THIS is how you do a battery charger review. I was getting so irritated sifting through videos of people doing "reviews" without even so much as a DMM. They're mostly just glorified "unboxings".
Congrats, very educative clips. I have discovered your channel searching various information about charging AGM battery and suitable chargers. After first clip saw i was addicted, I love the fact that you give so much info and context, your repairs videos are extremely explicit, all the info are there, the viewer just need to be patient, watch, hear, process and understand the info you gave for free. Love the fact that you use laboratory tools so your measurements are accurate as they can be a reference for the viewer so we can compare with ours. I'm try to find a good not to expensive charger for my BANNER POWER BULL AGM 92Ah 850A EN Battery used for starting my V6 2.5TDI, this battery after less than 2 years give some signs that something is wrong with it. The starting is a little to long 3-4 seconds in the morning after a night at 12-15*C. I have measured it and it was 12.4V, tacked down from the car, charged with a switchable PSU (12V / 12.5A) but increased at 13.7V (probably under 10A), back to the car, fist start was ok, then after a night the same long starting... but after the start it works fine every time, without any hesitation. I have try to test it at a battery seller that also makes warranty's for various brands, and seems that SOC is 95% the voltage 12.75V, SOH is 95% 811A EN from the 850A EN rated, the electrical charging (alternator and circuit) was fine 14.4V (no load) - 14.24V (full load)... But I suspect that the results are not accurate because he tested it after the car was already started, stopped several time in that day. After i leave it in the parking for 6-12 hours the voltage drops to 12.63V even less. I suspect that it is a problem with the battery, do you think that NOCO GENIUS 5 is a good charger for my needs? Worth to buy it? Thanks in advance for your time, sorry for the long post.
Thanks for the comment. It is best to use a battery tester if you can. This will give you a good indication as to it's condition. Is your car designed to use an AGM battery? What year is your car?
@@razenby My car is an Audi A6 4B2 C5 from 2003, the car originally used one CONVENTIONAL LEAD-ACID BATTERY 90Ah. I was changing the battery every 2-3 years because in Romania we have a climate that it's very cold in the winter -5, -10 ... sometimes -20 or even -30, and in the summer can be +37, +40... The manufacture of the new AGM battery BANNER (Austria) states in the documentation: "Where conventional batteries were originally installed, EFB or AGM batteries can be retrofitted." I have tested at battery center this days and the results was good 12.75V SOC 95%, 811A EN (850A EN NOMINAL) SOH 95%, the charging system of the car provide 14.4V (no load), 14.26V (full load) engine at idling, but I'm not so convinced it's accurate, even if the tester was a bulky one (probably professional).
@@razenby checked, the battery seems to loose somehow 0,02V / hour, but this happens even with the battery disconnected from the car. I see that it's self discharging after 6 hours the voltage drops from 12.9V to 12.8 (12.78) and continue like this till it have 12.6V there is where is stabilizing and remain for long time. I suspect that is a superficial charging, and this can be the reason for this type of results. I'm correct, wrong, I'm missing something?
@@13YTe That is normal behavior after charging. 12.7V is 100% charge after resting. AGM requires a higher charge voltage to fully charge. = 14.6V. The alternator output seems a little low to me. If should sustain 14,4V at tick-over.
Thanks for the reviews, I was debating whether to buy the CTEK 5.0 or the NOCO Genius 5. After your results I bought the NOCO, it runs cooler and the amps are spot on. Cheers from the US
After watching all your tests I returned my Noco Genius 2 and purchased an Optimate 6. Reviews seem encouraging. Once I receive it I will test and see if it gives my battery a higher "state of health" than I got after charging it with the Noco. Keep up the great work.
The battery in my Mustang is always on charge with an older smart charger during winter months. Last summer was the first time this battery seemed to start struggling. I only drive the car on weekends but that was never an issue with the battery new. The battery and charger are now 7 years old so this winter I purchased an Ancel BA301 battery tester. I tested the battery on my daily driver and the battery state of health according to this tester is 99% (4 year old battery). The Mustang battery tested at 82% SOH (charge - retest). It had been on the charger since October so I tried the "recondition" feature for the first time on my old charger. It definitely raised the specific gravity of the two low cells back to normal range but the tester was then showing 76% SOH, REPLACE BATTERY. Charged it again with a second charger (i'm an auto tech, have a few laying around) and was able to bring the battery back up to 85% SOH. Tried the Noco Genius 2 and didn't see any improvement so I sent it back. I realize I may not get the battery up higher than 85% but I am due for a more advanced charger/maintainer for winter months as I plan on keeping the car. Optimate 6 claims to be able to raise the voltage to 22volts if the battery is deemed deeply sulfated. My battery would most likely not get to that level but thought I would give this charger a try. When I receive it (Tuesday) I will run a full cycle on the battery and see if the SOH as well as the CCA rating goes up at all. Not as scientific as your testing but it's just to give myself an idea.
The support from some of these chargers do much more harm than good. They etch the pates away. It wouldn't be a lot of use for someone to hold you up all winter and then expect you to be able run around in the spring. What piece of equipment are you measuring the battery with? I have never seen a tester that reports anything accurate. I would be interested in getting one if you reckon yours gives a meaningful reading.
I've worked for dealerships all of my career (Ford, Mercedes and now Jaguar Land Rover). At each of them the only way the manufacturer will pay for a battery under warranty is with a printed proof from a Midtronics battery tester. I will have to compare that tester with my Ancel BA301. I haven't taken it to work yet to compare the results but I will. It is fairly consistent when I do test the batteries I have in my garage. It's probably similar to the battery tester you have now.
@@sabinaps3930 Thanks very much for the info. I just looked it up and it is a battery conductance meter. It is probably not to hard to detect a dire battery but difficult to give an accurate measure of a one in reasonable mid-life condition. Batteries connected to the vehicle in parked modern cars bleeding the battery charge electronic systems won't do that well with a cycling support chargers. They all assume that the battery is disconnected. Really need one with a choice of termination voltage and more importantly one with accurate voltage measurement.
@@razenby the voltage you simulated is the voltage if it is coming from the battery or what? I finally bought Noco5 and it floats at about 12.9V. It does not change anymore with the 4th LED for charging level is flashing slowly. I measured the open voltage and it is only 12.5V from the AGM battery. My battery never go down below 12 V when i measured it. It still works fine, never need jump start. I am wondering how a 12V battery produce 14.43V when this NOCO5 drop current to zero.
I find this info very interesting. One thing that I've noted is the CTEK MXS 5.0 recondition mode should be safe when attached to the car electronics so you might consider the CTEK recond mode a "lite" recondition where the Noco may be considered a "heavy-duty" recondition.
The electronics design is far superior to the CTEK which is sensitive to variations the mains voltage and is a constant voltage driven design whereas the NOCO has voltage and current regulation which is rock steady, providing the correct controlled current during the critical final stages of charge.
Thanks for a great, details review. I haven't seen many that are that detailed. I'd like to have a review of how effective the repair modes on these kinds of chargers are. Seems like 1amp pulse is very small and I see others using a DC stick welder and the before/after show big gains in recovery. I'd like to see a before/after with these on pulse/repair mode and see what you actually gain. Batteries are so damn expensive now that having something that can actually add a year or two to the life of a battery could be a great deal.
