Does the NOCO Genius5 charge better a than CTEK MXS 5.0 ???. NOCO Parametric Test Part 4

[@jtbtabimono]

Extremely grateful for going through the trouble of doing various tests and analysis. I am about to buy a charger and was doing the research whether to go for Ctek or Noco. Have read quite a bit of Ctek going wrong whilst can't see many Noco going wrong. Ctek has feet to lift the unit up as you have mentioned obviously means that the manufacturer is aware of this heat issue. For any electronics heat is not good which shortens the life to the unit. Together with your other video where Ctek has been opened up, I think I'll go for Noco Genius 10. A big thank you for enabling me to make an informed choice as well as safeguarding my investment on a new charger.

[@razenby]

Pleased it was useful.

[@33wynndel]

C'

[@NoahTheFacts]

That was really interesting! The point about heat/reliability is interesting, anecdotally I have a CTEK Multi US 3300 from around 2008 that lasted until 2022 when I repaired it. It’s still going in 2024. I’d probably buy another.

[@razenby]

Maybe the overheating issue is caused due to efficiency losses by puling five amps from a three amp design with the same small enclosure and not implementing additional mitigation measures no dissipate the extra heat.....??

[@NoahTheFacts]

I have zero reason to doubt you, you’re far above my skill set. My model outputs a peak of 3.3A, but it still gets hot and it still cooked a pair of capacitors eventually. Maybe the Canadian weather helped it last all these years.

[@josemedeiros007]

Thumbs up. Great review and test of Ctek and Noco battery chargers. I'd like to see you test PulseTech Battery Charger's and PowerPulse passive battery desulfators. I use a PulseTech Power Pulse battery desulfator that you leave on your battery at all times, PulseTech claims that it will extend the battery life up to three times, and uses a patented frequency rather than use voltage spikes.

[@razenby]

Hi Jose, thanks for watching. I would test one if I could get hold of one but cant locate them for sale in the UK. Having a patent doesn't mean you have an invention that actually works, Destitution used to work on old style wet vented cell batteries that were lightly sulfated. Not nearly as effective on a sealed lead acid starting battery. If you drive it hard enough to desulphate, the electrolyte dissociates at such a rate that the recombination into water cannot keep up, the pressure builds and the gases are vented via the pressure relief valve. The plates are prone to crumbling as they are etched and of course you cant top up or replenish the electrolyte. Electrolyte is lost.

[@raytaylor4199]

Glad I bought the noco 5, all I need it to do is keep the battery charged up on my golf gtd mk7.5, it's a 70ah battery, not getting much use at the moment, seems to be working fine so far, mixed reviews all over Amazon and Facebook for both units, after watching your videos I feel confident I made the right purchase

[@razenby]

I think you made a safe choice . Haven't been asked to fix an Nocos ever. Got a pile of CTEKs here. More CTEK info in the video I am just editing.

[@danlux4954]

@@razenby I’m on my third Ctek charger, starting to use Noco because they’re available locally.

[@gaborpapa1515]

Good comparation! I have a Ctek mx2 5.0 too but in silver color. The leds are working same as in your video, but this is abnormal. The leds should lit from left to right in a row while charging. I am sure, that mine is not working properly. For example in normal charging mode the voltage clibs to 14,8V in a minute from start. I was looking for officional repairing service here in Hungary. The answer was, that the repair only possible in sweeden (at the factory) and it is 130€ regardless of the problem. I am happy that you share the information how to impruve this charger.

[@titoulamaison7755]

I have a cteck mxs 5.0 silver too with a black button ( old unit, working ). No dim led as in this video, this ctek is probably faulty. The LEDs must light up from left to right. Mine unit is hot too when the battery is flat. Cteck desulphation ( step 1 ) is useless !!! The noco repair mode is really better. comparaison Yeah good comparaison but bad method. The best would have been to do 3 times of each function for the accuracy as for aldi autoxs. It would have been necessary to recharge after a repair mode with noco because the energy is taken from the battery. This process is not lossless. No battery simulation with one or two dead cells ? However, good video ! This noco genius 5 is very interesting !!! ( repair mode, lithium mode, force mode ) ( sorry for my english, i am french )

[@razenby]

Hello, the lighting of the lights is not abnormal. It is a design flaw. It is much worse on a bad / failing battery I have tested eight MXS5.0 these chargers and they all worked the same. I think that it is a software error because occasionally they work. The designer has tried to be a bit too clever and hasn't got the exceptions worked out.

