The truth about NOCO and other similar battery jumpers

NOCO and other compact lithium battery jumpers have a limited life expectancy whether you jump once with it or 20 times over a period of about 12-16 months regardless of if you recharge it after each jump. They warrant them for one year for good reason, their life expectancy. Sure, it’s impressive when they can jump 15 cars in a row, but a life expectancy of a little over a year means that you’re basically paying $8 a month over a years time before they won’t recharge anymore. This does not include larger car jumpers where you can at least buy just the lithium battery pack replacement at a lower cost (2 pak for$ 115). If I had a bigger truck than my Tacoma base cab with more room behind the seat, I’d have bought one of those instead. Still, even those have a finite use life if used to jump autos even a couple of times, all lithium’s do. Future advances may improve that.

 

I haven't had the same experience - I've got 1 NOCO and 2 Poweralls for our 3 vehicles. The NOCO and one of the Poweralls are 4yrs old. The other Powerall I bought in 2012. I just used the 2012 one today to jump start a lady at the grocery store. I've probably done 50 jumps with it over the last decade and I do at least one jump a year with each of the 3 between my cars and helping out other people. I recharge them at least every spring and fall and as needed in between. So far so good, haven't had to replace any of them.

 

My Noco is at least five years old; not sure how many times I've used it; not a whole lot, but it still works just fine and holds a charge for 8-10 months.

 

There are enough negative reviews about the NOCO and similar jumpers unable to be recharged after about 12-15 months of jumping to be other than having gotten a defective one. They obviously warrant them for only one year for a reason. I still believe the percentage of failures is beyond what one would expect from manufacturing flaws. I believe it’s a characteristic of this type of technology. I may actually purchase a 2000w NOCO (mine was a 1000w) as having such a device is invaluable to me. I was not declaring them a ripoff. I jumped about 8 times over about a years time when my NOCO went bad (topped it off after each jump). P.S. A seasoned tow truck guy told me that one should buy a 2000w one for longevities sake.

 

Had my NOCO several years and it’s still going strong.

 

I use a cheap Gooloo professionally, one coworker has the same model and its starting to fail, but mine is over 2 years old and still starts dead v8s.

I believe there is luck, and definitely limited uses, also with my repeated uses I have had lithium packs swell. So I actually have to inspect them.

 

My Noco would not jump a Volvo so I returned it after 3 weeks. I went with a Dewalt power/jump station for an extra $50. After 2 years and regular use it works great and still holds a charge.

 

I have one of those large Caterpillar ones after the lithium one I bought from Costco wouldn’t jump my 200 series.

 

One thing to remember is that "lithium" batteries are not all the same.

Lithium polymer has a shorter lifespan but has convenient packaging. This is the battery your cell phone uses. This one also is one of the most susceptible to damage. It has great energy density but is one of the least stable types.

NMC, Nickel Manganese Colbalt or frequently "Lithium Ion", like used in many current electric cars, is often times a "cell" or cylindrical battery. It offers much longer lifespan than Lipo and can handle deep discharges for a thousand or more cycles.

LFP, or Lithium Iron, is what you often times see in 12v Lithium car batteries and is just becoming very popular in electric vehicles. This is also often times a cell battery. It handles deep discharges very very well and doubles, or more, the number of cycles of lithium ion. It's a bit heavier but is quickly becoming the go-to for battery technology due to its longevity and reduced risk if damaged or overheated.

It should be noted that for DEEP discharges these are better than lead acid batteries.


The few noco disassembly videos I saw all had the lithium polymer "pouch" cells. Good discharge rates but poor lifespan.

 

NOCO and different compact lithium battery jumpers have a restrainedlifestyles expectancy whether or not you bounceas soon as with it or 20 instances over a length of about 12-16 months regardless of if you recharge it after every jump. They of course warrant them for solely one yr for a reason. I neverthelesstrust the share of screw ups is past what one would anticipate from manufacturing flaws.

 

if I buy another, it’ll definitely be a 2000 Amp, not a 1000 Amp. It’ll be the Hulkman Alpha 85. Most review sites of them report that they have much more longevity over NOCO and similar brand 1000 Amp lithium chargers. Any Hulkman Alpha 85 owners please post your assessment of that jumper.

 

I have owned the Hulkman 85 for about a year and a half. Had to use it about 4 times for various reasons. Seems to hold a charge pretty good, and you can get several (6+) jumps out of every charge for our little motor. Can be charged several different ways. Their fast charger will top it off from 65 to 100% in around 20 minutes. Overall I’m super impressed with it.

 

No way should anyone buy a compact lithium jump charger less than 2000 Amps. I made a mistake buying the NOCO 1000 Amp (GB40). Cool! You can jump start 19 cars in a row!!! Don’t mean squat a year later when it’s unable to hold a charge due to the lithium gel manufacturing limitations. At least with 2000 Amp lithium gel chargers, they’ll last beyond the 12 month warranties of 1000 Amp chargers. I found that out, much to my dismay. Off topic: I just got a free replacement of my Walmart Enermaxx which had 4 months to go on a 3 year replacement warranty. Sweet! Lucky me. The new Enermax’s look quite well made. Gone are the filler caps. Made by Johnston Indusries, makers of many other quality battery brands.

 

Even if it only lasts a year, which has not been my experience, it's pretty cheap insurance to get you home from places the battery boost services won't go. Not to mention what could have been a long wait turns into a 5 minute fix

 

I've not had one issue with my NOCO 1000A and have jumped many cars. Without comparing climates, storage conditions, and charging procedures its impossible to make a blanket statement about how a battery will work in all conditions.

 

I’ve had my GB70 for around five years or so maybe longer. Only had to use it to jump people three times. Used it to charge phones and such a handful of times. It lives in my truck seeing a range of temperatures and holds a charge. Think I’ve only charged it 4 or so times in that 5 plus years. So my experience has been great I’d say. Also just about every piece of electronics you buy as well as many other products have a 1-2 year warranty, doesn’t mean it’s just gonna up and die as soon as the warranty ends.

 

This seems like a troll debate, not a product review.

But no, it doesn't match the experience I've had with the NOCO jump pack that I actually own and use.

 

I'm well over a year also. Holds a full charge with no issues. Stays in the truck year round. I check the charge every 3 months or so. It's held for as long as I've owned it with many jumps.

 

Was looking at these because I was considering buying one….just make sure you don’t take it with you for it’s intended purpose.