Alde with heat exchanger

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert Clark
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Robert Clark

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Hi Guys
I understand that the Alde heat exchange will run the heating whilst driving, but I'm wondering if it will do hot water only in the summer?

I'm guessing it won't but thought I'd check with you experts.

Thanks
Robert
 
It won't.

It only heats fluid in the central heating circuit.
 
NickNic said:
It won't.

It only heats fluid in the central heating circuit.
Click to expand...

Am I right in thinking that hot water is normally left on 24/7 in normal use, and that you only use the Day and Night settings for controlling the heating?

The instruction book is not very user friendly I'm afraid.

I'm also struggling to work out what the Delayed Start function is all about

Any ideas?
 
I'm fairly sure it wont just heat the hot water and depending where it is fitted you probably wouldn't want it running in the summer .. mine is under the driving seat an punches out a lot of heat.
 
Robert Clark said:
Am I right in thinking that hot water is normally left on 24/7 in normal use, and that you only use the Day and Night settings for controlling the heating?

The instruction book is not very user friendly I'm afraid.

I'm also struggling to work out what the Delayed Start function is all about

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

We don't leave it on permanently. I find that the water heats up pretty quickly, from cold to shower temperature takes about 20 minutes or so on gas in ours so I can live with that.

It's hot water priority so if you switch heating and hot water on at the same time it won't give much to the heating until the water is hot.

The delayed start is supposed to let you pick a time for it to switch on and be up to temp. I've never had any success with it but because the system is so quick anyway I've never really worried much about it.

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We tend to leave it on permanently subject to Tanks well up on Gas or on Hook Up,
Turn the Thermostat down at night to whatever you prefer if the Outside Temp drops in the night, If you want the system to Boot Up when on Hook Up also switch Gas on both are then working and it’s quite rapid.
 
Robert Clark said:
Hi Guys
I understand that the Alde heat exchange will run the heating whilst driving, but I'm wondering if it will do hot water only in the summer?

I'm guessing it won't but thought I'd check with you experts.

Thanks
Robert
Click to expand...

Works on the hot water without the heating in summer on ours.
 
Yes hot water only in summer if that’s what you want, and yes the water gets hot while on the move. You can also direct the hot water around engine to warm it up making it easier to start if you are in minus bloody cold weather. But don’t ask me how to do any of these Robert because the wife sorts that out and I don’t want to be parked up somewhere that cold anyway. (y)
 
Robert Clark said:
Am I right in thinking that hot water is normally left on 24/7 in normal use, and that you only use the Day and Night settings for controlling the heating?

The instruction book is not very user friendly I'm afraid.

I'm also struggling to work out what the Delayed Start function is all about

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I treat the engine heat exchanger as just another energy source and set the heating and hot water controls to meet our requirements.
 
It will work to an extent if you turn the setting for the pump to "Cont", i.e. continuous ,rather than its usual "therm", i.e. working of the thermostat. But in the summer the motorhome will get very hot! The warm heating fluid is circulated around the system including the boiler and heats up the water, that is the theory at least. We tend to just leave the boiler on while we are driving and turn down the thermostat instead. Water then gets heated by gas. We do have rupture protected hoses but cue some arguments as to whether or not you should do that.

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I am sure I have done Hot water only in summer, one thing for certain that in winter and I travel to where I am going and the van is super toasty and boilers full of piping hot water is fantastic
 
Can you set the temp to a low setting rather than constant?
 
peterc10 said:
It will work to an extent if you turn the setting for the pump to "Cont", i.e. continuous ,rather than its usual "therm", i.e. working of the thermostat. But in the summer the motorhome will get very hot! The warm heating fluid is circulated around the system including the boiler and heats up the water, that is the theory at least. We tend to just leave the boiler on while we are driving and turn down the thermostat instead. Water then gets heated by gas. We do have rupture protected hoses but cue some arguments as to whether or not you should do that.
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If you leave the pump on "cont" it will burn out. And they're not cheap.
 
If you leave the pump on continuous and the boiler "on" it will control the boiler temperature to control the heating, so if you put the pump on continuous and the boiler "off" to use the heat exchanger then it will run without any temperature control and it may get very hot. thermo setting will still control the room temperature by cycling the pump on/off.

And yes you will only get hot water when the heating is running as well.

Martin
 
When i was at hymers in bad waldsee they actually showed me and said to turn onto continuous. Was cosy warm after that.
 
Theonlysue said:
When i was at hymers in bad waldsee they actually showed me and said to turn onto continuous. Was cosy warm after that.
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Hi Sue

When I tried that we only got hot water at the radiator temperature, OK if its cold as the rads will be working hard but if not so cold the boiler was only ticking over so hot water "cool" ours is the older mechanical slider controls though so I don't know how things have changed but I would have thought not a lot in the boiler.