See the other videos on the channel a repair mode test is in one of them. I have watched some videos on this subject. Unfortunately the lack rigor. A test of a single battery and then evaluation a day later doesn't prove anything and the conclusion is driven by confirmation bias. If you have a modern sealed for life VRLA car-starting battery and it is weak then replace it. Then you you can be happy in the knowledge that modern battery repair with a battery charger is a myth. Thanks for watching.
Great series.. came here by way of CTEK teardown and enjoyed the whole series of both CTEK and NOCO playlists. I see NOCO has a 10A version so hope to find similar charts for it. Porsche sells a battery maintainer which looks suspiciously the same size and lights as CTEK so might be a rebranded CTEK.
Picked up a schumacher sc1323 which looked promising however now questioning its charge voltage. Overnight standing voltage of battery was 12.6v after driving for 1 hour the day before. Hooked it up and showed 80% and began charging with a terminal voltage of 15.43V. Seems high compared to your tests and would be 2.57v per cell. Not what I would expect from a smart charger and seems similar as my old brute force transformer charger. Hope you could test this model one day as would be interesting to compare.
Hello, this is perhaps the best video I have seen about any charger. I appreciate all of your hard work, time, knowledge, dedication and commitment to such true in depth review. Let me see if I got it right because Im far from expert: if and only if battery is too low (
Thanks. I get a lot questions about the CTEK. Some people swear by it but perhaps their battery just needed a complete charge cycle. Without any direct comparison it is difficult to say of the CTEK is totally snake oil. The CTEK does not follow the charging profile recommended by manufacturers nor the steps specified in te user manual. It over voltages the battery depending on some secret criteria. Aging failing VRLA car starter batteries in my test have not shown any improvement from being exposed to a CTEK MXS 5 or MXS10. The CTEK does have poor reliability and mechanical/heat dissipation issues. I had a CTEK MXS5.0 attached to my V8 Jaguar that I drive now and then. The CTEK brewed up within a year and it's replacement six months later. The NOCO has been on the same job about two and a half years with no issue switched on 24/7. For dangerously low terminal voltages the CTEK will go into a low current recovery mode prior to bulk charging. However if it is too low it just gives battery error and you can go no further. In my experience for a recently depleted battery in good condition a burst of current at a decent rate soon brings the terminal voltage into range for the charger to take over. Unfortunately you have to do this with a power supply or another battery. No doubt the capacity of the battery was denigrated by this cycle but it is starting and driving fine.
@@razenby Thanks very much. It is ver strange the Ctek does not follow charging profile as recommended. That seems like a design flaw. Im not expert, though. Your youtube channel is a gem.
Hi Magic Smoke, Thanks for your detailed analysis on these chargers, gives a really good insight to what they're actually trying to do, and which I should buy next! Though I dont have the equipment to test, I have been using the CTEK MXS5 for 8 years+ on various car and leisure batteries that were either fully drained or 4-5+ years old. (3 daily but old cars, 4 "weekend" rust boxes, there's enough test subjects for battery charging!). Besides from the voltage cut off being too low "feature" I've generally found it to revive the battery to last a good few months to nearly two years longer. I generally however try to buy the mid/upper tier of brands of batteries - It could be that the plates were thicker or better constructed with branded to withstand desulification/being abused etc? More recently, I charged 2 completely dead batteries ie 0v (Varta 800CCA, 100Ah 2018 and china brand oem leisure battery 4.5Ah from 2010) and both are functioning fine and coming up to 2 months. I've also had another coming to 6 month with same scenario, albeit this particular battery is probably only 2 years old? Appreciate its all anecdotal but at the end of the day, it does the job... It's much better than those traditional linear/analogue battery chargers, its probably quite a low bar in comparison. :)
Thanks for the information.. As your say there are very good batteries and then there are the rest. It is difficult to determine which is which by price alone. A Platinum name or a gold label are free to include on the label. There is no doubt that deep discharge leisure batteries respond much better to regen than VRLA starting batteries. For example my daughter left her side lights on all night and after that the battery was ruined. It was only 2 years old so I went to Halfords and got a warranty replacement. I guess that LED sidelights are much more forgiving than filament bulbs. Even one significant discharge of a VRLA battery can seriously affect it's heath. My wife's B class Diesel battery lasted from 2008 (new) to 2019 without ever taking the cover off the battery compartment. It was a good battery that lasted and then just died. A regen/repair made no difference. I wonder if OEM quality batteries are even available via parts distributors. I have a feeling that most aftermarket batteries are made from recycled LEAD from scrap batteries with high level of contaminants . Refining LEAD is a very messy, expensive and toxic process but is works just fine to make poor quality for aftermarket batteries for the replacement market.
I thoroughly enjoy your tests, thank you. Your latest test of the Noco 5 raises a question. The Genius 5 shows a voltage of 16.5V in repair mode. The Genius 2 claims to be a battery desulfator as well but there is no repair mode. The highest voltage claimed for a regular 12v is 14.5v. Does this mean it is actually not able to desulfate a battery despite the claim? Thanks again for your time.
The repair mode is explored in an episode in this Noco genius 5 Playlist. The important distinction is to not administer a harmful process on an otherwise healthy batter else it will be damaged. Doing a float / absorption charge regularly during periods of infrequent use is an immeasurably more effective strategy than desulphating as it doesn't really work.. On a failed Hi Z battery then the repair pulses voltage can go quite high. See the other video.
I know older UT. But it does seems that the lower termination voltage cutoff on the temp compensation test is probably a good thing (and maybe even by design). Why? 1) It is an acknlowdegement of the likely voltage reading inaccurate, so lower is just safer vs the risk of over voltage. 2) It might be also good, since most charges are in in-car (vs a out-of-car charge session) and a lower voltage could help protect the car electrical system with a trade-off of a lower optimum TC charge vs the risk of hight voltage damage in a very hot garage charge session by an inaccurate charge voltage readout. So did NOCO just terminate the charge by .3v in error or was it by design to compensate for the charger limited voltage accuracy? If later, it could be just a practical, realistic design consideration considering the price point of the charge components and its likley use- most just want a reasonable good charge with low risk of damage to car. Just some thoughts. Hope not too off! If yes, back to the videos! LOL. Love the videos and they are really helpful. Thanks for all the work!
Thanks for the comment. Impossible to say without testing a number of these chargers. The issue is the tolerances in the resistor divider and A to D reference voltage. I would have to test a sample of this charger type to state anything meaningful about worse-case compensation for hardware accuracy and tolerance being accounted for in the firmware. In one of the videos i calculated the theoretical accuracy.
Hey I just used my genius 5 for the first time and I had great doubts if I should have charged the battery still connected to the car or take it out. In the end I charged with it still in the car because many people do it and have no problems. I connected the charger first to the battery as per the manual and then to the outlet and as I plugged, it made a spark in the outlet which made immediately regret not taking the battery off. Hopefully it didn't damage the car or anything. The other thing is that the manual doesn't really tell how to disconnect it. I was thinking of just unplugging from the wall but since it was still giving current I cycled through the modes until it selected standby mode then I unplugged. But now I see your graph, the charger starts supplying current as soon as you select the mode. Do you think it could damage anything when going through AGM and Lithium modes to reach Standby mode ? The battery being a normal 12v. Thank you.
