Heat Exchanger operation

[Brian and Jo]

could I just ask ,what is the correct procedure for operating the heat exchanger in a Motorhome.And am I correct in thinking that it’s purpose is to operate the heating system by using heat from the engine or am I completely wrong. I am adding a picture of the control panel,the heat exchanger button is 3rd button from the left.
Brian & Jo

 

[TerryL]

Sorry, can't say I've ever heard of a heat exchanger in a M/H, well not in a standard one anyway. Nearest I can get, from the graphic, is a radiator?
What type of heating do you have in what make/model of van?

 

[tonyidle]

What sort of heating? Which van? My Alde system has an engine heat exchanger. Two valves on the drivers seat base turn it on or off. It operates the Alde heating when the engine is running.

 

[old-mo]

You are correct Brian... it directs the heat from the engine to your radiators... but don`t expect it to get roasting..

 

[Brian and Jo]

What sort of heating? Which van? My Alde system has an engine heat exchanger. Two valves on the drivers seat base turn it on or off. It operates the Alde heating when the engine is running.

Hi Tony we have Alde heating and its a Niesmann Bischoff 88EK.
Brian & Jo

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[funflair]

Hi Brian

I could be wrong BUT I have a feeling that the button you mention third from left is actually to turn on a pump to circulate the engine cooling water through your heat exchanger when you are parked up and the engine is really cold, try it and listen to check if you can hear a pump running.

So do you know where the heat exchanger is? and does it have an isolation valve on it? the operation as far as I know is,

1/ make sure that the heat exchanger itself is not isolated.

2/ set the pump to on in the Alde control panel but select gas and electric to off

3/ make sure that the pump is on thermo and then set the temperature as required

then it just looks after itself.

Martin

 

[Brian and Jo]

Hi Brian

I could be wrong BUT I have a feeling that the button you mention third from left is actually to turn on a pump to circulate the engine cooling water through your heat exchanger when you are parked up and the engine is really cold, try it and listen to check if you can hear a pump running.

So do you know where the heat exchanger is? and does it have an isolation valve on it? the operation as far as I know is,

1/ make sure that the heat exchanger itself is not isolated.

2/ set the pump to on in the Alde control panel but select gas and electric to off

3/ make sure that the pump is on thermo and then set the temperature as required

then it just looks after itself.

Martin

Thanks Martin that all makes sense.as far as knowing where the exchanger is ,no I don’t know ,I guess it’s in the double floor I will have a good look tomorrow and check that it’s not isolated.what do you mean by the pump being on thermo?
Brian & Jo

 

[pappajohn]

Can't see the point myself with a diesel... Notoriously cool running compared to petrol engines and you won't get much heat transfer.

 

[Tanya_and_Mick]

On our Hymer it’s under the passenger seat - we have a left hooker....

As in the above post by Martin, I recently had the same explanation from the Alde guys whilst at Northampton - in short the separate engine Glyco and cab Glyco enter and take heat from each other - as in reverse you can warm a cold engine from a warm cab area if you’ve had the heating on.....

 

[bigtwin]

Hi Brian

I could be wrong BUT I have a feeling that the button you mention third from left is actually to turn on a pump to circulate the engine cooling water through your heat exchanger when you are parked up and the engine is really cold, try it and listen to check if you can hear a pump running.

So do you know where the heat exchanger is? and does it have an isolation valve on it? the operation as far as I know is,
1/ make sure that the heat exchanger itself is not isolated.
2/ set the pump to on in the Alde control panel but select gas and electric to off
3/ make sure that the pump is on thermo and then set the temperature as required

then it just looks after itself.

Martin

Sorry to break it to you but you are (partially) incorrect!

The HX exchanges heat between circuits so is used both for the scenario you describe and also for using the engine heat to heat the habitation side.

Ian

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[bigtwin]

You are correct Brian... it directs the heat from the engine to your radiators... but don`t expect it to get roasting..

Can't see the point myself with a diesel... Notoriously cool running compared to petrol engines and you won't get much heat transfer.

Something wrong there then. Ours gets as hot as if we were using gas. In fact we often have to turn it down when travelling.

It’s a feature well worth having if you travel in winter.

Ian

 

[funflair]

Thanks Martin that all makes sense.as far as knowing where the exchanger is ,no I don’t know ,I guess it’s in the double floor I will have a good look tomorrow and check that it’s not isolated.what do you mean by the pump being on thermo?
Brian & Jo

Hi Brian

By "thermo" I mean the pump controlled via the thermostat as opposed to continuous which if the boiler was on gas or electric would control the heat by controlling the water temperature of the boiler (not a good mode if need hot water for a shower) in "thermo" the pump will cycle to regulate the temperature as you drive.

Martin

 

[bigtwin]

View attachment 261677 I am adding a picture of the control panel,the heat exchanger button is 3rd button from the left.
Brian & Jo

The symbol shows a motor and HX. While the panel is different from mine, I’d guess the principle is the same so would suggest that:

• Ensure that gas is not selected
• Select the HX option (assuming that the HX is not isolated)
• Select ‘heating and/or water’
• Off you go!

Ian

 

[funflair]

Sorry to break it to you but you are (partially) incorrect!

The HX exchanges heat between circuits so is used both for the scenario you describe and also for using the engine heat to heat the habitation side.

Ian

What I was trying to say was that the operation to heat the engine from the habitation side is controlled by the switch on the panel with the M for "motor warmer" the rest of the description is the operation when exchanging heat into the habitation from the engine, you don't need the M pump switched on when the engine is running as the water pump does the circulation.

And yes it works very well, as in lovely and warm when you are travelling and arrive with a tank full of hot water.

