Alde help pls

Tinkerkaye

We just got our 2021 tab 400 and tonight we are trying it out in our driveway . i turned on the alde heating system and it is taking a long time to warm up . Inside temp is 54 and so i set it up to 72 F and it is just slowly coming up it has been an hour and it is still at 56  . We are connected to electricity by the way . And it was working fine when we picked it up at the dealer . Thank you all in advance 

Sharon_is_SAM

It does take time to heat using a radiator type system relative to a forced hot air system.  But, when plugged in at home, you need a 20 amp circuit to run the Alde on 2 kw to maximize your heat.  You should also open the propane tank and turn on propane at the Alde panel.  The propane will kick in whenever the temperature drops a couple degrees below the thermostat setting.  The difference in power is 1 or 2 kw with only electric vs up to 7 kw with propane added.

qhumberd

Our days have been in the 60s and nights in high 30s and I have been testing the Alde on 1kW setting and have found that it takes more than an hour (like 3 or 4) but it will heat the glycol to around 130 degrees and then the convection starts and the trailer stays warm. To keep mine at 66- 68 degrees at the bed we set it at 71 degrees. Once it is up to temperature it holds it fine on electric only for me. Saves the propane if you already are paying for electric, and may be less carbon footprint as well.

Denny16

Yes, once thr TaB is warmed up, you can turn off the propane, and either electrical setting will maintain the heat.  It is 40F to 35F here at night, and with  Alde set at 50 it keeps the TaB warm, and set it t up to 60 in the morning to bring up the temp, which gets to around 62 ay the Alde control panel, and 64 as measured in the dinette.  I normally have it on 1KW, but in very cold weather, it is set to 2KW, which is more efficient.  The TaB is good at heating with solar gain, once the sun is up and shining.
cheers

BrianZ

The specs support what @Sharon_is_SAM said..

FrankandCarolyn

I let us run out of propane a few weeks ago at a park with electric hookups. The Alde refused to heat the trailer.  Got home, read the manual, emailed tech @ nucamp. At some point the Alde had been unplugged from the outlet inside the Alde compartment. I had not noticed the need for the plug symbol on the control panel. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Good reminder @FrankandCarolyn!

Jeneenae

We are going to be camping with my mom who is 90 with Alzheimer’s in October in the grand Tetons without electricity. Does the alde system work strictly on propane? I don’t want her to be uncomfortably cold at night since it gets very cold at night.

pthomas745

The Alde will run fine on propane.  The Alde has a couple of items that need some 12V (battery) power to operate.  The trailer battery needs to be sufficiently charged: if the battery drops below 10.5 volts, the Alde will shut down to protect the battery.
So, make sure you have a good tank of propane and a charged battery.

bergger

As mentioned the Alde does take a long time to bring up temps.  I suggest to utilize the night and day modes, basically a programable thermostat.  It it's cold over night we have the Alde temp drop while sleeping and then have it turn on at least 2 hours or more prior to waking up so it is nice and warm when we get out of bed.  Also if you have shore power and the temps are 45 or higher you can get a great fast burst of heat by using the heat pump on the cool cat AC for a few minutes.  

Denny16

The Alde running in gas/propane mode, will being up the night time temps to a nice warmer cabin temp in an hour or less, depending the the temperature difference.  We have the day/night settings bring up the temp an hour before getting out of bed, and the cabinet is toasty in spring and fall camping here in the Pacific Northwest.

Running on electric only mode, the Alde does take longer, and 2-3 hrs would be about right, depending on electric mode setting 1KW or 2KW setting.  Whilst on shore power and lower night time temps, we set our Alde gas on and Prioritize electric mode, so in the morning, the gas mode kicks in to heat up the Alde fluid to working temps, and goes back to,electric only mode when fluid temp is reached.  This gets the cabin heated in less than an hour.
 Cheers