Gadgets; anyone carrying a portable lithium jump starter box?

[NTV]

I've got the GB40 and I am not to impressed by it for the large Cruiser engines. It couldn't reliably start my 80 when the battery was totally dead. Last week it couldn't start my 200, even though it could detect the batteries. Luckily my 80 and my 200 have dual batteries so I just jump off the aux battery every time.

Yeah the GB 40 doesn’t have enough juice for the 200. Need to step up to the GB 70 or higher to have the proper amount of juice for a 200. After seeing so many of these portable jumpers now I do think there are other great options than Noco but at the time I bought mine they seemed to be the main option that got solid reviews. I am sure now there are other great options in the market. Important to check and make sure the jumper you pick is the appropriate size for your rig. Have a Honda and I can get away with using a cheaper Stanley jumper I got for free.

 

[Tex68w]

Yeah the GB 40 doesn’t have enough juice for the 200. Need to step up to the GB 70 or higher to have the proper amount of juice for a 200. After seeing so many of these portable jumpers now I do think there are other great options than Noco but at the time I bought mine they seemed to be the main option that got solid reviews. I am sure now there are other great options in the market. Important to check and make sure the jumper you pick is the appropriate size for your rig. Have a Honda and I can get away with using a cheaper Stanley jumper I got for free.

The GBX55 is more than enough for the 200, it’s rated for 7.5L gas engines.

 

[MTNLIVIN]

I have the Hulkman. I have had to use it a few time on the LC and helping out friends. It charges up fast and has worked great for me. I would highly recommend looking into them as well.

 

[bloc]

One thing to consider here: this is a lot of stored energy, generally within the vehicle interior even when parked/stored.

If someone buys a jump starter of poor quality and it has a problem that leads to a fire, even if you can get out or aren’t inside the vehicle, you are looking at a probable total loss.

IMO going with a brand with a track record of quality is easily worth the price.

Edit to say: this is also why I’ll probably never set mine up to stay topped up in-vehicle. Plus both of mine have done a great job of maintaining charge for months on end.

 

[Quidnam]

I carry a capacitor based jump starter, like this. I like that I don’t have to remember to charge it or worry about batteries in the heat. of course your battery can’t be completely dead, but as long as there is some voltage coming off of the battery then it works well.

I picked up one of those supercap units a few weeks back and have been enjoying having no concern for its charge state.

Still have some jumper cables, too, just in case.

 

[NTV]

One thing to consider here: this is a lot of stored energy, generally within the vehicle interior even when parked/stored.

If someone buys a jump starter of poor quality and it has a problem that leads to a fire, even if you can get out or aren’t inside the vehicle, you are looking at a probable total loss.

IMO going with a brand with a track record of quality is easily worth the price.

Edit to say: this is also why I’ll probably never set mine up to stay topped up in-vehicle. Plus both of mine have done a great job of maintaining charge for months on end.

Is the concern that the lithium portable jumper starter overheats and starts a fire? I leave mine in my cubby on the side of my drawers. This way it is always there ready to go. Even when I haven’t charged the Noco 70 for months it still can jump a car. My luck if I only took it on long camping trips I would have dead battery at Home Depot and need it there. Although being in civilization much easier to ask for help. But reason I carry it all the time is so I know I can help myself or others whenever.

 

[bloc]

Is the concern that the lithium portable jumper starter overheats and starts a fire? I leave mine in my cubby on the side of my drawers. This way it is always there ready to go. Even when I haven’t charged the Noco 70 for months it still can jump a car. My luck if I only took it on long camping trips I would have dead battery at Home Depot and need it there. Although being in civilization much easier to ask for help. But reason I carry it all the time is so I know I can help myself or others whenever.

I think the issue is some kind of internal fault. Seems unlikely if sitting in steady state.. much more likely while being used or charged.. but still, there have been cases of these things spontaneously combusting.

You are using it exactly as intended. I was just making the case that this is one place we probably shouldn’t be allowing the quality of what we pay for to dip. A low quality item here can have serious consequences.

 

[NTV]

I think the issue is some kind of internal fault. Seems unlikely if sitting in steady state.. much more likely while being used or charged.. but still, there have been cases of these things spontaneously combusting.

You are using it exactly as intended. I was just making the case that this is one place we probably shouldn’t be allowing the quality of what we pay for to dip. A low quality item here can have serious consequences.

Well said. Trying to save 40 bucks to cost you a catastrophic situation just doesn’t make good sense. Safety and reliability or the pillars of a LC. Don’t mess that up with cheap low quality gear you but in your rig.

