Little Hot Water

ScottG

Ok, I might have been exaggerating a bit--but I'd bet money (ok, just a nickel...) a "MyPod" would fit in there! Pig roasts have been discussed...

lapowers57

I suffered with this issue on my first trip last year.  Then I turned the valve to full hot and  was good for the rest to the year.  I was testing the Alde out this past weekend and low and behold the issue was back.  I was testing with cold water from my sink which is still pretty cold this time of year.  I checked the hot hose between the Alde and the mixer valve and it was definitely hot but the hot water hose after the mixer valve was not.  I did some searching and found this article.  I loosened the knob and moved it back and tested moved it some more and tested.  I probably ended up moving it back nearly a half turn.  Now the water is a little hotter then I would shower with but not so hot as to cause a burn.  As the summer heats up I can turn the knob to a cooler setting if I feel the need.  This was a good piece of information from Ed at Pleasant Valley.

I will be heading to Quebec in a few weeks and now I know I can count on a hot shower.

wizard1880

ScottG said:

It's not clear why the output temp is stepped down to a chilly 130F when the room heat is activated. Maybe 150F is too hot for the glycol distribution system? Maybe it helps to modulate the cabin heat?

I too am curious about this.  I think you're right about the heat modulation; having it too hot may cause unnecessary cycling in the system or perhaps it uses more energy and a cooler temp is the right balance.  Alde's been making these things for decades in Europe so I'll give it to their research on this one.

Sharon_is_SAM

Regarding the step down in temperature:  just as the cabin stops heating (due to the cessation of the glycol circulation) when you turn on "hotter" water, when you dial in the highest cabin temperature, the glycol circulates and glycol returns to the Alde at a lower temperature.  So, the water in the hot water tank is surrounded by the cooled off glycol.

ScottG

SAM said:

Regarding the step down in temperature:  just as the cabin stops heating (due to the cessation of the glycol circulation) when you turn on "hotter" water, when you dial in the highest cabin temperature, the glycol circulates and glycol returns to the Alde at a lower temperature.  So, the water in the hit water tank is surrounded by the cooled off glycol.

I absolutely agree, except that in my test I had the thermostat dial all the way down so that the circulator would not run. Whatever is going on in there is thermostatically controlled and not a side effect of losing heat to the cabin.

Like wizard1880, I'll trust that Alde knows what they are doing. Either way, there is NO shortage of hot water. I suspect the water being so hot is what prompted the incorporation of the mixing valve--more for safety than for any sort of functionality.

pthomas745

I don't know where else to put this to save it, so I'm putting it here.  A FB post had an owner with a hand full of mixing valve parts from unscrewing the valve too far, and wanted to know how to put it back together.  I wound up Googling the part number:  LK 550, and found the company in Sweden that makes the valves. On this page, under "Accessories and Spare Parts" there was the exploded diagram of the valve parts.

The direct link to the page is wonky, and gives me an error.  From the manufacturer's site

https://www.lkarmatur.com/en/search/

Search for LK 550.  Include the space! Click on LK 550 Aqua Hot, and go to accessories and spare parts for the diagram.

The company name is Lkarmatur.  A search for LK550 found the site on the web, but on the Lkarmatur site they want the space between the letters and numbers to find the page:  i.e.  LK 550.

The new, improved version of the mixing valve is listed as LK 551, which completely eliminates the whole rigamarole:  just a simple cap protecting a simple, turning valve.  No tools necessary.

ChrisK

Michigan_Mike said:

regarding hot water in your trailers I received this back from Ed Kauffman at the factory this morning as follows: ........

Thanks for posting this info. My daughter's new 400 would only heat to lukewarm with the mixing valve all the way to the + side. Unscrewed the know, twisted it and screwed it back down. Turned it to the new + position and she now has hot water.

johnfconway

Prepping for Monday boondocking adventure. Filled freshwater tank with well water (pretty cold). Got the classic "lukewarm for 3 seconds, hot for 4 seconds then cool side of tepid thereafter". After 8 iterations of unscrewing knob, setting it back 3/4 turn, re-screwing knob and setting mixer hotter all the way, I finally got "warm for 3 seconds, blazing hot for 4 seconds and reasonably hot thereafter".

Went through a lot of water to run this iterative process. Did capture it all for re-use (we live in high desert conditions). Two questions, 1.) has anyone else required this many iterations of knob advancing to get normal hot water? 2.) since you can remix cold and hot at all 4 faucets/showerheads, what is the point of a remote water mixing valve that has such a narrow range?  Thanks for any replies!

pthomas745

The "mixing valve" is mostly stepping down the "very hot" water that flows directly from the Alde tank into "reasonably" hot water that can then be "remixed" by the faucets.  Somewhere in your Alde menus there will be a measurement of how hot everything is before the mixing valve takes over. 

Did your hot water ever settle down?  Or, is it still fluctuating? 

johnfconway

pthomas745 said:

The "mixing valve" is mostly stepping down the "very hot" water that flows directly from the Alde tank into "reasonably" hot water that can then be "remixed" by the faucets.  Somewhere in your Alde menus there will be a measurement of how hot everything is before the mixing valve takes over. 

Did your hot water ever settle down?  Or, is it still fluctuating? 

Thank you! I will look through Alde menus... curious about that brief super-hot water temperature. Yes, it has settled nicely, pretty close to system in house. I can see why they would want a slow step-down. Kids could easily get scalded.

pthomas745

Good!  In the Alde 320 manual, there is a whole series of warnings about scalding temps in the first couple of pages.  The Service Menu is the place to find the Glycol Temperature and the Hot Water temp.

1963122

Question. We are on our first camping trip. We are hooked up to shore power and city water. We are getting cold water at the sink and the shower. No hot water! Any ideas? Have the Aldi 3010 system. Have shower heat set on level 2

pthomas745

What year is the trailer? This thread is focused on a trailer that needs to have the mixing valve adjusted.  If you are getting no hot water in a trailer that would be from before 2018 (when the Alde changed to a different version) the situation could be the configuration of the winterizing valves.

We can show you how they should be set up, but we would need to know the year of your trailer.

If you are trying to use the "2KW setting, the Alde requires more than a 15 amp outlet. At a campsite, you should have a 30 amp circuit, so in theory, it should work.  Check to make sure the Alde itself is properly plugged in inside the trailer: there is a regular household plug down in the Alde compartment that needs to be plugged in.

And: you say you are using "level 2".  This could also mean: the "two lightning bolts" setting on even earlier trailers that used a manual panel, not a touchscreen.  We can help troubleshoot that, too.

So: what year is the trailer? Manual panel or touchscreen?  Have you tried running the Alde on propane?

Sharon_is_SAM

@1963122 - make sure the Alde under the driver side bench is plugged into the 120 V outlet.

GregChris

I think this has been mentioned but, in my old Winnie forum, someone had left the outside shower knobs open, but he shower head turned off. some how this acted as a mixing device and they couldn't get hot water. It seems too simple but...

Bayliss

This discussion thread includes info about what @GregChris is referring to:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/2676/little-hot-water#latest