thill
ArboristSite Lurker
I bought the Hulkman charger, and that thing is a beast. Have done lots of crazy stuff with it. GREAT unit
:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M41FX48/
:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M41FX48/
NOCO Chargers are Garbage - What's a better brand?
- Thread starter Arbor1
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Been using noco chargers and maintainer for years now. Im a big fan. Haven't had an issue with any of them yet. First one the shop bought. It's a 4 battery bank charger/ maintainer. 1 amp output per lead, 6/12 volt. Been keeping group 31p batteries that we keep in stock topped up for years now. I was impressed with it, so I got a g7200 7.2 amp charger. It gets used quite a bit, even use it to charge the kids power wheel batteries at one time. Have about a dozen different tenders going between my place, dad's and my wife's grand mother's house. Mix of noco, better tender and some other brand(s). No complaints there either. Have a big rolling snap-on charger too. It's got a few higher then normal charge settings and does 6/12/24 volt charging, and a few other features I don't use real often. It will act as a maintainer and power supply too. It's pretty heavy and cumbersome so I don't use it often. About 2 years ago, I ditched the heavy Schumacher jumper packs I had and replaced them with noco gbx75 unit. Work got the boost max 500 12/24v version shortly after. I won't ever go back to the heavy duel battery jump packs, that boost max 500 is a beast. Regularly use it to jump heavy equipment and as a power supply. Only down side it it does take pretty long to charge if its dead with the noco charger. Even the little one i got at home has no issues firing up a dead pickup/ Farm tractor diesel. (Biggest I've attempted is a 9L cummins, batteries weren't fully dead though.) I don't mind the usb c charging port on it. Plug it into a laptop charger and in an hour or so it's fully charged. Phone chargers take too long.
Smitty Smithsonite
ArboristSite Operative
Reminds me, I still have my Sears rolling charger / starter. Paid $200 for it in 2001. Still works!
I've got a Schumacher charger from the late 60's that my dad ran for years. After 3 fairly new batteries were smoked, I tested the voltage on it. 23V!! No bueno. Smelled like rotten eggs in the basement! Fried those batteries to a cinder.
I'd wager I could probably get inside there and replace the painfully-simple components of yesteryear whenever the need arises.
I've got a Schumacher charger from the late 60's that my dad ran for years. After 3 fairly new batteries were smoked, I tested the voltage on it. 23V!! No bueno. Smelled like rotten eggs in the basement! Fried those batteries to a cinder.
I'd wager I could probably get inside there and replace the painfully-simple components of yesteryear whenever the need arises.
I have this one as well. It works very well and is recommended by a top small engine repair person on Utube (Chickanic). I was able to start my 7.3 PowerStroke with it. The batteries weren't completely discharged however. I was still impressed by how fast it cranked:
https://www.amazon.com/GOOLOO-GT400...sc=1&msclkid=0661c686ca4b1400b719a18c592fd93a
FWIW I've been using "Battery Tender" brand trickle chargers on at least a half dozen vehicles for decades and never had a failure... lots of these vehicles don't get driven except seasonally... some get driven only once every few years...
I've used pretty much every kind of trickle charger booster battery gizmo there is...
If you have a lead acid battery that's older than a few years you might consider using a desulfinator... before I swapped to Lithium batteries I used to use the PulseTech product (sends a little blip through lead-acid batteries to keep the corrosion from stick to the bars of lead inside the battery)
I thought it was snake oil at first but I used a Battery Tender 750 mA trickle charger and a 12V pulsetech on an ancient roadracing motorcycle from the 90's that hasn't been ridding in over a decade... and I'll go in and start it up and let it get warm and rev it every couple years (I know, not the best maintenance practice) but it starts every single time.... with a lead-acid battery in it that's probably from ~2012
I've used pretty much every kind of trickle charger booster battery gizmo there is...
If you have a lead acid battery that's older than a few years you might consider using a desulfinator... before I swapped to Lithium batteries I used to use the PulseTech product (sends a little blip through lead-acid batteries to keep the corrosion from stick to the bars of lead inside the battery)
I thought it was snake oil at first but I used a Battery Tender 750 mA trickle charger and a 12V pulsetech on an ancient roadracing motorcycle from the 90's that hasn't been ridding in over a decade... and I'll go in and start it up and let it get warm and rev it every couple years (I know, not the best maintenance practice) but it starts every single time.... with a lead-acid battery in it that's probably from ~2012
Smitty Smithsonite
ArboristSite Operative
The GooLoo units I have are the GE4500. No complaints so far.
like anything, more complicated = more complicated...
more parts, more functions = more chances for failure...
