Rhomar Glycol Confusion

AnOldUR

Is there a reason that our nuCamp dealership sells Rhomar fluid for $30 a gallon, but Truma charges $76? Is nuCamp selling it to the dealers at a discount?

What's with the product name? It's referred to as Rhomar in these circles, but it's labeled as Alde Antifreeze with no mention of Rhomar.

A Google search of Rhomar and the Rhomar website finds glycol products, but not the Alde Antifreeze. Possible Rhomar is the manufacturer, but Alde the distributor? No mention of that on the label.

 

techietab

My understanding is that the Alde-branded stuff is relabeled Rhomar RhoGard 'Ready to Use' 50% mix (Rhomar RG-RTU-50).

Denny16

Yes, that is my understanding also.  If you go back to Jan/Feb 2021, posts when the switch was first made, you will see the Rhomar labeled bottles, before Alde/Truma go their own labeled jugs.  Glad to know nüCamp is giving us all a discount on the new fluid.  

The flush out and replacement to the new fluid is a three hour process, per our local dealer technician, so the flush and refill is around $400 to $500.  But subsequent drain and refill will be a lost less, as the big flush out to get rid of the old Century fluid is not needed, when replacing old Rhomar with new Rhomar.
 Cheers 

AnOldUR

@techietab & @Denny16 I saw the RhoGard product that fit the usage description, but with no other reference, I wasn't sure. I would have thought that Rhomar would want some manufacture identification on the label.

In gathering information, I contacted a Airstream dealer. They estimated four hours labor for the flush/exchange and had the high glycol cost. It's curious that my nuCamp dealer charges $285 total for both glycol and labor.

Denny16

Three hours was what our local nüCamp dealer said the change over takes, and they are charging around $350 for glycol and labor, sounds like you got a good deal, unless they didn’t do the water flush out after draining the old Century glycol, before the Rhomar fluid was added.
 Cheers 

peterjoce400

We had our 2019 flushed and replaced with the Rhomar at the only service centre on Vancouver Island in early March/2022.  It took 3 hours and the bill came in Cdn$ 1,000. (labour, taxes and materials, about $75 per gallon.)  Before you faint, remember that $500 U.S. is $650 Can.;  for $350 that is a great deal!!! I wouldn't try doing this job myself.  As of this month we also have a new NuCamp authorized dealer in south end of island (Travel Land, Duncan) and they are claiming they will be totally up to speed in service and parts.  The Alde has performed marvellously with the new fluid ( no boiling or fluid loss) so from that perspective very satisfied with the switch.  

YanniLazarus

Does the rhomar deteriorate in the original container over time? Any issues with using the balance of my "bucket" after its sat for 2 years? Already planning on the next change next year...

Denny16

No, sealed in its original container, the Rhomar fluid should be fine to use two years down the road.  It is when the fluid is in contact with metal (aluminum and stainless in the Alde) that it’s effectiveness deteriorates with time and exposure in the Alde system.
 Cheers 

Gkopan

Would my new-to-me 2021 400 have originally had the Century or the Rhomar?

pthomas745

The "Rhomar" change happened in Dec of 2020.  The key thing to know in this case would be your "build date".  On the trailer tongue, driver's side, there is a gray sticker with a "Month/Year" listed in the upper right corner.  That "build date" will be what you need to know to figure out when your trailer was actually made.  Which may be different from the "model year". Sticker looks like this:

Here is the NuCamp announcement of the change with specific dates.  They will also help if you contact them and provide the VIN number.  If you can see any glycol in your expansion tank, the new stuff has a "blue" appearance.  The old stuff has a "yellow-green" appearance.

https://nucamprv.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/44002156353-2021-glycol-change

Kevin_K

Yes, there does seem to be a lot of confusion, at least for me. I just took my trailer in to a service area thinking there was a recall to get this changed out. Come to find out that it wasn’t a recall. Also found out I do have the correct fluid in my trailer and although it has been almost three years since manufacturing, they informed me that it doesn’t really need changing at the moment. They work on a lot of Alde systems and seem to know when it needs to be swapped. So having this work performed every two years (according to some posts) seems to be extreme. Maybe this info is for the older fluid?

AnOldUR

@Kevin_K I was under the impression that the corrosion resistant additives in the glycol (Rhomar and Century) start breaking down after two years and that this is not dependent on the use of the system. It's time based and can't be pH tested for. Can you find out what test they did on the glycol to determine that it's still performing as expected.

MadCityJack

I had the flush and switch to the Rhomar glycol last year at an Appleton, WI NuCamp dealership.   I had concerns about their competence after they told me that I had no need for an extra take home gallon of Rhomar.   They "explained" it was a closed system.   It is not.  Evaporation/leaks can occur.   Then of recent, I took my TAB to a local, more general RV shop in the Madison, WI area for it's annual wheel bearing greasing.  I selected this shop because the technician who I knew to do good work.   After completing the work, I was advised by the service manager not to use the quick pump direct greasing method as there was evidence of excess grease behind the wheel.   I had not used that method, but it raised concerns that the shop in Appleton had done so, despite charging me for inspection and repacking of the wheel bearings.   The issue here, is not the bearings, but dealership competence, especially in regard to the glycol exchange.   Is there a test for whether the flush of the old glycol was complete before putting in the Rhomar?   Seems that mixing the two glycols is a problem even if they really don't make much of a difference.

bergger

There is no real "test" that I am aware of to know if the system was properly flushed of Century fluid prior to replacing it with Rhomar.  From my own experience from completing my own flush and fill of Century to Rhomar I can tell you the easiest way to check is the color of the Rhomar.  If the system was not flushed enough with water prior to adding the Rhomar the Rhomar will not have the same color.  The yellow Century mixed with the blue/green Rhomar will have a different color to it.  I'm not sure you've read this thread on the switch but there is some good information and photos in it.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/13409/switching-to-new-rhomar-glycol/p5

There is also a thread out there that I remember someone posting photos of a dealer that did the flush and switch for them.  The color of the glycol looked really off and it was pretty apparent that they did not flush it properly.  I can't find it at this time but maybe someone else can.  If I do find it I'll post a link to it. Poor dealer knowledge of how to properly do a flush and fill is the reason I ended up doing it myself, which was really not that hard and a lot cheaper.  

AnOldUR

That was probably this post @bergger.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/16721/rhomar-glycol-results#latest

edit to add picture for anyone not wanting to click on the link.
On the left is new Rhomar glycol.
On the right is the glycol after an exchange that didn't flush out all of the Century fluid.

bergger

@AnOldUR that's exactly the post I was looking for.  Thanks.  Yes you can clearly see the difference in color when the Century is not flushed out well enough.