[@mowca100]

@@titoulamaison7755 Tryb odsiarczania CTEK uruchamia tylko wtedy, kiedy wewnętrzny algorytm ładowarki oceni że akumulator jest naprawdę zasiarczony (jak sądzę bardzo duża rezystancja wewnętrzna i bardzo powolny wzrost napięcia -> akumulator słabo przyjmuje ładunek). I chodzi w tym przypadku o zasiarczenie o trudno rozpuszczalnych kryształach. Obserwowałem na oscyloskopie pracę CTEK w tym trybie , podłączonego do zasiarczonej baterii. W trybie odsiarczania ładowarka podaje co jakiś czas serię impulsów prądu o dużej częstotliwości przy napięciu 15,6V, które rozbijają trudno rozpuszczalne kryształy siarczanów. Moją zasiarczoną baterię CTEK odsiarczał cztery dni, przy czym co dwa dni, ładowarka samoczynnie przerywała pracę i musiałam ją ponownie uruchamiać. Akumulator po odsiarczeniu daje się naładować jednak odzyskiwana jest tylko część jego pierwotnej pojemności.

[@MoonyCrypto]

Thanks for this comparison, looking forward to end result 👍

[@razenby]

Thanks, Next installment out later today.

[@TranTek]

Noco 5 repair mode @ 1Amp if Noco 5 can add a feature to choose 5Amp or 2Amp it would be awesome, i find 2amp slow but keep battery temp down

[@razenby]

Yh that would be a cool feature.

[@challengeronrift]

Hey there. I just charging + recovery on my 7yr old audi TT battery using an Anker C1000 power station with Noco genius 5. It used 40% (400kw) of the Ankers battery. Does this sound successful? Everything went fine but curious on whether this was successful or not. Thanks! Great review

[@razenby]

Thanks. Difficult to judge, Depending on the problem, a battery can take more power to charge than a healthy one but store retain far less in the charge. How is the TT's battery doing?

[@CACTUS48]

I have the C-TEK 7002 charger, it has the Power Supply mode, it is very useful.

[@razenby]

Sounds good. I hope it continues to work for you.

[@LifeOWrylee]

I see parts 4 & 5 of the video. Where can parts 1, 2, and 3 be found? I'd like to start from part 1 and watch all the parts in sequence. Thanks in advance!

[@razenby]

kzbin.info/aero/PLCHiImixCowhYtYrNilrL_SmwdhN0S9-W

[@balicrimechannel8143]

I'm really enjoying this series. I'm holding off buying a charger until all the results are in . After the "CTEK vs NOCO GENIUS 5" test I'd be really interested to see a "Noco GENIUS 5 vs NOCO GENIUS 2" showdown. I'd be really interested to see whether a longer charge time at lower amps results in extra amp hours. I remember there was some indication that this may be the case during one of the early test runs of the Noco Genius 5.

[@irionpleione8312]

Get yourself a BOSCH C3 for half the price.

[@willh.2155]

Or genius 1 for $25 when it’s on sale, or $30 regular price

[@R0ay]

But genius 1 & 2 not have a repair mode. Which the important is this feature?

[@willh.2155]

@@R0ay if the repair mode is not doing anything, why it’s important?

[@balicrimechannel8143]

@@R0ay I guess that's what's going to be interesting about these tests that Magic Smoke is doing. A) Do the "repair modes" actually do anything and B) Does charging over a longer time at lower amps actually work better than the 'repair mode' ie. add amp hours capacity. But you're right; Noco Genius 1 and 2 don't have a dedicated repair mode but Noco Genius 5 does (but maybe it doesn't actually do anything).

[@michaelbutcher9564]

I think your C-Tek charger is faulty or being upset by your test equipment, I've been using an MXS 5 and MXS 10 for years and neither of them have ever missed out stages in the process. Step 8 should not kick in until it has been at stage 7 for a week.

[@razenby]

The CTEK isn't faulty. About 20 of them have been through here with power supply faults. I don't subscribe to the smoke and mirrors argument. Test equipment and simulation is good. However I am happy to receive any technical advice on how you believe the equipment simulation can be adjusted if you would like to see a specific test. My advice is not to use a CTEK on a healthy battery and certainly don't leave it connected to the mains for extended periods unless you take precautions especially in a damp environment. If you believe desulphation of sealed VRLA car starter batteries works then use the CTEK. If you want the battery to last then make sure is gets frequent, accurate float / absorption charges if the vehicle is used for short or infrequent journeys. It takes several hours driving to complete the full battery charge. If you are running around at

[@jv-hy9xs]

@@razenby Hi, been watching your videos on the Noco G5, very interesting. I do have a question. What do you mean by the last sentence of your comment : If you are running around at

