Next gen vortech coming?

[MikeTheNewbie]

It was very interesting to see Vortechs with 20% discount today.
I don't remember seeing them heavily discounted before and I wonder why they would want to clear inventory.
I can understand the discount on their Sky lights but I'm intrigued about the Vortechs.
I do know that they had trouble sourcing chips and they had to use a different chip that is not backwards compatible with the non Mobius firmware.
So the high demand for Vortechs, the somewhat challenging production environment, and the extraordinary discount make wonder if they are planning to release a new version of the pump.
Maybe they will make a new version that is compatible with Apex like they used to be?
Hope they continue Neptune's history of compatibility and long product lifecycles and they don't fall in the temptation of planned obsolescence.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Like the other 93847503747 threads about this. It's all about a glut in supply. No one is buying the premium reefing items. The reefing hobby is drying up post COVID. The 20% off is to lure you in.

 

[CoralB]

Can only hope so but either way they are great pumps and in my opinion their customer service is still better than most companies or it could be what lbrdsoxfan said lol !!!

 

[rtparty]

Highly doubtful. The patent is still good for at least 3 years. They will save any major changes for that so they can extend another 17 years or whatever it is.

This is classic retail strategy that this industry has not participated in in the past. Excess inventory, more inventory on the way for Black Friday, lull in sales, people dropping out of the hobby, and a brand new release so you get other stuff in the ecosystem to go on sale.

Ecotech doesn't need to do anything to make their stuff Neptune compatible. That is already coming and likely just a new module of some kind (which makes no sense since they're all WiFi but I'm sure we will have to pay a $100 premium for it.)