FCSP if not doing home integration

[Puffoluffagus]

So I recently received the FCSP in the mail after the purchase of my ER lightning.

I have no plans to do the home integration/back up at this time.

I currently have 300amp service to the house with 2 150amp subpanels. I'm having an electrician come out tomorrow to take a look to see what my installation options are.

If I have room to accommodate the 100amp circuit, then I'll likely go forward with installation of the fcsp just from pure charging rate stand point. If I can't accommodate the 100amp circuit, and either have to de-rate the unit or upgrade my service line, I guess the question is should I just sell the FCSP and get another level 2 charger like the Emporia?

Thoughts?

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[TaxmanHog]

Sell it and get the Emporia

 

[4Reeley]

I derated mine to 48A and it works fine for my needs. I think you'll have fewer issues if you derate but I'm just guessing based on some of the early overheating faults that folks were reporting. It's a free charger and I figured I would use it until it didn't work, then buy something else if the need arose. There are other factors at play - do you plan to charge other EV's like Tesla or J1772 options that the CCS connector won't work for? Do you like to have accurate tracking of your charging data? If you want a little more flexibility you might want to start with another brand. Not sure what they are selling for new now - maybe $700-800? So you could potentially make a few hundred dollars if you decide to sell and start with something else.

 

[Puffoluffagus]

I derated mine to 48A and it works fine for my needs. I think you'll have fewer issues if you derate but I'm just guessing based on some of the early overheating faults that folks were reporting. It's a free charger and I figured I would use it until it didn't work, then buy something else if the need arose. There are other factors at play - do you plan to charge other EV's like Tesla or J1772 options that the CCS connector won't work for? Do you like to have accurate tracking of your charging data? If you want a little more flexibility you might want to start with another brand. Not sure what they are selling for new now - maybe $700-800? So you could potentially make a few hundred dollars if you decide to sell and start with something else.

No plans for other EVs at this time.
Accurate tracking is a neat feature but not a necessity.

Yeah currently there's a $250 rebate for ev charging station purchase/installation. This should apply to either the fcsp installation or the purchase of a new unit (not sure if they would give me any fuss given the fcsp price is baked into the vehicle purchase and not a standalone invoice). I figured I could sell the fcsp and make a few hundred bucks if I didn't have a true need for the fcsp. This is why I wanted to get some opinions to make sure I'm not missing anything. Although the convenience factor of already having the charger is something to consider, haha.

 

[RickLightning]

It sells for $1,310 plus tax.

Most listings seems to be $700 - $900.

 

[Zaptor]

FWIW I *did* have the FCSP installed at 80A on a 100A breaker and have had zero faults, zero issues, and the charge rate is fantastic. I have no plans to home integrate with the unwieldy and expensive SunRun/Ford "solution" (and I use that word very loosely). If charge rate doesn't matter, sure you could skim a few hundred bucks out of it and get a 48A, but from my perspective, this is the right home charger for the F150.

 

[luebri]

FWIW I *did* have the FCSP installed at 80A on a 100A breaker and have had zero faults, zero issues, and the charge rate is fantastic. I have no plans to home integrate with the unwieldy and expensive SunRun/Ford "solution" (and I use that word very loosely). If charge rate doesn't matter, sure you could skim a few hundred bucks out of it and get a 48A, but from my perspective, this is the right home charger for the F150.

Same same for me. Zero issues with mine. My FCSP came with my 22 ER and I have no intention of dealing with ridiculously expensive and convoluted SunRun/Ford H.I.S. I have FCSP at Max settings but I derate slightly for most charging but there have been a handful of times already where I was glad I could crank her up to 80A in FordPass app and get as much juice as fast as possible. I like the charger and feel validated that @tommolog has also spoken favorably in his YouTube videos regarding the FCSP.

 

[The Weatherman]

I have had the same positive experience as @Zaptor and @luebri and don’t plan to put it online or add the HIS. As a plug and play charger I find it highly effective.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I currently have 300amp service to the house with 2 150amp subpanels. I'm having an electrician come out tomorrow to take a look to see what my installation options are.

