Serious issue with Alde 3020HE heating system
I have a lightly used Coachman VIP 575 2020 vintage. We bought it new and until last year have been very pleased with it. However, on our last trip in September 2023 the electric heating and hot water system stated to trip the internal electric supply. The Alde system works fine on gas, but our maintainer, after speaking with Alde technicians, advises that both electric heating elements are faulty.
This will necessitate the full removal of the 3020 system main unit from the caravan and be shipped to Alde for complete rebuild! Clearly this is going to be a very expensive repair on a unit that started to fail at just over 3 years old.
Further, our fitted fridge has a blockage in the matrix requiring a full replacement at whatever cost that may be.
So my story is one of disappointment in that two of the major facilities in relatively recent caravan have totally failed and require very expensive repairs. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced similar disappointments?
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I have been told by Alde it is unusal for the heating element to go. my 3010 is 12 years old and stlll going stong although I did have electrical heating problems with mine about 18 months/2 years ago which was how I came to speak with Alde. My problem was intermittent supply to the boiler which I never did fully pin down but it has been faultless this past couple of years. I would make dam sure your fault is not external to the boiler before committing to removing it and sending it back although if Alde found nothing wrong with it, it might not cost you so much.
peedee
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mellorg - if it's any consolation - and it probably won't be - the heating elements in our Truma Combi 6E have been replaced three times (four if you count the time the dealer fitted new ones incorrectly) in the last 5 years. The latest repair involved a complete re-build of the boiler and cost £750!! We use our van every month for a week and sometimes two and given what I have read on the internet that equates to about 18 months use per set of elements! I am just hoping that the modifications that Truma have recently introduced to the elements will enure a slightly longer lifespan. I tend to use it on gas more than electricity since there is less to wear out using that heat source.
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My Alde 3020 started having intermittent electrical faults last year - frequently no electric power reaching the unit. Ran OK on gas. Van went to main dealer (Oxford Caravans) several times but they never found the problem. Van returned to me each time with a bill for testing and fixing the problem - but as soon as I towed the van to a site, no power to Alde on arrival.
I eventually contacted a mobile van service firm, who had an Alde trained technician. He tested the system electrics and identified the problem. The specific Alde power cut out in the consumer unit was faulty. Replaced at small cost, and no trouble since.
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The specific Alde power cut out in the consumer unit was faulty. Replaced at small cost, and no trouble since.
Thats interesting, that is the area I was suspicious of with my Alde electrical problems but I never did manage to pin it down. I will definitely keep that in mind if the problem re- occurs. I have left well alone and leave that switch permanently on these days.
peedee
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Mine did, the last time, peedee - well, within a couple of days of each other. I have a power meter in the van so I can see how much current is being drawn at any one time, so it was easy to see when one had failed - and then the other. What I can't understand is that with a domestic immersion heater - they virtually last forever - and when they do go - it's an easy and cheap fix to replace it.
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