Only Care About Reliability - APEX or GHL
- Thread starter LadyTang2
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It’s interesting @KenO that GHL P4 has real internal serial numbers for each device. Everyone else seems to just put a sticker on the outside and that’s it, the exception being the head units. So can the P4 do true plug and play? Have you ever plugged everything out and just reset the controller and let it detect everything again and see if a saved profile works?
GHL does put serial numbers on all the external equipment. I never looked to see if the add in cards for pH, etc have serial numbers or not.
When I did the firmware update to the latest beta version 7.24 which is a major update, I had to add back in all of my devices.I don’t remember the exact steps, but once I added in all the devices, I ran the restore and my system was back to normal.
Nope none of them are perfect but except in cases where you get a unit with a manufacturing defect a well made system should run for a good 10 years or more before a single problem occurs.
As for the software restore, it's not a big deal as I have only had to use it once in 15 years and that was due to a self inflicted problem. I just keep the backups in case Murphy decides to visit
I watched your video and it brought back some nightmares of my first swim into the GHL waters.
Yes it is all so very counter intuitive and modular but the modules are kind of stackable and reusable in a way you will understand when you use it some more. I am also use to the Hysteresis ( Hiss-ta-ri-sis)
function. Once you get past all of the programs you will probably never go back in there again so it's not a bad trade off.BTW are you sure that the conditional aspect of the XYZ programs do not work? I noticed you said that and my draw dropped because that would be a huge issue if true
If you think Apex is easy you should see how Aquatronica does their system. It uses one system for programming that basically creates a step by step menu that guides you for the simplest of programs to the hardest and it also has all the nice little extras that you found in the Profilux (except power monitoring).
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You pulled the video.... Why?
Edit: nvm, for some reason it required me to view it on youtube...
This poll is pure BS because it welcomes responses from those who lack the hands-on experience to give a quality vote. Instead, it has just brought out the complainers, the fanbois, and those who obviously based their response on hearsay or just opinion. I have a fine old friend who is a huge Ford fan, and he cannot resist any opportunity he sees to trashtalk Chevy, Dodge, BMW, and just about every other car make. But he has never owned any vehicle other than a Ford in the 30+ years I've known him. There's a lot of controller owners just like him.
I have used Neptune controllers for about 18 years. Between my daughter and I we currently have 8 Apexes and ApexELs. Before that there were 5 older Apex/Apex Lites plus an Apex Jr and prior those, a AC2 & 2 AC3. The few Apex hardware problem I've have been my own fault. I cannot say that for the 2 Profiluxes that went to electronics recycling at less than a year old. The GHLs were a major disappointment, and support was almost nonexistent.
I have used Neptune controllers for about 18 years. Between my daughter and I we currently have 8 Apexes and ApexELs. Before that there were 5 older Apex/Apex Lites plus an Apex Jr and prior those, a AC2 & 2 AC3. The few Apex hardware problem I've have been my own fault. I cannot say that for the 2 Profiluxes that went to electronics recycling at less than a year old. The GHLs were a major disappointment, and support was almost nonexistent.
The only problem with your analogy is that this is like your friend going onto a Ford forum and is seeing a lot more members saying the BMW is more reliable than Ford or just not commenting. After all there must be at least 50 Apex users on here for every GHL user.
Keep in mind this whole thread only deals with one aspect of both controllers. Everyone has pretty much said the Apex wins the ease of setup and GUI aspects plus CS and tech support.
Are you saying the Apex is superior in every area?
There are accounts in here of people who owned both and provided their opinions. And then theres those that are once removed with friends that switched over to GHL. But you're right about one thing, there are a lot of neptune system fan boys in this thread.
If I started this thread I would've asked why so many people are switching over to GHL? And explored the possibility that it might be an image issue with neptune. Is it the perception that they started caring less about customers/product and more about profit. Have they lost what made them great?
When I look at the direction GHL went with their product line, I see a company that champions engineering innovation over procuring mass produced parts and slapping a grey and orange case around it. I see that a company chooses component longevity over known flaws that lead to premature death.
So, what about that ford guy that never owned a BMW and goes on the ford site to admire the BMW for its engineering dominance?
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ION Director not released yet.
I don't have a Trident.
I do have 2 KHD's. I love them. I mentioned this before, one of my units had a bad internal pump and needed to be sent in for service. Since then it has been working as expected. I run mine 2x/day. Now I use a standard 0.01N acid vs the GHL reagent. If I check the ALK on my tanks as compared to the the Hanna, I am within 0.1-0.2 dKH. I run CAL Rx on both my setups and the ALK levels stay very stable. The units were fairly easy to setup and calibrate. The instructions were easy to follow.
lmm1967
Well-Known Member
Thing to note - you can NOT run multiple KHD's on 1 P4 or P4e - a ProfiLux controller is only able to manage 1 KHD.
I only have the Trident but from what I am reading both units work very well.
If you need all three readings Ca, Alk and Mg and have an Apex then the Trident is your only choice for now. If your already using a GHL controller then the Kh Director is your best option.
If you are in none of the above cases then you have a tough decision to make.
1) if I only needed an Alk reading and had a different model controller other than the Apex 2016 or GHL Profilux 4 then my choices are the Alkatronic or the Kh Director stand alone. Personally I would get the Alkatronic if I already had another model controller like RKE or Aquatronica etc. Since the Alkatronic allows me to use its readings to do stuff with my controllers programs.
2) If I had no controller at all and wanted just Alk it would be a coin toss between the KH director and the Alkatronic.
3) If I needed Alk, Ca and Mg and had no controller or a different model controller I would just invest in an ApexEL and a Trident. (This is what I did). I don't use the ApexEL for anything other than running the Trident.
As for the Ion Director I will wait until I actually see a video of one running before I recommend it to anybody.
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