Circulation pump selection Alde swift challenger

[knowyouronions]

Hi, i was hoping to get some tech advice. I have a swift challenger 480, 2017 with alde. On the alde control panel under installed accessories I have options for the circulation pump . They are :Optional, main manual 12v, main remote 12v, main 230v. Which if any should be ticked ?

Any help appreciated.

 

[Martin_E]

I believe it is main 12v manual.

Remote ones tend to be fitted to boats or some foreign vans, I have never come across a 230v one

 

[Buckman]

Circulation Pump. Select which circulation pump to use for the central heating, depending on what pumps are installed. Pump mode can also be set.

Pump Manual 12 V. For the 12 V inline circulation pump with manual 5-speed dial.

Pump Remote 12 V. For the remote-controlled 12 V inline circulation pump. Pump speed can also be set. Speed 2 is recommended. Speed 4–5 should only be used prior to bleeding the system of air.

Optional Pump 12 V. For the optional 12 V circulation pump in the expansion tank.

Pump 230 V. For the 230 V inline circulation pump.

Auto. Automatically selects the 230 V pump when a 230 V supply is detected, or the optional 12 V pump when only 12 V supply is available.

Seems it is best to set it to Auto?

 

[Paullus1959]

The pump options caught me out when I bought my Coacman VIP 575/4 back in 2016. This has the impeller pump in the header tank. I was messing with the settings in the menus on the Alde control panel and ended up with no heating at all after selecting the wrong pump. My thinking was that I haven’t got an “optional” pump so, I selected the 12v inline pump which as Buckman states is for the pump attached to the boiler itself, which I have subsequently fitted to get rid of the noisy impeller pump. I ended up taking my caravan back to the dealer because I thought the boiler was faulty but, in fact if you have the impeller in the header tank, then “optional” pump should be selected.
Something else that caught me out was the selection of the temperature sensor for the heating. I had three menu options, “panel”, “lounge” and “bed”. When I selected “bed” the temperature just soared and I had to turn it down manually on the Alde control panel. There are in fact only two temperature sensors in the caravan, one in the Alde control panel itself and the other is located in the caravan control panel casing above the door. So, when I selected “bed” the system was waiting for a signal from a nonexistent sensor. The “panel” sensor in my humble opinion is nigh on useless too due to its location, in my caravan, above the worktop where I place my TV above the fridge. Both the fridge and TV produce heat which affects the temperature sensor in the panel leading to a cold caravan.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Touring caravans are designed to be able to be used without mains supply, so the pump will be 12V dc.

 

[Paullus1959]

Touring caravans are designed to be able to be used without mains supply, so the pump will be 12V dc.

Yes the pump is 12v but as I stated above, if there is an impeller in the header tank it’s called “Optional Pump” in the Alde Control Panel menu. This has to be selected as all other options will leave you with no heating.

 

[Buckman]

Touring caravans are designed to be able to be used without mains supply, so the pump will be 12V dc.

If that is correct, not sure why they then have the "Auto" option. The "Auto" option seems to indicate that there are two pumps, one for mains 240v and another for 12v?

 

[ProfJohnL]

I suspect the Alde heater can be used in a variety of settings, If its in a touring caravan, its very likely it will be expected to be able to be used without mains power being available.

But the heater can be fitted in other circumstances, such as static caravans or even inland waterways boats, and in those situations they may have a permanent 230V ac mains supply.

As always the answer should be in either the installation or user instructions, which should be the users first port of call. Then if its not clear or they are not available, then the secondary source should be the dealer or manufacturer, and only as a last resort should a forum be the source, and then you alway check the validity of the information. Never assume it's 100% accurate.
....Even my advice!

 

[Buckman]

The dealer secondary source is probably not worth bothering with as people on this forum probably no more than most dealers.

You seem to have a better understanding of most things, without sounding patronising or rude, if you have not already done so, why not download the instruction manual from their website?

Your input could be of value for some people.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The dealer secondary source is probably not worth bothering with as people on this forum probably no more than most dealers.

There is a massive problem about the advice available on forums, including this one, the fact we are anonymised means readers have no means of verifying or validating the knowledge or experience of the writer.

We might have impressive qualifications and masses of experience, but the reader has no way of distinguishing between the good guys, and those who are genuinely just mistakenly wrong, or those who might have an agenda to disrupt.

By referring to a dealer at least there is a physical traceable presence.

I do agree there have been occasions where information given by dealers ( or a junior member of the dealership) has been poor, and I'm pretty certain there will be a much larger number of occasions where the Dealers advice has been perfectly satisfactory - we just don't hear about it.

At least with a dealership you have a physical entity with which the matter can be discussed.

You seem to have a better understanding of most things, without sounding patronising or rude, if you have not already done so, why not download the instruction manual from their website?
...

I will decide what documentation to download, but If I can download them, so can anyone who posts a question on the forum, and the at least they will know if the documents come from the manufacturers site they will at least be genuine and trustworthy rather than an anonymous ramble.

