Alde fluid change issues?

[Guzzilazz]

Hi All

Our Cabrera is having it's 5th year service, for which I requested a fluid change. The service is done but the dealer has said they can't do it mainly because if the costs of disposal of the old fluid... Anyone else in the Essex area had a similar experience?

 

[Jcloughie]

Our local tip has a place where it can be emptied for free. If yours has, perhaps they could change the fluid and give you back the old fluid so you could dispose of it yourself.

John

 

[Buckman]

Our local tip has a place where it can be emptied for free. If yours has, perhaps they could change the fluid and give you back the old fluid so you could dispose of it yourself.

John

TBH I think the dealer is making excuses not to do the job as it is time consuming for them? I would have thought that other customers would have asked the dealer the same question. Normally it is the cost of the dealer to do the job that puts off people. Ours was done by ALDE about 3 years ago and it cost us well under £200, but I have read of dealers wanting to charge +£250!

 

[RogerL]

Why do caravans need the Alde coolant changed after 5 years? Most cars have no recommended change interval for their cooling systems despite having the same iron/steel/aluminium mix of materials and using the same G13 coolant.

 

[Buckman]

Why do caravans need the Alde coolant changed after 5 years? Most cars have no recommended change interval for their cooling systems despite having the same iron/steel/aluminium mix of materials and using the same G13 coolant.

It is actually 2 years for some caravans built before 2020. I think may cars are traded in at 5 years so not loner the original owner's problem.

 

[RogerL]

It is actually 2 years for some caravans built before 2020. I think may cars are traded in at 5 years so not loner the original owner's problem.

The trade-in pattern for cars is surely irrelevant - but equally applies for caravans anyway.

 

[otherclive]

My previous two cars were for coolant change at 10 years and after there was a shorter change period stipulated. Present car I don’t know as it’s not yet three years old.

 

[Mel]

Hi All

Our Cabrera is having it's 5th year service, for which I requested a fluid change. The service is done but the dealer has said they can't do it mainly because if the costs of disposal of the old fluid... Anyone else in the Essex area had a similar experience?

Get a quote from an AWS mobile engineer. You may find it isn’t a problem.
Good luck
Mel

 

[Martin_E]

If your a business it is expensive to get rid of antifreeze, they can’t just tip it down the toilet or take it to the local tip, it has to be an approved company.

As for why five years, I assume it’s what it says on the tin 🤷‍♂️

Generalising cars are 10 years why 5 for caravans with its G13 could it be there are different forms of G13 (I wouldn’t know)

I would guess if it were to ask Alde why 5 years they would know…….I wonder if it’s down to the way it is used, caravans sit around doing nothing for months, cars are normally used more frequently 🤔

 

[martindf3]

Why do caravans need the Alde coolant changed after 5 years? Most cars have no recomme nded change interval for their cooling systems despite having the same iron/steel/aluminium mix of materials and using the same G13 coolant.

Cars run nearly 100 deg .so coolant last longer There some new stuff creeping abouttesting the coolant with a multimeter ,too see how contamination in in it .if it’s clear and doesn’t smell don’t change it . Different countries say the same coolant can stay in for the life of the engine . All quite interesting G13 is an SAE spec ,if it passes it has to be the same

 

[Guzzilazz]

Well, our issue has "gone away" as we're trading the van in for a new Cabrera

 

[RogerL]

Cars run nearly 100 deg .so coolant last longer There some new stuff creeping abouttesting the coolant with a multimeter ,too see how contamination in in it .if it’s clear and doesn’t smell don’t change it . Different countries say the same coolant can stay in for the life of the engine . All quite interesting G13 is an SAE spec ,if it passes it has to be the same

I understood that G12, G13, etc are specifications from VW Group, not SAE.

 

[JTQ]

Why do caravans need the Alde coolant changed after 5 years? Most cars have no recommended change interval for their cooling systems despite having the same iron/steel/aluminium mix of materials and using the same G13 coolant.

