NOCO GENIUS1 1-Amp 6V & 12V Automatic Smart Battery Charger & Maintainer

redpoint5

Nov 25, 2023 12:16 AM

6.3K Comments

Joined Mar 2008

redpoint5Nov 25, 2023 12:16 AM

6.3K Comments

Quote from NE0tekk

:

I was looking into those 12.8v Lifepo4 batteries as a replacement for the lead acid batteries in my cars too but most forums online said it wasn't feasible mainly because of the way lifepo4 batteries are charged. They don't like being topped up at all times while lead acid batteries enjoy maintaining that 14.4v charge from the alternator. I'm also a tinkerer and used to get those jump starters all the time but might just resort to grabbing 3s or 4s lipo packs for jump starting my cars.

Main issue I run into is that charging a LiFePO4 battery when it's below freezing will kill it. That's why all mine live inside the cabin of the car. Been running a 20 amp one with no balancing in a Prius going on 7 years now. Down here in the valley, it doesn't freeze hard often, and especially not inside the cabin. Probably wouldn't recommend in ND.

seaworld20

Nov 25, 2023 1:14 AM

514 Comments

Joined Dec 2007

seaworld20Nov 25, 2023 1:14 AM

514 Comments

Quote from NE0tekk

:

If you have a multimeter (They're extremely cheap and I would recommend one), check the voltage across the two terminals. Chances are that if the car sat for a year, that battery is likely too far drained to be brought back to life, however, it doesn't hurt to try to take it out of the car and keep it on one of these chargers for a couple weeks. Otherwise, goto Walmart and just swap it for their value batteries priced at $70 and it comes with a 1 year warranty. Most car batteries can last for 5-10 years (climate dependent), if you pull it out every few months and put it on one of these chargers for a couple nights. The car alternator only keeps the car topped off if you do a ton of highway trips, otherwise, most batteries fail prematurely with short trips.

Thank you! Will check it out.
Being in cold weather (MA), most likely it might be drained fully. I guess I may have to tow the car to the nearby autoshop to replace the battery.

GnatGoSplat

Nov 25, 2023 1:31 AM

4.2K Comments

Joined Oct 2008

GnatGoSplatNov 25, 2023 1:31 AM

4.2K Comments

Quote from utamav

:

For someone who is new to these how safe are these to leave plugged in for a month?

I'm afraid to use mine. I bought a NOCO GENIUS 5 to use as a battery maintainer during covid. One day, I smelled a sulfur odor in the garage and found my NOCO was very hot and the battery also very hot and making boiling sounds.

While I don't think the NOCO killed the battery, the battery died in a common failure mode which is some cells got shorted, and the NOCO decided it should try to pump full current into the bad battery causing both to get very hot. Evidently, they have no overcurrent protection whatsoever.

I don't trust it as a leave-and-forget maintainer any more and strictly use it to top off a battery, then disconnect it.

NE0tekk

Nov 25, 2023 4:44 AM

2.9K Comments

Joined Dec 2006

NE0tekkNov 25, 2023 4:44 AM

2.9K Comments

Quote from redpoint5

:

Main issue I run into is that charging a LiFePO4 battery when it's below freezing will kill it. That's why all mine live inside the cabin of the car. Been running a 20 amp one with no balancing in a Prius going on 7 years now. Down here in the valley, it doesn't freeze hard often, and especially not inside the cabin. Probably wouldn't recommend in ND.

I also live in a non freezing area and have always contemplated this. I believe I was reading up on this thread when researching:
https://electronics.stackexchange...-lead-acid
It sounds like LifePo4 batteries are similar in Li-ion batteries where they enjoy being at 40-80% state of charge. Many people said a voltage regulator was needed to keep it at 80% since lead acid would charge it at a higher voltage. But then again your experience with it lasting 7+ years seems to contradict their recommendations. The more research I do on this, the more it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth.

Quote from seaworld20

:

Thank you! Will check it out.
Being in cold weather (MA), most likely it might be drained fully. I guess I may have to tow the car to the nearby autoshop to replace the battery.

You don't need to tow the car. If you have another vehicle or can get a ride, just get a 10mm wrench to loosen the clamps, pull out the battery, and bring it to your local Walmart for a replacement. All my local Walmarts stock the Everstart value battery in the common sizes for $70.

1

NE0tekk

Nov 25, 2023 4:52 AM

2.9K Comments

Joined Dec 2006

NE0tekkNov 25, 2023 4:52 AM

2.9K Comments

Quote from GnatGoSplat

:

I'm afraid to use mine. I bought a NOCO GENIUS 5 to use as a battery maintainer during covid. One day, I smelled a sulfur odor in the garage and found my NOCO was very hot and the battery also very hot and making boiling sounds.

While I don't think the NOCO killed the battery, the battery died in a common failure mode which is some cells got shorted, and the NOCO decided it should try to pump full current into the bad battery causing both to get very hot. Evidently, they have no overcurrent protection whatsoever.

I don't trust it as a leave-and-forget maintainer any more and strictly use it to top off a battery, then disconnect it.

I have the NOCO G3500 and feel like it doesn't do as great a job as my battery tender or battery minder. I bought the battery minder because of it's "desulphation" mode but doubt it does much. Any battery left on a maintainer should be "desulphating" the battery if left on there long enough (If battery is too far gone, it'll never desulphate).
This was the discussion that got me to buy a battery minder back then:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums...er.264379/

Edit: I also noticed the newer model battery minder is on sale: https://www.northerntool.com/prod...WoOh4kcHfs

Last edited by NE0tekk November 24, 2023 at 09:12 PM.

