Which NOCO Genius Charger for MEP-803A?

I'm currently using a NOCO Genius GEN5X2.



I hooked the charge cables to the unused side terminals on the Optima Red Tops.
It's plugged in 24/7, so I'm not sure why in question 2 you say you need to unhook the batteries for a dual 12V bank charger.

nextalcupfan said:

I'm currently using a NOCO Genius GEN5X2.

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I hooked the charge cables to the unused side terminals on the Optima Red Tops.
It's plugged in 24/7, so I'm not sure why in question 2 you say you need to unhook the batteries for a dual 12V bank charger.

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I have now installed the same NOCO charger on my MEP003A genset with Optima Red Tops. It works great and there is no need to disconnect the battery cables.

glcaines said:

I have now installed the same NOCO charger on my MEP003A genset with Optima Red Tops. It works great and there is no need to disconnect the battery cables.

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I use the dual Noco 12V chargers on my 831A. I was concerned about disconnecting the batteries to charge and was advised by Kurt that if the plug doesn't have the ground prong you don't have to disconnect. If my memory is wrong I'm sure Kurt will correct me.

nextalcupfan said:

I'm currently using a NOCO Genius GEN5X2.

View attachment 862011

I hooked the charge cables to the unused side terminals on the Optima Red Tops.
It's plugged in 24/7, so I'm not sure why in question 2 you say you need to unhook the batteries for a dual 12V bank charger.

Click to expand...

I may have mistakenly understood that I needed a 24V charger for the gen set. Basically and dual bank 12V charger will work?

Or two 12 volt chargers, one for each battery.

If you want to go with one of those NOCO 12V dual bank units, they stay wired up all the time. The only thing I was told when I called NOCO is that you just want to unplug the charge pack on them, before running the machine. With this pack running, and the alternator producing voltage... you can get into a battery overcharge scenario.

What I do on the machines that come and go is to install (1) of these on the outside of the machine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ANV81S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

From this, you can plug a NOCO or similar into it inside the enclosure. All you have to do is run an extension cord to your genset, to get power to it... and unplug the same extension cord when you are about to turn the machine on. Easy.

That's a clean install! While working in the bus garage for my employer we have 15 amp battery "maintainers" to plug into the buses while they're in the shop being worked on. We've had a couple of these battery maintainers fail as the result of someone cranking the engine over with one plugged into the bus. I believe the extra current draw on the system while cranking the engines over was too much for the 15 amp battery maintainers. Just another reason to unplug them before running the units.

Light in the Dark said:

If you want to go with one of those NOCO 12V dual bank units, they stay wired up all the time. The only thing I was told when I called NOCO is that you just want to unplug the charge pack on them, before running the machine. With this pack running, and the alternator producing voltage... you can get into a battery overcharge scenario.

What I do on the machines that come and go is to install (1) of these on the outside of the machine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009ANV81S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

From this, you can plug a NOCO or similar into it inside the enclosure. All you have to do is run an extension cord to your genset, to get power to it... and unplug the same extension cord when you are about to turn the machine on. Easy.

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Actually I've had this exact thing happen with my NOCO on my unit.
Didn't seem to hurt anything though, The NOCO just stopped all charging and maintaining on that battery until the voltage dropped.
Can't remember if I had to unplug it to reset or not.

I also want to mention I leave my plugged in all the time and with the unit running and I've only run into an overvoltage once.
Been thinking about installing a contactor that will disconnect the charger automatically when the unit runs though.

nextalcupfan said:

Actually I've had this exact thing happen with my NOCO on my unit.
Didn't seem to hurt anything though, The NOCO just stopped all charging and maintaining on that battery until the voltage dropped.
Can't remember if I had to unplug it to reset or not.

I also want to mention I leave my plugged in all the time and with the unit running and I've only run into an overvoltage once.
Been thinking about installing a contactor that will disconnect the charger automatically when the unit runs though.

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One thing that I've learned over the years is that alternators should not be used as battery chargers. It's very hard on them. Most of us will jump-start a vehicle or a piece of equipment when the batteries are too low to start the engine and then just rely on the alternator to replenish the batteries. I like this thread because it has a preventative measure to it. I have battery maintainers on just about everything that I own also. I'm not sure if these generators have any "parasitic draw" on the batteries when they're not running. But, many of the vehicles that I've worked on over the years can have a pretty good draw on the house batteries with the vehicle turned off. These maintainers will significantly increase the life of the alternators IMO.

I think normally they are pretty good about parasitic power draw. After all everything is on mechanical relays.

My set does have a parasitic draw because I installed a Raspberry Pi 4 in it for auto start capabilities.
Hence my NOCO being plugged in 24/7

For comparison's sake, in the civilian side of things, most home standby type generators use only a trickle charger, and not an alternator to keep the batteries charged. Difference being a home standby is hooked to grid power all the time to keep the battery charged, where a military unit is not and needs independent charging, and faster charging because you never know the situation.

Using a military gen in a standby type application, I don't see any reason why you couldn't disconnect the output of the alternator and have the NOCO's supply on the switched output power from the gen. Either that or you have it plugged into a non-switched power source so it's either the generator off and NOCO providing charge, or the power is off and gen is running with the alternator producing charge current.

I wouldn't want to disconnect the alternator on my MEP003A because it is trailer mounted and I occasionally and sometimes frequently move the genset temporarily to remote areas of my property for temporary power, sometimes for days at a time. I find it no real inconvenience to simply pull the NOCO plug from the wall receptacle when I fire it up when it is located at my house.

glcaines said:

I wouldn't want to disconnect the alternator on my MEP003A because it is trailer mounted and I occasionally and sometimes frequently move the genset temporarily to remote areas of my property for temporary power, sometimes for days at a time. I find it no real inconvenience to simply pull the NOCO plug from the wall receptacle when I fire it up when it is located at my house.

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"days at a time" isn't really enough for the batteries to drain down. Unless you have something in it like the remote start/ auto start unit, then that comment wasn't really aimed at you.
My 802A sits for months at a time and has no issues starting up again.

One nice thing about having the charger wired in, is if the alternator ever does fail on you while in operation (and you catch it before the batteries are dead, or you have something to jump start it from) then the unit should have no issues continuing to operate with the battery charger plugged into the convenience outlet on front of the unit. If you have a hardwired inlet in the side of the gen, you might look at keeping a short extension cord with the unit just in case. (it's not likely that the alternator will fail, but the more prepared for it you are, the less likely for it to go wrong in my experience)

Dumb question but what is the big auction site?

Triton said:

Dumb question but what is the big auction site?

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Fleabay

That's what I thought, people say they find the Pulse tech 24 volt solar powered for great prices but I never see them. I guess you gotta have good timing!

Those Pulsetech units are crap in my opinion. I've had about a 10% GOOD rate on machines with them.

Light in the Dark said:

Those Pulsetech units are crap in my opinion. I've had about a 10% GOOD rate on machines with them.

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I’ve heard that some of the cheaper units can actually have “unplanned thermal events “

I just replaced two optima batteries on my diesel truck that had a pulsetech unit and they had a 2010 date on them. I also heard that optima isn't what it used to too!

I just got done installing a 2x2A Noco on my 803.



And also went for the Noco receptable:



While I was at it, I installed a 60A receptable:





Used 4 Gauge wiring.