It is OK to leave the car connected but if it is a modern car than disconnect the leads before engaging repair mode. if the charge densest complete there could be a current drain in the vehicle. All modern vehicles drain current when parked but if there is a fault then it might be why your battery is getting run down. Don't worry about disconnecting too much. the best practice is to connect the leads to the battery and then plug in the power. If you are using vented wet-cell LA batterries then disconnect the charger power before you remove the clip.
Hi Magic Smoke....did you ever test the Optimate and arrive at any conclusions? I had purchased the NOCO Genius 10 and after watching your videos I believe it is too much for wanting to maintain a car battery over the winter. The Optimate is supposed to adjust the current for the battery size and condition or is that just marketing? Thanks
hello Magic Smoke. It's been a while but do you remember if when you did the Support Test showing the charger kicks on as battery voltage drops, did the green light start flashing again? Owners guide says it should but would like a verification (it also says the charger will produce 14.5v @ 25*C but your tests show that it doesn't). Just found your channel...like your name....keep the magic smoke on the inside was a saying I heard at work. I bought the Genius 10 and it took somewhere between 24 and 38 hours to get the full green (green was flashing w/in just of few minutes of starting charging) which from the vid and other comments is not a concern. However, at some point in the charging process, while flashing I measured battery voltage of 13.27v and now that it is solid I measure 13.03v and decreasing over time. The battery is connected to the car so there is parasitic draw but I suspect that the voltage never got to the 14.5 stated in the charger's users guide or even 14.3 shown in your tests (Genius 5 and 2). If the light is supposed to be flashing, I would say I got a bad charger. If not I'm going to have to get an amp probe to see if it is charging. Thanks
The charger will only take the voltage up to around 14.4V during the charge cycle. It is not correct or desirable to hold the battery voltage up there thinking it will stay fully charged. It wont, once the plates are clear of the sulfate that forms as part of the discharge process, it will start eroding the battery plates. So it is normal for the the terminal voltage to slowly fall back to approximately ~12.6 volts. This is the nominal fully charged voltage but will vary slightly due temperature. So the charger should not kick in until the voltage drops some distance below 12.6V else the battery would constantly be cycling when not actually discharged - which is bad. The chargers I have tried don't employ A2D converters with sufficient accuracy or resolution. The maths for this is in one of my videos. In terms of battery life It isn't that critical as actually using the battery to supply power is much more damaging. In my experience the specifications stated in the user manual are meaningless as they don't quote any tolerances and they don't have the necessary hardware design to enable repeated accuracy. So they are all nominal values.
@@razenby Thanks for the response. This confirms what my past knowledge would lead me to believe especially the 12.6 nominal voltage. What was confusing me was that in your Support Test, the charger came back on above 14v terminal voltage and was at 4A by 12.6v. Thanks for clearing this up. FYI- my car has some cooldown features that require adequate battery status as reported from the IBS as state of charge. Unfortunately I do not have access to that computer PID but do have the voltage. Since the battery is new I would expect it's capacity and terminal voltage would be closely/directly related. Based on the voltage, at 12.4v the cooldown feature will not work. If I don't drive the car for a couple of days the feature does not work. I have been disabling some of the non-essential electronic features to see if that will help but have put the charger on to keep the battery topped up as a stop-gap.
Hi, thanks for the elaborate testing. I am writing you from Amsterdam. We have a vacation house in Spain with a 2nd-hand 2000 Ford Fiesta that got a new 44Ah battery in aug 2020 (though the former one wasn't that old). With the old one a screwbutton was installed below the driver seat to disconnect the battery... for what it's worth... In october 2020 I left the car in our garage which gets very hot (no ventilation), so I am pretty sure the battery will be empty on arrival after all this corona time. Does the Noco Genius 5 stand any chance to revive it, since it also provides a Force mode in case the voltage sank below 1V? And did you by any chance test that scenario/mode? I am also very reluctant to leave the battery unattended on any charger for such a long time. What is (your) wisdom in such a situation? What are my options? Any ideas?
Hi Jeroen, If the terminal voltage on a car's battery has been allowed to dwell below 11 volts for any length of time they it will be badly affected, If it is a quality battery it may retain sufficient capacity to be serviceable. However if the voltage has allowed to fall lower and remain lower tan 11 volts then it will most likely be ruined and then no batter charger will bring it back to life. The battery charger manufacturers as us to believe in miracles whereas I am an engineer. My guess is that it may just be possible to resuscitate it but it will need a lot of support. The desulphation / repair modes on these chargers may help eeek out a bit more life on a battery that is slightly down on performance but they are n good on a badly affected battery,
If you are talking about VRLA batteries (valve regulated Lead Acid) car starting (not deep discharge RV/boat type) then the the answer is no. In the early stages where you get a sluggish turn you might see a minor improvements. The marketing claims are about as trustworthy as that for the latest special wrinkle cream that stops ageing and makes you look years younger. If the vehicle is used infrequently it is far better to connect a healthy battery it to a smart charger every three months so. In the case of modern batteries , as with face cream, prevention is immeasurably more effective than any of the cures. The reviews that make great claims in any video for any charger product is that based on a single charge and of the condition immediately afterwards. It is a worthless testimony. You might be able to eek out a few months but remember to carry jump leads!
you said not to use on a motorbike battery... At 6v it'll bubble, but would you recommend it on a 12v 12-14 AH motorcycle battery... would lead acid or agm factor that recommendation one way or the other? Trying to decide whether to buy a new battery or see if the old one can be salvaged (Left my bike on and the led drained the battery) I have a noco gb40 that wouldn't jump it. I'm wondering if the force mode can be left on to bring the voltage high enough to get it to jump it if left on it for 15 mins or so, or how is the force mode different from the repair mode on the genius 5?
You could try recharge repair. You really have nothing to lose at this stage. If you check the manufacturer's recommended charging current for you battery it is probably around 2 amps. However in this instance a Higher than specified charging current may be preferable to help etch the plates and make the large sulphate crystals fall off.
@@razenby appreciate the reply... I ended up getting the gen10. Haven't got to my bike battery yet, but I've already restored 2 old totally drained battery's that had been sitting for quite awhile and am doing a 3rd one now... so far this charger seems to work pretty well so, I'm gonna go with your suggestion cause as you said, what have I got to lose... Glad I found your content. Hard to find thorough demonstrations sometimes, even harder to find one that isn't trying to sell something and be real about it... Merry Christmas and a Good New Years to you!
Hello, do you think those pulses at the beginning do actually desulfate or repair or rejuvenate the battery? Are those pulses 2 amp? What voltage are they? Thanks 🙏👍
CTEK is better at helping to restore a slightly droopy battery but much, much less reliable than a NOCO which has better hardware design and better thermal and moisture protection. If your CTEK hits the dew point or you get a power surge in your mains when it is switched on then it will go pop. If you just need charge and long-term maintenance the NOCO is by far the superior choice. I have three NOCOS on my garaged cars maintaining the batteries for nearly 4 years so that's 12 operating-years so far without a failure. The CTEK failed in the first year was replaced and the new one failed again.
Hi, thanks for the review. What would you choose for charging the regular 65 Ah acid battery if you don't mind the charging time - NOCO Genius 5 or its predecessor Genius G3500EU? Thanks for the reply.
