pooterguy
Well-known member
Thanks. That is the kind of info that I was seeking. My VDC MINDer 2248 worked very well for about 15 years, but has seemed a bit unstable recently. So I will move VDC down the replacement list in favor of Noco.
- Thread starter Ryan
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Jeepster04
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- Jun 25, 2013
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- 3,092
Juiced06GTO
Well-known member
I went with a 4 port Noco Genius and it has been awesome. Biggest plus was I ordered it from Amazon and it showed up the same day!
Bessy
Well-known member
I've got one! Great little unit. I only wish that the plug end was a little shorter and the leads a little longer because I have mine clipped to the wall, out of the way but it's just a hair too short to reach the battery on the car. I could just be lazy in terms of looking for a better spot for it.
I put mine on a smart plug so I can be sure to turn it off if I've forgot to before leaving the shop. If you're using it to tend batteries, I'd highly recommend a smart plug with a schedule set to auto on/off. Makes me want to look for a smart battery meter now that I think about it!
I put mine on a smart plug so I can be sure to turn it off if I've forgot to before leaving the shop. If you're using it to tend batteries, I'd highly recommend a smart plug with a schedule set to auto on/off. Makes me want to look for a smart battery meter now that I think about it!
Wiz02
Well-known member
As long as we are relating anecdotal evidence, I have 3 Deltran tender/minders, 2 old school and one newer one, a Noco gb70 and a Ctek. Only battery that was cooked was the Ctek and not only did it sulfate the battery, it died as well. So all 3 Deltrans are still running strong, 2 for many years, Ctek failed after a few years of maintaining the garage queen and the Noco gb70 couldn't jump start a car with a bad starter, WTF 
cpttuna
Well-known member
I have a NOCO. I am very pleased with it
bulletpruf
Well-known member
Noco Genius 10 here as well. Good piece of gear.
Junkman
Well-known member
I have had a NOCO on my diesel generator for a couple of years now. The alternator on the generator failed, and a replacement was cost-prohibitive. I just need a good battery to start the diesel engine, and once the power is restored by the generator, the NOCO starts bringing the battery back up to peak performance, since the alternator is dead. The battery is a Delco commercial 12-volt. The best part is that it will give you a visual indication if the battery should go bad while on standby. I know this because this is what happened with the previous battery. Saw the flashing LED and tried to start the generator on manual start, but it didn't have enough power left to turn over the engine once the intake heater and glow plugs warmed the engine prior to starting. When this battery dies, I will consider replacing it with an AGM battery, but I don't know if the NOCO will work with the AGM battery.
csp
Well-known member
Any of the current models do. It's easy to find the product literature for whichever model you have.
TMcCay
Well-known member
I've had my Ctek for over 10 years now and have been happy with it. I only use for charging now since I sold my El Camino. It did great maintaining my redtop and that was the reason I bought it. Been thinking about getting a dedicated maintainer for my lawnmower, so I will definitely be checking out NoCo. Thanks!
IndyGarage
Well-known member
I've probably got 15 or so of those little chargers. Probably starting 25 years ago, I bought Battery tenders - At first they only had the 1.75 amp full-size tenders - I had some in 12v and some in 6v. They they came out with the juniors and I bought many of them.
About 10 years ago somebody here was praising a battery minder - so I bought a few of those. The only real advantage over a battery tender is they are safe for AGM batteries.
At one time I bought a Schumacher charger and had a bad experience with it - Overcharged and melted down a battery - so I threw it away.
Last year I bought about 7-8 new ones - all Noco's I think 6 Noco 1's and a couple of Noco 2's.
I'm still using a combination of Battery tenders, battery minders and Nocos. To me, they all work fine. I would buy the cheapest of the bunch. I have had some of my original battery tenders fail on me - but that's after more than 10 years of use and abuse.
If you have AGM batteries, make sure the charger is safe for them. My original battery tenders are not and they will overcharge and AGM. Surely they've upgraded and the new ones are AGM safe.
I will say that I'm pretty disappointed with the NOCO jump box I bought. I got a GBX155 - because it was on black friday for 30% off. It is supposed to be the pro jump box and have plenty of power. Well, when fully charged, it does. I had no problem starting a large diesel truck with it. However, the problem is it will do it once - then it needs recharging. And recharging it, unless you buy their 75 dollar charger, takes days.
My trusty JNC 770 finally started getting weak. I've been using it for all kinds of things for years. You charge it once and it will jump 5 or more vehicles. In contrast the NOCO is a one shot deal. I would not buy another. I'll be buying another JNC.
I tried that once, was dead when needed a few days later. They don't work in the cold. Same as cordless tool batteries.
