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Car Jump starter recommendation, avoid NOCO please

engineer2

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I have a Noco GB40 I keep in the car and found I need to recharge it every month. Is this normal?
I also emailed Noco tech support, so they may have an answer or BS.
 
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IndyGarage

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I said early in the thread that I bought a Noco GBX155 - which i think is their top of the line a year or so to replace my now 6 year old JNC770. Well I finally figured out that you need to keep the NOCO Charged at all times. I finally started leaving it plugged into the lighter socket in the back seat of my pickup. The NOCO has some great features and some awful features as far as I'm concerned.

NOCO GBX155: Pros - It kicks really hard when it works. It is small and compact compared to a traditional jump box. Cons - It will only start 1-2 vehicles on a charge, then it needs recharging, It won't start a vehicle with a completely dead battery - it must sense some voltage. It has a feature that says always on, but I can't get it to work. Cables are pretty short. Only charges with USB C. Had to buy a USB C fast charger for $75 to get it fully charged. Expensive

JNC 770: Pros - Great cables - nice length, heavy gauge, Will start almost any vehicle, including a diesel truck when well charged. Will start a vehicle with no battery present. I've used it to run a trolling motor on a small boat. Will jump several vehicles on a charge. I only charge it periodically. 110V charging system built in - just plug it in to any extension cord. Cons: JNC 770 has unique cable clamps - they work, but some don't like them. Bulky and a little heavy.

If I could only have one, it would be the JNC 770 - or JNC660, which has the same capacity. That said, I often pull out the GBX155 first because it's so compact and lightweight. Unfortunately many times I have to go get the JNC 770 when the NOCO doesn't work.
 

sea2summit

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Very odd. I've got a NOCO GBX that's been kicking around for a few years now. Think I've charged it four times? Haven't had any discharging issues.
 

Hohn

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I'm using the GooLoo that did well in Project Farm testing, but admittedly I use it rarely and I have no idea how well it would hold up.
 

Jsf721

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Dec 23, 2012
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LI, NY
I have to jump start at least 2-3 cars every day multiple times in my line of work and i've been using NOCO products for a while now but they have all either lost potency or randomly stopped turning on, the last one i had was a gbx55 and it just stopped working, does anyone have any product recommendation i could use? i preffer small jump starters cause its much less trouble than carrying a car battery around but any suggestion will be much appreciated.
I have not failed with my antigravity. I have used to to jump several cars on one charge.

I have the largest HD unit.
 

bigredcornhead

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Aug 9, 2011
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JNC is the way to go IMO, i have one of each and every time i try to use that NOCO, it needs charge and wont jump what ever i am attempting. I only purchased the 1700 NOCO, but i was hoping for better. The JNC660 i have had for 5 years and it still works like a champ!
 

minke

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fly over country
...

NOCO GBX155: Pros - ... Only charges with USB C. Had to buy a USB C fast charger for $75 to get it fully charged. Expensive

...

Suggestion: Fast charging is great when you're in a hurry. You can still use an old ½ amp USB charger with the addition of a USB-A to USB-C cable. Additionally slow charging will likely have a beneficial effect on the battery's longevity.
 

jd_1138

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Suggestion: Fast charging is great when you're in a hurry. You can still use an old ½ amp USB charger with the addition of a USB-A to USB-C cable. Additionally slow charging will likely have a beneficial effect on the battery's longevity.
Good reminder to keep a USB wall wart in the jump pack box in case you're stranded somewhere and it's out of charge. You can plug it into an outlet inside a fast food place or truck stop or wherever you are (work, someone's house). I will put one in mine.

I got my jump box a couple of days ago and charged it up. I will charge it up every month to keep it charged.
 

Sumboodie

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AK
I have a Topdon JS3000. I've only used it 25-30 times so far, but it will start an 6.0 Powerstroke with batteries that are so dead it won't even click with ease.

I got it compliment my JNC660 which can't start most diesels if they are completely dead.
No issues with JNC660 on a 10 liter diesel that has to crank a min or two to fire.
 

IndyGarage

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Suggestion: Fast charging is great when you're in a hurry. You can still use an old ½ amp USB charger with the addition of a USB-A to USB-C cable. Additionally slow charging will likely have a beneficial effect on the battery's longevity.
You can, but it takes several days to charge a GBX155 that way - compared to a couple hours to charge my JNC770.

I left the NOCO on a standard phone type USB C charger and over a complete weekend it still wasn't charged enough to jump a vehicle. I do find leaving it in the back of my truck on the charger all the time leaves it mostly charged. Honestly you need to spend the $75 for the faster charger.
 
