NOCO GB40 Review (1000 Amp, Boost Plus)

Let’s Get Into The NOCO GB40 Review

The Good Things About This NOCO 1000 Amp Jump Starter

What do we like about this booster…

It’s Powerful

The GB40 delivers a 1000 Amp boost. If you’re not everly familiar with amperages, just know that that’s a lot. It’s more than enough to start vehicles in the range promised.

NOCO recommend the GB40 for vehicles up to 6.0L petrol, and up to 3.0L diesel.

Based on our experience, you’ll get a really good chance of a successful jump start if you’re using this on a small to medium-sized car.

When we get to the category of a medium to large sized car, you still have a good chance of a jump start, in most circumstances. Your best choice is the NOCO GB70 (2000 Amps) or the NOCO GB50 (1500A), but the GB40 is still good.

It’s Small (You’ll Be Shocked!)

Or at least, you would have been shocked, but we’ve just told you.

You may have seen the dimensions on our Specifications infographic at the bottom of this review, but seeing the numbers often doesn’t translate to a proper appreciation of size.

We hear the same thing over and over again from NOCO Boost Plus GB40 users. After they took the unit out of the package, they were worried they’d bought the wrong one, or there’s been a mix-up of some kind. Or they just flat-out can’t believe something so small could provide enough power to jump start a car.

Then they’ll go on to say “but actually, it worked!”‘ “I couldn’t believe that little box can start my car”. And so on.

So don’t worry about the size, its really is as powerful as its made out to be. 

It’s Really Safe

NOCO’s boosters are really good for safety features.

Spark-proof and reverse polarity protection are both high-end. Even if you use the wrong terminals or let them touch, it won’t cause damage. So the NOCO GB40 is good for a driver even if they’ve no experience around an engine. 

And as for lithium batteries – recent technology improvements have transformed their safety factors – they’re now much safer than lead-acid batteries.

It’s Simple To Use

It’s literally a case of attaching the clamps to the battery terminals. Then press the power button to turn it on. Then start your car engine.

That’s it.

No complicated set-up, no difficult to understand modes to choose from. Just power it on, and you’re good to go.

It Has High Quality Components

A jump starter is not something you want to take much risk on.

1000 Amps is a lot of power. The Car Battery Geek has seen jump starters melt like they were butter in the face of that kind of power. 

When a device is tasked with producing that kind of power over and over again, you want to be sure every single component inside it is high quality enough. With NOCO’s jump starters, their components are top-notch quality.

So even after plenty of usage, they’ll 1) still be providing enough power 2) lasting long enough between charges and 3) perhaps most importantly, they’re still safe.

Long-lasting

NOCO’s jump starters are the best we’ve encountered for how long they’ll last in your boot off a full charge.

Why? It’s because of the quality of their internal components, their technology and the quality of the lithium batteries.

These qualities add up to a lower rate of self-discharge within the battery cells than other makers can achieve.

We’ve heard of cases of users having 50% charge after a year of the unit sitting in their boot.

But we highly recommend you don’t rely on that being the case. Give it a full charge at least once per year, or ideally every 6 months. 

It’s A Proper Jump Starter

What do we mean by this?

Well, there are plenty of power bank makers who saw the opportunity to provide a jump start function on their power bank.

You can understand why this opportunity arose. The thought process is logical – “oh, it can power my phone, and it’ll jump start my car if I ever break down? That’s a no-brainer!”

And some of these power bank/jump starters do work. But many don’t and even the ones that do will only work in ideal conditions when the vehicle’s battery is just below the threshold needed to start the car. 

So they’re not something you’d want to rely on, to be honest.

The NOCO Boost Pulse GB40 is the real deal, and can be relied on.

Works Down to 0 Volts (With Manual Override)

Many jump starters on the market will not work when the vehicle battery voltage is too low. 

If the car battery has been very deeply discharged, some jump starters will not be able to even detect the battery, therefore they can’t jump start the vehicle.

The NOCO GB40 however, has Manual Override. It won’t detect batteries with voltage below 2V… but you can use GB40’s Manual Override and then it will detect the battery. Then perform the jump start as normal.

How to use it? Just press and hold the red button (with exclamation mark on it) for 3 seconds, then it’ll detect your battery.