Thanks. Check your battery's datasheet/spec. The manufacturer probably recommends a 3A charge current. The overriding thing is not to let it discharge too far. I haven't tested the G3500EU. The power current is battery for frequent charge as plate erosion will be less. Probably best to follow what the manufacturer recommends.
I tried to my working battery that only reach 12.5 V maximum open voltage. I run repair mode and read 16.5 V pulse . I'm not sure if it is safe. The temperature of the battery is not even warm, cold. I unplug thr battery and after removing surface charge. It reads 12.56V, before repair Mode it only reached 12.45 V. I am not sure if 0.1V increase is good or bad because overcharging degrade the battery at the same time although increase the capacity on my AGM.
When did you measure the voltage? 12.5V is a good voltage if you measured it after the charge was complete. The voltage will go up to ~14.5v during the final stages of charge but will drift back down after charge. The repair and reconditioning modes on smart on modern VRLA stater batteries is an urban myth. If your car is used only on short journeys that it s much better to periodically charge the battery with a smart charger. if your car is parked up a lot and has modern remote central or keyless locking plus alarm then you should give the battery a charge every few weeks.
@@razenby I agree. I always get 12.45V few hours after the charger is disconnected, no load on the car, 35Ah size. Once the doom lights is on, it drops to 12.2V and I turn the Ignition, it reads 11.7 V, I load it with headlights, about additional 10Amps, it drops to 11.3 V. My Hybrid car only needs about 60Amps to turn the car On/READY mode. For 6 years, it never fails yet but I feel 12.45 V is low and 12.33 V is the typical voltage without charging it externally. So, You think I should never do the REPAIR mode? It is really high voltage 16.5V and the instant voltage reading after charging was 13.3V but drops to about 12.56V 1 hour later by drawing 10A for 1 minute. I believe there is higher internal resistance that cause 12.4V after fully charged with 14.6V NOCO 5.
@@razenby i think so. But it still holds the charge well even after 1 week, 12.2V and no problem to turn the car on. Hybrid does not need high Amps, it may be the reason it still runs. My last battery was 8 years old, when it drops below 11V when IGN is On, open voltage 12.1V, and cannot park more than 2 days without jump start. Voltage drop under the load is probably more accurate than just open voltage .
@@rondhole Unfortunately the terminal voltage doesn't definitively tell you the aH capacity or its capacity to deliver current. Sulfated plates affect the current delivery and aH capacity of the battery. Think of it as having started life as a big battery and as it ages the battery gets smaller. You probably have the equivalent of a 12V power tool battery left in it.
It isn't really a CV float. Charge current is off when termination point is reached. This isn't a particularly good support charger as it piles in with 1 amp as soon at the voltage drops below 14V. It will cause more plate corrosion (really electro-etching) . A better strategy would to be to apply a low current (~170mA) at around 13.8V and float charge back up to 14.3.
That looks to be about what it does per your previous video here: ruclips.net/video/QUmAvSTgQb8/видео.html I think the real-world charge monitoring is more accurate in what is actually going on as the noco seems to stop a charge to test the open circuit voltage in order to 'decide' what to do next.
I agree... the charger is capable of delivering lower currents to a 12V battery - it does this during the charge cycle. It is a bit surprising that it has 24V mode too as I wonder how many truckers would buy this. I think the occasional charge of a bike battery wouldn't do any harm. The currents toward the termination final 2 stages of the charge are OK. It is only the bulk stage that could be problematic. I imagine the alternator on the bike is a big factor in overcurrent damage (plate etching) as it has little regard for a somewhat discharged battery. Once the engine starts the alternator 'says hold onto your plates bitch - we are going straight to 14.4V!'
@@brl5755 I don't know why they don't have multiple rates in the same unit.. I dislike button mode types, a couple of switches for rate and voltage is what i.go for
Price and ease of use. And if it's too flexible how are they supposed to get you to buy more than one? Also probably limiting liability by reducing the possibility of using a monster charger on a tiny battery and burning a house down. Even if they're not at fault they'd make the news and poison their search results.
Good point. Most carts have a much higher system voltage as they have multiple batteries wired in series and use a special charger. Noco should really state the minimum Ah capacity for a 6V battery in the instructions.. Every other general purpose 'smart' charger I have tested uses 0.8A charge current in 6 volt mode and motorcycle 12V mode as well.
Hi Magic Smoke! (havent figured your real name). I am novice at this but I enjoyed watching some of your videos and I try to grasp as much as my limited knowledge admits me to. I wanted to ask you, I read unvirsity papers and experiments using frequencies at 2-6 MHz, I believe the NOCOs CTEK are in the range of kHz. The lads doing the papers and their experiments yielded very good results being in the MHz region desulfating. Apparently the molecules of the sulfate resonate at the higher megaherz frequencies (thus admitting them I guess to disolve a lot easier). Also they say it requires weeks of trickle charging not some fast remedy. I also ran into another brand which people swear by, batteryminder (American), no I do not affiliate with them, but qurious for you to examine them, as they do have people let them trickle charge for weeks to get results. I will link to some of the papers and simple web summaries, plus that American brand. 1) www.upsbatterycenter.com/blog/battery-desulfation/ (obviously not university paper) 2) www.researchgate.net/publication/318890311_Impact_of_Pulse_Voltage_as_Desulfator_to_Improve_Automotive_Lead_Acid_Battery_Capacity (university/research paper/experiment) 3) www.batteryminder.com (the American charger, some swear by, it is pricier than the NOCOs and CTEKs, does it deliver more???) Thanks
I'll have a look. Trickle charging for weeks on a VRSLA battery would destroy the plates,. This is an old outdated method that used to work on batteries with much more substantial plates. If you need a definitive answer then look to the battery manufacturers, It is extremely well understood. Every battery deteriorates with use and by the time you notice anything wrong (sluggish starting etc.) It is already too late. That battery will let you down. Reasonable start current but very low capacity.
@@razenby Thank you. The guys doing the MHz frequency at the lab/university, were not trickle charging for weeks, as they ran 30 cycles, it was a rather fast procedure, what amazed me was they had the CCA go from 200 to 300 Amps in a rather short time, where the max CCA on that specific battery as 325 Amps. Question I wonder about is how big spikes of Amps are they are sending into the battery. (The weeks of trickle charging (if I am correct) was the American Batteryminder users, not the researchers.)
THIS is how you do a battery charger review. I was getting so irritated sifting through videos of people doing "reviews" without even so much as a DMM. They're mostly just glorified "unboxings".
Thanks for watching. Good to know that you found it interesting.
Congrats, very educative clips.
I have discovered your channel searching various information about charging AGM battery and suitable chargers.
After first clip saw i was addicted, I love the fact that you give so much info and context, your repairs videos are extremely explicit, all the info are there, the viewer just need to be patient, watch, hear, process and understand the info you gave for free.
Love the fact that you use laboratory tools so your measurements are accurate as they can be a reference for the viewer so we can compare with ours.
I'm try to find a good not to expensive charger for my BANNER POWER BULL AGM 92Ah 850A EN Battery used for starting my V6 2.5TDI, this battery after less than 2 years give some signs that something is wrong with it. The starting is a little to long 3-4 seconds in the morning after a night at 12-15*C.
I have measured it and it was 12.4V, tacked down from the car, charged with a switchable PSU (12V / 12.5A) but increased at 13.7V (probably under 10A), back to the car, fist start was ok, then after a night the same long starting... but after the start it works fine every time, without any hesitation.
