New Charger on the block - Noco G3500

**ol' boy** · 04-07-16, 09:48 AM

Its been mostly CTEK or Projector that fills the market place here for digital multistage battery chargers.

CTEK being somewhat limited per unit, meaning you need to buy 2 or 3 of them to cover several battery types and sizes.
Projector has models that allow for a wider selection (6 or 12V etc)

Now there is a new kid to the Australian Market, the Noco series of chargers.
US based company
Similar form factor to the CTEK
But each unit can do 6v or 12v and the biggest advantage, is their ability to charge Lithium Batteries as well as all the LA chemistries.

Looks like one Australian Company has got an AU model made, to suit our 240v input voltage.
Priced similar to a CTEK

Unique Features: CANBUS Charging

Noco:

Noco G3500:

AU Version of the G3500:

For a 3.5Amp charger, it seems to over quote its abilities when compared to a CTEK charger, even when compared to the CTEK 5.0 charger which is 1.5amps bigger.
It also claims it can be left on a Battery 24/7/365 days, where as CTEK only ever claim theirs can be left connected months at time.

**shred** · 04-07-16, 10:04 AM

Interesting find. I've had a CTEK charger for a few years and am quite happy with it, but it would be nice to have a more flexible charger - at the moment I top up 6v SLA batteries using my bench power supply.

I bought my CTEK charger from the eBay vendor that you've linked to above and I had no problems at all. Having said that, if you are buying from him, you might want to have a read of a couple of Whirlpool threads first - he seems to be able to remove any negative feedback, so make sure you have your eyes open, so to speak:

**ol' boy** · 04-07-16, 10:26 AM

Ive bought a lot of 12v stuff off him
Every transaction has gone well, all stock has been as expected.

Yes, i was just about to pull the trigger on a CTEK MXS 5.0 this morning, Repco have them on Sale again for $119, or eBay for $118 everyday price.
Then i stumbled across the Noco... Doh

Yes, i have heard mostly good things about the CTEK or Projector from the 4WD community and other people.

Its interesting the inclusion of Lithium charging circuitry, considering most applications to retro fit a Lithium battery (IE: Motorcycle, Car) were only every designed for LA chemistries.

The CTEK seems a bit "too" automatic, counting on the algorithms to change modes, where as there is some more control with the Noco it seems.
Especially in the "Repair Mode" side of things.

**Tiny** · 04-07-16, 10:40 AM

Looks good, test it out & let us know how it goes.

**fandtm666** · 04-07-16, 12:20 PM

be interesting to see the reviews , all people i know who own boats have the ctek
as do i for keeping the boat batteries going during long spells off the water.

**ol' boy** · 12-08-17, 01:46 PM

Just purchased the G7200 (7.2Amp) version of the above
I have 2 CTEKS (a 5.0MXS and a 7.0MXS) so i will compare the units

Essentially the unit is just full of cheap electronics, cheap filters, TX and Caps, with only 10mm of physical separation from the 250Vac side to the DC side.
Victron now make a cool new Bluetooth charger too.

I purchased this unit because it does Lithium Batts and has a 13.6vdc power supply mode
(may come in handy for Battery Swaps in Euro Vehicles)
It's full time job will be maintaining a Lifeline 105Ah AGM Battery

Cheapest price is $133 Free Delivery from Autoelec in Bairnsdale

**ol' boy** · 06-09-17, 02:31 PM

Ok, i feel i have tested this Smart Charger for long enough now to have a reasonable understanding.

I have been testing it for a while on different Battery Chemistries
(Wet LA, AGM, Calcium, Lithium)

First thing i have noticed when comparing to the popular CTEK chargers
Is the Noco Genius is more gentle on batteries
It does a lot more sensing of the Batteries state, its resistance, etc, then slowly applies more voltage
Next, its charging voltages and final maintenance voltage is slightly less than the CTEK units

A big difference is the Noco will sense a fully charged Battery in the first 30 seconds and go straight a Maintenance algorithm
Where as the CTEK will go through its charge cycle, No Matter what state of charge the battery is in, before arriving at its Maintenance algorithm

The Noco states clearly, it can be left connected 24/7 to a Battery
The CTEK does not state this, it just says you can leave it connected for a long time.

Testing the final voltages with both units, you can imagine why
With the CTEK holding a higher final voltage.

I asked Noco for a break down of their Current/Voltage over time for each step
But they refused to offer up that information, saying it was proprietary.

I also ran into a reseller of the product at the Melbourne 4WD and Camping Expo
The owner of "Every Battery" in Melbourne
He was singing the praises of the Noco, saying that CTEK was old technology, blah blah
Yet, i didn't see any proof of his claims and dismissed his statement as typical reseller diarrhoea.