OP's post had one of those "charge multiple batteries at a time" dealios... i'm not surprised it failed.
I have a 1989 FJ62 toyota that's been sitting on a 1 amp noco trickle charger for at least 3 years... it gets taken out once a year in the not-so-hot-i-need-air-conditioning season... and that simple little 1 amp trickle charger has worked just fine for the last few years.
But compared to a Battery Tender 3/4 amp trickle charger the noco is a tiny little lump of plastic about the size of a pack of smokes (remember when everybody smoked?
) and the Battery Tender is 4x the size and heavy because theres a big metal thing inside to convert wall AC into 12V battery DC...So... (shrug) simpler is almost always better... your GT4500 is working for you... thats great... I have a bunch of Lithum battery Noco jumpers too... I wonder how long they will last (shrug)
The jumper I use the most... the one that *always* works... is the big 'ole heavy lead acid based jumper on wheels I keep in the shop... its been working since last century (shrug)
I have two NOCO chargers in my poultry barn that have been working flawlessly for 8yrs now and they live in a far worse environment than anything you’ll find in a garage or shop. I have multiple NOCO chargers that I use to maintain batteries in farm machinery over winter and haven’t had a single one die yet.
As with everything these days you could get a turd or two in a row and it sure doesn’t mean the entire product line is complete junk, just that the one or two you got were assembled by the new guy on a Friday afternoon.
As with everything these days you could get a turd or two in a row and it sure doesn’t mean the entire product line is complete junk, just that the one or two you got were assembled by the new guy on a Friday afternoon.
The rotten eggs smell is the classic sign of a selenium rectifier failure. And you're right, simple and cheap to fix with a couple dollars worth of silicon rectifiers or a bridge module, depending on the circuit.
Gonna be one of these 3 circuits:
https://www.elprocus.com/full-wave-bridge-rectifier-versus-center-tapped-full-wave-rectifier/
Works well for me. Not always, but usually. Once in a while it's just too far gone.
Did some work on the neighbors old Dayton last month. Needed a new selector switch as the old one had a plastic shaft that snapped.
Had to drill the shaft out and use DVOM to remap the wiring to the new switch. Fun times!
Had to drill the shaft out and use DVOM to remap the wiring to the new switch. Fun times!
The kicker of it is, I checked the output voltage at each setting and the 6 volt is fine but the 12V is low except on boost.
I told him she is getting weak and to watch the output with a DVOM to ensure it still works!
Had to install new STA-KON terminals because the original brass ones were brittle and broke.
She has some miles on her for sure....
I told him she is getting weak and to watch the output with a DVOM to ensure it still works!
Had to install new STA-KON terminals because the original brass ones were brittle and broke.
She has some miles on her for sure....
Battery sulfatuon is more or less unavoidable, chemically changes the lead, and is a wonderful insulator. The pulses break up that layer. If it's a good battery to start with you can do it several times before you loose enough lead to affect cranking capacity. Supposedly you can hook up a power supply and keep a long slow charge on the battery (seen some guys use a stick welder.) And do the same thing. Even when the batteries do manage to keep a charge the capacity is greatly affected. Can't seem to find the video, guy did a few tests with a group 31 battery that he bought back from basically flat line voltage vs a new off the shelf battery and it was something around 200 cranking amps less then the new battery at room temp. Plenty of information on the subject out there on the interwebs.like anything, more complicated = more complicated...
more parts, more functions = more chances for failure...
OP's post had one of those "charge multiple batteries at a time" dealios... i'm not surprised it failed.
I have a 1989 FJ62 toyota that's been sitting on a 1 amp noco trickle charger for at least 3 years... it gets taken out once a year in the not-so-hot-i-need-air-conditioning season... and that simple little 1 amp trickle charger has worked just fine for the last few years.
But compared to a Battery Tender 3/4 amp trickle charger the noco is a tiny little lump of plastic about the size of a pack of smokes (remember when everybody smoked?
So... (shrug) simpler is almost always better... your GT4500 is working for you... thats great... I have a bunch of Lithum battery Noco jumpers too... I wonder how long they will last (shrug)
The jumper I use the most... the one that *always* works... is the big 'ole heavy lead acid based jumper on wheels I keep in the shop... its been working since last century (shrug)
My Noco has been fine. Have also had good service from Battery Tender. I also keep an old school transformer based battery charger on hand, think that one is Harbor Freight. All good. The Noco gets the most use, by far. Weekly at least.
