Best Of
Re: Fresh water pushing out glycol from the Alde
I was asked in a direct message about the status of our Alde. After re-welding the Pinhole leak in our tank, everything has been as good as new, or maybe better :-)
If you have this problem and know someone who can TIG weld stainless steel, it was a simple fix with basic hand tools and a little time.
If you have this problem and know someone who can TIG weld stainless steel, it was a simple fix with basic hand tools and a little time.
Re: Hello from South Florida
@tarawa1943 the 2017 models (now designated 320's) were the first touted as completely manufactured without wood in the structure. The floor was azdel as well as the side walls. Front to back has a different construction, but still without wood. There are, of course, interior wood cabinets.
My t@b has a manufacture date of April, 2016 and it is a 2017 model which includes those features.
If particularly worried about durability, you might search for a Sofitel model. They have an entirely aluminum skin, both sides and front to back roof. They can get dented, but the exterior shell won't crack or scratch as a result.
Good luck with your quest. IMO they are top of the line, most manageable and most appealing trailers out there, but I admit to being biased as I am 10 years smitten.
My t@b has a manufacture date of April, 2016 and it is a 2017 model which includes those features.
If particularly worried about durability, you might search for a Sofitel model. They have an entirely aluminum skin, both sides and front to back roof. They can get dented, but the exterior shell won't crack or scratch as a result.
Good luck with your quest. IMO they are top of the line, most manageable and most appealing trailers out there, but I admit to being biased as I am 10 years smitten.
Re: Hello from South Florida
Yes, welcome to the group! I hope you will find just what you are looking for, lots of knowledgeable folks here who are happy to help out.
Re: Hello from South Florida
Welcome and good luck with your search!
New Bathroom Door Frame
The plastic trim around our bathroom door had become brittle and broken. I replaced it with some 3/4" aluminum channel from Lowes. I used a dremel with miniature cutoff wheel to cut the aluminum. It fits perfectly.
Re: My 2018 TAB 400 Battery Upgrade
Yep the 30A to the WFCO fuse panel through the original battery switch is still there, the IP22 has an integrated 40A. One reason I took separate jumpers from the battery to the buss bar is so I could use 4 AWG instead of 2AWG. The bend radius of 4 AWG is a lot easier to deal with in confined space. Each of those has it's own dedicated 100A ANL within the recommended 7" of the battery, so I actually have 100A service x2 to the buss bar. 4 AWG is adequate for about 8ft at 12VDC/100A and I may have a total of 1.5ft between each battery and buss bar. The inverter still has it's 150A ANL.rfuss928 said:ChasBG Make sure any connections to your positive bus bar are fused appropriately for their wire gage. Typically 30 amps for the 10awg to the converter. You have 200 amp service from your batteries to the bus bar and the smaller gage wires need to be fused close to their connection. Those smaller wires will get very hot, very fast well before the 100 amp fuses will blow should a short occur.
Be careful. Have fun!
Bob
You'll also notice that there are separate returns from the negative buss bar to the shunt and from the shunt to the negative terminals on the batteries. The lengths of the positive and negative jumpers are very close to equal so the batteries charge evenly. This is a better approach than daisy chaining the batteries which results in a combined amperage from the end battery to the buss bar (bigger wire and bigger fuse required) as well as unequal resistance between the two batteries.
I do think it's probably a good idea to put an in-line fuse on the IP22. I have one I just have not installed yet.
Re: Changing out the Alde fluid.
5-20-21 Edit/Disclaimer:
Due to temperature issues with the barbed PVC fitting, I am replacing them with stainless steel. This will now be possible using two layers of heat shrink tubing over the 3/4" barbs to fit the 7/8" Alde hose.
I've received some of the parts I hope to use for installing a glycol flush T-valve into the Alde system, so thought I'd share what I have so far..
After assembling, I checked for fit inside the Alde compartment in our T@B 320, and was encouraged how it seemed to fit without any conflicts in this already crowded area. I placed a small block of wood to be mounted behind the valve to give some clearance for the 120V electric cables that enter nearby. It appears that a single U-bolt could hold the valve mounted to that 5/8" plywood wall..