I have try to test it at a battery seller that also makes warranty's for various brands, and seems that SOC is 95% the voltage 12.75V, SOH is 95% 811A EN from the 850A EN rated, the electrical charging (alternator and circuit) was fine 14.4V (no load) - 14.24V (full load)... But I suspect that the results are not accurate because he tested it after the car was already started, stopped several time in that day. After i leave it in the parking for 6-12 hours the voltage drops to 12.63V even less.
I suspect that it is a problem with the battery, do you think that NOCO GENIUS 5 is a good charger for my needs? Worth to buy it?
Thanks in advance for your time, sorry for the long post.
Thanks for the comment. It is best to use a battery tester if you can. This will give you a good indication as to it's condition. Is your car designed to use an AGM battery? What year is your car?
@@razenby My car is an Audi A6 4B2 C5 from 2003, the car originally used one CONVENTIONAL LEAD-ACID BATTERY 90Ah.
I was changing the battery every 2-3 years because in Romania we have a climate that it's very cold in the winter -5, -10 ... sometimes -20 or even -30, and in the summer can be +37, +40...
The manufacture of the new AGM battery BANNER (Austria) states in the documentation: "Where conventional batteries were originally installed, EFB or AGM batteries can be retrofitted."
I have tested at battery center this days and the results was good 12.75V SOC 95%, 811A EN (850A EN NOMINAL) SOH 95%, the charging system of the car provide 14.4V (no load), 14.26V (full load) engine at idling, but I'm not so convinced it's accurate, even if the tester was a bulky one (probably professional).
@@13YTe Have you checked that something isn't drawing current when parked?
@@razenby checked, the battery seems to loose somehow 0,02V / hour, but this happens even with the battery disconnected from the car. I see that it's self discharging after 6 hours the voltage drops from 12.9V to 12.8 (12.78) and continue like this till it have 12.6V there is where is stabilizing and remain for long time.
I suspect that is a superficial charging, and this can be the reason for this type of results.
I'm correct, wrong, I'm missing something?
@@13YTe That is normal behavior after charging. 12.7V is 100% charge after resting. AGM requires a higher charge voltage to fully charge. = 14.6V. The alternator output seems a little low to me. If should sustain 14,4V at tick-over.
Thanks for the reviews, I was debating whether to buy the CTEK 5.0 or the NOCO Genius 5.
After your results I bought the NOCO, it runs cooler and the amps are spot on.
Cheers from the US
The NOCO is a much better product.
After watching all your tests I returned my Noco Genius 2 and purchased an Optimate 6. Reviews seem encouraging. Once I receive it I will test and see if it gives my battery a higher "state of health" than I got after charging it with the Noco. Keep up the great work.
Interested to know how you plan to assess / measure the state of health of your battery. Most people say it was much battery after I charged it ...
The battery in my Mustang is always on charge with an older smart charger during winter months. Last summer was the first time this battery seemed to start struggling. I only drive the car on weekends but that was never an issue with the battery new. The battery and charger are now 7 years old so this winter I purchased an Ancel BA301 battery tester. I tested the battery on my daily driver and the battery state of health according to this tester is 99% (4 year old battery). The Mustang battery tested at 82% SOH (charge - retest). It had been on the charger since October so I tried the "recondition" feature for the first time on my old charger. It definitely raised the specific gravity of the two low cells back to normal range but the tester was then showing 76% SOH, REPLACE BATTERY. Charged it again with a second charger (i'm an auto tech, have a few laying around) and was able to bring the battery back up to 85% SOH. Tried the Noco Genius 2 and didn't see any improvement so I sent it back. I realize I may not get the battery up higher than 85% but I am due for a more advanced charger/maintainer for winter months as I plan on keeping the car. Optimate 6 claims to be able to raise the voltage to 22volts if the battery is deemed deeply sulfated. My battery would most likely not get to that level but thought I would give this charger a try. When I receive it (Tuesday) I will run a full cycle on the battery and see if the SOH as well as the CCA rating goes up at all. Not as scientific as your testing but it's just to give myself an idea.
The support from some of these chargers do much more harm than good. They etch the pates away. It wouldn't be a lot of use for someone to hold you up all winter and then expect you to be able run around in the spring. What piece of equipment are you measuring the battery with? I have never seen a tester that reports anything accurate. I would be interested in getting one if you reckon yours gives a meaningful reading.
I've worked for dealerships all of my career (Ford, Mercedes and now Jaguar Land Rover). At each of them the only way the manufacturer will pay for a battery under warranty is with a printed proof from a Midtronics battery tester. I will have to compare that tester with my Ancel BA301. I haven't taken it to work yet to compare the results but I will. It is fairly consistent when I do test the batteries I have in my garage. It's probably similar to the battery tester you have now.
@@sabinaps3930 Thanks very much for the info. I just looked it up and it is a battery conductance meter. It is probably not to hard to detect a dire battery but difficult to give an accurate measure of a one in reasonable mid-life condition. Batteries connected to the vehicle in parked modern cars bleeding the battery charge electronic systems won't do that well with a cycling support chargers. They all assume that the battery is disconnected. Really need one with a choice of termination voltage and more importantly one with accurate voltage measurement.
Great analysis, methods, and evaluation of the Charger’s behavior as a Black Box. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome.
@@razenby the voltage you simulated is the voltage if it is coming from the battery or what? I finally bought Noco5 and it floats at about 12.9V. It does not change anymore with the 4th LED for charging level is flashing slowly. I measured the open voltage and it is only 12.5V from the AGM battery. My battery never go down below 12 V when i measured it. It still works fine, never need jump start. I am wondering how a 12V battery produce 14.43V when this NOCO5 drop current to zero.
I find this info very interesting. One thing that I've noted is the CTEK MXS 5.0 recondition mode should be safe when attached to the car electronics so you might consider the CTEK recond mode a "lite" recondition where the Noco may be considered a "heavy-duty" recondition.
The CTEK is much more brutal that the Noco during the so called 'repair mode' .
Great review -Thanks.
I'm pretty impressed by this charger - I like the 'plug and play' simplicity.
The electronics design is far superior to the CTEK which is sensitive to variations the mains voltage and is a constant voltage driven design whereas the NOCO has voltage and current regulation which is rock steady, providing the correct controlled current during the critical final stages of charge.
@@razenby Great information. A Noco Genius charger is what I am buying if I buy a AGM battery for my BMW.
Thanks for a great, details review. I haven't seen many that are that detailed.
I'd like to have a review of how effective the repair modes on these kinds of chargers are. Seems like 1amp pulse is very small and I see others using a DC stick welder and the before/after show big gains in recovery. I'd like to see a before/after with these on pulse/repair mode and see what you actually gain.
Batteries are so damn expensive now that having something that can actually add a year or two to the life of a battery could be a great deal.
See the other videos on the channel a repair mode test is in one of them. I have watched some videos on this subject. Unfortunately the lack rigor. A test of a single battery and then evaluation a day later doesn't prove anything and the conclusion is driven by confirmation bias. If you have a modern sealed for life VRLA car-starting battery and it is weak then replace it. Then you you can be happy in the knowledge that modern battery repair with a battery charger is a myth. Thanks for watching.