Last option is the benchtop power supply, no smart anything, it just puts out whatever I set it to. Guess my welder could do the same thing, within it's limits.
Last option is the benchtop power supply, no smart anything, it just puts out whatever I set it to. Guess my welder could do the same thing, within it's limits.
Well first I think we need to classify the intent of the charger....automotive, hand held tool, solar, battery bank, etc.... I believe we are talking automotive(you almost lost me because I thought you were talking about batt operated hand held arborist tools
) I use this Gem and an older completely analog one. Garage sales are your friend. Most of these will survive longer than us. Maybe just a fuse blown or bad switch. I combine those 2 chargers with some hydrochloric acid sometimes along with distilled water to keep batteries in ship shape condition. If you have a battery that doesn't seem to want to take a charge but doesn't test as bad cells. I excite the battery prior to trying to charge it. Depending on where it is I rig up the charger to opposite poles. Then from a safe distance plug the charger in and wait anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds(usually a 15 was tried as a 5 couple times first) then unplug and immediately swap poles to correct and place battery in a manual charge setting. Sometimes it takes a bit, however I've revived countless batteries like this. And @ 100 or better per Pop these days it's something to get "Excited" bout
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I don't understand the purpose of "reverse charging". Isn't that the same thing as just drawing it down a bit, as with a load-bank tester?Well first I think we need to classify the intent of the charger....automotive, hand held tool, solar, battery bank, etc.... I believe we are talking automotive(you almost lost me because I thought you were talking about batt operated hand held arborist tools
I combine those 2 chargers with some hydrochloric acid sometimes along with distilled water to keep batteries in ship shape condition. If you have a battery that doesn't seem to want to take a charge but doesn't test as bad cells. I excite the battery prior to trying to charge it. Depending on where it is I rig up the charger to opposite poles. Then from a safe distance plug the charger in and wait anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds(usually a 15 was tried as a 5 couple times first) then unplug and immediately swap poles to correct and place battery in a manual charge setting. Sometimes it takes a bit, however I've revived countless batteries like this. And @ 100 or better per Pop these days it's something to get "Excited" bout
Just as an interesting aside, a lead-acid battery IS capable of being charged up backwards. It has to be first discharged clear down to nothing, then hook the leads up in reverse polarity and it will charge back up in reversed polarity. Happened a time or two back in the pre-computer days. Some ***** put the battery in backwards and drove off ......
Some say it cleans the cells by knocking off loose and spent lead, some say that it excites the electrolytes causing them to interact together more effectively. To be completely honest I'm not to sure. Perhaps it's a combination of a few things. An old man showed me that trick many years ago. Only do it when one won't take a charge and as I mentioned not for very long. What I do know is I've successfully employed this tactic hundreds of times over the last 40 something years. It doesn't always work....if there's internal damage the only fix is a wallet or way more work on a battery than I'm willing to perform.I don't understand the purpose of "reverse charging". Isn't that the same thing as just drawing it down a bit, as with a load-bank tester?
Just as an interesting aside, a lead-acid battery IS capable of being charged up backwards. It has to be first discharged clear down to nothing, then hook the leads up in reverse polarity and it will charge back up in reversed polarity. Happened a time or two back in the pre-computer days. Some ***** put the battery in backwards and drove off ......
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Purchased this Schumacher battery charger when my old Craftsman battery charger pooped out. I like the 100 amp engine start and the 30 amp boost. Happy that it won't overcharge my batteries.
I slso like the 4A Battery tender for battery maintenancee and trickle charging.
Schumacher Electric Battery Charger and Maintainer, SC1281, 4-in-1, Fully Automatic, 100 Cranking Amps, 6v and 12v Automotive Batteries - Ideal for Motorcycle, Cars, Trucks, Marine Batteries and More
I slso like the 4A Battery tender for battery maintenancee and trickle charging.
Battery Tender 022-0209-DL-WH 4A Selectable Charger is an AGM/Standard or GEL/Lithium Ion Switchable, 12v or 6v Switchable at 4a, Includes Rings & Clips. It Will Never Over Charge Your Battery
So ...... de-sulfating essentially? As discussed previously here-in de-sulfation IS a thing. It does work (to an extent). I am a true believer of the Pulse-Tech high-freak de-sulfation chargers. Also have had some success with rejuvenating a lazy battery just by overcharging it with a large commercial (non-electronic) charger set to 300 amp boost. Timer set to 20 or 30 minutes. Specially for something that has sat for most of the year and not been used. Perks it right up.
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