Alde woes

Maxcamp

2021 tab boondock having Alde issues.  
It was 17F last night.

Is it normal for gas to start up ( clunk rumble and spin up Alde "fan" to 4300 rpm) but then shut down after only a minute or two?  At 6500 ft ASL we tried both Mountain and 'flatland" settings.  
Expected to freeze last night and gratified to find the frequent restarts kept us toasty.

We were on 2kw Electric to heat up and 1kw overnight previously. But Electric stopped heating or spinning up Alde fan suddenly mid meal.  Now nothing makes it work.  Have to tear apart bed and check glass fuses.

Where do error codes show up?  See none as depicted in user manual.  The mountain/elevation symbol is flashing when we grey out the screen using right display button.  The time (12:00) since we kept resetting all power is flashing.  Do these have relevance?

ScottG

Are you certain the gas was actually starting up? What you describe with regards to the fan is typical for both a normal start up, as well as an aborted start up (i.e., the propane burner fails to ignite).

Given that you remained toasty, I'm thinking your start-ups were normal. It doesn't take much for the propane burner to heat the glycol, so I wouldn't automatically be alarmed by the frequent restarts and short cycling. I haven't used my Alde much overnight, but when I have the temps have been much warmer and I've notice similar behavior even running on electricity.

Speaking of which, the electric setting does not activate the fan. Electric heating is totally silent except for a couple telltale clicks as the elements switch on and off.

The Alde makes a lot little sounds at different times and under different conditions. When you say "now nothing makes it work" what exactly are you basing that conclusion on?

pthomas745

Have a look at your Alde Service menu, and look at the glycol temps.  The Alde is "radiant" heat.  It isn't pumping heat around the trailer with fans and vents.  The "fan" you are hearing is the exhaust fan that is moving the exhaust gases out of the trailer.  It only operates when propane is working.

If you were on electric and propane, and electric was the "primary", the propane would only kick in when the Alde electric elements needed help to boost the temperature.  Most likely, the 2KW electric setting needed no help, so you never heard the propane fan, lighter, etc, start up.

The only time (well...99 percent) the Alde fuses come into play is when the Alde control panel does not come on.  They (or "it" on a 3020) don't seem to have any other function.

The Alde service menu is found at the bottom of the Tools Menu.  Picture below.  This menu also has a "reset" function: if you play enough with various menus, it is easy to activate a timer or some other odd feature that is hard to diagnose.  The Reset will put the Alde back to "Factory Settings".  But, note, for some reason, it also turns the Alde on with electric and propane. 

MuttonChops

Additional Items to keep in mind:

-=-  High Altitude Mode runs the Combustion Fan (also called exhaust fan, fan) at a higher
          RPM to provide more oxygen for a cleaner/hotter burn. Usage at 6,000 feet is recommended.

-=-  When on Propane Only;  a low battery can cause the unit to cycle the fan (burner) on/off.  This
           happens on my unit at a battery voltage above the Alde 'low battery cut-off'.
           When on Propane Only consider turning off as many 12VDC loads as possible to reduce
           battery voltage drop.

Grumpy_G

You ask about gas operation but initially were on electric, can you clarify the sequence of events ?

- Everything was working on electric.

- Heat stopped working, determined by lack of noise from the Alde system, and temperature dropping (?).
- Switched to propane and only short audible operation but temperature is maintained.

My first hunch would be that shore power failed or the AC breaker for the Alde system tripped. As pointed out above, the Alde gas burner only runs for a couple of minutes if it maintains temperature. There are two different sources of noise, one is the circulation pump that runs in intervals in both modes, and the exhaust fan when the propane burner is on.

Check the basics first before tearing into the Alde unit.

Maxcamp

Thanks for all the helpful input!  Up for hours last night  troubleshooting and wondering if we had to quash our trip. 

Does flashing symbol connote an error?

Two of four harvest hosts crossing the country had electric hookups so we ran at 2kw to warm up and 1kw 50F overnight.  Going to Alde Service Menu shows the glycol Temps which I monitor.  All good.

We used gas two nights but only for an initial warmup, not all night.  Maybe it short cycled but I should have noticed with my oversensitive hearing.  (Hyperacusis, no sound however small is escapable.)

We were on electric in the snow in SD and MT set at 50F all day.  During dinner it got cold and we realized glycol Temps had cooled.  Unable to get electric heat to budge glycol after that for an hour.   , Went to gas and encountered shutoff without restart several times.   Purged system, barely cracked gas valve, ran stove, and ensured gas going to Alde.
Then it kept short cycling which I had not experienced in the past.  After bringing a mountain of blankets, winter sleeping bag, and down jackets inside our unroomy tab for the night we found the short cycling kept the glycol hot enough to be cosy, although it fluctuated a lot.

I've never tried gas plus electric til now but spent two hours checking every setting permutation and reset I could come up with.
Priority both ways.  So we seem to have gas but I'm worried whether it's running correctly,  and definitely no electric.  Not a fuse or power issue.  Bought a second tank today and ratchet strapped to the boxes.
Also an electric ceramic disc heater for backup.  

We have weeks of boondocking planned and I'm wondering whether we have a circuit board issue.

Grumpy_G

The blinking mountain symbol is normal when in high altitude mode, see here: https://products.alde.se/storage/media/15741648705dd3d9864454a/quick-guide-for-alde-touchpanel-3020-he.pdf

You might have two unrelated issues so bear with me: Do you have the AC power symbol on the screen when trying to run on shore power ? Does the circulation pump indicator come on at all ? Also, where/when was the propane tank filled ? Especially in Southern states there is often butane mixed in which liquefies at a mere 31F and reduces the tank pressure.

Maxcamp

With the screen in dim mode:
120v power symbol yes
Circ pump symbol yes
House symbol yes
Last tank fill Newfoundland Can.
We haven't been above 4000 ft since 2021* so perhaps that relates to short cycling.  But another cozy night of gas heat so we'll live with it .
We fled 17F Montana night for a balmy 29F SD night with 54F day.  Delightful 

Definitely  no 120v heat.  I have a call into Alde.

Thanks.

(*2021 inaugural November  trip West with no gas at all as we did not know the secret sauce of cracking the valve barely.)

Grumpy_G

Ok sounds like all the requirements are met. It might indeed be a failure on the control board.