No glycol drain point on my ALDE 3010

[John Barrett]

I treated myself to an inline pump as no amount of bleedin' persuasion will get the water to circulate, but there does not appear to be any drain pipe under the 'van!
It is alleged that there is a brass plug in the end of a hose but no can see one. I will also need some flexible 22m tube to connect to the nearest radiator. Any recommends?
Help!

 

[Hagstrom]

On our Frankia motorhome there were only glycol drain points inside the van.

 

[MisterB]

Our drain plug on a bailey 754 was to the right of the habitation door underneath. Had to get a torch to locate it as road dirt etc meant it didn't look any different from any other tube or cable under the van

 

[pappajohn]

My caravan had two drain tubes.
12mm rubber hose with a brass insert flush with the end of the tube. Into that screwed a brass knurled screw. Unscrew completely to drain.
When I found them they were caked in road crap and the just resembled a black blocked hose

 

[MisterB]

There are a few YouTube videos of how to drain down and refill. Without sounding rude, it's not rocket science and well within the competence of a reasonable diy'er.

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[John Barrett]

There are a few YouTube videos of how to drain down and refill. Without sounding rude, it's not rocket science and well within the competence of a reasonable diy'er.

I know politics are banned but patronisation should be too...

 

[MisterB]

I know politics are banned but patronisation should be too...

There are a few YouTube videos of how to drain down and refill. Without sounding rude, it's not rocket science and well within the competence of a reasonable diy'er.

Our drain plug on a bailey 754 was to the right of the habitation door underneath. Had to get a torch to locate it as road dirt etc meant it didn't look any different from any other tube or cable under the van

not what i would consider to be a patronising comment but i suppose some people who ask for help, might not appreciate it when someone actually takes the time to offer some advice - perhaps the 'without sounding rude' comment might have been some indication that i wasnt trying to be rude or patronising but genuinely being helpful .....

 

[John Barrett]

My caravan had two drain tubes.
12mm rubber hose with a brass insert flush with the end of the tube. Into that screwed a brass knurled screw. Unscrew completely to drain.
When I found them they were caked in road crap and the just resembled a black blocked hose

Thanks for your polite and helpful post. I wish the drain tubes were there but they are not. I'll have another chat with the ALDE Tech Support on Monday. I'll probably have to grip close the hoses and hope for the best!

 

[pappajohn]

I doubt Alde will be of much help as they only supplied the system.
The converter, who installed it, may be a better bet.
Bearing in mind, the way an Alde specialist drains and refills is now done in one go..... Old fluid out and new fluid in from the same machine. No need to drain then refill.
That obviously doesn't help you fitting an inline pump so maybe the hose clamp is the way to go.

 

[Bessy765]

I would look when the van is parked around the lowest point, ours was within 200 mm of the boiler underneath

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[John Barrett]

There's no drain as confirmed by ALDE Tech Support. However, if you look to the right of the radiator vertical elbow you will see a fat black rubber tube where the overflows go.
This lifts out to reveal a 50mm hole, and if the clips are loosened on the vertical elbow and it is rotated clockwise, the contents of the boiler -minus a little spillage- go straight down the hole! Job done, and I'm just waiting for a U bend to arrive to complete the job. I'm well pleased as we'll probably need the central heating when we are in the Lake District next month...

Here's the pump fitting advice from ALDE.
Hello sir,
That looks exceptionally straightforward. Having clamped off, loosen the clip and swing the aluminium tube laterally in the direction of the hot and cold water connectors. Then remove the rubber straight from the end and fit a 1900 525 rubber u-bend. That'll get you onto the inline pump 3010 522 which itself fits onto the return duct on the boiler, slots pre-cut.

 

[John Barrett]

All working fine now. It wasn't the pump, it was a jammed non-return valve. GRRRR...!
Did I really need to buy an inline pump? Yes, an old system like this will benefit from a more powerful pump, otherwise ALDE wouldn't fit them as standard nowadays. I noticed a dramatic reduction in warm up time!
John

 

[John Barrett]

A quick update. I removed the flow valve assembly to have a look at the non-return valve. On examination of the inside of the rubber tube the valve was facing the wrong way! No wonder the ruddy pump wouldn't circulate the water. When I fiddled with it before I must have moved it so that it was slightly open. I just spoke with Alde Tech Support and they were quite matter of fact about it having flipped due to hydrostatic pressure expanding the rubber housing, and this phenomenon was probably the reason they started using a 'non-flippable' one, just like the one I have ordered today...
Grrr!