Alde wet radiator system (off grid) (1 Viewer)

[zaskar]

Does anybody regularly wild camp who has the Alde wet radiator system in their 'van?
I'd be interested to know how it copes "off grid" for, say, up to 48 to 72 hours?
Is it a power hungry system as far as gas and batteries go?
T.I.A

 

[two]

The pump only runs when heat is needed. How much it runs and the amount of gas consumed will depend on how cold it is but I never considered it to be excessively 'power hungry'. Went off grid regularly (not so much in winter, though) and never had a problem.

 

[funflair]

Just done 4 nights on the racecourse in Chester, no problems at all but it does also depend on how well winterised the van is.

Martin

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[Neilfg]

It's fine for any period as long as you have the gas, some power and your van has decent insulation, proper screen cover helps. This winter since Dec, we have been away off hookup 4 times for 3 to 5 nights, the 5 nighter (sub zero over night) used less than 6kg (about 10 litres to fill up).

One distinct advantage Alde has over other heating systems is the heat exchanger, you arrive after a drive, with a warm van and hot water and no gas used For this reason alone I would choose Alde over Truma.

 

[two]

The heat exchanger is useful but I have wondered how economic it is. Using diesel could be an inefficient and expensive source of heat.

 

[icantremember]

The heat exchanger is useful but I have wondered how economic it is. Using diesel could be an inefficient and expensive source of heat.

You would only use the heat exchanger whilst travelling with the engine running.

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[DuxDeluxe]

The heat exchanger is useful but I have wondered how economic it is. Using diesel could be an inefficient and expensive source of heat.

You would only use the heat exchanger whilst travelling with the engine running.

The heat exchanger is brilliant.... a great use for the waste heat from the engine. @icantremember is currently trying to figure out a way of using the waste heat to power his self levelling jacks as well

 

[two]

My thought is that it is only any good when waste heat is available. Any overcooling will cause more diesel to be used.

 

[Theonlysue]

I also have diesel cab heating which i can use whilst stationary without engine running to warm van.
There are pump settings 1 to 5 on the alde. 2 setting is recomended.
If you set the temp and let it tick over, not power hungry.

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[Steve and Denise]

My thought is that it is only any good when waste heat is available. Any overcooling will cause more diesel to be used.

Will the engine thermostat not compensate and stop over cooling as the heat exchanger is small and I do not think on its own it would be capable of cooling the engine.

 

[two]

Will the engine thermostat not compensate and stop over cooling as the heat exchanger is small and I do not think on its own it would be capable of cooling the engine.

I don't know, which is why I wonder.
You use the exchanger at the coldest time of year, when the radiator cooling is going to be more than enough for the engine, on its own. You could try adding a radiator blind. I had a 4x4 for the Canadian market which used that method and was very effective.
My comment was to alert to the consideration of the economics for heating, especially if you have autogas as an alternative.

 

[funflair]

Never noticed ours not coming up to temperature when using the heat exchanger so assuming that the thermostat will/does look after it, I guess it does because you can circulate water around the engine block from the heat exchanger when the thermostat will be closed so obviously doesn't go through the radiator, wouldn't be without it whatever.

Martin

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[Steve and Denise]

As @icantremember says it is only meant for use when traveling.

 

[two]

or when pre-heating the engine block.

 

[Urs4_2008]

It's fine for any period as long as you have the gas, some power and your van has decent insulation, proper screen cover helps. This winter since Dec, we have been away off hookup 4 times for 3 to 5 nights, the 5 nighter (sub zero over night) used less than 6kg (about 10 litres to fill up).

One distinct advantage Alde has over other heating systems is the heat exchanger, you arrive after a drive, with a warm van and hot water and no gas used For this reason alone I would choose Alde over Truma.

The Truma uses quite little gas to heat the few liters of water. But heating the car, especially in -20C or colder, it’s very gas hungry. Almost a bottle (10kg) PR 24 hours. That is partly why I fitted a Webasto air top diesel heater.

I would expect the gas powered Alde uses about the same amount of gas to heat the van as a Truma - as long as one compares two otherwise equal vans.

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[Neilfg]

I see Truma have the , uses diesel and/or electric does not use gas, it also works when driving, uses diesel though, so not quite as neat as the Alde Heat Exchanger but probably very effective.

The Truma uses quite little gas to heat the few liters of water. But heating the car, especially in -20C or colder, it’s very gas hungry. Almost a bottle (10kg) PR 24 hours. That is partly why I fitted a Webasto air top diesel heater.

I think at -20C, I would seek warmer climes or hookup, we did once use a 6kg bottle and a bit on Alde at Peterborough (2 nights) I left the locker door to the boiler unit open so we were heating the field for about 24 hrs .

 

[Urs4_2008]

I see Truma have the , uses diesel and/or electric does not use gas, it also works when driving, uses diesel though, so not quite as neat as the Alde Heat Exchanger but probably very effective.



I think at -20C, I would seek warmer climes or hookup, we did once use a 6kg bottle and a bit on Alde at Peterborough (2 nights) I left the locker door to the boiler unit open so we were heating the field for about 24 hrs .

D6E is probably excellent, but expensive and in my case would not bring heat to my cupboards for drying shoes and clothes.

Unfortunately, we cannot go anywhere hotter as we love to go skiing and other winter activities

The Webasto I’m sure would have no problems keeping everything nice and hot even below -30C

 

[Urs4_2008]

Btw, the diesel heater gets its diesel from the 100 liters vehicle tank, and a week in the coldest climate is less than a quarter of a tank worth of diesel. No 230v hookups in this scenario, is course. Very little hassle, and very comfortable climate in the motorhome.

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[two]

Don't forget that the cost of diesel is more than that for gas to get the same amount of heat.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Does anybody regularly wild camp who has the Alde wet radiator system in their 'van?
I'd be interested to know how it copes "off grid" for, say, up to 48 to 72 hours?
Is it a power hungry system as far as gas and batteries go?
T.I.A

As some of you may have noticed I’m a big fan of diesel air heaters. My Webasto EVO 40 ranges from about 1 amp to about 3.5 amps at full speed. Often between 1 and 2 in winter climate, depending on the outside temp, open windows, wanted inside temp etc.

Lets assume 1.5 amps average usage, 48 hours would require 72 ah of heat only capacity.

 

[Urs4_2008]

Don't forget that the cost of diesel is more than that for gas to get the same amount of heat.

This is not the case for me. A week worth of diesel heating has a cost of 325 NOK (29 gbp), and running propane bottles would cost about 7 times as much, depending on local prices where I’m at. I pay anywhere from 250 to 400 NOK (22-36 gbp) per 10 kilos of propane, and about one bottle pr 24 hours.

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