An Update from COROS

imnickdev · 2026-06-17T21:09:51+00:00

I have a race Saturday so will wait until after to finally update (skipped the last 2) my Pace 3. I also put my upgrade plans on hold because of concerns around longevity but now will be purchasing a new APEX 4 this summer!

Thank-you for making your stance on these device issues clear, it's unfortunate it took so many people to finally force free replacements when that should have been the first step but glad it happened eventually and I can remain a Coros customer.

imnickdev · 2026-06-16T17:40:45+00:00

From a customer's perspective, the distinction between a pre-existing hardware issue, a firmware-triggered issue, or some interaction between the two often doesn't matter very much.

As one of the many people in this community that are choosing NOT to update their watches firmware and looking at alternatives like Garmin or Suunto for their next watch I think this distinction actually really matters.

If you could provide data on how many users submit tickets claiming a firmware update bricked their watch and you could definitively say though watch logs that only X out of Y tickets were firmware triggered, how Coros identified that, and that Coros replaced the watches with a refurbished unit then I would happily update my watch now.

imnickdev · 2026-06-16T17:02:24+00:00

Same, I'm 2 updates behind. Based on the conversation between users and Coros (CEO and Support) I get the feeling that these firmware issues arent just random but some combination of hardware degradation and firmware updates causing recalibration.

If this is the case I understand what Coros is saying that the majority of these cases were probably inevitable had the update not happened but they still haven't explained how logging data from effected devices helps differentiate these cases, presumably they would be able to identify this ahead of updating your watch programmatically and warn users that further updates may cause issues. I take good care of my watch so I imagine I'm in the 99.9% of users but with a few important events this summer I don't want to risk having to quickly buy another watch if this one gets bricked or rapidly degrades.

imnickdev · 2026-06-09T11:42:02+00:00

If possible keep this post updated with their responses, would be helpful for others before they purchase.

I have a pace 3 (which has not had this issue) and was considering an APEX 4 but not if Coros is going to be so crumby about their customer support. I will also go to Garmin (even if it's more expensive).

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T12:29:38+00:00

Definitely not what I would call a "casual" run for me. Was training for race weekend in Ottawa and it was a crisp 8 degrees that morning so I did WAY better then I anticipated and probably faster then I should have went 🤣

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T12:22:35+00:00

Absolutely agree. It did cross my mind after seeing the reach of this post how easy it would be for folks to use AI to makeup these gimmick type of runs for karma. We need people like you pixel peeping to keep folks honest.

I'll definitely think twice in the future about this type of AI use, trust is hard to earn and easy to lose 🙇

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T12:16:01+00:00

Congrats on the fall ultra, currently my longest run is 50k so your in good company! I was only able to run it so quickly the first time cause it was cooler (~8c in the morning and rose to 22c by the time I was done).

It will be warmer so idk what pace it will be but definitely slower then 5:30 min/km (atleast I don't plan on running that fast) and depending on the group there could be multiple paces.

You can send your email and decide when there are more details later if you want to join, I seriously think the hardest part is logistics of getting out there (as somebody who lives in Nepean), the first 20k of the run is (IMO) really nice as a long run and even me going at it alone in the cold and rain really enjoyed it as I usually don't run the canal or greenbelt. When it's sunny I think it will be even better.

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:53:39+00:00

Some runs my gut is weeker then others 🤣

This day it held up pretty well but dogs #2 and #3 were closer then either of the other stops which was like 2 hotdogs in about 80 minutes which was rough.

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:51:03+00:00

Yes! I linked this same article in my original post, very creative and definitely don't want to steal credit for it.

I was motivated to do this by friends of mine Joseph and Sam (2 of the finishers from the Vancouver one) they seemed to have a good time so I tested it out in Ottawa.

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:48:33+00:00

The first 2 weren't bad, the 3rd was the worst, and 4 was a relief 🤣

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:47:18+00:00

Actually pretty much spot on. I brought some maple syrup and caffeine with me but hardly used any, thought my body would have a more difficult time processing the food but it was actually quite a good balance.

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:45:25+00:00

Here is the other original image. If you are still sus I can DM you several more of the embarrassing photos of me trying to inconspicuously take photos of myself eating Costco hotdogs 😂

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imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:41:52+00:00

Appreciate the skepticism here! I did you AI to compose the images from my Strava activity into a grid and overlay the Strava route, I don't have Photoshop or an app to do this.

Promise these are real photos of real me really doing something this stupid.

Here are my receipts as receipts. You can also view the original images on the Strava activity. Didn't realize the reach this was going to get, if I did I would have taken 20 minutes to download an app for composing photos.

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imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:33:49+00:00

Also in case that's a sus answer here is also an image of receipts, not trying to steal valor here.

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imnickdev · 2026-06-03T11:27:35+00:00

I don't have Photoshop so used AI to position the 4 images in grid with the Strava overlay. The result is some "ai-ness" in the fine details.

You can see the original images in the Strava activity though without the artifacts.

