Concerning the time necessary to charge the battery I watched an interesting video about a guy in his Tesla making a cross country trip and he found out that he could make the trip faster by charging to only 80% instead of 100% and making an additional charge. Evidently the last 20% is not charged at full capacity but more of a float level and takes considerably longer.

 

Yes, this is exactly correct. Charge rate declines as the state of charge rises. When I'm on a trip, I try to roll into a charger with <5% battery remaining to maximize my time. My car can pull 175 kW below 20% battery, but that declines to only 20 kW or so above 80%. You make the most of your fast charging time at low battery levels. All EVs to date have this limitation, so the F150 is likely to as well.

This is my personal best from my trip back to MN two weeks ago: 😁

 

One thing to note, that even Elon made comment on over a year or so ago is, regenerative braking only comes on at around 90-95% battery capacity. So if you are at 100% charge, you don't get the benefits of regen. So if your doing a lot of stop and go city driving, that's where you'll see the most benefits.

 

True, but Tesla only recommends charging <90% on a routine basis. I set mine to 85%, and only go over that when I'm travelling. Other manufacturers build in larger batteries than is made available, so an indicated 100% charge results in an actual ~90% at the battery, which leaves some headroom for regenerative braking. When my car shows 100%, it's actually full and can't take regenerative braking. But if Ford goes the way of other OEMs, this will not be the case.

 

I would much rather underestimate the range and have buyers pleasantly surprised rather than over estimate and have unhappy customers and the auto press giving negative reviews.Look what happened when GM released the EV1 and the Volt. Both had wildly overestimated ranges.

 

So, stupid/neophyte question but still on the topic of charging: How does charging work outdoors in inclement weather? Thinking like heavy rainstorm? Assuming the hookups and such are properly protected so that "filling up" the battery wouldn't have a challenge in the rain? Just something I've always thought of, especially if thinking about charging a truck like this overnight.

 

Yep, that's why you can't charge them with a simple extension cord. The charger is built into the truck, which steps up the voltage from 120/240 to somewhere around the 400v pack voltage. The expensive, clunky cable that you charge it with is fully sealed and protected to prevent issues even in the most inclement weather. There's a high safety standard that comes with J1772. I haven't tried it, but I think the connection will handle anything short of being underwater.

 

It’s not like all F150s are now electric. Buy a gas one and you don’t need to worry about those issues.

 

Thread cleaned. Not sure if there's any more life left in this one or not.

It's great to discuss all things Lightning, but this isn't a place to vent because you don't like the fact that they're making it.

 

Ironically it's not that sealed at all, the J1772 cords and ports are IP54. So thats dust and low pressure water splashing from any angle. The design relies heavily on voltage leak detection in the charging cord and the pilot. The charge ports on the cars all are titled and have a weep drain. There is no AFCI or GFCI protection in these level two chargers.

 

I'll close in the corner of my carport where I'll have the charger mounted, rain block as it were. Just to be safe when I'm overnight charging which probably won't be but once a month if that. 3.4 mile round trip commute, an 80% charge will likely last longer than that with regenerative braking and all the stopping I do in that looooooong commute everyday.

 

modern Construction includes all breakers GFCI ! The ground happens when you get the Go To Power Charger cord wet ! Problem in the USA is the plugs along side the high way aren't 240 volt. are 120 volt so you need to find a good power supply. One Magor City along a major Interstate has 6 recharge stations beside a Walmart and Drug store. On a particular Saturday no one was charging there. 200,000 people, figure 10,000 Electric cars in 10 years and you need 1000's of power stations all under a roof. Along with the power station at home for those living in the City. They 1000 are for visitors. It starts to get really weird real fast ! Maybe a micro black hole can power the needs of 2040 !

 

No it doesn't, you're confusing GFCI with AFCI. Just about everything 120v except a bathroom and washing has to be AFCI protected these days. GFCI protection is limited to 120v outlets in wet or damp locations, such as bathrooms, kitchens, garages, unfinished basements, and outdoors. The 2020 code will also require all 220v kitchen circuits to be GFCI protected, but not yet.

 

On the charging end there are 3 levels.

Level 1 is what you typically use at home 120v.
Level 2 also used at home or on the road is typically 240v.
Level 3 DC fast chargers located all around the country can charge at up to 800v.

Source : https://evcharging.enelx.com/resourc...harging-levels

 

That's it...just cleaned the thread again.

THIS IS NOT A POWER GRID ENGINEERING FORUM. Nor is it a place to discuss the environmental merits of the way we power our trucks. Or manufacturing, mining, or design practices for that matter. That's all well outside the scope of this forum, and serve only to get in a fight.

If you don't like the fact that Ford is making an electric pickup, your best option is to not buy one. Your second option is to find a relevant forum for your concerns and take it there. But not here.