WisJim
Well-known member
I have a couple of Noco 10 amp multi channel units. One is a 4 channel originally purchased to charge four 12 volt pairs of batteries in an old Commuta-Car electric car which was a 48 vehicle. One of the 4 sections died so I now use it to charge a 36 volt GE Elec-trak garden tractor and it has been working fine for at least 8 years. The other one is also used on a 36 volt tractor charging three 12 volt batteries.
MJK
Well-known member
It's fine for what it is - mine is also several years old. No LED lights. Not able to recover a dead battery when CTEK could. No AGM setting, etc. For just maintaining lead acid it is perfectly fine, good value and still in service.
Ditto. Saved the marine battery in my dump trailer amongst others.
Swanny1953
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Everyone has their favorites. For me, it's Battery Saver - https://www.batterysaver.com/?gclid...bq1Prms3ZFnTlaFAHFy_3y9nBLlbcxAYaAmZgEALw_wcB
I have one of these on all the cars (11) that are not daily drivers as well as 2 boats and 2 jet skies (hooked in series). Even had one on my riding mower at the lake until I got out of the lawn maintenance business for that property. On my '13 Corvette, the battery lasted 10 years before having to be replaced, but then, the battery on the '16 Jeep Wrangler only lasted 6-1/2 years before I had to replace it this week. If you watch the tour of Tim Taylor's garage, you'll see these things lying all around his floor.
I've heard great things about NOCO and CTEK - I've just had great luck with these. My $0.02!!
I have one of these on all the cars (11) that are not daily drivers as well as 2 boats and 2 jet skies (hooked in series). Even had one on my riding mower at the lake until I got out of the lawn maintenance business for that property. On my '13 Corvette, the battery lasted 10 years before having to be replaced, but then, the battery on the '16 Jeep Wrangler only lasted 6-1/2 years before I had to replace it this week. If you watch the tour of Tim Taylor's garage, you'll see these things lying all around his floor.
I've heard great things about NOCO and CTEK - I've just had great luck with these. My $0.02!!
ManUpOrShutUp
Well-known member
I work on gym equipment, so I bought the NOCO GENIUS10 to charge up the 6V batteries on commercial cardio equipment. In December, we had a couple really cold days after which my truck battery - 1 week shy of it's 3-year anniversary - refused to start. It wouldn't jump either. Then I remembered I had this NOCO sitting in the garage and decided to plug it in and give it a go. The truck started right up. Repeated it a month later on my wife's car. Handy to have these around.
I bought a Battery Tender Jr. back in 2005 and am still using it. I have had up three motorcycles and two would drain the battery in a couple weeks. I also have one of the Harbor Freight maintainers, it works fine too. No issues from either.
The Battery Tender Jr. has been used constantly since 2005 It had been plugged in and on a battery the whole time, unless the motorcycle was out of the garage. The HF model is the back up unit and only gets used if I need a second maintainer. I get 4-5 years from a motorcycle battery.
The Battery Tender Jr. has been used constantly since 2005 It had been plugged in and on a battery the whole time, unless the motorcycle was out of the garage. The HF model is the back up unit and only gets used if I need a second maintainer. I get 4-5 years from a motorcycle battery.
nadogail
Well-known member
I have a Schumacher solar panels on the dash of my van. I usually keeps the battery ahead of those parasitic loads. The van usually gets driven on Saturday or most weeks and not driven at all. Rarely does it need a jumpstart.
I've been happy with my two NOCO units: a GB70 and a GBX155. Like with Ryan, my vehicles sometimes sit for longer periods of time. I've used these units -- especially the GB70 -- many times and they've never let me down (even with multiple starts in lower winter temps). They've also held a charge for many months at a time before needing to top off again. Note that there's a big difference in size between the two; the GBX155 is roughly 13 x 7 inches compared to 9 x 6 inches for the GB70. I needed the extra power of the GBX155 for my 6.7L diesel truck. The larger size is fine for my truck but would be a little big to carry around in my cars.
pooterguy
Well-known member
After comparison shopping several manufacturer's offerings, including Noco and others favored by GJ members that seemed to fit my need for charging and maintaining my auto, OPE and UPS batteries, I settled for a Clore Pro-Logix 4050.
cloreautomotive.com
I like their jump starters and other battery gizmos and am likewise favorably impressed (so far) with thiis one It seems to work as advertised and has already breathed new life into a couple of U1s that I had given up for dead.
6/12V 4x5A Battery Maintenance Station - Clore Automotive
Model PL4050 is a perfect charger to meet the needs of mechanical repair shops, collision repair facilities, fleet operations, marinas and consumers. It features four independent output channels designed to properly charge a flooded or AGM (including Sprial Wound) battery.
cloreautomotive.com
I like their jump starters and other battery gizmos and am likewise favorably impressed (so far) with thiis one It seems to work as advertised and has already breathed new life into a couple of U1s that I had given up for dead.
1320 -- Looks like NOCO sells a case for the Genius10 at $25:
no.co
I have their cases for both of my units and they've held up well so far.