We only have a 200-amp main panel, but a load analysis by Sunrun showed we could just support adding a 100-amp breaker without a panel upgrade. In reality, my wife and I being an elderly couple, use little of the circuits in our house, so there's really a lot of headroom. And although the FCSP hardware is installed at an 80-amp charge rate, I only charge at a 48-amp via the FordPass amp to help in the headroom department and give the battery some TLC. Especially since the FCSP is only warranted for three years, and I'm following Ford's recommendation to always plug in when parked in my garage, I'm wondering how long the CCS connector will hold up. It goes in and out of the FCSP holding port nice and easy but there's a lot more friction inserting and removing it from the truck's charging port - perhaps that's just part of having a weather-resistant connection???

I have some design complaints about the FordPass app that make it too easy to accidentally charge to 100% if you're not too careful where you tap or swipe in the app - or accidentally let your fingers swipe across the screen at an inopportune moment.

 

[VTbuckeye]

Mine is installed at 80amp, but I have only used it once to verify that it works. I have two other 30amp EVSEs that I use regularly for three plug in vehicles. They are smart chargers that get a discount from the electric company when charging from 9PM to 1PM. Also power company can stop charging during high demand events (I can opt out if I need to charge). I also have wiring and outlets for a 16 amp and 24 amp evse that I haven't used for a few years, though they are still plugged in (they are from when we had a volt and xc90 phev). If I used all of them at the same time I would most definitely overload our electric service, but I have no need to use them all at once. I guess I'm a belt and suspenders kind of person when it comes to being prepared for hardware failure.

 

[Tony Burgh]

I have 150 amp service. Gas heat and WH. I run fcsp @ 80 amps. No problems even with 4 ton AC. Just a data point for you.

 

[dcp9142]

The thing I’m very concerned about with the FCSP is the unnecessary complication of it having not just a J1772 but a CCS2. That makes it huge, unwieldy, and very over engineered for no gain, unless it’s being used for V2H. So when mine arrives, it’s going out via eBay.

With 12 hours of charging time an ER can get 80% of its total capacity from a 9 kw supply, which is a 40 amp charger On a 50 amp outlet, costing about $450. I learned years ago that hardwired chargers are big trouble when they fail, but chargers plugged into an outlet are simple to replace.

 

[Bwanapete]

I too use the charger that came with my ER Lariat, at 80 amps. I also use a Tesla HPWC at 48 amps. My Ford charger has worked perfectly. I don’t have it hooked up to power the house from the truck. We only have 200 amp service but no a/c so we aren’t using much power overnight.

My utility offers time-of-use metering 11pm to 7am and I have both vehicles start, one at 11 and one at 11:15. If you don’t have two BEVs yet you probably will soon. Even if the truck battery is low, at 80 amps it is ready to go in the morning. That is why I didn’t just share the 48 amp car charger. And of course neither vehicle is drawing full amps for very long

From my experience with the Tesla charger, I learned that connections can loosen up, causing overheating. If you have that problem, tighten the connections.

 

[chl]

I only charge at a 48-amp via the FordPass amp to help in the headroom department and give the battery some TLC. Especially since the FCSP is only warranted for three years, and I'm following Ford's recommendation to always plug in when parked in my garage

Yes, the higher the charging power the more stress on the battery, so if you don't need the speed go with a lower setting.

I don't know why you'd want to keep it plugged in all the time when it's in your garage though, even when not charging, no reason I can think of to do that.

I assume both you and the original poster have the extended range battery, 131 kWhs.

So you have to figure if you buy another (L2) charger and sell the FCSP, it may take as long as 12 hours to reach 80% charge.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I don't know why you'd want to keep it plugged in all the time when it's in your garage though, even when not charging, no reason I can think of to do that.

I think I once read the first few lines of Ford's advice for winter weather, forgot that fact, and misfiled the lines under "general care" in my mind.

To help maximize your F-150 Lightning range in winter, here are some tips below:

1. Park your F-150 Lightning in a garage whenever possible.

2. Keep your F-150 Lightning plugged in when parked.

....

Source: Tips to help maximize the range of your F-150 Lightning in cold weather during its first winter | Ford Media Center

Theoretically, if my garage gets too hot in the summer, keeping the vehicle plugged in will allow the truck's AC to come on sooner to keep the truck's batteries cool - but then I'll just be heating the garage in a positive feedback loop (I did get a 14,000 BTU portable room air conditioner to cool the garage if it goes above 85 deg F - yet to have the garage go above 82 deg F but the AC unit also works as a dehumidifier to dry the truck if I drive the truck in dripping wet from a rainstorm).

I am having the Sunrun Home Integration System installed this Friday, so having the truck plugged in would allow the HIS unit to back up the house automatically if I don't have too much load on my subpanel.

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