He was also claiming the Noco can correctly charge "Start/Stop" EFB batteries, where as you have to buy a separate charger from CTEK for this task.
The Noco also charges Lithium Batteries in the same unit.

Im no expert on charging Lithium batteries, voltage seem very linear doing the charging process.
And the Maintenance voltage was also the same.

Over all, the Noco Genius series are cheaper than CTEK by a good margin.
Construction is good
Accessories are solid
And each battery termination is fused on the lead, unlike CTEK.

If you wanted to tender a Boat, Jetski, Motorbike, Car or Camping Batteries seems a good solution.
The Mrs car has a Start/Stop AGM Battery in it (not that the vehicle was designed for this battery), the vehicle can only get it to a certain state of charge
The Noco will top it right up (i'm sure the CTEK would probably do the same)

Conclusion
Price
Ability to charge Lithium Batteries
And the "Power Supply" setting
Were reasons i choose this charger over others.

**irwazza** · 06-09-17, 08:31 PM

I like the look of them. Good find

Sent from my ASUS_Z01FD using Tapatalk

**ol' boy** · 06-09-17, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by irwazza

I like the look of them. Good find

Sent from my ASUS_Z01FD using Tapatalk

I found the cheapest prices here:

But shop around, see what you can find
The G3500 and G7200 seem a popular choice
They also have 15Amp and 25Amp models

**ol' boy** · 25-09-17, 08:27 AM

Just run the CTEK and NOCO side by side on a 900CCA/100Ah battery

NOCO sensed the Battery and went straight too 100%, terminal voltage 12.8v
CTEK runs its charger cycle, goes to 100%, BUT, continues to pump 13.8v into the battery

4 days later

NOCO still just sensing the Battery, terminal voltage was 12.8v for 3 days, today (4th day) its 12.7v and NOCO is still sensing
CTEK still pushing 13.8v into the Battery.... This will not change for 7 days, when the CTEK goes into it final stage

So for caring for a battery long term
Or a smaller motorcycle battery, id have to suggest the NOCO is a lot more friendly to your battery

BTW, i had a CTEK kill another AGM battery last week ($500 ISS AGM Battery)
Brand new CTEK MXS 5.0, took voltage too high for the AGM which had a MAX Voltage of 14.5v

**Tiny** · 25-09-17, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by oceanboy

Just run the CTEK and NOCO side by side on a 900CCA/100Ah battery

NOCO sensed the Battery and went straight too 100%, terminal voltage 12.8v
CTEK runs its charger cycle, goes to 100%, BUT, continues to pump 13.8v into the battery

4 days later

NOCO still just sensing the Battery, terminal voltage was 12.8v for 3 days, today (4th day) its 12.7v and NOCO is still sensing
CTEK still pushing 13.8v into the Battery.... This will not change for 7 days, when the CTEK goes into it final stage

So for caring for a battery long term
Or a smaller motorcycle battery, id have to suggest the NOCO is a lot more friendly to your battery

Great info, thanks.

Originally Posted by oceanboy

BTW, i had a CTEK kill another AGM battery last week ($500 ISS AGM Battery)
Brand new CTEK MXS 5.0, took voltage too high for the AGM which had a MAX Voltage of 14.5v

yep, when I was looking into a new charger for the shed, I read quite a lot of angry posts about CTEK chargers killing batteries, so steered clear of them.

**ol' boy** · 25-09-17, 10:13 AM

Agreed Tiny.
You read any Car, 4WD, Bike forum, its all CTEK CTEK CTEK.

So I bought one.
First battery I ever charged it killed outright. (Recond Mode, 16v)

Something else I've noticed, is the CTEK manual lies!
States "Car" mode max voltage 14.4v... I had my multimeter across terminals as it charged in that mode, 14.6v measured...!!
Now 0.2v shouldn't mean much.... i guess? i really don't know.
But when your battery has a big sticker saying MAX Voltage 14.5v.
And now it is stuffed after one charge with the CTEK... what are you meant to conclude?

When measuring charge voltage of the Noco, the whole process has been much softer.
Like a soft start dimmer.
Gently rolling the voltage up and finishing well under any damaging voltages.

Just then the Noco kicked back in. Terminal voltage 13.16v
Was like that for 30min, then it switched back to sensing, terminal voltage gentle falling back to the nominal 100% charge of 12.8v

CTEK still pumping 13.78v none stop. Battery can be heard bubbling.

No noise at all from the Battery with the Noco