is cheaper but it's also much bigger and you still need to carry the convenience charger. The turbo cord does both jobs

My understanding was that the original poster was needing a 120 v unit and trying to kill two birds with one stone which the turbo cord does.

michael said:

My understanding was that the original poster was needing a 120 v unit and trying to kill two birds with one stone which the turbo cord does.

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Sure. I just wanted to make sure he understood the only thing the TurboCord has going for it is that it is small. Other than that, it is underpowered and overpriced, IMO. The naming is also somewhat misleading. It's not a particularly powerful unit.

Seeing as the original poster was asking about NEMA plugs in reference to the OEM unit, my impression was that he didn't really understand yet the difference between Level 1 and Level 2, and might also have been mislead by the "TurboCord" name in looking for a powerful unit.

IMO, $599 is just not worth it for the small size and fairly low power. Certainly the size is not "vital" -- there's plenty of room to store any kind of portable EVSE in the rear of the FFE. There's already a built-in spot for the OEM cord and most any portable EVSE will fit in one of the "pockets" on either side of the cargo organizer.

My original plan was to just use the L1 cord that comes with the car. I have access to cheap electrical parts due to my job. About $70 to add a 240v 50a circuit that I'll run at 30a for the time being and order a Leviton EVBL2-P18 just inside my garage. My total cost will be south of $500 and I'll carry both cords when on extended runs. The L1 "should" cover me for my 40 mile daily commute, but I plan on looking into an EV rate schedule from SDG&E and run the charge times from the app when it's cheap. Now I just need to check an outlet I found outside at work for power for the standard cord.

couchracer said:

Now I just need to check an outlet I found outside at work for power for the standard cord.

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Might be a good idea to check if you can use that socket before you start depending on it. The Ford convenience cord will pretty much be maxing out the typical 15-amp circuit (pretty much all the power you can assume will be available if you just find some socket at random).

Don't be surprised if you trip a breaker and "strand" yourself one day, unable to charge, as somebody else may routinely use the same circuit for something else at the same time you're trying to charge (might even be another fellow EV driver with the same "bright idea" as you). This happened to me where I work.

WattsUp- thanks for the tip. I work at an electrical wholesale distributor. May be able to convince the boss to add a circuit. There's always the Ford dealer a couple of miles away if I need a top off. Learning about my hopefully new car has given me the drive to learn about EVSE and hopefully open a new market for our branch. Our prices on Leviton keeps us competitive with Home Depot, and hopefully with more knowledge than they can provide.

couchracer said:

WattsUp- thanks for the tip. I work at an electrical wholesale distributor. May be able to convince the boss to add a circuit. There's always the Ford dealer a couple of miles away if I need a top off. Learning about my hopefully new car has given me the drive to learn about EVSE and hopefully open a new market for our branch. Our prices on Leviton keeps us competitive with Home Depot, and hopefully with more knowledge than they can provide.

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Try to convince your boss to set up a L2 charger at your work as a demo unit, that you just happen to use at work to recharge your car!!!

Our wire coiler ran on an L6-30 plug. May have to purchase some SJO cord and make an extension for the Leviton charger I plan to buy. Dedicated circuit so I don't have to worry about shutting down our server when my car trips a breaker because someone has a small heater on the same circuit.