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dscheidt

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You can, but it takes several days to charge a GBX155 that way - compared to a couple hours to charge my JNC770.

I left the NOCO on a standard phone type USB C charger and over a complete weekend it still wasn't charged enough to jump a vehicle. I do find leaving it in the back of my truck on the charger all the time leaves it mostly charged. Honestly you need to spend the $75 for the faster charger.
high output usb-c chargers are available for a lot less than 75 bucks. Anker sell a nice 100W output one for about $30, as do a number of reputable makers; even Apple will sell you one for less than $75.
 

IndyGarage

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high output usb-c chargers are available for a lot less than 75 bucks. Anker sell a nice 100W output one for about $30, as do a number of reputable makers; even Apple will sell you one for less than $75.
Yeah I got taken. They had me convinced that it must be something special, so I sprung the $75. When I got it I'm like - this is just a generic charger...
 

Jokester

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Jan 10, 2023
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Having had a large DeWalt dual battery jump box for 5+ yrs I decided to get something much smaller and equally as capable for my typical use. Haven't seen this one mentioned much, but gave it a go recently and it has some nice features and solid build quality. Did recently use it to adjust tire psi and was surprised at how quick it was topping off each tire. Also included is a fairly solid carrying case. I will say I wouldn't plan to use something like this like on a daily basis, but for an occasional jump start, tire adjustment, that sort of thing it should be quite good. I didn't pay MSRP, but it wasn't cheap. After looking over quite a few different brands/models this was the one.

 

sea2summit

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Mar 19, 2023
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You can, but it takes several days to charge a GBX155 that way - compared to a couple hours to charge my JNC770.

I left the NOCO on a standard phone type USB C charger and over a complete weekend it still wasn't charged enough to jump a vehicle. I do find leaving it in the back of my truck on the charger all the time leaves it mostly charged. Honestly you need to spend the $75 for the faster charger.
Sounds like you’re using the wrong USBC power supply. Was it 1A or 2.4A? 2.4A is made for notebook and similar devices and 1A is really only good for phones.
 

IndyGarage

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A couple months ago my JNC 770 battery bit the dust - would no longer take a charge. I looked and it was from 2016, so 8 years old. It was just before Amazon prime day, so I bought another one for $165, which is a bargain.

I still have the Noco GBX155 and it's still frustrating as heck to use. Sometimes it works flawlessly, sometimes it will not do anything. I tried to jump a Polaris Ranger with it two days ago, and could not get it to connect and jump no matter what. I connected the new JNC 770 - instant start. So if I needed to rely on one, NOCO would be a NOGO.

The NOCO is made for if your battery is still good and you ran it down accidentally - left the lights on or something. If you truly have a dead battery you need the Jump N Carry.

I can't seem to throw things away, so I did buy a new $59 battery for my old JNC 770. It took 1/2 hour to install and it seems to work like new. I left it at my shop.
 

NUTTSGT

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OP is a one hit wonder. Ask a question and never come back. Reeks highly of a spam baiting question.

There's good information in the thread but if you spot more suspect posts, please report them.
 

PMD1966

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Dec 26, 2013
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182
Location
Lake Orion, Michigan
I did a quick search and found them available on Amazon, Zoro, and JB Tools.... among several other sites.

JB Tools seemed to have the best deal at $145 and free shipping. I've never ordered from JB Tools so you're on your own with that. They do seem to pop up all the time and they've been around for as long as I can remember. I sure someone from this site has experience with buying from JB Tools.

Zoro has them for $167.99 also with free shipping. Zoro is a real company (part of Graingers, if I'm not mistaken) and I order from them all the time. No need to worry about ordering from Zoro.

I have purchased several JNC660's in the past and the best price I ever paid was $99 bucks on Amazon during Prime Day several years ago.
I have purchased a few things from JB Tools. Never disappointed.
 

J5hort

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Mar 17, 2020
Messages
156
Location
MA
Update: Got the replacement Clore unit and used it once so far. Lets see if it lasts for more than 6 months. Im not sure that the replacement has the same 1 yr warranty.
Happy to report replacement unit is performing much better than original. I have used as in the past for tractor and passenger car duty and is is holding charge way longer and only requires a seldom recharge. Not sure if there was a leak rate issue with original, but the performance of the repalcement is what I expect. Unit also has a tire inflator uilt in and have been using that along side of jumping. Comes in handy for low tire pressure of tractors that are stored off-site.
 
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