Troubleshooting ALDIE 3010

spfrancis65

So I had a problem which I have been trying to troubleshoot.  I noticed my secondary reservoir was a little low, so I filled that up yesterday.  I also went through the winterizing, by blowing out and draining all the water from the hot and cold side.  The one thing I'm not clear on, if the water has anything to do with the aldie furnace function.  Meaning, can I still run the aldie furnace setting, while I have no water in the system.  I figure that only has a problem, if I try turning on the water/heater function.  I am not quite sure about that system.

AnOldUR

The Alde on either electric or propane, heats the glycol which in turn heats the water. Since there is no heat source in contact with the water its presence is not necessary as it would be in a system the directly heats the water. So yes, you can run the Alde without water in the system to heat your trailer.

The level in the expansion tank should be just above the low mark when cold. The "expansion" means just that. As the glycol heats it will expand to the high mark. If you overfill it will spill out the overflow tube as the heat builds.

spfrancis65

Oh, so I didn't realize about the expansion part in that tank.  I've noticed something when the aldie system kicks in, that I'm not sure if it is normal, or a problem.  I kinda hear a dripping sound coming from the expansion tank, and I can see the liquid bouncing around in the tank, like something is empting into the tank.  Is this normal, or is there something going on.  I see one clear hose coming into the top of the tank, but I don't see anything coming down from there.  The dripping finally stops after a while, but wanted to ask.  I try to feel around the tank with my hand, and see if I feel anything wet on the outside, but don't really fell anything.

AnOldUR

@spfrancis65 There are two clear tube coming from the expansion tank. The one on top is a vent. You should not see glycol coming through it. The other is on the side and is the overflow that routes through the floor and will drain onto the ground. You may hear noise from the tank, but it shouldn't be excessive. As the pump pushes glycol though the system you'll see movement in the tank. If it's to the point of splashing around your pump is set too high. Mine is set at one and a half, but you'll have to judge it by the flow. Too fast and you get splashing and the glycol is not exposed to the heat in the furnace for long enough. Too slow and you'll lose heating efficiency.

The red button at the bottom is where the setting is made.
Yours may look different depending on the year.
In the lower picture it's by the guys thumb.

pthomas745

@spfrancis65 Please tell us the year and model of your trailer.

The Alde glycol pushed around the trailer by a small pump which is low on the side of the Alde.  The glycol in the expansion tank drops down toward the pump from a hose connected on the bottom of the expansion tank.  The pump pushes the glycol through the Alde unit, where the glycol is heated.  The glycol travels around the trailer through the "closed loop" of glycol hoses....and eventually is pushed back into the expansion tank from another hose connected to the bottom of the expansion tank. 

The two clear tubes on the top of your expansion tank are a vent tube and an overflow tube.  If, for any reason, the glycol tank sloshes around a bit or the glycol overflows the tank, glycol will flow out of the overflow tube and out of the bottom of the trailer.   (We  can show you where the tube goes, but it is trailer and year dependent). 

A little "burbling" in the tank is normal because of the glycol "returning" into the tank.  There is a setting on the glycol pump that controls the speed of the pump, and we have info on how to check that. 

In my 2017, the expansion tank is...right there next to my head at the end of the bed.  I've controlled the "trickling, bubbling" sounds slightly by adding a small amount of glycol at a time until the noise has stopped. (Almost!)

So, tell us the year and model of your trailer and we have a few thousand pages and threads about the Alde.