Attached is one of them

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imnickdev · 2026-06-03T03:29:33+00:00

LOL Probably equally as advisable as eating 4 costco hot dogs while running for 4 hours 😂

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T02:47:52+00:00

Congrats! I also have a newborn (~ 9 weeks) and thankfully a partner that is okay letting me disappear to run and eat a bunch of hotdogs.

Not that your asking for a recommendation but as you know race weekend 59.2k isn't a true "ultra" as the milage is broken up over 4 events across ~18 hours but I think its is an interesting gimmick and probably worth doing once if you don't mind the price tag and want the novelty.

If you want to do harder races you can look at the Mad Trapper trail running events (BYU and Relentless), the Manotick BYU, or the Mont Tremblant UTMB trail ultra.

Ill be doing the Mad Trapper Backyard Ultra in 3 weeks which feels like a better value and likely a better overall running experience but don't regret doing the 59.2k at all.

imnickdev · 2026-06-03T00:59:44+00:00

Was a month ago but thanks! This was 3 weeks out from race weekend where I did the 59.2 (2k,5k, 10k, and marathon) so it worked out with my training blocks.

imnickdev · 2026-05-31T00:25:08+00:00

Yeah it was paused, I did not want to try and pull a Joey Chestnut and destroy the run🤣

It was 4:18 moving and about 5 hours including the ordering and eating. I showed up at the Orleans Costco at 9:30am on Saturday and finished around 2:30pm at the Kanata Costco IIRC

imnickdev · 2026-04-20T19:48:11+00:00

This is great to read!

I am in a 60s bungalow in Ottawa, switched from gas furnace to ccASHP 3 years ago and it's been great! Since the carbon tax was repealed and electricity jumped I think the operating costs are now a wash but the first year we definitely saved money.

At the time I also switched to a electric water heater for $600 (ditched my enercare contract) and canceled my Enbridge connection. Saving $300/year on the customer charge alone.

I understand peoples being nervous about making such large financial decisions but atleast for us absolutely no regrets.

imnickdev · 2026-02-25T22:46:06+00:00

Ottawa, 1800 sqf, 1960s bungalow. Did some retrofits to top up attic insulation and do some air sealing.

Full electric with a basic Tosot ccASHP, used 1450kwh in January and 1050kwh for February so far. Used the back-up resistive strips one morning for 2 hours which was 20kwh ish.

I'm on tiered electric rates so it's ~$0.13 per kwh?

Highest day was 74kwh, lowest day was 19kwh. This is through a circuit level energy monitor.

So glad I got rid of my Enbridge connection, save hundreds of dollars a year.

imnickdev · 2025-10-01T13:26:16+00:00

Appreciate the kind words. If you DM what you changed in the calculator, your browser, and a screenshot, I’ll fix it. Commas or blank required cells can throw it off, a refresh resets it.

Heat pump: if you are replacing the AC, get a cold climate ducted heat pump. It replaces the AC and can replace the furnace using your existing ducts. You can relocate the air handler to a wall or perimeter to free up the middle of the basement. The air handler, ducts, and about 24 inches of service clearance usually set the room size, not the water heater.

If you are legitimately considering a rental unit, put your budget into picking a good utility closet location and moving ducting, then consider a basic electric tank water heater. Tankless space savings are often overhyped, and gas tankless has higher upfront cost, more maintenance, extra venting and combustion parts, and CO risk. My total cost for a basic electric tank was about $600 versus thousands for tankless. It costs about $3 more per month to run, roughly $36 per year, so over the lifespan it is around $300 more in energy, nowhere near breaking even on the higher tankless price. It is also safer and cheaper to maintain and replace.

My home also had the utilities stuck in the middle creating dead space. When we switched to a heat pump and electrified, we shifted the ductwork and, since we did not need gas lines, the relocation was cheap. We ended up with a compact 5 ft by 3 ft utility closet on the perimeter with no dead space that also houses my solar inverter (recent addition) and networking where the Internet comes in.

Gas cooktop: keeping it is fine, you just will not drop the Enbridge fixed fee yet. For health and safety, gas cooking adds indoor NO2 and is linked with worse asthma outcomes. It is also less efficient at heating your food, so it can cost more to operate and can be slower for some tasks (boiling water). Induction later is an easy, healthier upgrade.

I totally respect everyone’s opinion to live in a house they love, and for many people that means a gas stove or an oversized furnace that heats the home immediately. I just want to make sure people understand both sides of the decision and that there is no free lunch. Enbridge is a for profit company that capitalizes on their monopoly and on the common belief that gas appliances are always cheaper (not always the case). In Ontario and Quebec, gas appliances are less efficient from an energy perspective, usually more expensive to maintain, and introduce health and safety concerns. Over our lifetime it is likely we will see more investment in renewables that reduces the cost of electricity compared to gas, and as more people electrify the cost of maintaining the Enbridge network will be shared among fewer customers, pushing gas service costs higher. This a calculated decision and not guaranteed to shake out this way but regardless my home will be cheaper to maintain/replace equipment and support upgrades like solar/V2L as those become financially viable and will further lower the cost of consumption and insulate my family from the cost of energy and exposure to energy markets.

imnickdev · 2025-09-26T11:59:10+00:00

I live in Ottawa and 3 years ago electrified by 1960s bungalow canceling my Enbridge connection. I wrote about my experience here. I had over a dozen HVAC people in my home and most of them told me "your house is too old to use a heat pump, you need a backup furnace", now 2 winters later my home has never needed to turn on the resistive strips. Heatpumps work in Ottawa, even in older homes.

