Alde heating

[channa]

I am considering buying a van with the sled wet central heating system ..I understand the anti freeze mix needs periodic changing ....but do people have any experience of performance ? Is it more efficient in gas useage? Effective as a system ? What are folks thoughts and observations?m

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[phillybarbour]

ALDE heating is brilliant and by far the best heating system in a van. Big advantages are best seen in colder weather ie it’s near silent in running, and not a dry heat. The distribution of heat is better as the radiators are normally placed on the outside against the walls. Disadvantage is takes a while (30 mins plus) to get going. If you only ever use a van in warmer weather you don’t gain from the advantages By the same margin. Runs fine on gas or electric but heats up much quicker at start on gas. For someone like me who takes the van on ski trips ALDE heating is no. 1 on my essential list of features. The heating can also normally be run off the engine heating while driving giving free heating to arrive at destination warm. This feature needs a heat exchanger which most ALDE systems have fitted.

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[Nabsim]

I think it states on the Alde site Andrew, I know Charlie went to Alde to get his changed on the Alde system in his Hymer. Something hadn’t been fitted right at the factory and they sorted everything fir what Charlie thought was a reasonable cost. i maybe wrong but I think it’s every two years

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[Sharon the Cat]

We have Alde heating on our van. One type of mix should be changed every 2 years and the other every 5 years. We had a problem with ours and the system had to be bled because we were living in it. They told us if you are living in it then you need to release a bit of air from the tank every 2 weeks, a little yellow lever on the tank under the seat/bed that you lift for 2 seconds. I am very interested in Phillybarbours comment re the heat exchanger but don't really understand such things.

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[maingate]

I prefer the Alde system Andrew. It's a fiddle to do it yourself but can be done. Best done on a slope with the drain point at the low end. You need to open every bleed nipple on the radiators to help drain down. When drained you have to fill it at the small bottle (where the pump is) and it takes time and needs lots of bleeding. The professionals pump the new liquid in, thus pushing the old fluid out. Well worth the cost I think, they have the proper gear to do this and I did not.

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[andyjanet]

Love ours, In the new truck we are having a switch with thermostat fitted as I can’t be doing with electronic touch pads that do amazing things after you’ve read the 300 page manual

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[maingate]

Love ours, In the new truck we are having a switch with thermostat fitted as I can’t be doing with electronic touch pads that do amazing things after you’ve read the 300 page manual Yours must be the 3010 or 3020 system. I have the 3000 and looked at doing the same as you but it is not really possible due to the method of the Alde thermocouple for on/off switching. It needs a tighter temperature control arrangement than what is standard.

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[harrow]

I prefer the Alde system Andrew. It's a fiddle to do it yourself but can be done. Best done on a slope with the drain point at the low end. You need to open every bleed nipple on the radiators to help drain down. When drained you have to fill it at the small bottle (where the pump is) and it takes time and needs lots of bleeding. The professionals pump the new liquid in, thus pushing the old fluid out. Well worth the cost I think, they have the proper gear to do this and I did not. this makes a very good point because it adds to the running cost if it is so difficult to service, we know that the coolant has a limited lifespan. :)

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[oppy]

Went to Aldi today, no heating on the shelves, some good wine though and a rather odd looking carrot

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[REC]

Went to Aldi today, no heating on the shelves, some good wine though and a rather odd looking carrot I seriously read it as Aldi first time, doh!

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[QFour]

The ALDE heating system is great and gets to all the little corners in the van unlike blown air which just warms up the air in the middle. The whole MH gets warm and stays warm. Our Laika has heating ducts underneath the dashboard and also in the garage, with lots of insulation it is very warm. It's also handy if you can have it on when on the move as it stops the horrible arctic drafts from the back when the heating is not on. You only find this feature on foreign vans though as you need the power on in the back. You don't notice it running and the pump is next to a bed in a cupboard. Ours will run on EHU and really keeps everything warm.

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[r4dent]

Great fan of the 3020 system in our van. If hooked up we start the heat up on both gas and electric then switch the gas off and use just Electric to maintain temperature. We've only got the basic system but there are all sorts of things you can add on e.g. you can control it by sending texts from your mobile. Interesting that, so far, no one with the system has said bad things. Doesn't happen it lot on this site.

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[phillybarbour]

We have Alde heating on our van. One type of mix should be changed every 2 years and the other every 5 years. We had a problem with ours and the system had to be bled because we were living in it. They told us if you are living in it then you need to release a bit of air from the tank every 2 weeks, a little yellow lever on the tank under the seat/bed that you lift for 2 seconds. I am very interested in Phillybarbours comment re the heat exchanger but don't really understand such things. I have sent you a PM. Phil

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