Note that this turns off the safety functions of the jump starter, so use it with care.

The Bad Things About the NOCO Boost Plus GB40

Things to be aware of…

It Won’t Work Every Time For Every Person

This is a disclaimer that applies to every single jump starter. It’s not something a jump starter maker will openly state, for obvious reasons.

We know, we know. It says on the box it works for up to 6.0L petrol and 3.0L diesel. My car is only a 3L petrol engine. So SURELY it should easily work Every. Single. Time!

Sorry, that’s not how it works. There are so many variables involved. To name just a few:

• the temperature of your surroundings 
• the temperature of your battery
• the state of the battery
• the type/chemistry of the battery
• the voltage (charge) of the battery
• the state of your engine’s components
• the quality of the jump starter clamps connection with the battery terminals

If one or more of the conditions above are poor then a jump start can be difficult even if the jump starter power is more than enough.

It’s not about how much power the jump starter can deliver, it’s how much power can actually get through to the battery.

So for example, if the battery terminals are severely corroded, it won’t be possible to get enough power into the vehicle battery even if the jump starter has more than enough power.

At Car Battery Geek, we’ve heard again and again that temperature is a huge factor in the success or otherwise of a jump start. If it’s really cold, it has a major negative impact on the power a jump starter can deliver.

Such issues can sometimes be solved by, well, more power. If you want more security that a jump start will work, you’ll want more power.

Getting a NOCO jump starter, however, is the best way to maximise your chances of a successful start. Their boosters are best equipped to deal with all the different states a battery, vehicle and components can be in.

We just want to make you aware, to get your expectations in the right place – that 100% successful boosts for all drivers in all situations will never happen.

By the way, there’s a way to both minimise your chance of breaking down and maximise your chance of a successful jump start…

Keeping your battery in best condition (50% of all breakdowns are battery related!). There are a couple of super simple ways. We covered this in our battery reconditioning guide.

No Power Supply

The bigger models, the GB70 and the GB150 can provide a 12V Power Supply.

This isn’t a big deal, most people won’t need this feature. But if you’d like to power a tyre inflator or an inverter, the GB70, for example, will give you a 15 Amp supply of 12V.

20 Jump Starts on One Full Charge?

Well, you’re unlikely to get that many. Super unlikely, if you want our honest opinion.

It’ll do 20 if your battery is just ever-so-slightly below the starting voltage threshold every single time. But that ain’t gonna be the case.

Sometimes, there will be a fairly high boost charge required, and it’ll take a hefty chunk out of your battery life.

That said, you’ll often be able to get a few jump starts off a single charge. Just keep an eye on the battery bars after each boost you do.

Other Things You Need To Know About The GB40

What are the other important things about this NOCO booster?

It’s A Powerful Power Bank

Easily enough to charge several devices, such as mobile phones, tablets etc.

However, using it to charge devices does reduce the power available for jump starts, so just stay conscious of the charge level and keep it topped up.

How To Recharge?

By USB (2.1A) 12V charger (cable included).

How Long to Charge?

It takes about 3 hours by USB 2A charging.

Is There A Light (Torch) On The Jump Starter?

Yes, there’s a flashlight, with 100 lumen brightness. This is bright enough for most users.

Does It Work For All Kinds Of Batteries?

Yes, all lead-acid batteries (flooded/wet, Gel, EFB, AGM etc.) . But not Lithium vehicle batteries.

Suitable for what kind of vehicles?

Cars, vans, trucks, boats, campervans, motorhomes, RVs, and all other vehicles with 12V batteries.

And check out the Specs below for the technical details.

What’s the best alternative jump starter?

The Topdon JS1200, has a higher Peak Amps, and lower price. Or pay a little more for the much more powerful JS3000.

NOCO GB40 Review: A Summary

You’ll have seen from this NOCO Boost Plus GB40 review, then, that it’s a very high quality jump starter and has plenty of power.

No jump starter is guaranteed to work every single time in every single situation but the GB40 will work a very high percentage of the time for small to medium sized vehicles. And a fairly high percentage of the time even on  medium to larger sized vehicles.

It’s well-made, very safe and, as a NOCO product, can be relied on far more than any other brand of jump starter.

If the NOCO Boost Plus GB40 Is The Right One For You…

You can buy it on Amazon here.