[@OggyGTA]

I've bought and sold a few used and new versions of the CTEKs and NOCOs, probably 30+ over a few years. The CTEK brand is definitely less reliable than the NOCO, but I do think the CTEK "recond" mode, in a healthy unit, is good (BTW I've never seen a CTEK miss out lights like that??). I've had a few badly performing batteries of various sizes that don't initially seem to respond to these reconditioning programs, but from experimentation I've found that you have to leave the CTEK to carry on with it's own sweet thing, sometimes taking 2 or 3 days, and for really bad batteries let them rest then repeat the process, and this does seem to make a difference. The batteries tend to maintain their voltage for longer, but I don't have the ability to measure the capacity. The NOCO shuts off too soon it seems to me and I can't get the same results. Like you I really like the build on the NOCO, but I don't think their "repair" function is effective.

[@TerenceGrier]

Have you reviewed the noco genius 10? Thoughts on it vs the 5amp version?

[@razenby]

The 5A version is the best all round charger unless you have larger Ah capacity batteries or you are in a hurry.

[@lacike767]

​@@razenbyPlease, for a 75Ah AGM, which is the best choice in terms of battery life (life span), Genius 5 or 10?

[@willh.2155]

Thanks for the efforts. What do you think the "repair" or "recon" mode of these chargers suppose to accomplish? desulfation of large crystals? The drop seems to suggest that they are making it worse. No?

[@irionpleione8312]

I've put my Varta Silver Dynamic 85Ah through the reconditioning mode two times with the CTEK MX 5.0 and there was NO effect. There was however a noticeable battery improvement by regularly topping-up the battery on a 5 day interval while also using the car. We're speaking about a 2.0L diesel engine that requires quite some power to start with the actual freezing winter temperatures.

[@richardlouie2922]

@@irionpleione8312 Can you please define what measurement you used to come to the conclusion that there was no effect?

[@irionpleione8312]

@@richardlouie2922 , observation and deduction.

[@richardlouie2922]

@@irionpleione8312 Which is exactly the reason why I like Magic Smoke's work as my abilities to pass an accurate judgement on something without strong evidence like real testing as well as facts is not as strong as yours. For example, I can't tell the difference between a fully charged battery and one that is at 80% SOC just by observing the battery or even listening to how the engine sounds.

[@dacomaniac]

@@richardlouie2922 thats no good u must have a tester u must read all , inclusiv CCA

[@abedin1]

I have had my ctek mx7 for over 12 years now and I use it all the time, every winter all days and every days, and is still going strong. I don't like Noco, I have had one noco emergency starter it died.

[@razenby]

Miraculous.

[@simonemarchini2846]

È meglio il Noco Genius 5 oppure Ctek MXS 5.0 ???

[@razenby]

CTEK funziona un po' meglio nella riparazione della batteria, ma non lasciarlo connesso 24 ore su 24, 7 giorni su 7 poiché il design è debole. Il Noco è progettato meglio e molto più affidabile ed è molto più adatto alla manutenzione della batteria.

[@clee6746]

I own a CTEK MXS 5.0, it does not get HOT at 0.8A setting but I have yet tried the 4.3A for charging. Thanks for your advice, I think I'll go get a fan and a power surge protector to pamper this HOT Swedish baby before it gets fried.

[@razenby]

It wont get hot unless the battery is flat and full current mode is engaged.

[@clee6746]

@@razenby Thanks for your reply. I guess I'll be fine as long as I use the Ctek on 0.8A for topping up my car battery.

[@governmentsnizzinspector2305]

8 comes on and off because it discharges and recharges to keep the battery alive.

[@razenby]

Thanks for watching. Only if there is a parasitic load present. A charger shouldn't re-start charging until the voltage has dropped below 80% charge level at rest. Persistently applying a float charge to termination voltage erodes the electrodes. (see battery manufacturer data).

[@governmentsnizzinspector2305]

@@razenby That may be true with some of the chargers, but the models that I use do operate like a tender even if the battery is on a shelf; every couple of weeks it will discharge and will drop back to 6 then back up again. Is that what you're referring to? In my humble opinion keeping the battery charged 80% or trying to mimic regular usage when parked in arctic temperatures to keep the battery from freezing is worth the trade off.

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless

[@razenby]

Always welcome

[@TheD199020]

Just a query on the noco when are they actually fully charged? Had a battery at 12.38v so plugged the noco on went straight through to the optimisation stage after ~ 30 seconds.

[@razenby]

A fully charged battery would do that..

