Working up the nerve to do a DIY glycol exchange on my 2021 400. Luckily I don't have to do a change from Century to Rhomar. Just swapping out old Rhomar for new. If anybody has done this on a 400, any tips? I've read the great writeup that
@ScottG did but I'm wondering if the 400 has anything unique to it I should be aware of. I also had a few questions below:
- How do you know when you've pumped all of the old glycol out?
- Would a battery-operated submersible pump work just as well as a hand pump? Youtube videos I've seen show them being used so I assume yes?
- Some Youtube videos show the expansion tank completely removed to access the inlet and outlet pipes more easily. Is this recommended?
Comments
@johnfconway The shop vac is what confused me in these threads. @ScottG simply used a hand pump to push new fluid through the system and the videos I've seen on YouTube show a submersible pump on the inlet side. What's the purpose of the shop vac if you already have a pump pushing fluid through from the inlet?
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
@ScottG So in your experience was the hand pump sufficient enough to do the job? I'm tempted to get a battery-operated pump from Harbor Freight for $12 but I'm worried it won't have enough power to push the fluid through.
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
BTW my Alde has worked perfectly since. No issues, no fluid loss, and hoses look good. I did add the ground to the Alde case but who know if that helps reduce corrosion risk; it was just easy and recommended.
Good luck and flush well!
https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/2665/changing-out-the-alde-fluid/p17
2019 T@B400 Boondock Lite "Todd"
Feeling much better about the process seeing as many of you have done it already and it seems to work. Plus I don't have to flush old Century out as I'm just replacing Rhomar. NOT HAPPY about the ridiculous cost of Rhomar though. Anybody want to be a 5-year guinea pig and see if your Alde corrodes ?
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
2019 T@B400 Boondock Lite "Todd"
2013 Toyota Highlander 3.5L V6
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
2020 nuCamp T@B 320S * Jeep Wrangler
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
https://www.facebook.com/groups/nucampowners/permalink/5250879635019296/?mibextid=W9rl1R
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
So part of it sounds like a confusion over the US and European variations of the Glycol.
2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road
I just repeated my flush and refill procedure on my 2019 with Century (yellow green) transfer fluid. This was the second flush since the Oct 2018 build date and was very easy and the little pump worked well. Only modification this time was I only used distilled water for the flush and only did 4 gallons at which point the return was basically clear.
I then pumped in the new Century fluid and found that at about 2 1/2 gal the return changed color. I used a full 3 gal and called it good. This left about 1/2 gal to fill the reservoir. I set the main circulator pump to 5 and all the air seemed to come out in a couple minutes with only a slight drop in the reservoir. Total amount for the flush and refill was 4 gal of Century fluid.
Unsure of how the glycol flows into the Alde Flow unit I then turned the Flow pump to 5 and was able to force it on by setting the hot water setting to full on the menu. This turned off the main circulation pump and I think mixed the glycol from that loop as well.
Turned it all off and reset both pumps and it heated up with no issues both electric and propane. Was about a year over on this one but the fluid looked good and I could not see any bulges in the areas I inspected of around the boiler. Fingers crossed I am not getting corrosion as the repair looks like a major construction project.
2019 T@B400 Boondock Lite "Todd"