2

redpoint5

Nov 25, 2023 6:32 AM

6.3K Comments

Joined Mar 2008

redpoint5Nov 25, 2023 6:32 AM

6.3K Comments

Quote from NE0tekk

:

It sounds like LifePo4 batteries are similar in Li-ion batteries where they enjoy being at 40-80% state of charge. Many people said a voltage regulator was needed to keep it at 80% since lead acid would charge it at a higher voltage. But then again your experience with it lasting 7+ years seems to contradict their recommendations. The more research I do on this, the more it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth.

Full charge voltage on LiFePO4 is 3.65v. 4 of them in series is 14.6v, which is below practically all alternator outputs. Modern vehicles have stepped alternator output where a mostly full battery causes an output more around 13.3v to maintain battery charge... which leaves the battery at around 90% charged, which isn't so bad.

Most things are more trouble than it's worth, until it's not. I probably have enough experience now that it's worth my trouble, assuming we exclude all the trouble I've gone through to gain that experience.

1

baller11111

Nov 25, 2023 12:32 PM

1.7K Comments

Joined Jul 2015

baller11111Nov 25, 2023 12:32 PM

1.7K Comments

No quick connectors, no go. Would have got one if it had the quick connector

1

baller11111

Nov 25, 2023 12:36 PM

1.7K Comments

Joined Jul 2015

baller11111Nov 25, 2023 12:36 PM

1.7K Comments

Quote from NE0tekk

:

I have the NOCO G3500 and feel like it doesn't do as great a job as my battery tender or battery minder. I bought the battery minder because of it's "desulphation" mode but doubt it does much. Any battery left on a maintainer should be "desulphating" the battery if left on there long enough (If battery is too far gone, it'll never desulphate).
This was the discussion that got me to buy a battery minder back then:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums...er.264379/

Edit: I also noticed the newer model battery minder is on sale: https://www.northerntool.com/prod...WoOh4kcHfs

10 for shipping or I would have got one

baller11111

Nov 25, 2023 12:39 PM

1.7K Comments

Joined Jul 2015

baller11111Nov 25, 2023 12:39 PM

1.7K Comments

Quote from seaworld20

:

My car is idle for a year and the battery is completely dead. Will this help in starting/charging car battery? that is kept idle for a year?

It will keep the new battery good for years...the old battery is ruined. Get a new battery and throw a mainter on it from the start

1

Ulenie

Nov 25, 2023 12:44 PM

299 Comments

Joined Dec 2009

UlenieNov 25, 2023 12:44 PM

299 Comments

Just tried this on a 33AH SLA battery that was sitting in my garage dead for like a year. Voltage was 1.3 when I started the charge and it did bring it to 6v in 18 hrs but then it gave an error saying battery is unable to hold charge. I will try opening up the battery and adding battery acid and distilled water and try charging it up again. I also had another sealed acid battery that went dead from sitting a month ago, it was at 2.5 volts when it started charging. Currently charging and will see how that goes. So not sure about the claim of desulfenating and bring back to life old dead batteries.

1

PN10

Nov 25, 2023 8:49 PM

293 Comments

Joined Jul 2019

PN10Nov 25, 2023 8:49 PM

293 Comments

Quote from SikTaco

:

This may be a silly question but can I charge this with the battery in the vehicle and the terminals connected to the car already? From the Amazon pictures, it shows the battery removed lol

definitely. it is even safe if the car is running while it is connect. the flow only goes one way.

gthirteen

Nov 26, 2023 6:36 AM

125 Comments

Joined Jun 2007

gthirteenNov 26, 2023 6:36 AM

125 Comments

Quote from seaworld20

:

Thank you! Will check it out.
Being in cold weather (MA), most likely it might be drained fully. I guess I may have to tow the car to the nearby autoshop to replace the battery.

I know a few said that the battery is toast and you should buy a new one. That is not necessarily true.

This maintainer/charger has a Force Mode, if the voltage is not detectable. I recharged the same car battery from dead 2 times when it was reading 1.7volts on a meter, although I did not need to force it.

anyways it took me 3-4 days to charge it up.

1

nocturnalmerkin

Nov 26, 2023 12:35 PM

517 Comments

Joined Nov 2005

nocturnalmerkinNov 26, 2023 12:35 PM

517 Comments

Quote from Johnbon000007

:

Can I jump start a car with this?

General rule- if the word "jump" is not in the item title, no. Will not be in the description either. Seems to get asked every time there's a charger posted here.

kneeldug

Nov 26, 2023 1:10 PM

396 Comments

Joined Apr 2012

kneeldugNov 26, 2023 1:10 PM

396 Comments

Keep in mind that this is only one amp out. That makes it good for small batteries, like motorcycle, kid toy, and lawn mower. You can use this on your car, but it's like filling a swimming pool through a straw. Straw. Car batteries need around 4 amp hours to get a charge that won't annoy you for taking too long. Harbor freight as a Viking brand that did a great job bringing back a very dead bus battery that my diehard charger wouldn't get close to. The trick is that it was able to charge at a very low voltage and step up automatically to a higher voltage over the course of the week. Some automatic battery chargers just say" this is too broken" and ones like this will not have the amperage to ever make a very dead huge battery good.
That said, recognize that this uses a different inline connection an every other brand. This won't matter for 99% of people, but it does if you have a standard battery connector you are looking to get in the middle of with this. This is also a very very good charger. It has brought a lot of batteries up to a good level for me and I trust it to do the best that a charger can do while doing so

1

dr164

Nov 26, 2023 4:25 PM

167 Comments

Joined May 2006

dr164Nov 26, 2023 4:25 PM

167 Comments

I bought the exact model three years back and used it on my then 10 year old 12v battery that wouldn't start the car. AAA told me to get a new battery, instead I used this for couple of weeks and never had any issues since then. Definitely recommend.

1

NOCO GENIUS1 1-Amp 6V & 12V Automatic Smart Battery Charger & Maintainer

$24

$40

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