Heating system

tomricknancytonya

How do I turn on the heating system in a 2021 320 S Boondock?  Thank you.

pthomas745

Welcome to the Forums! 

Look at the Alde touch screen panel.  The power button is the one on the left side. Press that, and a "standby" screen will appear, most likely.  Press the "Menu" button to get to the controls for heat, etc.

You have an Alde 3020, and you can find the link to the Manual here.

https://www.alde.us/manuals-and-documents/?categories=manuals-us-can,alde-compact-3020-he-5

Start on Page 16.  Ask questions, since the Alde can be a bit..intimidating...at first.

tomricknancytonya

How much time does it take until you feel the heat?  Is there a blower to push the heat out of the vents?  Thank you for your time and patience.

pthomas745

Please ask questions!  Don't hesitate!

The Alde can work on propane, which heats the trailer faster.  It can also work on electric power, like when you are plugged in to shore power.

There is no "blower:"  The heat is "radiant" heat, and once the glycol in the system is warmed up and circulates around the trailer, you will feel the heat coming from the vents near the floor, and from that long vent in the back of the trailer compartment.  So, don't block the vents near the floor, or the long vent along the back of the compartment.  You might lift up one of the benches on the driver's side and see if you can feel any heat.

So...it can take a bit of time, depending on how cold it is, and what method (electric or propane) you are trying to use.

There are limits on the electric elements in the Alde, especially if you are on a home power connection.  If you try using the "2KW" setting, it can pop a breaker where you are plugged in.  If you are on a home power setup, try using just the 1kW setting.

So....what settings are you trying on your Alde?  Electric or Propane?  If you are on shore power, what are you plugged into?

schwartzki

First thing on arriving to camp setup in cold weather is to turn on the propane + plug in and turn on the Alde with propane enabled. While that is heating up I plug in a small space heater to take the edge off the cabin until the Alde takes over. Then I go back outside and do all the unpacking/leveling.

Once you get used to the slow initial ramp you will 100% love the radiant heat over the standard rv furnace. It is always so nice and toasty and nearly silent. Making me want to pull mine out of storage for some snow camping.

Also once the alde is warm I enable electric on the alde control panel since mine is set to electric as priority but leave propane on if it needs both. This reduces propane use when having full hookup's

Basil48192

I haven't done any extreme cold weather camping, but love Fall camping in the northern part of lower Michigan.  That being said, many nights have hovered around the freezing mark.  My normal routine is that around an hour before I plan on going inside, I turn on the Alde and set the thermostat to around 70°F.  By the time I'm ready to go to bed, it's nice and warm.  No blower means a little more time to heat up, but you will love the even, comfortable heat and low noise (on propane, you might hear the burner ignite..but the circulation pump is very quiet).

Denny16

You can always add a small 12VDC, or better yet a USB powered fan to help circulate the heat.  

Cheers 

fstop32

@Basil48192, I put a USB powered fan in my 2015 to help get the heat circulating a bit quicker and it really seems to have helped.  The one I used was also a 3 speed model and was about the size of a typical computer cooling fan, on low speed we can't even hear it running.  My install got a bit complicated but it worked out great.

Basil48192

@fstop32 - Great idea.  Thanks!

stmur7

I am having some confusion with heating the cabin (and not water) using electricity. In reading the manual, it feels like all you have to do is turn on the Alde and it will heat the cabin according to the temperature you select. The 1kw or 2kw lightning bolt option do not have to be selected. They are only for heating water. Is that correct? Do those options only apply to heating water?

Sharon_is_SAM

You just turn on the control panel when you hit the power button.  Then you must select a power source - shorepower or LPG to run the Alde.  Choose 1 or 2kw to use shore power then select the temperature higher than ambient to heat the cabin.  If there is water in the Alde water chamber, it will heat by default.  If you only want to heat water, turn the temp down below ambient.  That will stop/prevent the hot glycol from circulating and providing heat to the cabin.  You can select the “shower” triangle to boost tge temp of the water.

stmur7

Yes, ok. I felt like I may have heated the cabin the other night without selecting either 1kw or 2kw...yet I still got heat from shore power. The LPG was turned off.

bergger

You can use the Alde to heat the cabin or hot water with two sources, either propane or electricity.  Or the Alde can use both at the same time in really cold temps.  First you can go into the menu and select the source, electricity or propane.  If plugged into shore power you can use the plus or minus buttons next to the lightning bolt to select 1kw or 2kw or no electricity.  You can select propane by clicking on the flame button and turning it green for on or blue for off. If you have both electricity and propane on you will need to go into the settings, the gear icon, to select if you want gas or electricity as the priority for heating.  Once you have the fuel source selected you can actually turn on the heat and hot water by using the plus or minus buttons next to the hot water and cabin heat buttons.   I'm guessing you heated the cabin the other night because the propane button was pressed to the on position and the temperature setting was turned up.  You can turn on either the heat or hot water together or independent of each other.  Here is a link to an Alde simulator on the Alde website that allows you to play around with a virtual control panel.  It is the European model so it's in celsius and there may be a few other differences like 3kw which we do not have.  But its a good tool to play around with to learn and get comfortable with your system.

https://control-panel.alde.se/settings