Great series.. came here by way of CTEK teardown and enjoyed the whole series of both CTEK and NOCO playlists. I see NOCO has a 10A version so hope to find similar charts for it. Porsche sells a battery maintainer which looks suspiciously the same size and lights as CTEK so might be a rebranded CTEK.
Glad you enjoyed it! The CTEK stuff is re-branded all over.
Picked up a schumacher sc1323 which looked promising however now questioning its charge voltage. Overnight standing voltage of battery was 12.6v after driving for 1 hour the day before. Hooked it up and showed 80% and began charging with a terminal voltage of 15.43V. Seems high compared to your tests and would be 2.57v per cell. Not what I would expect from a smart charger and seems similar as my old brute force transformer charger. Hope you could test this model one day as would be interesting to compare.
Great video, explanation and information!
Thank you! Thanks for watching.
Hello, this is perhaps the best video I have seen about any charger. I appreciate all of your hard work, time, knowledge, dedication and commitment to such true in depth review. Let me see if I got it right because Im far from expert: if and only if battery is too low (
Thanks. I get a lot questions about the CTEK. Some people swear by it but perhaps their battery just needed a complete charge cycle. Without any direct comparison it is difficult to say of the CTEK is totally snake oil. The CTEK does not follow the charging profile recommended by manufacturers nor the steps specified in te user manual. It over voltages the battery depending on some secret criteria. Aging failing VRLA car starter batteries in my test have not shown any improvement from being exposed to a CTEK MXS 5 or MXS10. The CTEK does have poor reliability and mechanical/heat dissipation issues. I had a CTEK MXS5.0 attached to my V8 Jaguar that I drive now and then. The CTEK brewed up within a year and it's replacement six months later. The NOCO has been on the same job about two and a half years with no issue switched on 24/7. For dangerously low terminal voltages the CTEK will go into a low current recovery mode prior to bulk charging. However if it is too low it just gives battery error and you can go no further. In my experience for a recently depleted battery in good condition a burst of current at a decent rate soon brings the terminal voltage into range for the charger to take over. Unfortunately you have to do this with a power supply or another battery. No doubt the capacity of the battery was denigrated by this cycle but it is starting and driving fine.
@@razenby Thanks very much. It is ver strange the Ctek does not follow charging profile as recommended. That seems like a design flaw. Im not expert, though. Your youtube channel is a gem.
much better video , this tells me I should buy it
Thanks.
Hi Magic Smoke, Thanks for your detailed analysis on these chargers, gives a really good insight to what they're actually trying to do, and which I should buy next!
Though I dont have the equipment to test, I have been using the CTEK MXS5 for 8 years+ on various car and leisure batteries that were either fully drained or 4-5+ years old. (3 daily but old cars, 4 "weekend" rust boxes, there's enough test subjects for battery charging!).
Besides from the voltage cut off being too low "feature" I've generally found it to revive the battery to last a good few months to nearly two years longer.
I generally however try to buy the mid/upper tier of brands of batteries - It could be that the plates were thicker or better constructed with branded to withstand desulification/being abused etc?
More recently, I charged 2 completely dead batteries ie 0v (Varta 800CCA, 100Ah 2018 and china brand oem leisure battery 4.5Ah from 2010) and both are functioning fine and coming up to 2 months. I've also had another coming to 6 month with same scenario, albeit this particular battery is probably only 2 years old?
Appreciate its all anecdotal but at the end of the day, it does the job... It's much better than those traditional linear/analogue battery chargers, its probably quite a low bar in comparison. :)
Thanks for the information.. As your say there are very good batteries and then there are the rest. It is difficult to determine which is which by price alone. A Platinum name or a gold label are free to include on the label. There is no doubt that deep discharge leisure batteries respond much better to regen than VRLA starting batteries. For example my daughter left her side lights on all night and after that the battery was ruined. It was only 2 years old so I went to Halfords and got a warranty replacement. I guess that LED sidelights are much more forgiving than filament bulbs. Even one significant discharge of a VRLA battery can seriously affect it's heath. My wife's B class Diesel battery lasted from 2008 (new) to 2019 without ever taking the cover off the battery compartment. It was a good battery that lasted and then just died. A regen/repair made no difference. I wonder if OEM quality batteries are even available via parts distributors. I have a feeling that most aftermarket batteries are made from recycled LEAD from scrap batteries with high level of contaminants . Refining LEAD is a very messy, expensive and toxic process but is works just fine to make poor quality for aftermarket batteries for the replacement market.
I thoroughly enjoy your tests, thank you. Your latest test of the Noco 5 raises a question. The Genius 5 shows a voltage of 16.5V in repair mode. The Genius 2 claims to be a battery desulfator as well but there is no repair mode. The highest voltage claimed for a regular 12v is 14.5v. Does this mean it is actually not able to desulfate a battery despite the claim? Thanks again for your time.
The repair mode is explored in an episode in this Noco genius 5 Playlist. The important distinction is to not administer a harmful process on an otherwise healthy batter else it will be damaged. Doing a float / absorption charge regularly during periods of infrequent use is an immeasurably more effective strategy than desulphating as it doesn't really work.. On a failed Hi Z battery then the repair pulses voltage can go quite high. See the other video.
@@razenby Does it keep back to charging or trickle mode after power outage?
@@rondhole The one I have here does.
@@razenby perfect, it's be very helpful to know that features. Very common cause of flat battery for rarely used 12v like in canoe or boat.
I know older UT. But it does seems that the lower termination voltage cutoff on the temp compensation test is probably a good thing (and maybe even by design). Why? 1) It is an acknlowdegement of the likely voltage reading inaccurate, so lower is just safer vs the risk of over voltage. 2) It might be also good, since most charges are in in-car (vs a out-of-car charge session) and a lower voltage could help protect the car electrical system with a trade-off of a lower optimum TC charge vs the risk of hight voltage damage in a very hot garage charge session by an inaccurate charge voltage readout. So did NOCO just terminate the charge by .3v in error or was it by design to compensate for the charger limited voltage accuracy? If later, it could be just a practical, realistic design consideration considering the price point of the charge components and its likley use- most just want a reasonable good charge with low risk of damage to car. Just some thoughts. Hope not too off! If yes, back to the videos! LOL. Love the videos and they are really helpful. Thanks for all the work!
Thanks for the comment. Impossible to say without testing a number of these chargers. The issue is the tolerances in the resistor divider and A to D reference voltage. I would have to test a sample of this charger type to state anything meaningful about worse-case compensation for hardware accuracy and tolerance being accounted for in the firmware. In one of the videos i calculated the theoretical accuracy.
Hey I just used my genius 5 for the first time and I had great doubts if I should have charged the battery still connected to the car or take it out. In the end I charged with it still in the car because many people do it and have no problems. I connected the charger first to the battery as per the manual and then to the outlet and as I plugged, it made a spark in the outlet which made immediately regret not taking the battery off. Hopefully it didn't damage the car or anything.
The other thing is that the manual doesn't really tell how to disconnect it. I was thinking of just unplugging from the wall but since it was still giving current I cycled through the modes until it selected standby mode then I unplugged. But now I see your graph, the charger starts supplying current as soon as you select the mode. Do you think it could damage anything when going through AGM and Lithium modes to reach Standby mode ? The battery being a normal 12v.
Thank you.
