Is my Alde heating leaking. (1 Viewer)

[Parrot Face]

When in the uk I noticed moisture in the wardrobe, there was slight pinkish staining in there. Next to the stain is a tube with a metal tip/ valve. We are now in Northern Italy heading to Germany. Had the heating on a few times and the moisture seems to have returned. We have also heard a gurgling sound under the bed . Turned the heating off and the gurgling seemed to stop. Any advice or recommended actions needed.

 

[funflair]

You say a tube with a metal tip, does it have a little end that will unscrew if so that is a bleed valve, gurgling suggests that it wants some fluid adding, glycol mix if you have any otherwise a bit of water will get you away but then follow it later with neat glycol, you might need to bleed it as well unless it is working OK.

 

[Parrot Face]

You say a tube with a metal tip, does it have a little end that will unscrew if so that is a bleed valve, gurgling suggests that it wants some fluid adding, glycol mix if you have any otherwise a bit of water will get you away but then follow it later with neat glycol, you might need to bleed it as well unless it is working OK.

Thanks did what you suggested. Gurgling stopped system working ok . Thanks.

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[Vic. Parsons.]

You say a tube with a metal tip, does it have a little end that will unscrew if so that is a bleed valve, gurgling suggests that it wants some fluid adding, glycol mix if you have any otherwise a bit of water will get you away but then follow it later with neat glycol, you might need to bleed it as well unless it is working OK.

Don't put tap water in the system. It has to be distilled water.
Buy some Glycol and mix 50 50 with distilled water so you have a top-up bottle handy.

 

[DavidG58]

I think for a quick top up you can get away with tap water, in fact we have, but only adding maybe 250ml just to top up

I am concerned by OP, I can see that gurgling could be stopped by topping up, but how would that stop the leak

I would urge you to get booked in to Alde for a check and device , depending on how old it is, a fluid change is recommended every 3 or 5 years depending on what fluid it was set up with

Alde are very thorough and would give you confidence when you left that all was right .

Contact us | Alde UK

Need to get in contact with us at Alde? You'll find our contact details here. Welcome to Alde!

www.alde.co.uk

We had ours done in 2018 and had a new pump fitted where Hymer had used a non Alde pump , now virtually silent , fluid changed and a litre of top up fluid now carried

overnight stop over allowed with hook up , very good customer service

 

[Antique]

I had a similar problem a while ago, the bleed screw was weeping whilst the heating was on and no amount of torque would stop it.
To rectify I backed off the bleed screw a couple of turns (only) with a small bowl underneath to catch any drips, wrapped PTFE tape around the exposed thread and re tightened.
Never leaked since.

All the best
Antique

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[Vic. Parsons.]

I think for a quick top up you can get away with tap water, in fact we have, but only adding maybe 250ml just to top up

I am concerned by OP, I can see that gurgling could be stopped by topping up, but how would that stop the leak

I would urge you to get booked in to Alde for a check and device , depending on how old it is, a fluid change is recommended every 3 or 5 years depending on what fluid it was set up with

Alde are very thorough and would give you confidence when you left that all was right .

Contact us | Alde UK

Need to get in contact with us at Alde? You'll find our contact details here. Welcome to Alde!

www.alde.co.uk

We had ours done in 2018 and had a new pump fitted where Hymer had used a non Alde pump , now virtually silent , fluid changed and a litre of top up fluid now carried

overnight stop over allowed with hook up , very good customer service

Alde recommend changing the fluid every 2 years because the Glycol degrades.
Also, they recommend that any vessel used for topping up should be spotlessly clean to avoid bacterial contamination of the fluid. This I imagine would preclude the use of tap water since it can't be guaranteed to be free of bacteria.
From experience, tap water will result in a kind of sludge and discoloration of the glycol, ours went from clear blue to misty looking grey-blue after adding tap water and had to be purged from the system with copious amounts of fresh mix until it ran clear.

If you are due a renewal of fluid, then perhaps you'll get away with a top up with water, but I would recommend changing it entirely if tap water has been put in.

 

[Sheddy]

Alde recommend changing the fluid every 2 years because the Glycol degrades.

My system was serviced last year by Alde, and on the service card they put on the boiler it states next fluid change 2014, so every five years. I think the 2 year renewal is from new and they use a different fluid.
Cheers
Ed

 

[DavidG58]

Alde used to have two different fluids available , one good for three years one for five, it would appear most motor home builders opt for the cheaper three year option

Alde now only use the 5 year stuff

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[tonyidle]

Bear in mind the "fluid" is conventional antifreeze (G13) suitable for aluminium systems and available from the likes of Halford - as is de-ionised water.

 

[MisterB]

Bear in mind the "fluid" is conventional antifreeze (G13) suitable for aluminium systems and available from the likes of Halford - as is de-ionised water.

Got my fluid and distilled water from eurocar parts !!

 

[tonyidle]

Got my fluid and distilled water from eurocar parts !!

Other sources are available .

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[sweetie]

Get mine out of the dehumidifier, been using for years with appliances that need distilled water.

 

[pappajohn]

The system in my last caravan had been run on tap water for a very, very long time as it had a leak. Rather than find and fix the leak the previous owner just topped up with tap water.
The internal bore of the pipework was around 50% reduced due to limescale.
Tap water = lime scale build up, unless your lucky enough to live an a very soft water area.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I think for a quick top up you can get away with tap water, in fact we have, but only adding maybe 250ml just to top up

I am concerned by OP, I can see that gurgling could be stopped by topping up, but how would that stop the leak

I would urge you to get booked in to Alde for a check and device , depending on how old it is, a fluid change is recommended every 3 or 5 years depending on what fluid it was set up with

Alde are very thorough and would give you confidence when you left that all was right .

Contact us | Alde UK

Need to get in contact with us at Alde? You'll find our contact details here. Welcome to Alde!

www.alde.co.uk

We had ours done in 2018 and had a new pump fitted where Hymer had used a non Alde pump , now virtually silent , fluid changed and a litre of top up fluid now carried

overnight stop over allowed with hook up , very good customer service

Yes, they did mine in January - traced and very quickly fixed a sensor fault and total flush and fluid replacement with proper 5 year stuff instead of the cheapo 2 year fluid. Top class service

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