(Of course, I won't be cutting any hose until after all lines are drained!
)
There is room for the handle to operate in all 3 positions, as well as for attaching the 90° valve & hose for adding fluid. It also appears that there should be sufficient hose length to reattach to the valve after cutting it in half, but that remains to be proven. (UPDATE: Since I had received a piece of hose from a generous donor that just happened to be the right length to fit between the Alde pump & the new valve, I used that piece there; then cut the original hose coming from the drain to fit & connect to the other side.)
Below is another view of the valve. The arrows show the 3/4" neck of the valve where I hope to mount it with a U-bolt. The only issue there is that there is only about 1/8" of clearance, so I may have to create my own U-bolt if I can't find one with a diameter that narrow. I think even a couple of thin bolts could work.
In case you're wondering about the funny looking barbed hose fitting, it's made of PVC, and has a diameter that's a couple mm larger than the 3/4" brass hose fitting shown. I'm hoping it will be a better fit for those 22mm ID Alde hoses.
My only concern about using this PVC fitting is the temperature. Specs say it's good up to 140°F, while the Alde specs say max system temp is 185°F; however, it would be located at the coolest spot in the entire Alde system, so I'm thinking it should not be a problem (Update: It is a problem! Not using it!). I like this idea better than wrapping with duct tape, since this will be heated, which could loosen tape adhesive. The alternative would be using stainless or brass fittings with potentially looser fit (heat shrink tubing fixes the loose fit!). Thanks to @fstop32, I should have some Alde hose soon to test for fit.
Now, how many gallons of glycol will I need for the old 3010 system - is 2G enough?
Due to temperature issues with the barbed PVC fitting, I am replacing them with stainless steel. This will now be possible using two layers of heat shrink tubing over the 3/4" barbs to fit the 7/8" Alde hose.
I've received some of the parts I hope to use for installing a glycol flush T-valve into the Alde system, so thought I'd share what I have so far..
1. 3/4" NPT to 3/4"Barbed Fitting: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FML2NY
New Stainless Steel Fitting (2):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9YWSF2
OR:
Brass Fitting:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9YWSF2
plus Heat Shrink Tubing:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FPKVMTW
(Or two layers of a thinner shrink material)
New Stainless Steel Fitting (2):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9YWSF2
OR:
Brass Fitting:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9YWSF2
plus Heat Shrink Tubing:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FPKVMTW
(Or two layers of a thinner shrink material)
2. 3-way Valve:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G6W7BBG
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G6W7BBG
3. 3/4" NPT to Garden Hose Adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08151L2ZT
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08151L2ZT
4. 90° Garden Hose Shut-off Valve, 3/4":
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QTVMFK1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QTVMFK1
5. 3/4" Barbed Garden Hose Adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y2GZ9S6
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y2GZ9S6
6. 3/4" Hose
And assembled..
And assembled..
After assembling, I checked for fit inside the Alde compartment in our T@B 320, and was encouraged how it seemed to fit without any conflicts in this already crowded area. I placed a small block of wood to be mounted behind the valve to give some clearance for the 120V electric cables that enter nearby. It appears that a single U-bolt could hold the valve mounted to that 5/8" plywood wall..
(Of course, I won't be cutting any hose until after all lines are drained!
)There is room for the handle to operate in all 3 positions, as well as for attaching the 90° valve & hose for adding fluid. It also appears that there should be sufficient hose length to reattach to the valve after cutting it in half, but that remains to be proven. (UPDATE: Since I had received a piece of hose from a generous donor that just happened to be the right length to fit between the Alde pump & the new valve, I used that piece there; then cut the original hose coming from the drain to fit & connect to the other side.)
Below is another view of the valve. The arrows show the 3/4" neck of the valve where I hope to mount it with a U-bolt. The only issue there is that there is only about 1/8" of clearance, so I may have to create my own U-bolt if I can't find one with a diameter that narrow. I think even a couple of thin bolts could work.
In case you're wondering about the funny looking barbed hose fitting, it's made of PVC, and has a diameter that's a couple mm larger than the 3/4" brass hose fitting shown. I'm hoping it will be a better fit for those 22mm ID Alde hoses.