It is OK to leave the car connected but if it is a modern car than disconnect the leads before engaging repair mode. if the charge densest complete there could be a current drain in the vehicle. All modern vehicles drain current when parked but if there is a fault then it might be why your battery is getting run down. Don't worry about disconnecting too much. the best practice is to connect the leads to the battery and then plug in the power. If you are using vented wet-cell LA batterries then disconnect the charger power before you remove the clip.
Hi Magic Smoke....did you ever test the Optimate and arrive at any conclusions? I had purchased the NOCO Genius 10 and after watching your videos I believe it is too much for wanting to maintain a car battery over the winter. The Optimate is supposed to adjust the current for the battery size and condition or is that just marketing? Thanks
I have it here- I bought one - I will do it soon.
@@razenby Thanks....I'll be watching
hello Magic Smoke. It's been a while but do you remember if when you did the Support Test showing the charger kicks on as battery voltage drops, did the green light start flashing again? Owners guide says it should but would like a verification (it also says the charger will produce 14.5v @ 25*C but your tests show that it doesn't). Just found your channel...like your name....keep the magic smoke on the inside was a saying I heard at work. I bought the Genius 10 and it took somewhere between 24 and 38 hours to get the full green (green was flashing w/in just of few minutes of starting charging) which from the vid and other comments is not a concern. However, at some point in the charging process, while flashing I measured battery voltage of 13.27v and now that it is solid I measure 13.03v and decreasing over time. The battery is connected to the car so there is parasitic draw but I suspect that the voltage never got to the 14.5 stated in the charger's users guide or even 14.3 shown in your tests (Genius 5 and 2). If the light is supposed to be flashing, I would say I got a bad charger. If not I'm going to have to get an amp probe to see if it is charging. Thanks
The charger will only take the voltage up to around 14.4V during the charge cycle. It is not correct or desirable to hold the battery voltage up there thinking it will stay fully charged. It wont, once the plates are clear of the sulfate that forms as part of the discharge process, it will start eroding the battery plates. So it is normal for the the terminal voltage to slowly fall back to approximately ~12.6 volts. This is the nominal fully charged voltage but will vary slightly due temperature. So the charger should not kick in until the voltage drops some distance below 12.6V else the battery would constantly be cycling when not actually discharged - which is bad. The chargers I have tried don't employ A2D converters with sufficient accuracy or resolution. The maths for this is in one of my videos. In terms of battery life It isn't that critical as actually using the battery to supply power is much more damaging. In my experience the specifications stated in the user manual are meaningless as they don't quote any tolerances and they don't have the necessary hardware design to enable repeated accuracy. So they are all nominal values.
@@razenby Thanks for the response. This confirms what my past knowledge would lead me to believe especially the 12.6 nominal voltage. What was confusing me was that in your Support Test, the charger came back on above 14v terminal voltage and was at 4A by 12.6v. Thanks for clearing this up. FYI- my car has some cooldown features that require adequate battery status as reported from the IBS as state of charge. Unfortunately I do not have access to that computer PID but do have the voltage. Since the battery is new I would expect it's capacity and terminal voltage would be closely/directly related. Based on the voltage, at 12.4v the cooldown feature will not work. If I don't drive the car for a couple of days the feature does not work. I have been disabling some of the non-essential electronic features to see if that will help but have put the charger on to keep the battery topped up as a stop-gap.
Hi, thanks for the elaborate testing. I am writing you from Amsterdam.
We have a vacation house in Spain with a 2nd-hand 2000 Ford Fiesta that got a new 44Ah battery in aug 2020 (though the former one wasn't that old). With the old one a screwbutton was installed below the driver seat to disconnect the battery... for what it's worth... In october 2020 I left the car in our garage which gets very hot (no ventilation), so I am pretty sure the battery will be empty on arrival after all this corona time. Does the Noco Genius 5 stand any chance to revive it, since it also provides a Force mode in case the voltage sank below 1V? And did you by any chance test that scenario/mode? I am also very reluctant to leave the battery unattended on any charger for such a long time. What is (your) wisdom in such a situation? What are my options? Any ideas?
Hi Jeroen, If the terminal voltage on a car's battery has been allowed to dwell below 11 volts for any length of time they it will be badly affected, If it is a quality battery it may retain sufficient capacity to be serviceable. However if the voltage has allowed to fall lower and remain lower tan 11 volts then it will most likely be ruined and then no batter charger will bring it back to life. The battery charger manufacturers as us to believe in miracles whereas I am an engineer. My guess is that it may just be possible to resuscitate it but it will need a lot of support. The desulphation / repair modes on these chargers may help eeek out a bit more life on a battery that is slightly down on performance but they are n good on a badly affected battery,
Hi have you found a smart battery charger that will actually work restore batteries
If you are talking about VRLA batteries (valve regulated Lead Acid) car starting (not deep discharge RV/boat type) then the the answer is no. In the early stages where you get a sluggish turn you might see a minor improvements. The marketing claims are about as trustworthy as that for the latest special wrinkle cream that stops ageing and makes you look years younger. If the vehicle is used infrequently it is far better to connect a healthy battery it to a smart charger every three months so. In the case of modern batteries , as with face cream, prevention is immeasurably more effective than any of the cures. The reviews that make great claims in any video for any charger product is that based on a single charge and of the condition immediately afterwards. It is a worthless testimony. You might be able to eek out a few months but remember to carry jump leads!
you said not to use on a motorbike battery...
At 6v it'll bubble, but would you recommend it on a 12v 12-14 AH motorcycle battery... would lead acid or agm factor that recommendation one way or the other?
Trying to decide whether to buy a new battery or see if the old one can be salvaged (Left my bike on and the led drained the battery) I have a noco gb40 that wouldn't jump it. I'm wondering if the force mode can be left on to bring the voltage high enough to get it to jump it if left on it for 15 mins or so, or how is the force mode different from the repair mode on the genius 5?
You could try recharge repair. You really have nothing to lose at this stage. If you check the manufacturer's recommended charging current for you battery it is probably around 2 amps. However in this instance a Higher than specified charging current may be preferable to help etch the plates and make the large sulphate crystals fall off.
@@razenby appreciate the reply... I ended up getting the gen10. Haven't got to my bike battery yet, but I've already restored 2 old totally drained battery's that had been sitting for quite awhile and am doing a 3rd one now... so far this charger seems to work pretty well so, I'm gonna go with your suggestion cause as you said, what have I got to lose...
Glad I found your content. Hard to find thorough demonstrations sometimes, even harder to find one that isn't trying to sell something and be real about it...
Merry Christmas and a Good New Years to you!
Hello, do you think those pulses at the beginning do actually desulfate or repair or rejuvenate the battery? Are those pulses 2 amp? What voltage are they? Thanks 🙏👍
The voltage depends on the impedance of the battery. If the battery is flat and not conducting (hi Z) very well they can be as high as 20 volts.
@@razenby thanks... That pulse stage seems to last not enough time as to rejuvenate the battery... Who knows
The noco 5 or the ctek 5 quick simple question 🤔
CTEK is better at helping to restore a slightly droopy battery but much, much less reliable than a NOCO which has better hardware design and better thermal and moisture protection. If your CTEK hits the dew point or you get a power surge in your mains when it is switched on then it will go pop. If you just need charge and long-term maintenance the NOCO is by far the superior choice. I have three NOCOS on my garaged cars maintaining the batteries for nearly 4 years so that's 12 operating-years so far without a failure. The CTEK failed in the first year was replaced and the new one failed again.