There are differences in the applications.
Most domestic cars used "sealed" pressurised coolant systems, the Alde uses a vented atmospheric system, so is "breathing" the header's void space in and out.
Plus, the gas burner can presents some real corrosion control challenges, in running locally very hot and is by its nature an item with a relatively thin wall thickness, thus heat is not well dissipated locally, and there is little thickness to tolerate pitting corrosion. Add to that it is an alloy, so that in itself can present its own grain boundary pitting corrosion sensitivity issues.

As designers of systems requiring inhibited water cooling, we all make our recommendations on a whole raft of factors, here Alde's designers recommend that even using a true VW TL 774 J, {short code, G13], the "safe" life is 5 years .

As end users we take our chances that they have called it right or wrong, we can bring in our own opinions, some reflecting features of our own use and make our own decision on ours. Me, albeit with quite a lot of insight into making such decisions on capital equipment cooling systems, I simply follow Alde's than try to rethink it all out for myself.

 

[Jcloughie]

There are differences in the applications.
Most domestic cars used "sealed" pressurised coolant systems, the Alde uses a vented atmospheric system, so is "breathing" the header's void space in and out.
Plus, the gas burner can presents some real corrosion control challenges, in running locally very hot and is by its nature an item with a relatively thin wall thickness, thus heat is not well dissipated locally, and there is little thickness to tolerate pitting corrosion. Add to that it is an alloy, so that in itself can present its own grain boundary pitting corrosion sensitivity issues.

As designers of systems requiring inhibited water cooling, we all make our recommendations on a whole raft of factors, here Alde's designers recommend that even using a true VW TL 774 J, {short code, G13], the "safe" life is 5 years .

As end users we take our chances that they have called it right or wrong, we can bring in our own opinions, some reflecting features of our own use and make our own decision on ours. Me, albeit with quite a lot of insight into making such decisions on capital equipment cooling systems, I simply follow Alde's than try to rethink it all out for myself.

Excellent explanation.

However, as the environment in caravans is so different to cars. It makes it even more difficult to understand why so many manufacturers only put 2 year fluid in.

John

 

[JTQ]

Excellent explanation.

However, as the environment in caravans is so different to cars. It makes it even more difficult to understand why so many manufacturers only put 2 year fluid in.

John

"Understanding" why, is not at all "difficult" but the conclusion does nothing to impress.
Took into decades to adopt the mega advances being made in these products. Thankfully, now in the UK I understand adopted.

The only mitigating point is it probably saved the "ignorant" [ not used in its derogatory sense] user, workshop etc, just picking up a really basic antifreeze and landing in problems.

Edit: that we refer to these products as "antifreeze" does feed the public's confusion, whilst providing that important feature, it completely misses at least one other massively important one.

 

[Martin_E]

Excellent explanation.

However, as the environment in caravans is so different to cars. It makes it even more difficult to understand why so many manufacturers only put 2 year fluid in.

John

They all (if they want 3 year warranty) have to use (at the moment) Fusch Maintain Fricogin V50, although I think that name is going to change soon, but still from the Fusch stable

 

[Jcloughie]

They all (if they want 3 year warranty) have to use (at the moment) Fusch Maintain Fricogin V50, although I think that name is going to change soon, but still from the Fusch stable

ALL, please clarify.

Yet

Fuchs Maintain Fricofin V - Violet Antifreeze / Coolant Concentrate - VW G13 Coolant​

Is VW G13, and Alde only mentions this as the specification, and promotes their own brand.

John

 

[Martin_E]

Mai

ALL, please clarify.

Yet

Fuchs Maintain Fricofin V - Violet Antifreeze / Coolant Concentrate - VW G13 Coolant​

Is VW G13, and Alde only mentions this as the specification, and promotes their own brand.

John

Maintain Fricofin V50 is magenta same spec as VW as is Alde own antifreeze

 

[Oscarmax]

Changed the fluid yesterday followed the Alde handbook supplied with the Swift caravan using the header tank no issues.

 

[Buckman]

Changed the fluid yesterday followed the Alde handbook supplied with the Swift caravan using the header tank no issues.

Well done as that is a job I leave to the experts. Does your local tip accept the fluid as it cannot be disposed down a drain or the toilet?