[@TheD199020]

@@razenby I’ve taken the noco off and let it rest for a hr or so and it’s only showing 12.42v so no where near fully charged? my older ctek is still pumping 3amps into the above battery whereas the noco is on the single pulsing led weird. Which I’ve since put it on the 2nd battery which was at 12.1v and it’s on stage 2 putting in 4.95amps at 13.24v which seems low.

[@Boodieman72]

Neither of my CTEK chargers get hot.

[@razenby]

Connect them to a flat battery and see. When bulk charging at the full rated charge current they will get hot.

[@Boodieman72]

@@razenby I have the MULTI US 25000 and the CT5 Powersport. They don't get hot, the Multi does have a battery / air temperature probe on it. I haven't tried a NOCO charger

[@irionpleione8312]

I was wondering yesterday what was that video about; I mean, the title and the content didn't match. My CTEK MX 5.0 doesn't run hot at all, maybe because of the winter temperatures in the garage, so I still have some hope that this overpriced peace of "Swedish meatballs engineering skill" will last a few years. Or should I preemptively send it to you for an upgrade? (well, there is a 5 year warranty on the piece, but I doubt in it).

[@razenby]

Thanks. I wonder if you have stood over one that has been pumping out full power for and hour. I have serviced 3 CTEK mxs5.0 chargers and they all get hot under load as does this virgin one from my neighbor. They don't get hot when just topping up a battery but at the full sustained 4.5 amps they cook nicely when charging a depleted battery . Ambient in my office is about 18 to 19 degrees. It wouldn't do well under the hood charging a flat battery on a warm summers day. I get two or more emails a day from Tubers asking if I will repair their dead CTEKs.

[@irionpleione8312]

@@razenby You’re right. The hungriest battery I used this CTEK MX 5.0 charger on was the 85Ah Varta Silver Dynamic installed in my diesel car. My diesel engine’s heat sticks had to be replaced and the mechanic discovered that the battery was under 12V. He told me that modern cars drain the battery even if they’re parked and considering all the lockdowns and far less driving around these days, many will have to replace the battery. I was advised to get a battery charger at once, a cheap one, and to fill up the battery; and repeat this on a regular base. Instead of getting the Bosch for half the price I was sidetracked by the “reconditioning” mode and the car magazines praising this CTEK. The first use; it was 4°C in the garage, the CTEK charger lit up the third “stage” and then it begun charging; the CTEK got quite warm, probably some 25°C. This was the hardest use it was put to. After this one occasion it is now only used to top-up the two cars on a weekly base and it stays cold. Therefore; if one thinks better, the CTEK MX 5.0 would second quite nicely as a car’s seat warmer in winter; in summer it might however ignite the seat and the driver. So; this piece of a Swedish RESISTOR has a 2 years legal warranty and 5 years promised by their official supply channel (that has sold it to me) and I doubt they’ll honour these 5 years. As for the reconditioning mode; I’ve disconnected the battery and put it through two times and haven’t seen any effect; it’s marketing fraud. There was however a noticeable battery improvement by regularly topping-up the battery on a 5 day interval while using the car. One battery is a Varta Silver Dynamic and the other (city car) Yuasa 3000 series.

[@razenby]

@@irionpleione8312 I can't much sense of the lights.. During the original dedicated CTEK video I couldn't get it to do what it said in the instructions and they don't seem to be intuitive at all. If you haven't already then have a look at kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2W4fnyJraqqZ6s

[@irionpleione8312]

@@razenby I've seen the video, believe me. I've almost fallen out of my chair after seeing that I've been fleeced with the CTEK. I've trusted the car magazines, only to discover that they're in for the publicity. As for the lights, the jump from nr.3 to nr.4 indicates the state of charge of the battery. Using a multimeter is far more telling than this rudimental indication. The green light shows it's done and the rest is just the same as the modern Mercedes digital cockpit; the driver might finish in the first tree by the road if paying too much heed to the "blink, blink".

[@razenby]

@@irionpleione8312 It is strange enough. The marketing reminds me of the cosmetics industry... I think we have got a long journey ahead!!!

[@timcannon6384]

so i have a deep psycho battery that has been in a trailer that my boss uses for catering. It’s an old battery and I got it taking a charge and got it from him for my boat. i have been charging it now for 6hrs and was going to use the repair mode will it help the battery or hurt the battery. it’s pretty much a dead battery

[@razenby]

Hi Tim, any modern battery has been allowed to dwell in a deeply discharged state wont recover. You could try a carefully orchestrated overcharge. It may help.

[@markdudley3831]

deep cycle battery !