 

[LvCruiserNewb]

Well said. Trying to save 40 bucks to cost you a catastrophic situation just doesn’t make good sense. Safety and reliability or the pillars of a LC. Don’t mess that up with cheap low quality gear you but in your rig.

I can attest to the potential danger of poor quality lithium batteries. My mom put a cheap aftermarket battery in her dyson vacuum and it exploded and started her house on fire 2 weeks ago. Luckily the smoke alarms woke them up and the fire captain lives down the road so it got put out before being catastrophic.

 

[TeCKis300]

I had to find out for myself if the NOCO GBX45 is up for the job. Since there might be more value to be had for a similar price, I ordered a GooLoo GTX3000 which outclasses the NOCO by a significant margin.

Tested both side by side, without the battery in the loop. In about 50°F weather.

Noco GBX45 vs GooLoo GT3000
1250amps* 3000amps* (*advertised)
8,600mAh 22,800mAh
31.82Wh 84.4Wh
6.5L gas 10L gas
4.0L diesel 8L diesel
Lithium-ion Lithium-polymer



Both do the deed pretty easily, with the GooLoo starting somewhat stronger. My ammeter did not have enough headroom to measure max draw unfortunately. The trade here may be long term durability over performance as lithium-ion tends to have a longer life over lithium-polymer chemistries.

Not sure which to keep... I like the compactness of the Noco that fits in my non-cooler armrest storage.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I bought one of these almost 10 yrs ago. It has boosted my 12HT many times. One time it gave me over a dozen boosts on
a three day period cause I couldn't get to a shop to replace my batteries. It's certainly one of the best.
Being on MUD the guy on the phone gave me automatic 10% just for saying I was MUD member. But it's really good
quality. I'd upgrade but it still works and I don't go without it.

XP-10 MICRO-START Jump-Starter

Top Rated, Best selling XP-10 is unrivaled for performance & quality in the mini jump-start segment. Start DIESELS and gas engines. Charge all your devices.

antigravitybatteries.com

 

[Tex68w]

I bought one of these almost 10 yrs ago. It has boosted my 12HT many times. One time it gave me over a dozen boosts on
a three day period cause I couldn't get to a shop to replace my batteries. It's certainly one of the best.
Being on MUD the guy on the phone gave me automatic 10% just for saying I was MUD member. But it's really good
quality. I'd upgrade but it still works and I don't go without it.

XP-10 MICRO-START Jump-Starter

Top Rated, Best selling XP-10 is unrivaled for performance & quality in the mini jump-start segment. Start DIESELS and gas engines. Charge all your devices.

antigravitybatteries.com

One of the few non-NOCO boosters that I'd trust, I have used them on motorcycles in the past.

 

[bloc]

I had to find out for myself if the NOCO GBX45 is up for the job. Since there might be more value to be had for a similar price, I ordered a GooLoo GTX3000 which outclasses the NOCO by a significant margin.

Tested both side by side, without the battery in the loop. In about 50°F weather.

Noco GBX45 vs GooLoo GT3000
1250amps* 3000amps* (*advertised)
8,600mAh 22,800mAh
31.82Wh 84.4Wh
6.5L gas 10L gas
4.0L diesel 8L diesel
Lithium-ion Lithium-polymer



Both do the deed pretty easily, with the GooLoo starting somewhat stronger. My ammeter did not have enough headroom to measure max draw unfortunately. The trade here may be long term durability over performance as lithium-ion tends to have a longer life over lithium-polymer chemistries.

Not sure which to keep... I like the compactness of the Noco that fits in my non-cooler armrest storage.

Do the wires on each list the gauge? The Noco certainly seem thicker.

Could be an indicator of underlying design philosophy.

 

[TeCKis300]

Do the wires on each list the gauge? The Noco certainly seem thicker.

Could be an indicator of underlying design philosophy.

I can try to measure tonight. To your point, I don't doubt the NOCO is a more premium product which is why I purchased it first. Trying to see if I can't get more value where it countS in battery capacity and punch. Without giving up too much quality elsewhere. A larger battery naturally will have more oomph in later life and degradation so I'm hedging my bets there.

Project Farm reviews turned me onto the GooLoo and it's a higher quality product than most generics with a large following.

Part of why I picked these two is that they have USB-C PD charging capability. Fast recharge. But also high power delivery with PD-60W vs PD-100W, Noco to Gooloo respectively. Trying to find more utility and use this in the RTT tent to charge my phone and other electronics, rather than run a wire from my LifePO4 house battery in the car. This has me leaning towards the GooLoo with it's significantly larger capacity. The Noco will only charge my phone 2x and be flat, unable to jump start a car in the morning without waiting for a recharge.

