Car battery charger Noco Genius 1 - Pick of the week CW11

This week I have a pick for you that has relatively little to do with Apple devices: The charger Noco Genius 1, which is suitable for charging car batteries as well as motorcycle or moped batteries. So it offers support for 12 volt and 6 volt batteries.

Why I needed a car battery charger ...

Reliable Pick From my point of view, one always needs to explain why one personally used this product. In my case, Corona was not entirely uninvolved in the matter, because due to the pandemic, we have not been in the car for the past few months. When it came out, we usually only drove a few kilometers to the nearest supermarket.

As a result, my wife's car was moved relatively little and one day no longer wanted to start. If you leave a car standing around too long, the car battery will slowly but surely discharge.

And if you only drive short distances, you consume electricity when starting, but the short distances do not offer enough time to fully recharge the battery using the alternator. The result: at some point the starter no longer manages to start the engine. And so it was for us one day.

Which car battery charger should I use?

Now you come to the question of price and have to think about how to get the battery full again. I would of course have with my proven start-up power bank from ROAV / Anker Get the car working again, but since we hadn't planned a highway stretch to charge it would only have been a short-term solution.

So I went looking for a car battery charger to address the charging problem. The selection is relatively large and ranges from small minimalist chargers to fairly large chunks that can even bring truck batteries back to life with 24 volts.

I preferred something small, because I was sure that I wouldn't need the device that often, and then it's nice when it doesn't take up much space. In addition, I do not need a large current, because super-fast charging is not very important to me - with car batteries.

My choice: the Noco Genius 1 car charger

After reading loads of reviews and product descriptions, at some point I decided to go for the Noco Genius 1 decided. It is a small but very versatile car battery charger that is extremely easy to use.

Technical data of the Noco Genius 1

The technical data of the Noco battery charger looks like this:

• Manufacturer: Noco
• Model: Genius 1
• Supported battery voltage: 12 and 6 volts
• Power: 1 Ampere
• Power: 15 Watt
• Supported batteries:
  • 6/12 volt wet cell batteries
  • 6/12 volt gel batteries
  • 6/12 volt calcium batteries
  • 12 volt AGM batteries
  • 12 volt lithium-ion batteries
• Fully automatic loading
• Forced mode for batteries below 1 volt
• Scope of delivery: Genius 1 battery charger, user manual, clips with integrated eyelets
• Source: Amazon (approx. 45 EUR)

My experiences with the Noco Genius 1

After I received the device, I browsed through the operating instructions briefly and saw that it works “fully automatically”. That was my cue to put the instructions aside and start with the practice.

So the cable drum was fetched, everything plugged in, the bonnet up and the red clamp on the positive pole (red) of the battery and the black clamp on the negative pole (black) of the car battery.

The Genius 1 then lights up the red operating light and the first green LED, which signals that it has recognized a 12 volt car battery. The red LED also indicates that the charging process is in progress.

Then I went to sleep and the next day I saw what the Noco Genius 1 was doing. The red LED had now switched to green and signaled that the charging process has ended.

I was able to unplug the terminals again (start with black) and then put the test to the test: starting the car. What can I say: It started immediately - even though it was really cold.

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My conclusion on the Noco Genius 1 car battery charger

The battery charger fulfilled all of my wishes:

• it's small and handy
• the connection cable is long enough at 2,5 meters
• it automatically detects the battery types
• it starts loading immediately
• it will stop charging automatically

Despite the "low" output of only 15 watts, the Noco Genius 1 fully charged our car battery in around 12 hours.

Another practical feature, which I couldn't test, is the "forced mode". This is suitable for reviving deeply discharged batteries. This was apparently not yet necessary with our battery, but it is good to have this option in case of emergency.

All these points are enough for me to give the Noco Genius 1 the title “Pick of the Week”.

There are other models from Noco that provide more power and other features, for example. If you want to take a look, all four models are linked here:

• Noco Genius 1
• Noco Genius 2
• Noco Genius 5
• Noco Genius 10

There is also an accessory Connection cable with eyelets and a Extension for the charging cable.

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.