Truma vs Alde?

[kev54]

It looks like our 10 yr old Truma combi boiler had decided to go on strike. Mostly Error #89 or #36 (nope, not in the manual) once Error #17 (but I think that's 'cos it got bored telling me #89). It will not strike up the heating unless we have EHU. (The gas supply is fine, it works when E or E&G are selected). The dealer's workshop have had it out of the van, tried a replacement igniter and (I sincerely hope!) all the other failsafe buttons. They reckon a new unit (c£1400) is the answer.

My question to my good and helpful funfriends here is - would an Alde be any better/cheaper/easier to fix? Might it be a matter of dealer knowledge/familiarity? Might it be a simple matter of space available? Anything else?

Happy New Fun Year! Thanks

 

[canopus]

Alde, which is by far the better form of heating, would be a lot more expensive, would cause more disruption/upheaval to fit and may not be suitable to retro fit in a Besaacar E412.

Far easier IMHO to replace like for like, maybe a newer Truma perhaps.

 

[Mikeco]

As above it would be very difficult to install a wet system, it would be easier and cheaper to replace the Truma.

 

[kev54]

Thanks canopus That's exactly what I needed to understand. Cheers.

 

[Verteuil Man]

I agree with canopus. Alde is a very good heat system but retro fitting would be a mare. Will also add weight to you motorhome.

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[DT]

I had Alde in my previous caravan, worked ok, slow to warm up and just like home central heating could make some strange noises at night. The Truma we have now is fast to warm up but can make you a bit dry. We were due a fluid change in our caravan which the new owner could fund but I think now the new fluid is good for five years.

 

[peterc10]

We have had both and much prefer the Alde. Feels like real central heating rather than running a fan heater.

But it would be almost impossible to successfully fit it retrospectively without stripping out most of the furniture.

 

[Lenny HB]

There is a Chinese exact copy of the Truma about £900.

 

[jdk62]

We have had both systems and whilst the Alde system is a superior system, it is only as good as the install.... We had a brand new van and had numerous problems with the Alde system due to poor installation, it was noisy and suffered from poor joints, air locks, weeping etc... We were regularly having to top up the system. Dealer and moho manufacturer faffed around with it but failed to resolve. Alde looked at it and were horrified at the pipework installation.

Due to that and other issues, we lost confidence in it and got rid of the moho and replaced it with an alternative that had a truma system which works a treat.. Best decision we ever made..

 

[martin2603]

I’ve had both. The Truma was very noisy on boost and was ineffective in an 8.5 metre van notwithstanding 2 breakdowns, one PCB and a power supply switch problem.
Had the Alde from new far superior system, no problem in 5 years of use and only uses .5 amp from the battery .

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[martin2603]

Footnote to above. The Alde system is just as effective on mains Hook U.K. which is more than can be said for Truma. The combi 6 I had was totally useless on electric only.

 

[kev54]

Thanks everyone for the helpful insights and experience. In the end it really came down to the advice that the Truma was in a space that couldn’t be easily altered to fit a different unit. That, plus the time and cost of replacing a lot of other fittings led us to replace what had originally been fitted 10 years ago - the Truma Combi E.

We’re just about to do a ‘system shake-down’ trip to a nearby CL for a couple of days, so we can confidently set off for Spain & Portugal later in the year

 

[JJ]

I would never consider a heating system which consists of thin pipes running around a van with water pumping around them into radiators. I understand it needs electricity to pump this water around and gas to heat it up initially.

Complicated or what?

I am not that happy with my Truma Combi boiler which also needs two power sources to function.

My preferred system was the good old Truma gas heater for warming the van and a separate boiler for heating the water which I had in my older vans.

Simple, easy to operate and straight forward to service and repair...

Those were the days!


JJ