NOCO Universal EVA Protective Case for Genius
The GC040 Universal EVA Protection Case is a portable EVA protection case for GENIUS1, GENIUS2, GENIUS2D, GENIUS5, and GENIUS10 battery chargers. It features a rugged and durable EVA material with a soft melange velvet lining for a secure, scratch-free fit, as well as precision steel-rimmed...
I have their cases for both of my units and they've held up well so far.
pelletman
Well-known member
I've met the owners of this company at Hershey a couple times, nice people and the products seem pretty good too
Somehow I missed that, thanks.1320 -- Looks like NOCO sells a case for the Genius10 at $25:
NOCO Universal EVA Protective Case for Genius
The GC040 Universal EVA Protection Case is a portable EVA protection case for GENIUS1, GENIUS2, GENIUS2D, GENIUS5, and GENIUS10 battery chargers. It features a rugged and durable EVA material with a soft melange velvet lining for a secure, scratch-free fit, as well as precision steel-rimmed...
I have their cases for both of my units and they've held up well so far.
SnapOnSnapOff
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
- Messages
- 65
Absolutely, cables are for the birds. I loaned my non car guy brother, my truck recently to pick something up and since I rarely use it the battery had died. He called me asking if I had cables somewhere and told him just grab the black bag bungied under the passenger seat."huh?"
Told him to not be an idiot and read the instructions. Got a text 10 mins later, "OMFG! Why doesn't every car come with one of those?"
Manycamaroz
Member
I keep tenders on all of my non-regularly driven vehicles and tractors for 20 years and have always gotten exceptional battery life IMO. I got 12 years out of the battery that originally came in a Harley I had. So no complaints here.
Battery Minder- I bought two several months ago (on sale) to replace a probably 20 year old Battery Tender that finally died after years of reliable use. I put one on one of my older Camaros and after about a month or so I went to get the car out for a drive and the battery was dead also leaving acid vapors on the core support at the battery vent.
Battery Tender- As stated, I have used them for at least 20 years and have 6 of them for all of my batteries that are not driven frequently. I've had two of the oldest ones die recently which is why I purchased the Battery Minders since they were on sale.
NOCO- I have 2 of the G70's (I believe) and they have always started a vehicle that wasn't fully discharged. They haven't let me down yet.
Battery Minder- I bought two several months ago (on sale) to replace a probably 20 year old Battery Tender that finally died after years of reliable use. I put one on one of my older Camaros and after about a month or so I went to get the car out for a drive and the battery was dead also leaving acid vapors on the core support at the battery vent.
Battery Tender- As stated, I have used them for at least 20 years and have 6 of them for all of my batteries that are not driven frequently. I've had two of the oldest ones die recently which is why I purchased the Battery Minders since they were on sale.
NOCO- I have 2 of the G70's (I believe) and they have always started a vehicle that wasn't fully discharged. They haven't let me down yet.
Thirdyfivepickup
Well-known member
JasonMcElroy
Well-known member
Same here
Have six of them in my garage hooked up to all sorts of motorcycles and haven't had any issues.
The youngest of them must be over a decade old.
I have a Noco (don't know which number) which I got a few years ago to use on the two bikes where I've switched to Lithium batteries. They hold a charge so long I haven't needed to use the tenders ;-0
Also have a big fancy Schumacher I got from the local auto parts. Expensive (all they had, it's "smart", yeah right) and ******. Repeatedly fails to charge and has let me down before many camping trips where the house battery on the camper needs a charge. I think the sensing/negotiating circuit somehow determines that the battery doesn't need a charge. Have come back days later to find no change in battery voltage. I don't lend tools . . . so this is the one I lend to my neighbors when they come knocking.
Jason
TrickVert
Member
swsman
Well-known member
I have and use two Battery Tender Plus units, likely 7 or so years old now.
Also own a wheeled Schumacher unit that can charge batteries/jump start a vehicle.
For the first few years I kept them connected for typical winter season battery maintenance, for the past couple years I just disconnect the battery cables on fun car, pull the batteries out of ATV/motorcycle. Top them off as needed with me present/fiddling with something in garage at the same time.
Reason behind this has nothing to do with BT, there have been a few garage fires with folk leaving Milwaukee batteries on chargers unattended, some melted chargers and what not, on top of knowing someone personally almost losing a house to a LiPo battery.
My garage is attached to the house, so I try to minimize the risk, still not foolproof this being said.
Also own a wheeled Schumacher unit that can charge batteries/jump start a vehicle.
For the first few years I kept them connected for typical winter season battery maintenance, for the past couple years I just disconnect the battery cables on fun car, pull the batteries out of ATV/motorcycle. Top them off as needed with me present/fiddling with something in garage at the same time.
