Alde

warren207

Took our 2014 T@B Q out for it's maiden voyage this weekend. 
Tried to use hot water with no luck. Read many "tips" on the controls. 
Our dealer went over controls in detail with us as well.  We never had
the water even get luke warm let alone hot. Looks like I will be contacting
dealer.

warren207

Took the T@B to the dealer this past weekend. They tested it and "poof" it worked just fine. 

twocutes

Argh!  Don't you just hate it when something works in front of the experts?  Happens all the time in IT.    The Alde is a little confusing, especially with all the different configurations.  I had a few friends consulting when I tested it for the first time.  My hot water is really hot and the system is great.

DurangoTaB

I've learned many things about the Alde, and still appreciate it.  A couple things to watch...when you first start using it at the camp site, it could be the lines and Alde tank (2 gals.) haven't filled up...so it takes a while for them to fill and heat before you get hot water.  The other gotcha for me was, after winterizing and draining lines, I'd left the bypass valve open, short circuiting HW and cold water.  As soon as I closed it I got HW.  I don't know if either of these were your problem, but just a couple things to be aware of down the road. 

Nomad

You can get a digital thermostat from either Alde or LG - I have one but haven't installed it because it requires reworking the hole (and/or creating a plate) where the analog version is installed. Can't recall the price.

warren207

OK Guys.... I took the T@B out this weekend and NO HOT WATER!!! I am soooo frustrated with this.  Instead of going camping last weekend I took the T@B to the dealer like I stated I was going to do.  The guy there looked it over said it worked just find and this is typically "user error".  I went over exactly what I had done (which is exactly what he did) and did not get hot water.  I was very careful to do exactly what I was instructed.  NO HOT WATER.  NOTHING.  FYI  my controls are prehistoric.  It does not look anything like the one in this stream. 

Also, that Velcro screen door has got to go..  Anyone know where I can get the "newer" sliding screen door?

 

Nomad

You can get the sliding screen from the factory (Little Guy).

Nomad

warren207 - I'm making an assumption that you have the Alde system...Since it's the title...
Got a pic of your "ancient" controls? Is it not like our three sliders and a dial controller?
You did have water in general, just not hot water?
Are you able to get heat out of the Alde?
Hooked to shore power or on propane?

twocutes

I have the non-digital control panel for the Alde, but the manual that shipped with the T@B only showed the digital control panel.  Here is the page for the analog control panel.  Hope it helps!

warren207

But yet again.  Took the T@B out for the weekend and NO HOT WATER!!!  I have now contacted ALDE in Washington State and have received a return call from Joe.  He is very concerned that it is a "Hit or Miss" with my system.  We will trouble shoot this on a three way call.  Will let you know what is discovered.

Nomad

Cool, keep us posted.

DurangoTaB

Make sure the bypass valve is closed...I'd forgotten from winterizing, results in barely warm water at best.  Once closed, voila!

JacobyO

Which is the bypass valve? I have no hot water and the water line seems to have a lot of air in it. We are running on shore power and water tank. 

jkjenn

JacobyO said:

Which is the bypass valve? I have no hot water and the water line seems to have a lot of air in it. We are running on shore power and water tank. 

There is a diagram in the PowerPoint file in this thread. Mine was somewhat reversed, but it should give you the general idea.

twocutes

Keep in mind that not all installations have an Alde bypass valve for winterizing.  Mine does not.

Nomad

What year is yours Beth - 2014?

ChanW

JacobyO said:

Which is the bypass valve? I have no hot water and the water line seems to have a lot of air in it. We are running on shore power and water tank. 

It may be that you just haven't run the water long enough to purge all the air from the system.

 You'll need to open the hot tap until the air stops coming out. Then give the Alde some time to heat the water (15-30 minutes) and you should be able to get hot water.

JacobyO

Well, I was able to get the system to work fine when connected to water line. The issue with the tank/pump seems to be the problem. I tried running the water pump again to see if the water pressure was better and after about 20 minutes of the pump running I saw water coming out from all over the bottom of the camper. It would appear that the water pump was spraying water fro the back side of the pump when I opened the door above the toilet. The black plastic cloth under the trailer was full of water and I had to poke holes in the fabric so the water could drain out. Unfortunately this means that all the wood on the bottom of the camper is ruined and will surely be mold in no time. This is our first time using the camper and I am just completely disheartened by this. I will contact my dealer on Monday but I fear they will only offer to fix the water pump and considering the amount of water just soaking into the wood right now I am not ok with a simple fix. This thing is only 3 weeks from the factory. 

Verna

JacobyO, be sure to tell your dealer that you had to poke holes in the cloth to drain the water. Be sure he is aware of your concerns of mold.

Nomad

And, if you'r not satisfied with what the dealer says or does, don't hesitate to call the factory direct.
Keep us posted!

ChanW

Warren207, I'll be interested to know what you figure out... Let us know!

warren207

Will do.  Planning a 3 way call this weekend.  Seems that I will have to take the T@B back down to the dealer and then get Alde on the line with them to find out just what is wrong with my system.  We are planning a 2 week jaunt from CO to CA and back the end of this month and would really like to have hot water. 

oldnewartguy

I am totally frustrated with my Alde system. There are two small fuses under the cover. One is on the positive side and the other neg. I know this because every time I try to heat water with propane or 110V, the negative side blows. The dealer has "fixed" it twice and it works at the shop. However, tow for a nice camping trip and hook up to  power and fuse blows. I always use a surge protector. I don't know where to turn.  HELP.

Nomad

oldnewartguy - I don't know how you test this but could the surge protector be defective?
Obviously this isn't a wide-spread problem as we don't hear too often a need to get at the Alde fuses. Probably isn't actually an Alde problem either (to my way of thinking).
I'm not much of an electrical trouble shooter so hopefully someone else will jump in with further thought.

ChanW

Oldnew, I blew one of those fuses twice, not sure which of the two, and the only common thing seemed to be that I had left the Alde thermostat, ie control panel, turned on while I made the connection to the shore power. 

I'm not sure, but I think that may have been the cause. 

I'm careful now to turn off all the switches on the Alde control panel before plugging in....

Let us know if you find that to be the case, too.

warren207

OK... The result from my quest to have hot water.  Seems that there was a defect in the wiring during the time period my 2014 T@B Q was built.  Two fuses were blown and one of the fuses needed to be a higher amp.  Alde is aware of the issue, however, if you are having a problem with your unit you will have to contact them at the facility in Washington State.   They have now re-wired the Alde system, upgraded the fuses, and retested the unit.  I am heading out to Navajo SP this weekend and will find out if this has corrected the hot water issue.   

warren207

Went to Navajo State Park last weekend. Yeah.   We had hot water.  What a joy it was to have the Alde working. 

Nomad

Cool - Glad you got that resolved.

ChanW

The Alde's great. Sorry it took so long for you to be able to appreciate it.

When you had those symptoms, did it ever work for you, ie was it intermittent?

Mine has randomly blown one of those fuses a couple of times, but otherwise it's been great, and I just wonder if I should bother with contacting Alde about it.

NomadPilgrim

I was not getting hot water even though the unit was hot. The sales rep suggested I check the fuses on the Alde itself, I removed and reset them and hot water! But only hot water and no cold when running from the onboard supply. I don't know how to resolve this. Anyone?

jkjenn

NomadPilgrim said:

I was not getting hot water even though the unit was hot. The sales rep suggested I check the fuses on the Alde itself, I removed and reset them and hot water! But only hot water and no cold when running from the onboard supply. I don't know how to resolve this. Anyone?

I do remember one other person having this issue. I would give Ed Kaufman, at the factory, a call.