The new controllers they will be releasing in 2023 that have drive ports which the Kraken and the XD have a 1.5a limit per port and 3amp total for the XD with three drive ports and a 4 amp total limit for the Kraken with 4 drive ports. I guess they are listening when designing the nee devices. There will always be some kind of limit. The higher it is the more expensive the controller will be as a general rule. The XD does require a external power pack but it has a separate port to hook it up and it will also supply power to the control buss if needed. The Kraken has a huge 24v power supply but it also has 8 24v DC outputs on it. They call then Force Ports. It will power and control pumps such as the Neptune PMUP pumps if you are into making a GX12 to microfit 3.0 connector. I don't know if CoralVue will ever make a connector for doing that but it is easy enough to do. Also The Kraken 24v outputs can be used to power the controllers like the XD and WE instead of using individual power packs for each. It can also replace the power packs used for most 24v DC pumps. It will not replace the controllers though.You keep saying that, but not everyone can make that work. I bought this system, *specifically* for it's ability to control my AWC, which requires a wifi power bar (they didn't have a hard wired one at the time). Had they included a disclaimer that you shouldn't use their wifi power bars for these applications, I certainly wouldn't have bought it.
Again, not an option for everyone. My AWC fill pump and ATO are too far away and draw too much power for that to work. In order to even get the AWC working properly, I had to move my ATO from the (very reliable) Tunze system over the the Hydros. The little tiny Tunze pump draws a hair too much power so the Hydros wouldn't even try. I ended up having to use the drive port to control a relay and a relay to turn the ATO pump on and off.
Yet another workaround.
I can't tell, but I really hope you understand why this isn't acceptable.
That's where I'm headed. I wouldn't buy any more of their stuff since it, empirically, does not work properly. It really shows what they think of their customers when they release this garbage.
As soon as I can find a good replacement for the AWC, the hydros is in the garbage.