Martin
 
Would help if the alde instructions were more helpful.
 
Theonlysue said:
Would help if the alde instructions were more helpful.
Click to expand...
:rofl::rofl:
I had to sort mine out by myself ... I even had an Alde engineer come to the moho at Peterborough and he couldn't get the heat exchanger to work:doh:

The problem seems to be that, although Alde supply all the parts, the motorhome converters build the systems to their own ideas without giving suitable instructions for use to the end user.:mad:
 
icantremember said:
:rofl::rofl:
I had to sort mine out by myself ... I even had an Alde engineer come to the moho at Peterborough and he couldn't get the heat exchanger to work:doh:

The problem seems to be that, although Alde supply all the parts, the motorhome converters build the systems to their own ideas without giving suitable instructions for use to the end user.:mad:
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When I picked up my new van recently, they guy doing the handover could not work out how to make the heat exchanger work either.
They've brought out a new version of the heat exchanger control panel, its digital and the instructions are only in German.

I've virtually sussed it out with a little trial and error though
 
Robert Clark said:
When I picked up my new van recently, they guy doing the handover could not work out how to make the heat exchanger work either.
They've brought out a new version of the heat exchanger control panel, its digital and the instructions are only in German.

I've virtually sussed it out with a little trial and error though
Click to expand...


Gut gemacht, viel Glück mit Ihrem neuen Reisemobil:):)
 
Robert Clark said:
When I picked up my new van recently, they guy doing the handover could not work out how to make the heat exchanger work either.
They've brought out a new version of the heat exchanger control panel, its digital and the instructions are only in German.

I've virtually sussed it out with a little trial and error though
Click to expand...
AFAIK my heat exchanger does not have a separate control panel and is not mentioned on the main control panel. As far as I know it is switched off by turning the isolator valves on it to the off position!

I can get the heating working from it just by turning up the thermostat temperature and then switching off both gas and electric on the control panel. It then switches the pump on and off based upon the thermostat setting. And I thought it also heated up the water as well.

My comment on putting the pump onto continuous was for when I wanted hot water in the summer without the heating being on as well.

Is that how yours works Robert?

Edit. I have posted a question to Alde on this just to see what they say
 
Robert Clark said:
When I picked up my new van recently, they guy doing the handover could not work out how to make the heat exchanger work either.
They've brought out a new version of the heat exchanger control panel, its digital and the instructions are only in German.

I've virtually sussed it out with a little trial and error though
Click to expand...
Sounds like progress Robert, ours you just flick the switch to the first setting and rotate the thermostat. After opening the heat exchanger valve between the front seats.

Martin

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funflair said:
Sounds like progress Robert, ours you just flick the switch to the first setting and rotate the thermostat. After opening the heat exchanger valve between the front seats.

Martin
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I think there is some confusion here as we all probably have different Alde systems depending upon how old the moho is! Ours is the Compact 3020HE system on a 2015 Hymer.

Robert, did you get them to fit the Alde Flow additional continuous water heater to yours?
 
peterc10 said:
AFAIK my heat exchanger does not have a separate control panel and is not mentioned on the main control panel. As far as I know it is switched off by turning the isolator valves on it to the off position!

I can get the heating working from it just by turning up the thermostat temperature and then switching off both gas and electric on the control panel. It then switches the pump on and off based upon the thermostat setting. And I thought it also heated up the water as well.

My comment on putting the pump onto continuous was for when I wanted hot water in the summer without the heating being on as well.

Is that how yours works Robert?

Edit. I have posted a question to Alde on this just to see what they say
Click to expand...
I can only really comment on our van, so on ours the pipes from the heat exchanger go straight around the heating loop and then the boiler so you only get hot water with heat as well.

Martin
 
peterc10 said:
I think there is some confusion here as we all probably have different Alde systems depending upon how old the moho is! Ours is the Compact 3020HE system on a 2015 Hymer.

Robert, did you get them to fit the Alde Flow additional continuous water heater to yours?
Click to expand...
Indeed ours is prehistoric.

But saying that I thought the basics system was the same just more control on the newer ones.

Martin
 
Last edited:
As I said previously, all the systems are installed differently by various converters ... mine is fitted with the Johnson Engine Pre-heat Pump alongside the HE and controls the engine fluid .. this has to be switched on at the panel to run the heat exchanger either to heat the hab area or the engine .. pity the Alde engineer didn't realise this.
 
icantremember said:
As I said previously, all the systems are installed differently by various converters ... mine is fitted with the Johnson Engine Pre-heat Pump alongside the HE and controls the engine fluid .. this has to be switched on at the panel to run the heat exchanger either to heat the hab area or the engine .. pity the Alde engineer didn't realise this.
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I didn't realise that. I thought that was only switched on when you wanted to pre-heat the engine.

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