Martin

 

[funflair]

The symbol shows a motor and HX. While the panel is different from mine, I’d guess the principle is the same so would suggest that:

• Ensure that gas is not selected
• Select the HX option (assuming that the HX is not isolated)
• Select ‘heating and/or water’
• Off you go!

Ian

Ian are you saying that in the Alde there is a HX option?

Martin

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[bigtwin]

Ian are you saying that in the Alde there is a HX option?

Martin

So far as I’m aware it’s only with Alde that you have that option.

However, it is an ‘option’ so isn’t fitted to all Alde systems.

Ian

 

[funflair]

So far as I’m aware it’s only with Alde that you have that option.

However, it is an ‘option’ so isn’t fitted to all Alde systems.

Ian

Yes the heat exchanger is an Alde "option" but that wasn't what I was asking,

I was wondering what you meant by "select the HX option", are you saying there is a HX setting in the Alde control panel?

Martin

 

[bigtwin]

I was wondering what you meant by "select the HX option", are you saying there is a HX setting in the Alde control panel?

Martin

Ok. I was referring to the third button from the left.

However, that might only be applicable when trying to warm the engine? Unless the HX is isolated via a solenoid valve. Definitely heading in the direction of speculation now though!

Ian

 

[funflair]

Hi Brian @Brian and Jo

This is our control panel, different BUT the M button is exactly the same and on ours it run the pump for circulating the engine cooling water 100% sure. And you dont need it on to use the heat for habitation heating.

Martin

 

[funflair]

Ok. I was referring to the third button from the left.

Ian

Only to warm the engine as above. You need the Alde pump on and controlled by the thermostat for it to work properly for the habitation.

Martin

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[tonyidle]

Something wrong there then. Ours gets as hot as if we were using gas. In fact we often have to turn it down when travelling.

It’s a feature well worth having if you travel in winter.

Ian

Mine too. I just leave the Alde set to operate from 240v mains. It turns on & off as needed when travelling. It's very effective.

 

[old-mo]

Something wrong there then. Ours gets as hot as if we were using gas. In fact we often have to turn it down when travelling.

It’s a feature well worth having if you travel in winter.

Ian

Perhaps I did not have the flow adjuster by the steering wheel open enough, then..

Our`s only got lukewarm...

 

[Theonlysue]

Hymers at bad waldsee told me to put on continuous rather than thermo.
The van gets a lot hotter now.

 

[Theonlysue]

Dupl.

 

[jongood]

I think we have the previous model to you @Brian and Jo , to operate ours there is a small heat exchanger in the double floor just behind the drivers seat with a lever valve on it, then there is a pump switch on the dash (martin is probably right that that is what the switch on your panel is but on ours we need to set the heating to electric and the temperature to your chosen level.

It is a lovely heat when travelling in the winter, it warms the whole van front to back FOC and when you get to your destination you already have hot water.

1, I suspect the others who didnt get much heat possibly didnt set the temp high enough.

2, The tap on the heat exchanger is so it doesnt warm the cab in the summer.

Jon

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[stewartwebr]

Brian,

The image you show of your panel makes me think it is the older panel to the one I had in my Flair. However, the functions are the same. basically the button you are trying to find out about does nothing. It has no functionality, well not in the Flair I owned.

To use the heat exchanger to heat the fluid to allow you to heat the van and the water whist the engine is running is only a matter of switching the Alde control panel on, deselect electric and gas as a heat source, set the temperature higher than current temperature which starts the Alde pump which in turn pumps the heating medium around the circuit. If the manual valve is open on the heat exchanger, which in my Flair was located next to the engine battery. With the valve open the coolant from the engine is permitted to flow through the heat exchanger and back to the radiator. In turn because your Alde system is also pumping the heating medium through the heat exchanger, through other internal pipes to that of the engine coolant. The heat is exchanged from the engine coolant to the Alde medium and becomes hot and is pumped around the radiators to heat your van.

 

[peterc10]

The manual for my Alde 3020 makes it clear that the additional switched pump is only used when you want to heat the engine block using the hot water in the Alde system. It circulates the engine coolant through the heat exchanger when the engine is not running. It is not needed when the engine is running and you are using the engine coolant to heat the interior of the motorhome because the engine's own coolant circulating pump is already doing that.

 

[funflair]

The manual for my Alde 3020 makes it clear that the additional switched pump is only used when you want to heat the engine block using the hot water in the Alde system. It circulates the engine coolant through the heat exchanger when the engine is not running. It is not needed when the engine is running and you are using the engine coolant to heat the interior of the motorhome because the engine's own coolant circulating pump is already doing that.

That's how ours works Peter, I think if Stewart had listened carefully he might have heard the little circulation pump running when that M button was witched.

Martin

 

[stewartwebr]

The manual for my Alde 3020 makes it clear that the additional switched pump is only used when you want to heat the engine block using the hot water in the Alde system. It circulates the engine coolant through the heat exchanger when the engine is not running. It is not needed when the engine is running and you are using the engine coolant to heat the interior of the motorhome because the engine's own coolant circulating pump is already doing that.

To my knowledge N&B do not fit the engine heating pump to allow you to heat the engine whilst stationary as standard. Hence my post that the control panel functionality does nothing.

 

[funflair]

Hymers at bad waldsee told me to put on continuous rather than thermo.
The van gets a lot hotter now.

Not actually tried continuous on the Heat exchanger Sue, does it still control by the thermostat? I don't see how it can as by definition it must be on all the time, on gas or electric they say that continuous gives a more stable heat as it avoid the on/off cycle.

Martin

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