NOCO Genius smart 5 amp charger too hot?

[willbur]

Greetings-
My NOCO Genius smart 5 amp charger is showing 133 F as it charges my H7 AGM battery. I measured about 12.6 volts before charging. According to East Penn, a fully charged AGM is 12.8 -12.9. I picked up the charger and it was quite hot. Measured 133 with my laser infrared thermometer. Battery top was reading 82 F.
My NOCO Genius 1 amp charger never got more than slightly warm when charging this battery. So...is this 5amp charger about to go belly up ?

 

[ctechbob]

133f isn't that hot for electronics. Internal temp would be a little higher but still doesn't sound terrible.

 

[Rand]

its fine. there are power losses from conversion that turn into waste heat.. and thats not very hot.

your 1amp charged 1/5th as fast therefore produced roughly 1/5th the waste heat.. assuming that they are constructed similarly.

 

[willbur]

its fine. there are power losses from conversion that turn into waste heat.. and thats not very hot.

your 1amp charged 1/5th as fast therefore produced roughly 1/5th the waste heat.. assuming that they are constructed similarly.

Thanks to both

 

[JHZR2]

its fine. there are power losses from conversion that turn into waste heat.. and thats not very hot.

your 1amp charged 1/5th as fast therefore produced roughly 1/5th the waste heat.. assuming that they are constructed similarly.

Heat generation goes with the square of current. P=I^2 R

Doesn’t mean the thing is ok. Could be broken. But it could also be 90 degrees and a battery that is taking a lot of charge…

 

[NitroM3]

I had a 3 month old G3500 that got hot . I pulled it off the battery .Can’t say the temperature, but my other older G3500 of 2 years charged the battery and did not get hot. I contacted Noco and they replaced it . The replacements works great and does not get hot .
The point at 133f you may want to contact Noco and ask them before an accident happens caused from what may be a defective charger?

 

[willbur]

I had a 3 month old G3500 that got hot . I pulled it off the battery .Can’t say the temperature, but my other older G3500 of 2 years charged the battery and did not get hot. I contacted Noco and they replaced it . The replacements works great and does not get hot .
The point at 133f you may want to contact Noco and ask them before an accident happens caused from what may be a defective charger?

Thanks-
I contacted NOCO several times before this post. Totally a waste of time-hence my post requesting opinions. They do respond to questions quickly, but the person responding doesn't know anything (in my opinion).

 

[Rand]

Maybe it would help if I told you I have the same exact charger and in 85f garage it does heat upto barely touchable.

There is no external heat sink or fan... heat has to go somewhere.

 

[willbur]

Maybe it would help if I told you I have the same exact charger and in 85f garage it does heat upto barely touchable.

There is no external heat sink or fan... heat has to go somewhere.

Thanks for that.

 

[tundraotto]

I have bought 5 NOCO chargers(1A, 2A, 5A) , 2 off them have already failed.....I think they do a good job while they work, but not impressed with the longevity at all. Wont buy anymore.

 

[NitroM3]

Thanks-
I contacted NOCO several times before this post. Totally a waste of time-hence my post requesting opinions. They do respond to questions quickly, but the person responding doesn't know anything (in my opinion).

I just put my G3500 on a "bad"12 volt optima battery that showing 7.70 volts. Load tested indication charge and retest. Garage temperature 80F
I also used the repair setting that is the highest voltage with more frequent rest and set charging cycles. After 45 minutes the battery raised to 90F and the charger was 101F. I used a known bad battery with very low voltage because any charger would have run hotter then normal charging.

I do not have a NOCO Genius smart 5 but the specification for normal operation should be the same. I would at least wait for a response before continued using yours until you get a answer from NOCO . BTW they do answer their phone I called them but the tech people were not available yet. *1.800.456.6626 Monday - Friday 8 AM - 4 PM (Arizona)


UPDATE as of right now:

So Sharla at technical support 9-15-2021 8:09a.m. says that a NOCO Smart 5 range can be up to 150F depending on the condition of the battery it is charging. But she also said that 133F is on the high side and offered to have the NOCO Smart 5 returned for testing.