Hi, thanks for the review. What would you choose for charging the regular 65 Ah acid battery if you don't mind the charging time - NOCO Genius 5 or its predecessor Genius G3500EU? Thanks for the reply.
Thanks. Check your battery's datasheet/spec. The manufacturer probably recommends a 3A charge current. The overriding thing is not to let it discharge too far. I haven't tested the G3500EU. The power current is battery for frequent charge as plate erosion will be less. Probably best to follow what the manufacturer recommends.
I tried to my working battery that only reach 12.5 V maximum open voltage. I run repair mode and read 16.5 V pulse . I'm not sure if it is safe. The temperature of the battery is not even warm, cold. I unplug thr battery and after removing surface charge. It reads 12.56V, before repair Mode it only reached 12.45 V. I am not sure if 0.1V increase is good or bad because overcharging degrade the battery at the same time although increase the capacity on my AGM.
When did you measure the voltage? 12.5V is a good voltage if you measured it after the charge was complete. The voltage will go up to ~14.5v during the final stages of charge but will drift back down after charge. The repair and reconditioning modes on smart on modern VRLA stater batteries is an urban myth. If your car is used only on short journeys that it s much better to periodically charge the battery with a smart charger. if your car is parked up a lot and has modern remote central or keyless locking plus alarm then you should give the battery a charge every few weeks.
@@razenby I agree. I always get 12.45V few hours after the charger is disconnected, no load on the car, 35Ah size. Once the doom lights is on, it drops to 12.2V and I turn the Ignition, it reads 11.7 V, I load it with headlights, about additional 10Amps, it drops to 11.3 V. My Hybrid car only needs about 60Amps to turn the car On/READY mode. For 6 years, it never fails yet but I feel 12.45 V is low and 12.33 V is the typical voltage without charging it externally. So, You think I should never do the REPAIR mode? It is really high voltage 16.5V and the instant voltage reading after charging was 13.3V but drops to about 12.56V 1 hour later by drawing 10A for 1 minute. I believe there is higher internal resistance that cause 12.4V after fully charged with 14.6V NOCO 5.
@@rondhole It sounds as though you need a new battery. 6 years is about average.
@@razenby i think so. But it still holds the charge well even after 1 week, 12.2V and no problem to turn the car on. Hybrid does not need high Amps, it may be the reason it still runs. My last battery was 8 years old, when it drops below 11V when IGN is On, open voltage 12.1V, and cannot park more than 2 days without jump start. Voltage drop under the load is probably more accurate than just open voltage .
@@rondhole Unfortunately the terminal voltage doesn't definitively tell you the aH capacity or its capacity to deliver current. Sulfated plates affect the current delivery and aH capacity of the battery. Think of it as having started life as a big battery and as it ages the battery gets smaller. You probably have the equivalent of a 12V power tool battery left in it.
At the end of charging does it just stop or go to a float mode?
float and monitoring
It isn't really a CV float. Charge current is off when termination point is reached. This isn't a particularly good support charger as it piles in with 1 amp as soon at the voltage drops below 14V. It will cause more plate corrosion (really electro-etching) . A better strategy would to be to apply a low current (~170mA) at around 13.8V and float charge back up to 14.3.
That looks to be about what it does per your previous video here: ruclips.net/video/QUmAvSTgQb8/видео.html I think the real-world charge monitoring is more accurate in what is actually going on as the noco seems to stop a charge to test the open circuit voltage in order to 'decide' what to do next.
@@brl5755 Never seen it do that.
It's strange that they don't have a motorcycle/less amp mode. Got that on my non-brand 8A charger, works great.
I agree... the charger is capable of delivering lower currents to a 12V battery - it does this during the charge cycle. It is a bit surprising that it has 24V mode too as I wonder how many truckers would buy this. I think the occasional charge of a bike battery wouldn't do any harm. The currents toward the termination final 2 stages of the charge are OK. It is only the bulk stage that could be problematic. I imagine the alternator on the bike is a big factor in overcurrent damage (plate etching) as it has little regard for a somewhat discharged battery. Once the engine starts the alternator 'says hold onto your plates bitch - we are going straight to 14.4V!'
Golf cart batteries are HUGE and 6v, not that this would be the best choice for them...
And too powerful for those small 6 volt batteries you get on mopeds
They're definitely relying on the user to buy the right unit for their use case. The baby wall wart Genius1 or Genius2 would be your huckleberry.
@@brl5755 I don't know why they don't have multiple rates in the same unit.. I dislike button mode types, a couple of switches for rate and voltage is what i.go for
Price and ease of use. And if it's too flexible how are they supposed to get you to buy more than one? Also probably limiting liability by reducing the possibility of using a monster charger on a tiny battery and burning a house down. Even if they're not at fault they'd make the news and poison their search results.
Good point. Most carts have a much higher system voltage as they have multiple batteries wired in series and use a special charger. Noco should really state the minimum Ah capacity for a 6V battery in the instructions.. Every other general purpose 'smart' charger I have tested uses 0.8A charge current in 6 volt mode and motorcycle 12V mode as well.
Teardown?
In the can but haven't got time to edit.. Soon..
No Tear down and more than a year has passed.
Clearly you haven't looked. It was done a year ago and posted and has 7K views.
Hi Magic Smoke! (havent figured your real name). I am novice at this but I enjoyed watching some of your videos and I try to grasp as much as my limited knowledge admits me to. I wanted to ask you, I read unvirsity papers and experiments using frequencies at 2-6 MHz, I believe the NOCOs CTEK are in the range of kHz. The lads doing the papers and their experiments yielded very good results being in the MHz region desulfating. Apparently the molecules of the sulfate resonate at the higher megaherz frequencies (thus admitting them I guess to disolve a lot easier). Also they say it requires weeks of trickle charging not some fast remedy. I also ran into another brand which people swear by, batteryminder (American), no I do not affiliate with them, but qurious for you to examine them, as they do have people let them trickle charge for weeks to get results. I will link to some of the papers and simple web summaries, plus that American brand.
1) www.upsbatterycenter.com/blog/battery-desulfation/ (obviously not university paper)
2) www.researchgate.net/publication/318890311_Impact_of_Pulse_Voltage_as_Desulfator_to_Improve_Automotive_Lead_Acid_Battery_Capacity (university/research paper/experiment)
3) www.batteryminder.com (the American charger, some swear by, it is pricier than the NOCOs and CTEKs, does it deliver more???)
Thanks
I'll have a look. Trickle charging for weeks on a VRSLA battery would destroy the plates,. This is an old outdated method that used to work on batteries with much more substantial plates. If you need a definitive answer then look to the battery manufacturers, It is extremely well understood. Every battery deteriorates with use and by the time you notice anything wrong (sluggish starting etc.) It is already too late. That battery will let you down. Reasonable start current but very low capacity.
@@razenby Thank you. The guys doing the MHz frequency at the lab/university, were not trickle charging for weeks, as they ran 30 cycles, it was a rather fast procedure, what amazed me was they had the CCA go from 200 to 300 Amps in a rather short time, where the max CCA on that specific battery as 325 Amps. Question I wonder about is how big spikes of Amps are they are sending into the battery. (The weeks of trickle charging (if I am correct) was the American Batteryminder users, not the researchers.)