Reason behind this has nothing to do with BT, there have been a few garage fires with folk leaving Milwaukee batteries on chargers unattended, some melted chargers and what not, on top of knowing someone personally almost losing a house to a LiPo battery.
My garage is attached to the house, so I try to minimize the risk, still not foolproof this being said.
The one thing I really dislike about my Noco charger is the proprietary leads. If you want to hook to a normal SAE charge connector, you either have to hack up their leads, or they will be happy to sell you an adapter for $15 a piece. So as much as I like the unit, its quite a scam they have going on the adapters.
I agree on the proprietary connectors. I've got all my vehicles setup with the SAE connector for battery maintenance when using tenders so changing all those out for the NOCO GC002 would cost some coin, plus it would make my other maintainers useless. I did buy 1 conversion connector to go from the NOCO connector to an SAE connector and it works fine but is bulky. The SAE connector is nice on motorcycles since it is easily tucked away out of view. Too bad NOCO doesn't use the universal SAE connector on their lower amperage chargers since I believe most SAE connector cables are able to handle 15A. That being said, other than the stiff cabling in cold weather, I do like the performance and packaging of the Genius 5 that I bought.
Hobby_Man22
Well-known member
Same here. Although the only issue I had was the ring terminals were too small, so I had to cut them off install bigger ones. Some of the things I have it's a hassle to access the battery, so I didn't want to use the alligator clips.
GirlnAgarage
Well-known member
On both my trucks I'm working to make the SAE connectors as accessible on the outside of the truck like the block heater plug is, right now I just clamp on their clips. I have the battery tender SAE connectors on there now anyway. If I could be an inventor for a minute, if someone could make a multi-plug power station mount for the bumpers of vehs would be great, like if it was a multi-plug station at an office desk.
As for undersized rings, I just took a drill bit to it to open the ring up a tad and called it good.
I'm still happy with the Noco10 charger and looking to get the 1000amp jump pack for the diesel trucks.
As for undersized rings, I just took a drill bit to it to open the ring up a tad and called it good.
I'm still happy with the Noco10 charger and looking to get the 1000amp jump pack for the diesel trucks.
Following this thread and seeing the relatively high praise for NOCO products I ended up purchasing a NOCO Genius 5 since I wanted a little bigger charger for the auto sized batteries. Up to this point I had been using Battery Minder and Battery Tenders for maintenance and other chargers for the larger batteries with no issues. The Genius 5 looked like a nice product and worked well on my motorcycle batteries. However, when I tried to use it on a full size battery it started flashing all the LEDS like the battery was bad. It no longer worked on my smaller motorcycle batteries either. Contacted NOCO support and after multiple emails it was found that the harness that was supplied had the wrong fuse installed which had blown (had a 2A fuse vs the correct 10A). This solved the problem but they didn't seem too upset that it was manufactured that way.
Thought I'd give them another try with a Genius 1 for maintenance. I've got quite a few batteries to charge through the winter so adding another charger would help. On initial connection, all the charger would do was display the orange/red led no matter how long it was connected which supposedly means the battery was at or below 75% charge. That was not the case and I've tried multiple batteries that I know are fully charged with the same result. Back to NOCO support and after sending them the info they requested they suggested the vendor I bought it from should take it back. I had already thrown away the packaging so I didn't think that was an option. Option 2 was to pay to send it back to them and anywhere from 1-3 weeks or longer they would get back to me to decide if they could fix it or replace it. I don't know how you could "fix it" seeing that the charger body is sealed permanently and would probably be damaged if they tried to split it. It sounds like most, if not all of the respondents of this post have had success with NOCO but I haven't. What was more disappointing to me was their support response. Shipping costs back and forth to NOCO (if it stays in the US vs sending it back to Vietnam where it was made) would be more than it was worth. I'm thinking they are hoping that I trash bin it and don't bother them anymore.
Thought I'd give them another try with a Genius 1 for maintenance. I've got quite a few batteries to charge through the winter so adding another charger would help. On initial connection, all the charger would do was display the orange/red led no matter how long it was connected which supposedly means the battery was at or below 75% charge. That was not the case and I've tried multiple batteries that I know are fully charged with the same result. Back to NOCO support and after sending them the info they requested they suggested the vendor I bought it from should take it back. I had already thrown away the packaging so I didn't think that was an option. Option 2 was to pay to send it back to them and anywhere from 1-3 weeks or longer they would get back to me to decide if they could fix it or replace it. I don't know how you could "fix it" seeing that the charger body is sealed permanently and would probably be damaged if they tried to split it. It sounds like most, if not all of the respondents of this post have had success with NOCO but I haven't. What was more disappointing to me was their support response. Shipping costs back and forth to NOCO (if it stays in the US vs sending it back to Vietnam where it was made) would be more than it was worth. I'm thinking they are hoping that I trash bin it and don't bother them anymore.