 

[willbur]

I just put my G3500 on a "bad"12 volt optima battery that showing 7.70 volts. Load tested indication charge and retest. Garage temperature 80F
I also used the repair setting that is the highest voltage with more frequent rest and set charging cycles. After 45 minutes the battery raised to 90F and the charger was 101F. I used a known bad battery with very low voltage because any charger would have run hotter then normal charging.

I do not have a NOCO Genius smart 5 but the specification for normal operation should be the same. I would at least wait for a response before continued using yours until you get a answer from NOCO . BTW they do answer their phone I called them but the tech people were not available yet. *1.800.456.6626 Monday - Friday 8 AM - 4 PM (Arizona)


UPDATE as of right now:

So Sharla at technical support 9-15-2021 8:09a.m. says that a NOCO Smart 5 range can be up to 150F depending on the condition of the battery it is charging. But she also said that 133F is on the high side and offered to have the NOCO Smart 5 returned for testing.

Thanks-
she is the person I tried to explain my question to. She said to send it in for testing. Just not worth it considering time and shipping expenses. I’ll just use my two other ones. A Schumacher and the smaller NOCO

 

[NitroM3]

Thanks-
she is the person I tried to explain my question to. She said to send it in for testing. Just not worth it considering time and shipping expenses. I’ll just use my two other ones. A Schumacher and the smaller NOCO

Well at least we learned something about the Chargers we use. I wish they would have that full technical operating specification available instead of having to guess, speculate or call to get an answer!

 

[willbur]

Heat generation goes with the square of current. P=I^2 R

Doesn’t mean the thing is ok. Could be broken. But it could also be 90 degrees and a battery that is taking a lot of charge…

so you are saying the 5 amp is producing 25x heat relative to the 1 amp (assuming internal batt resistance remains constant)? Boy, that's alot

 

[Rand]

I just put my G3500 on a "bad"12 volt optima battery that showing 7.70 volts. Load tested indication charge and retest. Garage temperature 80F
I also used the repair setting that is the highest voltage with more frequent rest and set charging cycles. After 45 minutes the battery raised to 90F and the charger was 101F. I used a known bad battery with very low voltage because any charger would have run hotter then normal charging.

If its a known bad battery that wont take a charge why would that make the battery charger run hotter that a battery that's accepting a charge?

 

[wdn]

I used my Genius 5 overnight and just disconnected it 30 minutes ago. The case is barely warm to the touch.

 

[wdn]

The Genius 5 has a 3 year warranty so I would pay the six dollars and toss it in a priority mail padded envelope and mail it back to them. They will probably just send you a new one.

 

[NitroM3]

If its a known bad battery that wont take a charge why would that make the battery charger run hotter that a battery that's accepting a charge?

Try reading what I said instead of looking for a problem with my response. I clearly stated what I did. Hint I have about a dozen battery but I specifically choose a known dead one! And yes any charger would run hotter attempting to charge it back to 12+ volts .
I guess you don't really understand the battery charger company and the various models Noco do you? Second hint not all the models have all the settings!
I am done with this thread it has been resolved and we now know the what's and reason as per the Manufacture.


I have Removed this thread from my watch list.....

 

[JHZR2]

so you are saying the 5 amp is producing 25x heat relative to the 1 amp (assuming internal batt resistance remains constant)? Boy, that's alot

Correct. Now, notionally they work to keep the R portion of the equation down…. So that 25x of a really tiny number is a small number….

 

[Rand]

Try reading what I said instead of looking for a problem with my response. I clearly stated what I did.

I did CLEARLY read what you said..

used a known bad battery

If you have a 7volt battery that wont take a charge why would that put more of a load on a battery charger than a battery that isnt bad and takes a charge??