I can step up and pay 2x for the GBX70?

 

[bloc]

I need to put the video together but the GB40 successfully started my rig today.. twice. Once for the dead battery start/stall, then again. Truck and Noco were about 45 degrees, noco hadn't been charged since october. That said, it did turn over slow.. enough that I'm not sure I'd consider it a good get-me-out-of-the-s*** option. I compared the GB70 and it had a much easier time, as you'd assume.

Interestingly after those two starts the GB40 dropped down to yellow on the charge indicator.. then after sitting for a few minutes lit up the green again.

So, a GB40 can definitely start a 200, though these weren't horrible conditions and more capacity would be better.

As promised I'll get the video and some side-by-side comparison shots together before long.

 

[TeCKis300]

I need to put the video together but the GB40 successfully started my rig today.. twice. Once for the dead battery start/stall, then again. Truck and Noco were about 45 degrees, noco hadn't been charged since october. That said, it did turn over slow.. enough that I'm not sure I'd consider it a good get-me-out-of-the-s*** option. I compared the GB70 and it had a much easier time, as you'd assume.

Interestingly after those two starts the GB40 dropped down to yellow on the charge indicator.. then after sitting for a few minutes lit up the green again.

So, a GB40 can definitely start a 200, though these weren't horrible conditions and more capacity would be better.

As promised I'll get the video and some side-by-side comparison shots together before long.

Thanks for that feedback and good to know a healthy GB40 will do the deed. As advertised.

Yes, the 200-series always false starts on the 1st crank after power loss. I'm guessing but perhaps to sync on sensors. My vids are both cuts to the second start.

I looked at the wires and the GooLoo is 6AWG. Couldn't find the right marking on the NOCO but it is incrementally thicker wire and overall built better.

Looking forward to your vids.

 

[40Man]

I need to put the video together but the GB40 successfully started my rig today.. twice. Once for the dead battery start/stall, then again. Truck and Noco were about 45 degrees, noco hadn't been charged since october. That said, it did turn over slow.. enough that I'm not sure I'd consider it a good get-me-out-of-the-s*** option. I compared the GB70 and it had a much easier time, as you'd assume.

Interestingly after those two starts the GB40 dropped down to yellow on the charge indicator.. then after sitting for a few minutes lit up the green again.

So, a GB40 can definitely start a 200, though these weren't horrible conditions and more capacity would be better.

As promised I'll get the video and some side-by-side comparison shots together before long.

NOCO advertises the GB40 to support gas engines up to 6L, so the 5.7 V8 on the 200 is near the top of its range. Good to hear it works. I was also able to jump someone with a dead Suburban with mine as well, and left it on the battery for a good 5 minutes before we tried to start it. I have jumped a number of people, but thankfully have not needed to use it myself (knock on wood).

 

[linuxgod]

One thing to consider here: this is a lot of stored energy, generally within the vehicle interior even when parked/stored.

If someone buys a jump starter of poor quality and it has a problem that leads to a fire, even if you can get out or aren’t inside the vehicle, you are looking at a probable total loss.

IMO going with a brand with a track record of quality is easily worth the price.

Edit to say: this is also why I’ll probably never set mine up to stay topped up in-vehicle. Plus both of mine have done a great job of maintaining charge for months on end.

There’s no need to top lithium batteries off, just check them once or twice a year and charge at that point if it’s low. They should only lose maybe 1-2% of their charge per month, if that. They actually don’t like being topped off (or even fully charged) and doing so decreases their life significantly. Most companies that build lithium battery-based tools know this and when you see “100%” it’s actually less than a true 100% voltage/charge on the battery.

 

[TeCKis300]

The NOCO GBX45 is going back and I'm keeping the Gooloo. To @40Man 's point, the 5.7L is at the top of it's range so perhaps less charge and or age/wear may reduce it's ability to jump.

If the NOCO GBX55 or 75 were a better value, I may have taken those options.

 

[Tex68w]

The NOCO GBX45 is going back and I'm keeping the Gooloo. To @40Man 's point, the 5.7L is at the top of it's range so perhaps less charge and or age/wear may reduce it's ability to jump.

If the NOCO GBX55 or 75 were a better value, I may have taken those options.

I snagged my GBX55 NIB on Fleabay for $105 shipped on a “make an offer” deal. I paid damn near full msrp for the 155.