Great information regarding using a NEMA 6-50 for charging

[HI Zeus]

I did lots of searching on the forums here, as well as elsewhere on the internet regarding charging my lightning from a NEMA 6-50 outlet. I also did the same for a NEMA 10-50. I have both options in my workshop area.

I found almost nothing regarding the 10-50, and what I found was not encouraging, so I dropped that idea (it may be as good of a choice as the 6-50, but since I had the choice of two I pursued the lower hanging fruit).

Even though there was more information regarding the 6-50, it still felt sparse, and not exactly conclusive.

I was leaning towards buying an adapter and giving it a go, but still felt uneasy about plugging my very expensive truck into the outlet after reading the variety of posts here (and elsewhere). Had I not discovered the link below I probably would have gone ahead (lots of people appear to have done this without problems). Because there were several posts from several folks indicating concerns about the lack of a neutral wire (apparently the only difference between the 6-50 and the 14-50) I would have been VERY anxious about doing so.

Fortunately I found this link:
https://wattlogic.com/blog/nema-6-50-vs-14-50/

Let me start by saying, I have no idea if these folks REALLY know what they are talking about, but after digging a little bit, I personally came to the conclusion that I could probably trust their analysis more than any given forum members (no offense to anyone, just the reality of public forums). Obviously everyone should do their own do-diligence in drawing important conclusions. (It also seemed to align with the fact that a number of people on this forum are using 6-50 with no reported issues.)

After reading through the link I bought an adapter and am currently charging at a very satisfactory rate (my 6-50 is actually connected to a 50amp breaker, so I am achieving a maximum charge rate from the OEM ford charger), and am doing so with very little anxiety.

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[bmwhitetx]

It reads as an AI generated / AI-assisted article. Repeats the same few points over and over and over.

You say you are getting the maximum rate your vehicle allows. But your profile says you own a 2015 F-350. Would be helpful to know if you have 22/23 or 24/25. The latter can only charge at a maximum 48A on a 60A breaker. Electric Vehicle chargers require an 80% derate.

Thus your 50A breaker can only charge legally at 40A. You would be much safer if you removed the outlet and did a hard-wire installation and ditched any adapter. Then set you charger to 40A max.

@Maquis and others can explain a lot better than me.

 

[Maquis]

It reads as an AI generated / AI-assisted article. Repeats the same few points over and over and over.

You say you are getting the maximum rate your vehicle allows. But your profile says you own a 2015 F-350. Would be helpful to know if you have 22/23 or 24/25. The latter can only charge at a maximum 48A on a 60A breaker. Electric Vehicle chargers require an 80% derate.

Thus your 50A breaker can only charge legally at 40A. You would be much safer if you removed the outlet and did a hard-wire installation and ditched any adapter. Then set you charger to 40A max.

@Maquis and others can explain a lot better than me.

I think he means he’s getting the max rate for the Ford portable charger (30A).
Using a 6-50 is fine - it connects to 2 lines and a ground (no neutral). A 10-50 connects to 2 lines and the neutral, no ground. If it wired directly to the service panel (neutral and ground bonded together), it will function the same as the 6-50, but if it’s wired from a subpanel (neutral and grounds separated) you may have issues depending on a lot of things.

 

[CD4TNF]

J+ makes a 6-50 adapter for their charger. Can always press the button to downrated the amps.

https://jplusbooster.com/collections/nema-adapters

Glad your solution works and you can charge without needing needing upgrades.

 

[COrocket]

6-50s are great for EV charging. We use them in our garage to charge our vehicles and saved a good amount of money in wiring vs going with a 14-50 plug.

 

[HI Zeus]

It reads as an AI generated / AI-assisted article. Repeats the same few points over and over and over.

You say you are getting the maximum rate your vehicle allows. But your profile says you own a 2015 F-350. Would be helpful to know if you have 22/23 or 24/25. The latter can only charge at a maximum 48A on a 60A breaker. Electric Vehicle chargers require an 80% derate.

