We only use a timer for two hours of hot water. The heating is operated via Hive app or the thermostat as required, but always goes off at 2130
Doubled up, as many are, gives 600w/metre but that would still need over 13m - my 4-berth has about 3.5m of convector, plus the bathroom radiator.
For hot water our timer is set for 3 hours from 12am until 3am. Heating different modes during the day, but mainly turned down to 18C between 9am and 6pm. We need reasonable heating as both of us suffer from arthritis.
And also keep the settings for when to have heat and not to have heat. We enjoy being lazy when on holiday!
Thats certainly correct with our 3010, just the clock's time, though so often incorrectly stated as being needed to retain the timings, temperatures, etc, all the other "settings".
We added the battery feed and are very pleased with it.
I am far from pleased that even so claimed premier brands of caravan makers, don't at build fit this item, one which would cost so little, but then this is an industry that steadfastly supplied an inferior life inhibited coolant for decades, a case saving literally a couple of quid. End customers not being considered, again.
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Ours keeps the ' when to have heat or not' progs all the time. No batteries required(!)
We had the 3010 in our Lunar and upgraded the touchscreen control panel to the 3020. Just a matter of changing the panel. Touch panel a lot easier to use.
Quite probably, but as we do really nothing but switch it on or off, with all else retaining as set, I could not bring myself round to spending anything more let alone the £100 odd they asked when the touch screen came out. [war baby mentality, waste not].
The basic digital panel does take a bit of self-educating, but the instructions are crystal clear, and handbook studying is very much my thing, so there was no pressing issue to spend what to me was a lot.
I think there are two major differences.
First, houses have a fair amount of thermal capacity. caravans have virtually none. So a house can better deal with temperature fluctuations and potentially heat up or cool down faster.
Second, essentially a caravan is just one room.
The Alde timer works fine, but when we did use it we found we continually needed to override as we stayed up a bit later or got up at a different time. So doing it manually is no effort and suits our lifestyle, as we don’t want it to warm when in bed.
But whatever suits you is the best.
At home, our heating can be timed and temperature programmed to every room individually. 24/7 and overridden from anywhere.
John
Informative comments "Troops" ... Must admit I still have not quite got the Alde system sorted yet...
Was either too hot or just a tad too cool. Fixed bed bedroom was sauna type even throwing off the quilt the first night but lounge and kitchen area was spot on.
Second and third night just turned down the thermostat and turned it up first thing in the morning. Next trip will play with the timer.....
Thanks once more for informative comments much appreciated...
GAS ....
Was either too hot or just a tad too cool. Fixed bed bedroom was sauna type even throwing off the quilt the first night but lounge and kitchen area was spot on.
Second and third night just turned down the thermostat and turned it up first thing in the morning. Next trip will play with the timer.....
Thanks once more for informative comments much appreciated...
GAS ....
Not sure what temperature you have it set to at night, but we find 17c more than adequate. In summer the ALDE heating is turned right down to 5C however no real need to do this as ALDE will not switch on anyway as ALDE set temperature has normally been exceeded naturally.
Being too warm in one area and cool in another is a caravan manufacture issue as the have not balanced the location and size of the convectors.
There are things which can be done to improve this if it is a real issue.
1. Make sure the towel rail gets hot. if not, bleed, and/or step the pump up 1 click.
2. Look at the convection slots were the heat rises from the convectors, are the clear, are they sufficient. Buckman will tell you this was a big issue in a van he once had.
3. Double check the settings, particularly advanced. I had problems with mine yoyoing. Alde talked me throught it. Lunar had factory set it for the wrong pump.
4. Perhaps use a small quiet fan to circulate. (but should not be needed).
5. Consider fitting a remote temp sensor. Mine was in the controller by the door. I added one over the living area which was an improvement. You can add more and switch between them, but thats a bit too much for my liking.
6. Maintain a background heat. We do 17 overnight or if we go out, 20 during the day and 23 in the evening.
7. Use the minimum boiler setting, we only use gas for initial heating, then just 1 kw in mild weather and 2 when a bit colder. if it needs 3 kw we stay at home.
John
There are things which can be done to improve this if it is a real issue.
1. Make sure the towel rail gets hot. if not, bleed, and/or step the pump up 1 click.
2. Look at the convection slots were the heat rises from the convectors, are the clear, are they sufficient. Buckman will tell you this was a big issue in a van he once had.
3. Double check the settings, particularly advanced. I had problems with mine yoyoing. Alde talked me throught it. Lunar had factory set it for the wrong pump.
4. Perhaps use a small quiet fan to circulate. (but should not be needed).
5. Consider fitting a remote temp sensor. Mine was in the controller by the door. I added one over the living area which was an improvement. You can add more and switch between them, but thats a bit too much for my liking.
6. Maintain a background heat. We do 17 overnight or if we go out, 20 during the day and 23 in the evening.
7. Use the minimum boiler setting, we only use gas for initial heating, then just 1 kw in mild weather and 2 when a bit colder. if it needs 3 kw we stay at home.