My only concern about using this PVC fitting is the temperature. Specs say it's good up to 140°F, while the Alde specs say max system temp is 185°F; however, it would be located at the coolest spot in the entire Alde system, so I'm thinking it should not be a problem (Update: It is a problem! Not using it!). I like this idea better than wrapping with duct tape, since this will be heated, which could loosen tape adhesive. The alternative would be using stainless or brass fittings with potentially looser fit (heat shrink tubing fixes the loose fit!). Thanks to @fstop32, I should have some Alde hose soon to test for fit.
Now, how many gallons of glycol will I need for the old 3010 system - is 2G enough?
Re: Changing out the Alde fluid.
Glycol Replacement After Hose Repair
Over in the parallel topic, "Corrosion of Alde Convectors" I recently wrote about the failure of one of my convector-hose connections that I fixed by adding a second set of clamps to all convector-hose connections. However, I still need to add glycol following the leak, and it's been 1.5 yrs since our last change, so I may as well replace whatever glycol remains.
After I had previously installed a 3-way valve, I anticipated that any future glycol changes would be a simple matter (should still be true but this time I have air in the lines to deal with) of opening the drain & pushing out the old glycol with fresh glycol added from the valve, then closing the drain & switching the valve to refill the drain line & tank - see diagram below (thanks again @ChanW for letting me borrow it).
However, I don't really know exactly how much glycol remains, and I'm guessing that the portions of the pipes I colored black would likely be air after losing some of the glycol. Opinions? Regardless, I will have 3 gallons of new glycol (the old yellow stuff), which is about one more than what the whole system holds. I plan to just pump 2G's on through to fill and hopefully remove most of both the old glycol & air in the lines by using an external electric pump to inject the new glycol, plus an additional half G for good measure. My only question is whether I should pause after the 2G's to run the Alde pump to bleed air out before adding more? I wonder how much the expansion tank max level plus drain line holds? Less than a quart, maybe?
By the way, I've added some measurement notes in the drawing for the height of our tank, upper convector hoses & Alde output hose, measuring from the floor. I was surprised that the rear convector upper hose was actually slightly lower than the Alde upper hose, so it's really not a high point in our system, just in that particular half of the convector loop.
Re: New Bathroom Door Frame
I used some Dowsil 795 I had left over from sealing the exterior of the round windows. Liquid Nails would probably work as well.
Re: Water pump pex choices
I'm not a plumber but have recently been looking into proper vs improper RV plumbing. From what I've learned pinch clamps should not be used on pvc tubing. The pvc tubing will expand and contract significantly more than pex tubing and can cause leaks if the wrong fittings are used. The fact that NuCamp used a pinch clamp on it means the fitting at the pump is most likely the wrong type. It is probably a pex fitting and not a pvc fitting. If it is a proper pvc fitting the pinch clamp should not fit over the pvc tubing as the barbed fitting for pvc is larger than a pex fitting. If replacing it I would source the proper fitting and secure it with a worm gear clamp.
In your photo the other hot water pvc tube in the background, with the red lines, is most likely installed incorrectly as well. It has a pinch clamp and appears to be installed on a pex T fitting and not a pvc fitting.
Apparently this incorrect plumbing is rampant in the RV industry as it is just easier and cheaper to do rather than use the proper adapters to attach pex and pvc together. And there are no codes that control RV plumbing, unlike residential and commercial plumbing. So they just do it. I plan on inspecting all the pvc lines on our 400 this year and will either replace anything installed incorrectly or just keep a close eye on them and replace them if they start to drip.
In your photo the other hot water pvc tube in the background, with the red lines, is most likely installed incorrectly as well. It has a pinch clamp and appears to be installed on a pex T fitting and not a pvc fitting.
Apparently this incorrect plumbing is rampant in the RV industry as it is just easier and cheaper to do rather than use the proper adapters to attach pex and pvc together. And there are no codes that control RV plumbing, unlike residential and commercial plumbing. So they just do it. I plan on inspecting all the pvc lines on our 400 this year and will either replace anything installed incorrectly or just keep a close eye on them and replace them if they start to drip.