Thus your 50A breaker can only charge legally at 40A. You would be much safer if you removed the outlet and did a hard-wire installation and ditched any adapter. Then set you charger to 40A max.

@Maquis and others can explain a lot better than me.

I just updated my profile.

I've had the truck 5 days now.

Good observation about the AI that I should of caught (got tired of reading about the Tesla adapter!). I still think that the information and source is reliable. I've noticed that a LOT of people are getting very lazy and letting AI write most stuff anymore. Fortunately I write real good English on my own! ; )

 

[HI Zeus]

I think he means he’s getting the max rate for the Ford portable charger (30A).
Using a 6-50 is fine - it connects to 2 lines and a ground (no neutral). A 10-50 connects to 2 lines and the neutral, no ground. If it wired directly to the service panel (neutral and ground bonded together), it will function the same as the 6-50, but if it’s wired from a subpanel (neutral and grounds separated) you may have issues depending on a lot of things.

Yes, I was referring to get the maximum capability of the FPC, 30A.

Thanks for revisiting the 10-50 piece. My shop has a panel that I'm not sure if I should regard as a subpanel or not. It has a 90A line going to it from the main panel (Grid source) at the house, but it is the primary panel for the solar unit interface (which is on the roof of it).

Using the 6-50 avoided having to parse out that issue.

 

[Whammy Bar]

Yes, I was referring to get the maximum capability of the FPC, 30A.

Thanks for revisiting the 10-50 piece. My shop has a panel that I'm not sure if I should regard as a subpanel or not. It has a 90A line going to it from the main panel (Grid source) at the house, but it is the primary panel for the solar unit interface (which is on the roof of it).

Using the 6-50 avoided having to parse out that issue.

A sub panel is a panel fed from another panel...

 

[HI Zeus]

A sub panel is a panel fed from another panel...

I understand the concept of a “plain vanilla” subpanel.

My current situation is that, both panels are “fed by another panel”

The original “main panel” at the house feeds grid power to the shop. The shop receives the solar power and feeds that to the house (and grid). Both have meters.

Fortunately, I had the 6-50 available. and never had to sort it out further.

 

[Maquis]

I understand the concept of a “plain vanilla” subpanel.

My current situation is that, both panels are “fed by another panel”

The original “main panel” at the house feeds grid power to the shop. The shop receives the solar power and feeds that to the house (and grid). Both have meters.

Fortunately, I had the 6-50 available. and never had to sort it out further.

For the purposes of this discussion, the panel in your shop is a subpanel.

 

[JMD359]

It reads as an AI generated / AI-assisted article. Repeats the same few points over and over and over.

You say you are getting the maximum rate your vehicle allows. But your profile says you own a 2015 F-350. Would be helpful to know if you have 22/23 or 24/25. The latter can only charge at a maximum 48A on a 60A breaker. Electric Vehicle chargers require an 80% derate.

Thus your 50A breaker can only charge legally at 40A. You would be much safer if you removed the outlet and did a hard-wire installation and ditched any adapter. Then set you charger to 40A max.

@Maquis and others can explain a lot better than me.

Dude read his post , he states the maximum his ford travel charger provides . Which is 30amps. His setup is 100 percent legit and legal . Your off on a tangent about his 15 super duty and other useless info .

 

[bmwhitetx]

@JMD359;
He changed his profile vehicles after/because of my post. Never said he had the travel charger or 30A. Said he was getting max from an OEM charger. If he had a Lariat, that could be the 80A FCSP in addition to the travel charger. But we didn’t know that at the time.

When you change your profile it updates all your old posts.

 

[chl]

I did lots of searching on the forums here, as well as elsewhere on the internet regarding charging my lightning from a NEMA 6-50 outlet. I also did the same for a NEMA 10-50. I have both options in my workshop area.

I found almost nothing regarding the 10-50, and what I found was not encouraging, so I dropped that idea (it may be as good of a choice as the 6-50, but since I had the choice of two I pursued the lower hanging fruit).

Even though there was more information regarding the 6-50, it still felt sparse, and not exactly conclusive.

