Fluid Change for Alde Heating

[@RogerC596]

Glad I found this. It justifies our having ours done by the professionals and confirms the cost isn't so exorbitant after all. Thank you.

[@SeawolfGB]

Hi Bob. All I did was to disconnect the in out to the header. connected hoses to the in and out of the tanks connectors and put the inlet pipe into a container with the new antifreeze and an old container from the outlet and turn the heating pump on and draw it through. Once the colour changed to the new fluid I turned the pump off. Reattached the expansion tank and bled the system. Job done! Cheers. Nick

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

Great idea. I just bought a 2017 AirStream with the Alde system. I love it. I want to change the glyco just so I can start a time baseline. Great idea

[@scottelwood8348]

I always learn something new after watching the videos. So from across the big pond a big thank you.

[@jimjdrive]

Excellent video🔧 just had my 2011 Swift Conqueror 570 serviced and a alde fluid change and i can say certain jobs are worth paying for and this was one of them jobs. Especially as the fluid only needs to be changed every 5 years now so the £150 bill was good value on this occasion.

[@Youtube_deleted_my_favourites]

I thought I recognised Robbie, he services our caravan in Lathom - good lad Robbie

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Yes, very patient with me asking daft questions!

[@dudeonart8492]

Most modern car engines have many coolant passages, like EGR coolers/water cooled turbos/remote electric coolant pumps/cabin heaters x 2 etc, and thus also have many potential air locks and pockets for trapped bubbles. Therefore they are normally are vacuum filled these days. You connect the clean new fluid to the drain point via a hose immersed in the new fluid container (ensure container it is vented) and have a filler cap with pipe through it connected to a vac pump (must be air tight at filler cap end) or a rubber cone shaped adaptor on your vac supply that you can hold air tight onto the neck of the header tank. Switch on vac pump and it pulls all air out of system,n and as it does so, atmospheric pressure on the vented new fluid container, pushes new fluid into system to replace expelled air into the system now under depression or below atmospheric pressure!! Simples! I have performed this coolant system filling many times and it always works treat first time every time. Much easier than the way he seemed to be faffing about. Great video. Did he just do the Alde system and how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking? Also what is the capacity of the system in litres? Cheers Bob - Dude

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Dude On A RT Thanks that's interesting. Have you used this on an Alde system? Robbie followed the system that Alde recommends and charged £150 + VAT.

[@dudeonart8492]

Hi Bob, no I haven't. I'm new to the Alde system, just about to get my first van with it hence doing some youtube research. I guess there could be some other reason why they don't/can't vac fill, but as I say it works great on complex modern car engine cooling systems which are arguably more complex than a central heating system. Not cheap but I guess he has to supply new coolant and dispose of old too.

[@ericlacey6872]

Dude On A RT I

[@dudeonart8492]

??????

[@geofus]

Its not difficult, I did my own here kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3XLn2aZmbdsa5Y

[@bridgetsalter265]

That guy earned his money bob, what little he gets out of it ! My hubby always said ,motor homes built ,x made for Japanese racing snakes!😃 I recall how at 30stone this fit man could somehow get fingers into places ment for a split pin ! But.......i would not be able to repeat on this page the use of some choice words lol.💪. You did well their bob in a confined space to give a good account ,and to warn others of the work involved ....👍👏 Best wishes both x

[@lostweekendscaravan]

Wow that is quite a big job. I bet thats not cheap. Good video Bob. Phil and Juliet

[@stewchesman5259]

Great video again Bob. What a task to try and undertake yourself. Thank heaven for people like Robbie lol ;))

[@davidmumford8098]

Very helpful thanks . Not something to be done by yourself !

[@arthurdent2900]

FYI Bob, A few years ago Robbies workshop was broken into and amongst other things they stole his Yorkie bar and wrote "thanks for the chocolate" on his whiteboard. Whenever he works on my MoHo I give him a Yorkie with his brew. He changed my Alde fluid a couple of years ago. Great job, great price.

[@TravelTrollsTV]

Thanks for that. Now l know exactly what to do when it needs doing....ring Robbie.

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Lol. Just watching your Sutton Hoo vid. Brilliant. You should be a guide!

[@sarinfserg4965]

Did you get a camper van yet ?

[@TheCaravanNut]

That’s not a DIY job I would like to do! really interesting. Thanks for sharing Bob 👍

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Rather you than me!

[@samnelson7818]

Now I know how to do it. Thank you

[@dawngreen4074]

Often wondered what went on...now I know...

[@steveh9089]

I think what made that look so difficult was the room or lack of it and the position of the tank

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

I'm just glad I didn't try it myself!

[@sarinfserg4965]

Hi from Alabama Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw! Question......which of the two camper vans did you like better between the Westfalia and Malibu? Which felt more spacious between the two? The Westfalia looked very narrow between the bathroom and kitchen counter. We love both of them but of course, living in the states, we have not been able to see them in person. My husband Carmelo and I love your vlogs and we appreciate your input and information. We also love your fur kids as we have four of them! We look forward to your next travel adventures! Regards, Lori and Carmelo

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

I only looked in the Malibu briefly but we had a demo at the NEC. It's difficult to compare on space, as they are both panel vans and will have less space in various places. The Malibus felt a little overdressed and my feeling is that I preferred the Westfalias. It's a personal preference though!

