URGENT - Alde heating crisis
seat. Reading the book, says there should be ethylene glycol between a min and a max indicator. Think this is the thing in the wardrobe. Can't see any liquid in it at all.should the level be easily visible? All caravan dealers locally closed. I appeal to your
wisdom. Please help if you can. Heating worked fine at a site in November.
Comments
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We had similar with our Alde in Elddis. The yellow tap under seat is for draining hot water boiler when leaving site/storing.
The tall white plastic (our in wardrobe) is for the heating and we saw how low it was and I topped up with tap water as couldnt get any eth.g at the time. Sorted out temp and then let dealers check it when got home.
Thats only advise I can offer.
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Yes, the reservoir is usually in the wardrobe. Tall grey thing with clear window showing max and min. Do not open the heating system drain valve, if it has one, that will just vent off the liquid not the air. You need to open the bleed nipples which are near the top of heat exchangers. Open these until liquid comes out then retighten. Need to top up the reservior through the screw top mind as you are doing this.
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Yes the tank in the wardrobe is the antifreeze header for the hot water system and should be between max and min when cold. It will rise slightly when hot. If it was showing last time you used it possibly you have a leak as we have hardly put any in ours in two years. As Trini says you could try topping up with water if you don't have any fluid but you may also need to bleed the system ( bleed valves on pipes, plus on towel rail on ours). However, if you use water, you need to get it sorted immediately before putting into storage as if we get freezing weather severe very expensive damage could result. Good luck.
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It sounds like you need to top up your header tank, Catsize. Don’t worry about Glycol at this stage but note how much clean water you need to get the level to ‘min’. If it was a lot, get some glycol for that amount later and add it then. The Glycol is to
stop it freezing, which won’t happen while you’re using it and then not until it’s a lot colder. Next listen for the sound of a pump when the heating is on and the thermometer set high, else feel the pipes to see if they get hot. You may have burned the pump
out if it’s been on for a long time, but let’s hope not.I hope that sorts it out for you. Stay warm!
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Just a thought. I don't suppose the thermostat has not accidentally been turned down. Because even in this situation the Alde will still heat the hot water, which you say you have, it just won't heat the EG and run the circulation pump.
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This may help
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When you fill your header tank, I expect there to be a pump in the screwcap. That’s been spinning in air rather than circulation liquid and may need to be replaced if it’s burned-out. Eb*y will be cheaper than a dealer, but slower of course. Hopefully, it’ll
all be fine as soon as it can dip into the liquid. Don’t worry if there isn’t a pump there, some are lower down when installed in caravans.If you need to put a lot of water in (hard luck, because it can be a fiddle) you need to check that there isn’t a serious leak somewhere, or that the drain plug has not been pulled out. Look around the outside, underneath the van, for signs of water coming
out. The drain plug will be underneath your heater.If you only need to top up a little, there may be no need to do any bleeding. That should only be necessary if you have lost a lot of liquid and let air into the system that cannot find a way out by other means.
Let us know how you get on and what you find. I/we may be able to improve on the guidance you need. Aren’t you glad it’s not snowing?
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This may help
Write your comments here...good one micky. Certainly useful to carry on your phone!
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If all else fails, nip to Argos/Tesco/B&Q/Homebase etc etc tomorrow and buy a small fan heater to keep you warm.
We always carry a fan heater as a back-up for just this type of situation.
Also good to use for a faster warm-up on arrival on site.
Fan heater on 2kw, Ade on gas for 30 minutes, you will get warm very quickly.
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Now back in the land of iPad and decent internet. Firstly, a massive thank you for all your helpful replies. Sadly, none of them were received before we managed to (almost) solve the problem. I think that the storms may have affected internet availability
on my phone (if that is possible). Either way, it was pretty useless. I have tried to post lengthy replies today, taking 20mins at a time on a rubbish phone, only for them to disappear. I must have looked very ungrateful, which I am not - you've been brilliant.
And reassuring when I finally got to read the read again!So, what did we do? Night 1, survived without heating. Next day, someone kindly lent us a heater. And they confirmed that the thing in the wardrobe was bone dry. And that the yellow valve was irrelevant to our quest.
Night 2. Managed with a heater - the local caravan places were all closed.
Next day, 70 mile round trip to a dealership in Shrewsbury, got a litre of the magic liquid. Fed it to our thirsty caravan, and it drank nearly all the bottle! This is a little troubling, as I gather from most of your posts that
this should not happen, may be a leak somewhere. Waited 20mins or so, then bled the system using the valve on the towel rail in the bathroom.Night 3, lovely and toasty and warm thanks to Alde heating working.
Night 4, we had further problems with the heating in that it did not seem to be firing up and it got rather chilly so we reverted to the borrowed heater.
Today, before leaving, it was tested again and seemed okay.
We rang our dealership today as they are now open again, but nobody in servicing etc. until Monday. I think it merits someone having a look. It seems like some of you may agree with that - particularly troubling is the poster who hasn't had to do anything
to the liquid in two years.We have had various dramas on this trip, including having to smash the car window as our toddler locked herself in the car. It was a little breezy on the way home.
Your support on here gave me a warm glow in chilly Wales - thank you again.
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Leaks are pretty rare.
As the van is quite new, it's possible that there has been a fair bit of air left in the system from when it was first filled. Each time you tow the van, the motion dislodges some air bubbles, and the level of the Glycol sinks, till it reaches the point
where the pump no longer circulates the liquid.There is also the possibility that you could have a faulty automatic boiler air vent, this would allow fluid to escape to the outside via the fitted pipe.
We had trouble with both these issues, once sorted we have not had to top up the fluid in years (apart of course from changing it as advised by Alde).
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Chin-up, Catsize, you must be enjoying it enough to put up with such an unfortunate start! It can only get better from now on! If covered by warranty, I’d let the dealer fix it, but seek an explanation so that you have learned something – it could happen
again. If the system is leaking, the liquid must be going somewhere and there should be signs of it. I forget the colours of the circulating liquid but think that what you put in is the ‘good’ stuff (lasts for 5 years). However, I don’t think it’s wise to
mix the types in use, so show your dealer exactly what you’ve put in. They can flush out and re-fill if necessary.Best of luck for your future outings.
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Thank you very much both of you. Yes, I put in the 'good stuff' - Alde's own. At least I will sound more knowledgable when I ring the dealer. You are right rogher, I totally have the bug, but I always knew I would. We are planning a month away in June to
take advantage of lower prices before my eldest starts school in September. I hope not to have too many technical mishaps on that trip, but who knows... I need to brush up on my technical knowledge before we go I think. Don't want an electrics problem in Slovenia
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I recommend that you consider rallying with your local centre, Catsize. If you’re lucky they will have something going on most week-ends and fairly local. Kids are usually well catered for and you can exchange all sorts of experience.
May you have many years of enjoyment from your new hobby.
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Thank you rogher. Our very first trip was to a rally. Literally picked up the caravan and drove to the rally. People thought we were brave/utterly bonkers, but it made a lot of sense - a more relaxed atmosphere and people very willing to help us out
(like when we realised 'after the event' that we hadn't been told how to flush the loo - just thought you had to press the button. Oops). Had lots of space to pitch, albeit it was on a huuuuge slope.0