I was leaning towards buying an adapter and giving it a go, but still felt uneasy about plugging my very expensive truck into the outlet after reading the variety of posts here (and elsewhere). Had I not discovered the link below I probably would have gone ahead (lots of people appear to have done this without problems). Because there were several posts from several folks indicating concerns about the lack of a neutral wire (apparently the only difference between the 6-50 and the 14-50) I would have been VERY anxious about doing so.

Fortunately I found this link:
https://wattlogic.com/blog/nema-6-50-vs-14-50/

Let me start by saying, I have no idea if these folks REALLY know what they are talking about, but after digging a little bit, I personally came to the conclusion that I could probably trust their analysis more than any given forum members (no offense to anyone, just the reality of public forums). Obviously everyone should do their own do-diligence in drawing important conclusions. (It also seemed to align with the fact that a number of people on this forum are using 6-50 with no reported issues.)

After reading through the link I bought an adapter and am currently charging at a very satisfactory rate (my 6-50 is actually connected to a 50amp breaker, so I am achieving a maximum charge rate from the OEM ford charger), and am doing so with very little anxiety.

The Ford Mobile Power Cord does not need or use the neutral in the 240V mode with the 240V dongle. I tested the wiring on mine and drew the picture below:

When I first got my 2023 Pro and had not installed the Ford Charge Station Pro, I used the FMPC with a good quality plug adapter for a short period of time - I had a 6-50R outlet as well I had used with my 2012 Nissan Leaf charger (GE Watt Station) since 2011.

However, be aware after prolonged use of the FMPC, there have been reports of failures.
Some may have been due to a bad connection with the dongle (not seated well or corrosion build up on the contacts) but others were internal and caused melt downs.

So my opinion is you should consider getting something more reliable.

Good luck.

 

[HI Zeus]

The Ford Mobile Power Cord does not need or use the neutral in the 240V mode with the 240V dongle. I tested the wiring on mine and drew the picture below:

When I first got my 2023 Pro and had not installed the Ford Charge Station Pro, I used the FMPC with a good quality plug adapter for a short period of time - I had a 6-50R outlet as well I had used with my 2012 Nissan Leaf charger (GE Watt Station) since 2011.

However, be aware after prolonged use of the FMPC, there have been reports of failures.
Some may have been due to a bad connection with the dongle (not seated well or corrosion build up on the contacts) but others were internal and caused melt downs.

So my opinion is you should consider getting something more reliable.

Good luck.

So just to clarify:
No concerns charging my Lightning off of the decades old outlet that requires an adapter to mate to the Lightning, but I should beware of the brand new charger that came with and was designed specifically for the vehicle (even when using a "correct" NEMA 14-50)!!?

THAT is HILARIOUS, wait... PATHETIC... maybe both?

Seriously though, I appreciate the heads-up on that. (Seems like a recall would be in order.)

 

[flyct]

So just to clarify:
No concerns charging my Lightning off of the decades old outlet that requires an adapter to mate to the Lightning, but I should beware of the brand new charger that came with and was designed specifically for the vehicle (even when using a "correct" NEMA 14-50)!!?

THAT is HILARIOUS, wait... PATHETIC... maybe both?

Seriously though, I appreciate the heads-up on that. (Seems like a recall would be in order.)

Get yourself a permanent EVSE (aka charger) for your shop that already has a 6-50 plug. Put teh Ford Mobile charger in the Fronk for emergencies

This Canadian built unit has excellent reviews. My friend has been using one to charge his Mach-E with no issues.

" adjustable amperage: 40A, 32A, 24A, 16A. Maximum current output of 40 Amps for 50A circuit breaker, 32 Amps for 40A circuit breaker, 24 Amps for 30A circuit breaker, or 16 Amps for 20A circuit breaker"

https://grizzl-e.com/products/grizzl-e-classic/?v=variant_01GR8W84MKQ3R6Y207MS7YWQ28

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzl-Electric-Vehicle-Certified-Charging/dp/B0843K8Z9K/

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