 

[Dustydog]

A quick look at Alde website clearly shows all three pumps, one being optional, as 12v. That makes sense to me . Who would go off grid knowing your heating won’t work without 230v?
If this is wrong please don’t shoot , I‘m the messenger😉

 

[otherclive]

After reading a number of different threads re Alde heating I think I’m quite pleased I stayed with blown air, even for four seasons touring.

 

[Paullus1959]

If that is correct, not sure why they then have the "Auto" option. The "Auto" option seems to indicate that there are two pumps, one for mains 240v and another for 12v?

Interestingly, and I’ve have just checked as I’m away in my caravan at the moment, mine doesn’t have an Auto pump selection option.
Also, when I contacted the dealer to ask them about the problem I was having on my very first trip away in my brand new caravan with no heating, they hadn’t got a clue. I had to take the caravan back to them and even then they ended up speaking to Alde who explained that I needed to select “Optional Pump”. Any questions I have now about the Alde system are directed to Alde themselves who are incredibly helpful.
To be fair, after that initial error on my behalf, The Alde system has worked perfectly.

 

[Martin_E]

Something you have to bear in mind is that there are three visions of the 3020 software ( I will rephrase the software bit) each version could have slight tweaks as time goes through production software wise.

3020 HE (original one)

3020 HE (2016 - )

And 3020 HE (2018 - iNet Ready)

They are generally very simple to sort the problems out but if someone has fiddlers fingers they are also easy to tie in knots!
Generally if it all goes pear shaped a reset sorts things out, but occasionally a coupe of tweaks are required.

 

[knowyouronions]

I believe it is main 12v manual.

Remote ones tend to be fitted to boats or some foreign vans, I have never come across a 230v one

Thanks, I'm sure that's right. I did a reset on the control panel and that was also the default. The handbooks not very clear.

Thanks

 

[knowyouronions]

The pump options caught me out when I bought my Coacman VIP 575/4 back in 2016. This has the impeller pump in the header tank. I was messing with the settings in the menus on the Alde control panel and ended up with no heating at all after selecting the wrong pump. My thinking was that I haven’t got an “optional” pump so, I selected the 12v inline pump which as Buckman states is for the pump attached to the boiler itself, which I have subsequently fitted to get rid of the noisy impeller pump. I ended up taking my caravan back to the dealer because I thought the boiler was faulty but, in fact if you have the impeller in the header tank, then “optional” pump should be selected.
Something else that caught me out was the selection of the temperature sensor for the heating. I had three menu options, “panel”, “lounge” and “bed”. When I selected “bed” the temperature just soared and I had to turn it down manually on the Alde control panel. There are in fact only two temperature sensors in the caravan, one in the Alde control panel itself and the other is located in the caravan control panel casing above the door. So, when I selected “bed” the system was waiting for a signal from a nonexistent sensor. The “panel” sensor in my humble opinion is nigh on useless too due to its location, in my caravan, above the worktop where I place my TV above the fridge. Both the fridge and TV produce heat which affects the temperature sensor in the panel leading to a cold caravan.

I think dealers, or van manufacturers themselves could provide some bespoke documents for each van which details the default configuration settings rather than the generic component manufacturers documents. It would save a bit of confusion. Initially I had no idea about what's fitted or not. Sorted now. Cheers

 

[knowyouronions]

If that is correct, not sure why they then have the "Auto" option. The "Auto" option seems to indicate that there are two pumps, one for mains 240v and another for 12v?

I'm sure some installations might have the ability to switch, it's just not relevant to most uk touring vans. Better dealers docs would help people waisting time fiddling around trying to find the optimal setting when in fact only one setting is available. That or the ability to disable the options that don't apply - but that would require some development work on the part of the heating manufacture.

 

[knowyouronions]

The dealer secondary source is probably not worth bothering with as people on this forum probably no more than most dealers.

You seem to have a better understanding of most things, without sounding patronising or rude, if you have not already done so, why not download the instruction manual from their website?

Your input could be of value for some people.

Swift don't have a direct technical help line and refer people to the dealer network, a dealer that did call me back, but wasn't exactly a technical wizz and didn't really convince me he knew. The generic oem documents which I also read cover a variety of installations worldwide - hence not very useful when you don't know the pump type you have.

Anyway I got my answer here pretty quickly and is exactly what a tech forum is all about.

 

[Martin_E]

Thanks, I'm sure that's right. I did a reset on the control panel and that was also the default. The handbooks not very clear.

Thanks

Cool, pleased you are sorted 👍

 

[Buckman]

I'm sure some installations might have the ability to switch, it's just not relevant to most uk touring vans. Better dealers docs would help people waisting time fiddling around trying to find the optimal setting when in fact only one setting is available. That or the ability to disable the options that don't apply - but that would require some development work on the part of the heating manufacture.

We have always had the instruction books with our ALDE system however easier to download the documents.