NOCO Chargers are Garbage - What's a better brand?

[Torquin]

If I have a dead battery, I pull out the RN, but I use the Battery Tender and Noco chargers, even a Harbor Freight smart charger now and then, for batteries that have at least SOME charge on them. I have not had a problem with any of them yet, except that the Noco battery repair mode seems to only make things worse. Tried the repair mode on several batteries and none got better, only worse. I bought the Noco specifically for the repair mode.

Chris

 

[denn]

Battery Tender 2/8/15 charger.
If you leave the charger on over night, it will discharge the battery down to about 12.5-12.6V.
On a battery that is almost fully charged, it will say charging 80%, I know it should be topped off in 5 min., an hour later, still saying charging 80%. Unhook one terminal clamp then hook it up, then fully charged 100%. I done this on 4 or 5 good and new batteries. Years later still using the same batteries.
I sent the charger in, $15, they sent it back in the same box and it didn't look like it was taken out of the box.
I have an 2 electronic battery testers and State Lic. Mechanic.
They said they did me a favor, I guess not charging me to send a broken charger back.
After I purchased the charger I noticed about 30, 1 star ratings with the same problems, a month later they were gone, I wonder what happen to them?
NO WARRANTY
NO WARRANTY

 

[thill]

I have had numerous good chargers. Schumacher has been my go-to for many years. This one in particular: https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SC1280-Charger-Automotive-Batteries/dp/B0797KK3N2

But believe it or not, when I moved to lithium batteries, I got this cheap one and have been VERY pleased: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN1W15D6/

This little $25 charger has been excellent. Hard to complain about perfect performance with my LiFeP04 batteries.

 

[Sid Post]

I'm not sure that desulfating thing is anything more than a gimmick but it works great as a charger.

That process lets well used lead acid batteries work like new.

 

[Matt81]

I have a NOCO Genius G7200 charger as well as two Li-ion battery jump starters. A GB40 and a bigger GB70 for my truck. Not had any issues with them at all and owned them for at least 7-8 years at this point.

Also keep an older charger around for real dead batteries that these "smart" chargers cannot handle.

 

[Fried Chicken]

I'm thrilled with the Noco Genius 10 for its restoration circuitry. Had an AGM battery (loathe these things) that wasn't quite up to stuff. Putting it on the noco for a few days made it noticeably better.

Same with a flooded lead-acid battery. Overall I like it a lot.

If I were to buy another, I'd look for one of these:
https://associatedequip.com/

USA made. We need more of this.

 

[thill]

De-sulpher or Repair cycles work well. I had an old Schumacher that "tapped" really hard and brought back many batteries, but it eventually died, and I've never found one that worked that well, besides some very expensive commercial units.

The cheap Amazon unit I linked above has a decent repair cycle, but nothing like that old one.

 

[diver64]

Are you talking about a charger or a jumper brick?

 

[oldnloud]

On a whim, I bought a charger from Hobo Freight and have been nothing but impressed with it. Battery Repair mode has brought numerous batteries back to life when my older chargers wouldn't even touch them.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2815-...=308&msclkid=118df698ad1114e78b339191b17a2897

 

[iowa_jim]

By chance, I have the NOCO 10 and it has performed well for me. I was chasing electrical gremlins in my Ranger and the battery seemed to die prematurely. The special features, such as desulfurization, were attractive, so I bought the unit and tried it. The unit brought the battery back to life for a while; otherwise, the battery was charged without issue. The charger is more featured and nuanced than those I've used before, and care must be taken to select the correct 'mode'.

 

[zmass]

I have been using a Noco GB40 for about 10 years. It has jumped multiple cars and a small tractor and never given me any issues, except for once when I may have caused a short in <!> mode and the company replaced it even though it was a little out of warranty. Like any Li-ion battery, I don't keep it in the car (extreme temperatures) and try to keep it around the 50%-75% mark when not being used for awhile. I would buy this same charger again.

 

[PT81man]

For what it is worth, I have been using the HF $40 Viking charger to maintain two different batteries. One is a 6 volt for my 1939 Plymouth truck and the other is for a 2014 KIA. Both sit for many weeks in the garage without being run. When ever I need to start each, I remove the charger and hit the starter. Both fire up with plenty of power. I've been using these for over 3 years with no problems.
Just looked, it is now on sale for $25.

 

[benz66]

For smart charges to work, there has to be some current in the battery. If the battery is dead, dead...they won't work. This is true for any of the newer "smart" chargers, not just NOCO.

The best charges ae the ones without a microprocessor chip in them. Those are now old and can really only be found at garage sales. I have a few and will never give them up.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a WINNER! I made the mistake of buying one of those "smart" chargers from harbor fright. I never use it. It iis DUMB as a rock, and worthless.

I have now picked up 2 more Schauer and one Century DUMB chargers at garage sales. I have enough now to keep one everywhere I might need one. The worst case scenario with them is that every decade or 3 you need to replace the external cords. People wrap the cords tight around the charger, and this causes the wires to fatigue and break where they go into the strain relief bushing in the case. The original cords have high quality rubber, so I usually cut them off an inch or 2 outside the case, use pliers to remove the strain relief bushing, remove the remainder of the cord inside, and re-attach the shorter cord inside.

I have one Schauer 6A 12/6V charger that my dad got about 1964. It still works great 60 yrs later. It was the first one I cut off the cords and reattached, in the 70s. I have not had to re-do the cords on it again. I make a habit of never pulling the first wrap tight. The subsequent wraps can be tight.

Some of my schauers are not pretty, but they all work dependably.