Alde my own service thread

[DavidG58]

to save getting bogged down in a few recent Alde service threads I am starting again with my own take

Booked a few weeks back around the time that Paul @CazPaul took on the welcome party outside Alde back in March

Our MH was built in 2007, not registered till 09, then bought privately by us in 2013

I doubt the Alde bit has ever been serviced, no mention by seller and definitely not by us

I have always thought the pump was both a little noisy and badly located being under the head end of our double bed

My hopes from the service this week

1. fluid change
2. Investigate pump noise / location
3. Based on comment on another thread today it may not even be an original pump or as I have previously thought it was a prototype fitted only on our MH so happy to have pump upgrade

4. Controller upgrade I have acquired a new touch screen controller but it needs a bezel to cover what will be excess hole with the new unit being smaller, hoping they might even cut hole and fit for me

So far Alde have ticked every box for customer support, can only hope they now walk the walk the same as they talk the talk but I am very confident

I have also learnt while on hold listening to recorded bumph that Alde is pronounced Al Der not Al Dee

Arriving tomorrow evening I will start with location update on arrival, service on Thursday

 

[CazPaul]

Sounds all set David, hope you get sorted whilst there, the shopping complex Alde drove us too was nice so Caz said, unfortunately I spent the majority of the time dozing off on a bench.

 

[TheBig1]

I have also learnt while on hold listening to recorded bumph that Alde is pronounced Al Der not Al Dee

or is it LID-LE LID-EL OR LEE-DEL?

 

[jongood]

Do you know that your vehicle is not a high mer it is in fact a hima

 

[peterc10]

Do you know that your vehicle is not a high mer it is in fact a hima

I was told the Germans pronounce it hoomer

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[Kim H]

I’m sure Alde will live up to your expectations David. We had great service from them when we took our S800 ( not a prototype )in for a service and fluid change. It was them that told us the pump should be set to 3.

 

[jongood]

I was told the Germans pronounce it hoomer

I think there is some regional variation - like here.

 

[Doctor Dave]

or is it LID-LE LID-EL OR LEE-DEL?

On their leaflets they refer to "Middle Lidl" so that might be a clue.

Dave

 

[Lenny HB]

Do you know that your vehicle is not a high mer it is in fact a hima

I was told the Germans pronounce it hoomer

Nar, it's Huumer.

 

[pappajohn]

The wiring connection for that pump is too amateurish to be original.
I really can't see a reputable company like Alde using through crimps, it would have a proper plug and socket.

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[DavidG58]

First update

Parking and security seems to be very much improved, I was told that if they had gone (they finish at 16.45) to call their service managers mobile for a gate code, at 16.50 place empty and locked, made the call given code now inside hooked up and feel very secure

There is still one caravan parked on the road but it all looks so much nicer than I had feared

Found a packet of Jaffa cakes (Aldi version, so much nicer and better value ) but hidden by Bev in a non biscuit zone I found by mistake

That’s tea sorted

 

[DuxDeluxe]

The wiring connection for that pump is too amateurish to be original.
I really can't see a reputable company like Alde using through crimps, it would have a proper plug and socket.

Certainly the Alde heating unit on mine looks a lot neater than that. Not made by Hymer though - mine is from Chris' favourite country

 

[DavidG58]

They could make a nice aire here

 

[tonyidle]

I was told the Germans pronounce it hoomer

There were occasions when I made up my own name for mine .

 

[icantremember]

They could make a nice aire here

View attachment 302330

The SOG works in Germany has done it.

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[gus-lopez]

Can't really see the point of the barrier when it appears it would be easy to drive up the pedestrian footpath?

 

[DavidG58]

Can't really see the point of the barrier when it appears it would be easy to drive up the pedestrian footpath?

It’s an illusion, the path is 4’ wide and gap at end under 6’

Although I guess a chain saw would remove the obstacle quite quickly but the banking would stop most things with a wheel base wider than 5’

 

[CazPaul]

Sounds nice and quiet there now David, lucky bugger, are you partaking in a small gin and tonic?

 

[BobtheBass]

I asked a group of German people today how to pronounce Hymer correctly. They couldn’t decide between themselves but the general consensus ended up on Hoomer. One of them said that as it was a persons name they could pronounce it any way they wanted!

 

[DavidG58]

Sounds nice and quiet there now David, lucky bugger, are you partaking in a small gin and tonic?

Decided to stick to ginger beer after your troubles

I did take a wander down to the caravan which appears to be abandoned there are a few Calor cylinders behind it that are tempting

In amongst the tons of rubbish they have also left

We’re you parked in the Alde car park or on the road? Inside the locked barrier seems nice and secure

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[icantremember]

Decided to stick to ginger beer after your troubles

I did take a wander down to the caravan which appears to be abandoned there are a few Calor cylinders behind it that are tempting

In amongst the tons of rubbish they have also left

We’re you parked in the Alde car park or on the road? Inside the locked barrier seems nice and secure

Alde have only started to drop and lock the barrier since the recent problem suffered by Paul @CazPaul ... when we were there Monday night there was only one caravan and there was a pick-up truck and an old gold coloured Merc estate car, both of which kept coming and going early evening but caused us no concern during the night.

 

[icantremember]

I hope it was a quiet night.