[@sarinfserg4965]

Thank you so much Mr. Earnshaw for your response! Lori and Carmelo

[@christinecorner8973]

Oh my, I wonder if Motorhome designers ever think about access for servicing equipment!

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

No! The same as car manufacturers dont as clearly youve never tried to fit a headlamp bulb these days!

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

Boats are the same. Sometimes they build systems in the vessel as they buidlt the boat. No way to get them in or out without cutting away some of the boat

[@Maris_RealEstate_Croatia]

I have problem to run Alda heating on gas / electric. So everything on main controls is set correctly, I tray to restart all. And heating start and finish in60-90 sec. Fluid is full. Do you know if is thermostat maybe problem?

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Have you checked the night settings, and is the clock set correctly?

[@Maris_RealEstate_Croatia]

Bob Earnshaw yes is off, is strat to run but after 60 sec stops

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

The only other thing I can think of, check the temperature offset setting. The spanner setting, then temperature offset setting.

[@andrewseamaster]

This is a lot easier than this makes it look. The Alde genuine pump looks like a pain in the arse!

[@steveselby6817]

Hi Bob, I recall you doing a video on the control panel for the Alde Heating system but I cant seem to find it. I find that when I put the heating on, although I haven't programmed the hot water, this comes on at the same time. Should it do that? I thought you could have the heating on without the hot water or have I got that wrong? Thanks Steve

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

I searched for 'Bob Earnshaw Alde' and found this that I made 5 years ago now. kzbin.info/www/bejne/an3dooCCe5afkM0 Youu should be able to have the heating on without the water heater. On the Alde panel make sure the shower symbol has a greyed out mnus symbol next to it. If you have the Swift Command panel, make sure the 'water' is off in the timer settings. Or if in manual that the 'water' is not highlighted.

[@steveselby6817]

@@BobEarnshawMoHo Thanks for the quick reply Bob, I have checked both panels and they are both as you suggest they should be. I will see if I can get hold of anyone at Alde to clarify what the problem could be (if there is a problem) Thanks again and regards to Jenny and Poppy

[@steveselby6817]

@@BobEarnshawMoHo Hi Bob, please see below the information from Alde, it would appear that my system is working as it should Regards Steve Thank you for query, from your description the boiler is working as it should be. As there is no separate heating element in the water jacket the water is heated through heat transfer from your heating fluid chamber. When you are setting the control panel so the sliding bar is empty on the shower icon you are telling the system you don’t want it to regulate the hot water to keep it at roughly 65 degrees. So when the sliding bar is set to empty the boiler wont switch back on just to get the water up to temperature. But if you have the heating on you will still get heat transfer in to that water jacket . When the sliding bar is set half way the system will monitor the temperature of the water in the jacket and keep it at 65 degrees even when the boiler is not circulating for heating.

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Great, thanks for the update, that makes sense. I usually drain down the water in my boiler when at home in the winter, so I won't notice the water temperature. Everyday is a school day!

[@robertcrouch6429]

After watching that all I can say is I will stick with my warm air heating!

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

Robert Crouch do you ride a bike because changing the anti freeze in your car looks complicated?

[@sarinfserg4965]

It looked very hard to do it yourself, specially for me that I’m disabled

[@toneskill]

how much did it cost

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Thanks, it was £150.

[@jameswilson8820]

@@BobEarnshawMoHo is that everything new fluid sawell

[@colinhumphries2892]

When I had ours changed 2years ago it was a special offer at the habitational service, red antifreeze for five years. The service engineer said it was a nightmare to get all the air locks out, have never seen that special offer again at the garage, wonder why ! It goes to show, leave the major service jobs to the experts with the proper tools and knowledge . Do you now know why your habitational service garage said they did not have the red antifreeze in stock ? Was it expensive to change at a set price ?

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

Colin Humphries Thanks. I don't think our Motorhome Dealer wanted the job. Just an excuse. Now I know why.

[@bobmckayfreedom]

No way I’d try this

[@ryandenton09]

He should have flushed it with water to make sure All the blue was gone as the pink anti freeze will mix with the blue and spoil the new fluid so this job has not been completed correct

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

That's for your comment, as I understand it, the old fluid was drained out and then pumped out as the new fluid was pumped through the whole system. That's why it took so long.

[@ryandenton09]

I am also a caravan service technician and have been trained on alde heating systems and is ncc approved to carry out this work and when I was training I was trained to flush with around 25 litres of water then use a coolant refractometer to check your level of anti freeze to water is a low level then start to pump in your new alde fluid and then stop one around 4 to 6 pints of the new fluid go's into the wast to ensure a full clean system

[@BobEarnshawMoHo]

@@ryandenton09 Then I should have called you then! I've looked at Alde's own video and they did the same as Aintree Caravan services though. Thanks for your comments.

[@ryandenton09]

OK the but alde video on here was on the compact 2000 system and not the 3010 and up over there was a change in the pumping system and and the blue fluid starts braking down after 2 years and gets thick bits in it the Water is to get rid of this Easy and to give the system a good clean that's all a tip for next time

[@jameswilson8820]

@@ryandenton09 next time Bob can contact you 😁

[@juliehowarth9565]

This looks too complicated to diy. Leave it to the experts like Robbie

[@lynnrixson3013]

OMG! Unbelievably ridiculous 😏😏

[@keithdavies51]

Mmmmm. Not a job for the faint hearted. Best left to the professionals. Seems to me that Alde and caravan/motorhome manufacturers need to speak to each other to make life a lot easier.