NoCo GB70 jump starter review

The extensive lineup of US-made NoCo 12V jump starters starts with the GB20 model and ranges through to the GB500+.

The GB70 model is the one I recently bought, and I reckon this one should just about cover every four-wheel drivers’ needs here in Australia.

Powered by a 56-watt-hour lithium-ion battery, the GB70 is rated at 12 volts and is able to deliver up to 2000 amps, which is claimed to be good enough to start an 8.0L petrol engine or a 6.0L diesel donk. Weighing in at less than 2kg, it measures just 220mm x 152mm x 70mm, and includes a 400 lumen torch (with seven settings) at one end and 12V power and USB ports at the other end.

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Charging time for the inbuilt battery is two to three hours from a 12V power supply or up to 28 hours using the USB port. NoCo claims when fully charged the battery can provide up to 40 jump starts. There’s inbuilt protection against reverse polarity, overcharging, overheating and from sparks.

The outlet ports can power a camp light or even an air compressor, with the output socket rated at 15 amps. Or you can charge your phone or GoPro camera or run other such devices via the USB connection which is rated at a maximum output of 2.1 amps. Leads and adaptors are provided with the GB70 to make all that happen.

As far as protection from the elements is concerned, the GB70 comes with an IP65 rating which means it is suitable for outdoor use and can withstand assault from dust and solids, and strong jets of water – but don’t drop it into the river beside your camp.

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On the main panel there is an on/off button, a series of LEDs to show the charge status of the internal battery, a switch for the light, and a boost button and indicator light. This light illuminates when Boost is active and when the unit is connected properly to a flat battery.

However, if the flat battery has a voltage that is so low the GB70 can’t detect it, then the Boost button can be pushed to activate the unit and allow charging to begin.

We’ve been using this unit on and off for the last year or so. Once it was charged it sat in the back of the Patrol until called on to do its thing, which was to start a vehicle with a dead flat battery that hadn’t been started for some months. The GB70 indicated it was still fully charged but the 4.0L diesel donk took some effort to fire, and I had to leave the jump start unit connected for a minute or so and then use the boost button to achieve a satisfactory result.

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I’d hazard a guess that if called upon to perform this more than once, at such times and current draw, the unit would not do anywhere near 40 jump starts.
One of the things we have used the GB70 for is to ‘shock’ a very flat battery, say an auxiliary battery in a vehicle or one in a camper, into accepting a charge from an alternator or battery monitoring and charging system, and for this it works a treat.

So how good is the GB70 and is it worth the money? First up, the leads are horribly short and you basically have to sit the unit on the battery for them to reach the terminals, which can make operating it a bit fiddly.

Secondly, jump starters like this are not as good as having another vehicle on hand to jump start a vehicle with a flat battery, but having a mate handy is not always possible, so having one of these units is a great backstop that can get you out of trouble.

As a bonus, it can be used to charge all those modern devices that we can’t seem to live or travel without. But, I still carry a set of jumper leads.