[joescherrman]

I’m hoping to be able to charge the batteries on a bass fishing boat with my new F-150 Lightning Lariat. I would like to be able to charge while traveling/towing and when parked.

The boat will have a Pure Outboard System with 2 Battery Packs.
The 2-Battery System Includes:

25kW electric outboard motor with power tilt/trim (112 lbs)​

One or more 8.85 kWh battery packs (118 lbs each)​

Mobile charger connects to 120V & 240V outlets (24 lbs)​

Bluetooth-enabled throttle​

Connecting power cables, throttle cable and throttle mounting bracket​

Pure Watercraft’s standard prop (16″)​

According to a reply from a Pure Watercraft customer relations person, the battery charger will operate with a 120V outlet, so long as it supplies 15A, or any 208-240V outlet with 35A or more. The person continued saying, “it sounds to me like the 240V options in your truck will not have enough amperage to effectively charge up one of our batteries, but the 120V options you have would.”

Also attached the diagram that displays the three types of plugs which they can send me along with my order, as well as the electrical requirements for each. “For your dual battery order, I would recommend having access to a larger 208-240V 50A outlet where you'll be storing your boat (if you would like rapid recharging). Otherwise, you can expect one of these standard 120V outlets to recharge one of your batteries from half to full in 4.5 hours.”

Thanks for any input.

 

[ChasingCoral]

They are correct. You will be able to use the 120v charger but your truck can only deliver 30A at 240v.

 

[oceanphysicist]

It seems strange that the charger would not accept a lower amperage as 20-30A at 240 V is far more energy than 15A @ 120V.

I suppose ideal would be to charge both truck and boat from home/overnight stop, charge truck near boat launch while you are out fishing, and then charge up boat as you drive it from one launch to another. Just be sure to account for the efficiency loss transferring energy from one battery to another. There is another thread on here talking about using Lightning to charge a battery electric plane that may be informative for your use case.

 

[joescherrman]

It seems strange that the charger would not accept a lower amperage as 20-30A at 240 V is far more energy than 15A @ 120V.

I suppose ideal would be to charge both truck and boat from home/overnight stop, charge truck near boat launch while you are out fishing, and then charge up boat as you drive it from one launch to another. Just be sure to account for the efficiency loss transferring energy from one battery to another. There is another thread on here talking about using Lightning to charge a battery electric plane that may be informative for your use case.

Thanks, I PM the student to find out more. Very exciting times.

 

[ChasingCoral]

It seems strange that the charger would not accept a lower amperage as 20-30A at 240 V is far more energy than 15A @ 120V.

The Ford Mobile Charge Cord has two different pigtails. Depending on whether you plug in the 120V or 240V pigtail your amperage draw will change. The boat's charger may do the same.

You could try an adapter from the 50A 240 plugs to the 30A 240 outlet on the truck. However, if the charger tries to draw more than 30A it will pop the breaker. It might be possible to derate the 240V operation of the charger to stay under 30A but that requires significant electronics skills.

BTW, the Ford Mobile Charge Cord in the Mustang Mach E and the F-150 Lightning are the identical hardware. However, the one for the Lightning has been de-rated to keep the draw under 30A specifically to operate off the truck's 30A 240V ProPower Onboard outlet. The Mach E cord is slightly more powerful, drawing about 32A peak. It will pop the breaker. I've labeled my two cords so I won't confuse them.

 

[oceanphysicist]

You could try an adapter from the 50A 240 plugs to the 30A 240 outlet on the truck. However, if the charger tries to draw more than 30A it will pop the breaker.

I was (apparently incorrectly) assuming the boat would accept the standard J1772 connection, which should’ve allowed the 30A charge. Does the company have any plans that you know of to adhere to vehicle charging standards in the future?

 

[joescherrman]

I was (apparently incorrectly) assuming the boat would accept the standard J1772 connection, which should’ve allowed the 30A charge. Does the company have any plans that you know of to adhere to vehicle charging standards in the future?

I am in contact with them and asked that question. Will post their answer.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I was (apparently incorrectly) assuming the boat would accept the standard J1772 connection, which should’ve allowed the 30A charge. Does the company have any plans that you know of to adhere to vehicle charging standards in the future?

Just because a vehicle takes a J-1772 plug doesn’t say anything about the amperage. My Leaf drew about 6kW, my Mach E 9.6, my Lightning 19..

 

[oceanphysicist]

Just because a vehicle takes a J-1772 plug doesn’t say anything about the amperage. My Leaf drew about 6kW, my Mach E 9.6, my Lightning 19..

But if you used the ford mobile charger that is derated to 30A as you described above to charge a J-1772 receptacle, wouldn’t that in turn allow for charging that the Lightning would support?

 

[ChasingCoral]

But if you used the ford mobile charger that is derated to 30A as you described above to charge a J-1772 receptacle, wouldn’t that in turn allow for charging that the Lightning would support?

Yes.