Alde 3010 in T@B 400 2018

plrock55

I have been studying the various systems in my new to be T@B 400.  I have hot water with the Alde but tried the heat and could not get it to turn on.  I tried on propane and electric.  I have tried lowering tongue and raising it to try and get any air bubbles out. I have checked the fuses at the unit. Is the heater quiet? Does it take awhile to come on?

Thanks for any info.

Paula

pthomas745

If your glycol level is low, there might not be enough to circulate the glycol all away around the trailer.

Find your expansion tank in this thread and check the level.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/10140/alde-glycol-expansion-tank-locations-for-the-tab-320-clamshell-and-400-models

Sharon_is_SAM

@plrock55 - the Alde heats the glycol and it takes a while to actually heat the trailer.  Feel the black tubes leading from the Alde to see if they are warm.  Give it a good hour and check back.  It isn't like a forced air furnace where your camper heats up quickly.  It will also depend on how cold everything is to start.

Denny16

@plrock55. All the above comments are good.  Did you buy he used TaB400 from a dealer or form previous owner.  Since it is more than two years old, was the glycol ever previously changed, which needs to be done every two years, per the Alde manual and nüCamp recommendation.  

Next, the Alde glycol reservoir tank on your TaB400 is in the wardrobe/closet on the back right hand corner.  Turn on the closet light (switch on the top right hand corner, which is a push button on low, on high, off affair.  You will see a slot in the tank cover with a high and low mark embossed on the tank.  It is hard to see, so I took a sharpie and highlighted the two marks, with a dash line halfway between the two factory level marks.  

You want to keep the guy above the minimum line and below the max top line, so halfway between them is what is recommended.  If the level is hard to see, use a torch (flashlight) and shine in from the bottom of the sight slot, this should help see the fluid level.  If you do not see any fluid, you need to add some.  This requires loosening the four screws on the side of the metal cover and sliding it up to remove, no need to remove the screws.  Then remove the top plywood cover so you can get to the reservoir cap on top.  You need to use Century Chemical TF-1 Heat Transfer Fluid - order it through Amazon, or from your TaB dealer.  It is a lime green color, do not use the new Alde transfer fluid for the 2021 TaBs.

If you are not sure, and can not get a definite answer to when the glycol fluid was last changed, you should get it done, most TaB dealers can do this, as it is somewhat an involved process requiring a special pump.  If you are mechanically inclined, there are several discussions here about changing our the fluid yourself.  We got a previously owned late 2018 TaB400 (Jan 2018), with the Alda 3020 boiler.  Yours was manufactured in 2017 to have the 3010 boiler.  

Both work great.  But as previously mentioned, it takes about 30 minutes from a cold start to notice heat coming up from behind the galley counter or front dinette area (check along the side wall behind the seat cushion or the slot on top the little bump out box under the table.  Also heat comes up against the back wall behind the bunk, you will see a little gap in the headliner behind the bed.
cheers

plrock55

Thanks for all the comments. Since I live in SWFL "cool" is relative. So the next coolish morning I will attempt the heater again.  I have checked the glycol levels as recommended above.I will give the black tubes a feel to see if they get warm.  Perhaps I was just impatient. I got hot water fairly quickly. This forum is great for all, especially we newbies. Thanks again.

P

Sharon_is_SAM

Keep us posted.  We know how impatient Newbies are😂. I can say that because I was impatient, too!

Denny16

Yes, hot water is heated directly in the boiler, which gets hot, especially on propane setting quite quickly, around five minutes or less.  To get heat going, the thermostat on the control panel needs to be set at a higher temp than the panel indicates as a cabin temp.  Turn hot water option off, and check thst the panel displays the circle indicator showing the circulation pump is working.  It takes a bit to circulate all the glycol from the convectors and lines through the boiler to heat the connectors, which in turn need to heat the air around them and get the air flow moving through them.  This can take 30 minutes or more.
cheers