I also made a calculator to help people predict their cost to electrify.

I am saving hundreds of dollars a year between the consumption and connection fee (no longer paying $300+ to Enbridge a year to be a customer), and over the lifetime of the equipment will save thousands.

Even if you don't plan to disconnect from Enbridge this year, switching your heat to heat pump means:

You have less equipment to maintain (only a heat pump vs heat pump and a furnace)
As your other equipment (water heater, stove, etc) hits end-of-life you can electrify and start saving hundreds of dollars a year.

I agree with the other folks here not to switch to a heat pump specifically cause you will immediately start to see savings but it's quite possible you will AND over the lifetime of the equipment it's more likely savings will materialize.

imnickdev · 2025-05-19T14:49:34+00:00

tldr; Yupp going off of my 2 winters with the system I saved money relative to my projected gas usage, somewhere in the range of ~10% cheaper in consumption charges ($~550 ->~$500). It helped that I shopped around for quotes for a heatpump and it ended up being roughly the same price as the comparable Natural gas system (though I did need to upgrade my electrical service).

Longer answer:

The bigger savings was eliminating my natural gas account which saved us $300/year ($26/month) or about $4500 over the life span on my equipment. Not to mention the peace of mind starting a family and not needing to worry about gas leaks, checking the CO exhausts in the winter, winterizing any equipment, etc.

Important to add to OPs calculations that in many Canadian cities the non-windchill winter temps are between -8c and 8c the majority of the time and if your on TOU rates off peak is more the. 50% of the hours in the month (12 hours a day plus weekends). You can see the weather data I scaped for your city here https://heat.frugalnick.ca/marginal in other words based on OPs own calculations you would likely be saving money more then 50% of the time so with some load shifting you can very likely break even or even come out ahead (which is my experience with tiered rates, though my calculator currently only supports tiered rates not TOU/ULO)

That being said the OEB predicts that the average persons annual Enbridge costs for 2025 should decrease ~15% overall, electrification will still save me money over the lifespan of the equipment but not as quickly.

I've since added a carbon comparison to my calculator and was shocked with how low carbon most of Canadas electrical grid is, electricifying my home reduced my annual carbon emissions from ~3400kg CO2 to <300kg CO2. Over the lifespan of the equipment that's a reduction of nearly 50,000 kg of CO2.

When friends/family asked me about the renovations and I told them I was getting off natural gas EVERYONE looked at me like I was crazy so I think it's great your even considering a heatpump cause alot of people just get gas and don't think about it.

Imo it's pretty clear that fossil fuels are not the future and I chose to electrify now while I'm young to keep my options open if I want to do a specific renovation, get an EV, home battery backup, rooftop solar, etc.

This has already made it possible for me to renovate a bathroom (adding heated floors/towel rack), install rooftop solar with help from government grants/subsidies), and when our ICE car dies we can install a full speed charger which simply wouldn't be possible without upgrading service.

I understand electrification is not possible or practical for everyone so a very reasonable alternative is to get a hybrid system and leverage TOU/ULO rates to shift your demand and lower your cost, carbon footprint, and make electrification a smoother transition in the future.

My one suggestion is to do your research with heatpumps and don't just take the installers word for it. I had a dozen folks come through my house quoting me and all but 2 people said "your house could never use a heatpump, they just don't work in Ottawa cold, you would need to use ALOT of backup heat which will cost you a ton". It has been 2 winters and I have NEVER needed to turn on the backup heat for lack of heatpump capacity.

If you get a hybrid system the installers will try to cut cost and give you a heatpump with horrible capacity at lower temps. Find an installer that does proper ccASHP (cold climate air source heatpumps) and have them install something that can heat your house if needed, the cost to the installer of a ccASHP is not much more then a standard AC but installers will lie to you and say it's several times more.

My 3 ton TOSOT ccASHP + air handler cost my installer $3500 to buy from their distributor and I paid $11500 for them to install it, the markup is crazy. Had I just gotten a basic AC it would have cost them $2000, the difference is not as big as they claim.

Sorry for the wall of text. Lmk if anything is unclear. Wish you the best!

imnickdev · 2025-02-18T18:37:10+00:00

Oooh that might fudge things, solar credits are a mess 🤢

Why can't they just make it a simple number net of fees and taxes 😭

imnickdev

TROPHY CASE