 

[DavidG58]

Fairly quiet, saw the Mercedes estate and a grubby white van down by the caravan but no issues for me

Couple of lorries parked up outside and them moving off woke me at about 6

Staff just arriving here now

 

[DavidG58]

Things have started, my expectations of the customer service level were extremely high based on my contacts up to today

Let me confirm that so far they definitely walk the walk

Met outside at 08.00 by Phil the service manager, chatted through what was needed, not only will they do the fluid change and service they will also fit the controller upgrade I have acquired

It turns out the pump is one they have seen before here, fitted by Hymer, not an Alde pump and much noisier than they like

No idea exactly why it has been changed but Phil showed me the fixing holes on the Alde unit where the pump should be, it might be due to the rather stupid water fill pipe running right across the MH through the Alde housing and might have meant the pump was in the way. They will sort it and fit the right pump somewhere for me

Now been processed by Michelle and have coffee machine and use of their Wi-fi while sat in training room, was considering going for a walk, but as it is raining think this will do nicely

 

[icantremember]

Don't forget the Free Wifi David.

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[BobtheBass]

They look like lovely comfy chairs in the training room! All the chairs I have sat on in similar establishments in the past were extra specially uncomfortable to keep us awake during lectures!

 

[DavidG58]

Very happy bunny here, arrived home from Wellingborough just outside Northampton, our Alde system upgraded, serviced and checked over, the whole process being a pleasure, even the payment was better than I feared once I knew a new circulation pump was going to be fitted

The standard price for fluids change and check over is £200 inc VAT

We very quickly agreed to swap the circulation pump and Phil the service manager came through to say they have a couple of 'QT' pumps in stock, once explained I now know that means Quality Tested, rejected in this case for cosmetic reasons, tested, then sold at 1/2 price it would be rude not to accept such an offer, it still comes with a 2 year warranty

That in turn then required some replumbing, ideal timing to fit while already drained down but still time consuming

Before

After, with the new pump 'hiding' neatly behind the pipes

note the pipe now leaves on the other side, turns out Hymer had fitted it wrong, wouldn't affect operation but meant it couldn't be drained down

I mentioned I had acquired an updated touch controller, he agreed to fit it for me and even said he would 'find me' the missing bezel needed to cover the old controller hole, they always have spares kicking around

this does now mean we have a perfectly functional, but still as complicated as before controller spare, if anybody has a faulty one PM me

Then to finish a goody bag and a bill

Total price £383 inc VAT, he added one hour only to cover replumbing and fitting the pump plus the controller, which needs a modified cut out, not cheap but I am very pleased with the cost, and work done

I now know how to set different temperatures for night and day, although with the quiet (near silent) pump it is now not so important

There is a very useful feature that we had with the old controller, still got with the new one but can not work as the add on board is not fitted on mine, it is possible to monitor the available current, then if say the kettle is turned on the AMPs increase the Alde controller will drop off the electrics completely or down to 1Kw until more power is available again

We don't have an external temperature sensor input, but if we did it can be used for frost protection, another board we don't have

We have also confirmed our system is not linked to the engine in anyway, if it was the circulation pump will move water heated in the engine

What I do now know though is we have 2 x valves that can be used to isolate or reduce flow to 2 areas of the MH, this can allow all heat to go to the lounge area and keep bedroom cooler if wanted

We also have a fan they have never seen before, attached to the power supply for the pump, so when that runs so does the fan, which circulates air behind the toilet area, not exactly sure why but it is a very large void with water tanks, fresh, grey and black plus a lot of air, plus it allows warm air through to the garage via a flap like fitted on blown air systems. This fan could not be heard before, it is not noisy but with a silent pump we can now hear it, but also know where to disconnect if it now becomes annoying

We also know we had a lot of air in the system, so will now be a lot more efficient and we also have been advised that although over 12 years old the system has not suffered any significant corrosion inside , it was suggested that our choice to run permanently at home on hook up has possibly been the reason it is in good condition, rather than only using when away

We also know that if both electrics and gas are selected, both will be used in times of high demand, for instance if showering or the difference between set and actual temperature is large (we didn't quantify large though) then also that if the electrics are set to 3Kw, it doesn't mean it will always run at the high level, it will ramp up and down as needed

I also know how to bleed the system having been too scared to touch the numerous bleed points dotted round the MH, easy when shown

Having seen how easy the new controller is to use I am so delighted and very grateful to @Pete S for selling his spare to me, pleased to confirm it is working correctly

I will now move over to the review section to add similar positive words

 

[funflair]

Good job David, what are all the pipes that look like they should be for blown air, is it air con?

Martin

 

[DavidG58]

Good job David, what are all the pipes that look like they should be for blown air, is it air con?

Martin

we do have Dometic air conditioning (I think that is the make ) and I think it is mounted under the Alde unit

a rather congested area, then plus the water fill pipe running through , but tidier now than before will get the cover back on tomorrow, left off so I can find some new stainless screws, Alde offered to do that but the job had over run and I cope with that level of DIY

 

[Kim H]

Having seen how easy the new controller is to use I am so delighted and very grateful to @Pete S for selling his spare to me, pleased to confirm it is working correctly

And don’t forget Kim H who pointed out the thread for you to get in touch with Pete .....

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