Alde Tips and Tricks
Comments
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DD, not familiar with ALDE either but have read on the Truma threads that the 'process' of reheating water to keep it at a set temp (truma would be 40 or 60 deg) only works well on 60 deg, whereas on 40, the water is 'allowed' to cool well below this before
the heater kicks back in....i take it youve tried all settings of water temp and priorities...?
my morning 'process' (if not having heating on low all night which will also result in a full tank of hot water) is to set heat and water but with water on 'boost' which prioritises water over heat....20 mins later, water is up to 60 (enough for two showers)
and then the heating comes full on.....warming the van but, critically, maintaining water temp.from what you describe, heating and hot water are totally separate with the 'heating' process not heating water (or maintaining its temp, as a by product.
notwithstanding this, if you have water ON (especially if prioritised) then it should remain warm.
another thought, the ALDE boiler only holds 8.4l of water compared to 10l in the Truma.....when attempting two consecutive showers, (not) enough just to make a difference
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I am not sure I am following the OPs comments. When the Alde gets the heating up to temperature the boiler does not stop heating the water, all that happans is the space heating is no longer provided with hot fluid. The pump does not run.
If the standard water temperature is not high enough, then "boost" the water temperature [in my case selecting the "tap" icon]. Then the water temperature is raised but the space heating is for 30 minutes disabled. Just be very careful not to scalled anyone,
as it goes to dangerous levels, but the water "goes further" as more cold is needed in the shower mixer.0 -
yes, i guessed the ALDE worked as ocsid describes....ie similar to the Truma apart from the way of getting heat to the van....fluid rather than air.....but the maintenance of water temp and 'boost' functions appear the same....
we manage to get two hot showers, primarily because i am very thrifty (first in.....) so OH gets a longer, but still hot shower.
the Ecocamels are working well, thanks....they do use less water and still give a good spray.
with the water at 60 (or more on boost) it takes quite a vit of cold to bring it down to a comfortable temp, so ekes it out much further....ie, the hotter the water in the boiler, the more mixed showering water you'll get...
i do have a nagging feeling that either the temp of the water isnt that high at the start (have you put your person under the tap to test?) or that the slightly smaller hot tank capacity has an impact...
ocsid, can ypu get two consecutive decent hot showers from one tank with your ALDE?
at least this would give DD a direct comparison.
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A way the stored hot water can be at a lowered temperature.
If the demand on the space heating are high but the input power to the boiler is low, ie trying to do wonders on say 2kW electric when really gas levels of input power is needed, then both the fluid and so the hot water will be below the controlled level.
This should not be the OP's case as I understood the space heating was satisfied.
We can get two showers from the Alde, but we both know how to use kit like this and not expect domestic shower performances. We nearly always are on gas so the heat recovery means these showers are not based on just the stored energy, but both the stored and the recovery generated from the gas over the time we take showers.
I suspect some of the issues people have with Alde, is a belief 1 kW of electrical heating can do a 3 or 4 kW job. Running on both gas and electricity is best, gas will only be used if it is actually needed to meet what we ask the Alde to do, the Alde is designed that way.
Hope you get things sorted.
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We had the same problem in the SWIFT. You cannot have two showerer without a delay between them. Ours had a quick warm up on the control panel for the water but it still took 30 minutes. You can also use them on Gas, Electric or Gas & Electric. The Gas & Electric works much better. You will find if you are on many CL Sites that the heating will trip the electrics or it will when you put the kettle on.
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DD whilst not familar with Alde heating,does it not turn the heating off when the boost function is selected.What does concern me from an electrical point of view is that you do not trip the supply with such load on your system.A domestic 3kw kettle draws
around 12.5 amps and if you have the heating on 3kw as your post above you are potentially drawing well over 16 amps.Something doesn't sound right or working correctly.0 -
Because of the way the Alde works, only using gas if the electricity is not enough, when reheating the water we find we get a better result using only gas, so we turn off the electricity to the boiler. Ours is only 2kw.
We can hear when the gas kicks in and had noticed that when one of us was showering, even with the water boost on, the Alde used only electricity.
We usually put the boost on about 15 minutes before the first shower, and refresh the boost
if necessary as we leave about 15 minutes between showers.With the temperature of the cold water at the moment, reheating will take longer.
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If there are no demands on the Alde then one would expect it not to be taking power. It is probably bright enough to correct any wild heat loss by bursts at 1 kW, and those should be infrequent till a demand is placed on the boiler.
Everything suggests your showering style can't be satisfied by a 8 odd litre boiler alone, at least in the current ambient.
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You'll be getting all of a lather now.
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