John
To add to John's submission:
You can "help" correct for fundamentally poor design that gets the heat distribution wrong, simply by limiting the effectiveness of the too warm area's emitters, put a towel on a convector or inhibit the air flow in to an extent. Over stuffing bedding lockers can readily achieve the latter even when not intended.
You can "help" correct for fundamentally poor design that gets the heat distribution wrong, simply by limiting the effectiveness of the too warm area's emitters, put a towel on a convector or inhibit the air flow in to an extent. Over stuffing bedding lockers can readily achieve the latter even when not intended.
Bleeding really only is an "on off" thing, an air lock stops any inhibited fluid flow and space heating dead, bleeding out the air achieves a fluid flow and with it the ability to distribute heat.
Once flow is achieved it then becomes a self-purging system, shifting any residual entrained air, not large enough to cause an air lock because things are flowing, to release that air via the header tank.
It might take a while to purge as the bubbles can be very small and the residence time in the header too short the first or 50th time they pass through it. Here really upping the heat to expand the bubbles helps greatly, something dealers setting to work don't sometime appreciate, so don't do properly.
The pump set at higher speed is great for heating but can be in itself and in the higher speed fluid flow, very noisy. However, it's good for breaking the not too higher "head" air locks, hence how set up pre PDI.
Once flow is achieved it then becomes a self-purging system, shifting any residual entrained air, not large enough to cause an air lock because things are flowing, to release that air via the header tank.
It might take a while to purge as the bubbles can be very small and the residence time in the header too short the first or 50th time they pass through it. Here really upping the heat to expand the bubbles helps greatly, something dealers setting to work don't sometime appreciate, so don't do properly.
The pump set at higher speed is great for heating but can be in itself and in the higher speed fluid flow, very noisy. However, it's good for breaking the not too higher "head" air locks, hence how set up pre PDI.
When purging thesystme of air it is wise to run the pump on 5 for about 20 minutes. Lower the nose as much as possible if radiator in bathroom and then bleed the system. We had to do it about 3 - 4 times over a year to get it just right. On the initial bleed a lot of air came out. After that very little. I wonder if the dealer changed the fluid from 2 year to 5 year fluid as cannot remember if this is a brand new or quite new second hand caravan.
If the pump can establish a flow, ie the flow is not air locked then it is irrelevant to tip the van one way or other.
It can become important if the pump, or a slave filling pump can't, or we try a gravity fill and prime the system.
In a large part this is why using a high head slave filling pump helps so much, it has the pressure developing capability to break air locks, sweeping them out of the pipework.
I don't know the characteristics of the presently specified circulating pump, whether on setting 5 there is adequate head to break any likely size air lock, hopefully so as it would be a bonus.
My older pump system can't and purging the system after a gravity fill can be tedious, not difficult.
It can become important if the pump, or a slave filling pump can't, or we try a gravity fill and prime the system.
In a large part this is why using a high head slave filling pump helps so much, it has the pressure developing capability to break air locks, sweeping them out of the pipework.
I don't know the characteristics of the presently specified circulating pump, whether on setting 5 there is adequate head to break any likely size air lock, hopefully so as it would be a bonus.
My older pump system can't and purging the system after a gravity fill can be tedious, not difficult.
Wow, what a lot of Faffing about, maybe its just the PCf lot not getting it correct, I will stay with my Truma Combi air blown heating. Worked superb for ( 9 years now) replaced the electric elements once.
It is a learning curve but little different than other systems, all seem to have their foibles. I think Gas might be over-worrying using something new to him.
The basic system to easy to use and reliable. There are a lot of options available, most not needed for most things, but they do give an impression that it is more complex than necessary.
John
Alde really isn't complex. Unles you make it. We've never had it before. Set the offset to - 4 and the beauty of the system is the toner allows you 4 slots. Day not and two if you want in between but if you overlap the times you can have three or two. We have 15.5 from bed time to up as night, then it's a gap where the temp is 17 and water on priority for toasty showers ( if it's on the water is hot any it's just priority ) then from 9am day at16 degs ie we're probably out so no need for heat much, then a gap from 5 to 9 where it's warmer . You can alter each manually too so tweak it to taste. We've never had such even heating in a caravan in fact it's far better than home tbh.
We live, still, in our touring caravan full time as such our Alde is used more than most.Getting "Big Berthy" ready for our first trip in my new to me 2019 Swift Challenger 560 to good auld Machrihanish.
This is my first van I have had with the Alde heating system and quite confident in dealing with this new to me heating system. My only concern doing my homework is it apparently can over heat and shut down due to an air blockage. Is this quite a common issue for this type of heating ?
Shall be giving the van a good shake down this weekend so fingers crossed all should be well.......
GAS .....
We havent any issues with airclocks
When we toured with it we did get some air in the system but all we needed to do was open the radiator valve in the bathroom towel rad.
We do have a 1 litre bottle of glycol fluid mixed accordingly to top the system up now and again as the "Auto Air Bleed doofer" in my mind can let a little fluid out when you tow the caravan especially over uneven ground.
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