There should be no water connection between the heating fluid including the expansion tank and the water in the taps. To do so is very very dangerous as it could introduce Ethylene Glycol [Anti freeze] to the tap water and this is very poisonous leading to irreversible kidney damage.
You need professional help; contact Alde UK for a local expert. Sorry cant help as the risks are IMO too high.
Thanks I will get somebody who knows what they doing. If there is no conection between the two then where does the hot water come from it's my first caravan so im new to this.
The tap water is heated by a water heater [heat exchanger] where the hot glycol passes through an internal pipe, so heat can be transferred to the tap water but the two fluids not mix.
This link might help give you a little better understanding but get that professional help as something is wrong or wrongly assembled in your case.
Are you sure it is the expansion tank overflowing and not the fact that you have the hot water drain down valve open. The two are very different things. The expansion tank is normally the highest point in the heating system whereas the drain down is through the floor of the caravan. If it is not this you have major problems but I have never seen it happen before.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Makes you wonder if this Alde wet system is going to be another headache for owners. Our blown air heating is more than satisfactory and, when we change up, it's that system again for us.
Caravanning is a form of nomadic travelling, and simplicity for DIY "repairs on the hoof" is a must-have, in my honest opinion. We can be, and often are, very remote from comprehensive accessory facilities; and the last thing we want is wasting a large chunk of the holiday in chasing around for new parts that may be thin on the ground, or the need of calling out a costly mobile repair fitter. It seems to me that caravan manufacturers are too wrapped up in loading modern vans with fallable technology that can leave owners in very awkward situations, particularly when travelling abroad. Also, the basic holiday costs (fuel/pitch fees/annual servicing/insurance, etc) are rising alarmingly fast without manufacturers' gimmickry adding to fear of sudden, expensive component failure.
Quote: Originally posted by Daniel2006 on 21/10/2011
Thanks I will get somebody who knows what they doing. If there is no conection between the two then where does the hot water come from it's my first caravan so im new to this.
You need to download the manual for your boiler, so you can understand how it works, and check to see if you are operating it correctly, before calling anyone out.
I would agree, we bought our present van specifically to get the Alde heating, and would not buy a van with the blown air now.
I must say though, we always had plenty of hot water for a shower in our Sterling Emerald. It had the Carver Cascade, which I think held 9 litres, which is I think actually marginally more than the Alde holds.
Where the Alde scores is that the re-heating of the water is faster as, if not using the CH at the same time, you can have around 2kw of electricity and 6kw of gas reheating your water.
The Alde type of heating has been around for years. I can remember my dad having a caravan with the old Swetherm system nearly 40 years ago and that worked in the same basic way as the Alde. Most people who have it would never go back to blown air, it is only those that who have not tried it who are sceptical about it. If we all worried about things going faulty we would never do anything. If I want a few days of basic living I go off with my tent but for the most part I prefer the caravan especially in the winter months and for long stays.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Quote: Originally posted by geoff+emmy on 22/10/2011
Once you have had the alde system there is no way that we would go back to the blown air job
It provides an even heat,and enough hot water for a proper shower
It may depend on number of users, but we find there is plenty of hot water in the truma heater for two good showers. Also, our blown air heating is capable of providing more than enough warmth in the van. So, for us, the Alde system would be (a)a waste of money, and (b) a move into the realms of more risk of problems. Caravan appliances don't stay in warranty for long, then it's your own pocket that suffers.
As I have said, the most important factor in caravanning is simplicity when things go wrong. Once a van spec meets all your needs, why start paying for more than you need? I suspect some buyers will go for it just because it's the latest gizmo (I had an uncle like that; he paid through the nose just to be up front), similar to those who buy a van with full spec end bathroom and never use the shower. The manufacturers and dealers know exactly what they are doing; which is to lead us into purchasing complicated vans, and the need of the service depts to get us out of trouble.
Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 22/10/2011
Makes you wonder if this Alde wet system is going to be another headache for owners. /P]
bertie.
Well I dont think over the decades its been around its cause many headaches, probably literally less "headaches" than you can get with blown air heating. "This" particular Alde system referred to by the OP is not even one of the more modern ones.
Of course even blown air heating is not a DIY area in respect to any bit involving gas, the products of combustion or the mains electrical part. So it hardly qualifies for DIY servicing or repair. .
As a user I have to declare that I greatly prefer it in both its earlier and modern incarnations to any blown air system I have yet encountered.
Perhaps I am fortunate that my career background presents me with no problems concerning servicing/repairs to the blown air system. What does bother me, if I am correct, is that the Alde system has a sealed water system with added antifreeze (similar to a car cooling system). Considering possible vibration of the caravan when on the road, is there any danger of leaks and how would they affect coming into contact with furnishings and furniture surfaces?
Maybe I am being over pessimistic, but there is no shortage of owners regularly criticising manufacturers (and dealer service) for quality/repair failures in basic materials and components that have been around for years. Too often, we hear of owners who have cancelled a whole holiday season because of extensive problems. Are manufacturers making modern vans too house-like where maintenance is concerned; with an apparent assumption that major failures can be speedily rectified wherever the van may be when located on holiday.
It also has to be remembered that vans and their appliances do not remain in new, reliable condition indefinitely. As they become more complicated, what are the odds that holiday breaks will be continually bugged with faults two or three years down the line? Cars are already in this bracket but, unlike cars, there are no breakdown services (e.g., RAC) or readily available parts departments.
Alde has been around a long time, it is very extensively used in Scandinavia, and parts are easily available all over Europe, so no worries about spares. Alde also sell direct to the public, so spares and accessories can quickly be obtained.
I don't think there is any great danger of things coming loose, the connections are made using well secured rubber (?) hoses, and, since everything is pretty much at floor level, any spills would only affect the floor.
We have towed some 15500 miles in the last 3 years, some of it on pretty rough roads, and we have had no problems.
Everyone, of course, has their own approach to caravanning, and my maxim is to obtain all I need with things as simple as possible; on the basis that it offers the best chance of long term, trouble-free caravanning. One personal example for my beliefs, concerning our 2006 caravan:
May 2010, 4 days before going to France, and sterilizing our water system as usual. With no previous warning, bathroom tap leaked badly. Dismantling showed no identity of make (brochure just says 'domestic quality taps'), and two specially profiled rubber O-rings needed fof repair. Phoned cvaravan manufacturer's after sales care line. They refused to give me name of tap maker. So dashed over to dealer where van bought and is serviced. They kept no O-rings in stock, service dept also didn't know make. When I told them of caravan maker's attitude, they said that they got same treatment. (Incidentally, this year the dealer has ended the franchise with that caravan maker; who are at the upper end of the industry).
Ringing around, I finally sourced a chrome-look, monkey metal tap, which entailed £59 and a 50 mile round trip to collect. To this day, the chrome-on-brass expensive tap assembly sits in a drawer of my workbench as I have never succeeded in locating the special O-rings; either in accessory shops or at plumbers' merchants. And tthis is a low technology item, the basic design of which has been around for years.
Quite a lot of modern caravan fittings are little more than boys' toys gimmickry; all I can say is, "best of luck when these things pack up further down the line". I am perfectly capable of sorting out any problems that may occur (I have often helped others), but when we take our van on holiday the last thing we want is spending our time rectifying faults.
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Topic: Alde 2921
