Lithium jump starters for emergencies/road trips

[drt30]

Hi all

I'm aware that there is and has been a lot of battery-based chat on this forum. I'm wondering if anyone has used lithium battery pack boosters for their V8V (mine is 2010)?

We're heading to South of France for 10 days road trip, and have made use of the plentiful advice on here for everything from accomodation to route. Route Napoleon should be fun.

Back to batteries. My battery is on conditioner permanently, and reads 12.7v which I think is healthy. The battery is only a few years old. I was subsequently advised that it doesn't need replacing by specialist. Despite this I still have battery anxiety! I have noticed on Amazon prime day today that the Noco Boost X are on sale - 1250A version for £108. I assume that this would be enough to get the thing started if worst came to worst? If so, I think I'll invest in one for peace of mind.

I've got all the usual France driving accoutrements, and will probs take a couple litres oil as well just in case.

Thanks in advance,

David

[NickXX]

I have a NOCO Boost X GBX45 1250A which was £100 that I use. Very nice bit of kit, and doubles up as a massive portable USB C charge while you're on holiday.

I went for this model as you can charge it up on USB-C (best to use a laptop charger).

[alscar]

I have the NOCO GB40 model after it was recommended on here some time ago.

[phumy]

I have the NOCO GB70 and it has kicked my V12 Vantage S into life from a completely flat battery.

[Manners79]

I've got a couple, can't remember brands. Originally purchased to keep in my classic VWs, but on a recent Europe road trip in the V8V I took it along as my battery gets low over a couple days away from the trickle charger (old-ish battery, tracker drain etc). I actually did need it one day and it did the trick pretty much instantly and used hardly any of the charge in the pack if the status lights are to be believed. Good bits of kit (and a lot of them double up as a phone charger - also useful when travelling!)

[drt30]

Thanks everyone, I've gone for the Noco gbx 45. Am hoping 1250A is enough to get that V8 going if needs be!

[Mammasaid]

The current (!) range of lithium jump packs are amazing,

I've got one of these - https://www.ringautomotive.com/en/product/RPPL300

and it has started this!

[dbs2000]

I have this one:
https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B09CZ7CKL9?ref_=pe_199678...

It was a godsent at download festival

[alabbasi]

I bought a couple of Noco's because they were all over the internet for being great jump starter One was a GB40 and the other was the GB150 which is their big jump starter that I purchased for my diesel truck. Unfortunately nether Noco lasted and can now barely start my riding mower. I was particularly annoyed with the GB150 as I needed to start my truck once on a very cold day after one of the batteries started failing and it would not turn over. I may have used it twice in total before it failed. When I reached out to Noco and was told that I was barely outside the 1 year warranty, so they could only offer me a small discount on a new one.

Before buying the Noco, I had a small 1200a starter that was made by Gooloo. It's a few years older, yet I was able to charge it up and get the truck going, even though it's designed for a smaller car. I would not consider another Noco for these starters. They function at best as an occasional use thing that you should never need unless you need to use it. As a company, Noco has proven to be a very effective marketer. However from a product perspective, having a one one year warranty on a product that may not be used for a year is suspect, They're also construct so that they cannot be opened for repair or examination without breaking the casing so it's really designed as a throw away item.

I've since bought another Gooloo starter and several chargers for my cars. They all function flawlessly and carry a 3 year warranty.(see link below).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Starter-4000A-26810mAh-ye...


I have both the 1200amp model which is the first starter I bought and have since owned for about 5 years. It has never failed, I also have the 3000amp model to replace the GB150. I can't really speak towards the warranty process as I've never had any issues with either, but all I can say is that they have been utterly reliable. It's also good that they're cheaper and they carry a 3 year warranty. That's my 0.02c as someone who bought both and is not a paid sponsor of either.

Edited by alabbasi on Wednesday 12th July 18:53

[drt30]

That's interesting, thanks for the input.

I hadn't realised about the warranty so I will send the Noco back to Amazon and get the cheaper Gooloo. Both seem to fare well here: https://youtu.be/VRFwEUr_Vjc

I think the Gooloo 2000amp will be ok for the 4.7 V8. It seems I will need to press the boost button to achieve this though?

[LPH]

Another Noco GBX45 user here. Brilliant bit of kit.

I have another 'cheap' Chinese one from Amazon rated at the same amps but has nowhere near as much ooomph.

You get what you pay for.

[phumy]

Im amazed:

4 positive reviews from AM owners

1 negative and you decide to go with that!!

Mine is 2.5 years old and works perfectly.

How does that work?

I know its your choice to make but have 4 other people made a wrong decision? Should we all return ours?

I looked at the link for the Gooloo on Amazon and I must be blind, i could see any reference to a 3 year warranty, the only warranty that I saw was for a 30 day money back guarantee.

[drt30]

Let's be honest 4 isn't exactly a large sample size either. I was more interested in the amps required to start the vantage, and I think the longer warranty (https://eu.gooloo.com/blogs/news/extended-warranty) is something to consider for what will be very occasional use.

The previous link I pasted for the testing on YouTube satisfied me that they will both work fine.

Like I said, you can't rely on this sample size for an accurate prediction of which may or may not break first. I'll take the longer warranty and the aggregated reviews online which are similar.

[alabbasi]

drt30 said:

That's interesting, thanks for the input.
I hadn't realised about the warranty so I will send the Noco back to Amazon and get the cheaper Gooloo. Both seem to fare well here: https://youtu.be/VRFwEUr_Vjc
I think the Gooloo 2000amp will be ok for the 4.7 V8. It seems I will need to press the boost button to achieve this though?

The 1200amp one will be more than enough to fire off a V8V. It fired off my 7.3 diesel pickup truck in freezing weather with 4 gallons of cold oil and 350k miles. I love mine because it's been reliable over a long time. The 2000amp one is nice because it has a USB C charge slot which means that it can be charged in the car. The little button on the leads is a little bit of an inconvenience because I keep my nails short but a key will work.

phumy said:

Im amazed:
4 positive reviews from AM owners
1 negative and you decide to go with that!!

4 positive reviews indicate that nothing went wrong with a product which is likely to be rarely, if ever used in that time.

I'm reporting a problem with products and describing how the company handled it. After my experience in dealing with Noco, I would not spend $200 or more again on another product unless it comes with an extended warranty. If they can't stand behind a product that was used once or twice before the warranty expired, I can't take another chance on one as it's not the type of product that I can put through the ringer to make sure it won't fail before the warranty expires. If they refuse to fix it, it would be nice to have a unit that can be taken apart so I can get repaired as it's likely that the only thing wrong with them both is a dead cell that might cost $10 to fix.

Maybe my reasoning made sense to the OP but I'll let him speak for himself, In any case, given that both my GB40 and GB150 failed, can we call it 2 negative reviews?

As far as warranties, that's a very valid point and I should not assume that it's the same as it is for the US. I did do a quick google search and it appears that you get 2 years. In any case, there's no hard sell on my part. My negative opinion of Noco is based on the way they handled a failed product and my positive opinion of Gooloo is for exactly the same reason you have a positive opinion of Noco. It has so far worked when I needed it.

Edited by alabbasi on Wednesday 12th July 23:38