alde is not working

hobbithouse

ALDE worked perfectly for two days (May 25 & 26) On the 3rd morning had no furnace function. Replaced two fuses in the ALDE. All fluids and ALDE controls re-examined, all fuses in the master panel checked o.k. Circulation pump still inop. Water heater portion still heating until it blew all the glycol out thru the expansion tank and then blew the red hose hose at the top of the boiler apart. At this point the water was boiling, scalding hot water and steam everywhere. What, if any, safety controls are there to prevent over heating and over pressurization of the boiler system? and why did they also fail. I was inside with the ALDE unit exposed when things let go. It's a 2015 CSS Max TAB so probably my problem will be swept under the door and filed with a red flag "OUT OF WARRANTY." Not very happy with the TAB anymore, but the 1st two years were fun.

Sharon_is_SAM

It sounds like there was an obstruction somewhere - a hose crimped somewhere that did not allow free flow of the glycol?  Did you turn up the hot water to boost before the overflow?  I think there is a pressure relief tube from the Alde that goes thru the floor under the galley sink.  Were your fuses blown?

hobbithouse

Absolutely nothing changed from the first two days and nights that things worked perfectly. The 3rd morning found no heat. Change the two alde fuses, which were blown, and checked all GM fuses in the master panel. As things started to go "south" and the rumblings heard from the boiler, I relieved the pressure via the hot water faucet at the galley sink and turned all sliders and thermostat to off on the alde control. The boiler still continued to heat the domestic water in the tank again until the hose blew. This all happened in the course of 30 minutes or less.

Ratkity

@hobbithouse, this is a frustrating situation to the max! Now that you are looking for a fix/answer, it's easy to forget you and the wife are ok. You don't know how much that means to me. All of our T@BBers are family. I wish you the best in finding out your answers.

hobbithouse

Ratkity, thank you for your kind words. The mrs. and I are fine, could have been much worse. The upside is most anything can be fixed but, we also need to know that this will not be a common recurring problem. Need to build our trust in Nu-Camps product again.

hobbithouse

For those who read my post on the alde issue This morning I received a call from Marvin in the warranty dept at NU-CAMP and had the most pleasant conversation one could ever expect. He was very concerned with the over heating and over pressurization event, and we discussed at length the whats and why fores. My unit is Out of Warranty but Marvin said that with permission, he thinks the warranty dept and NU-CAMP would like to help in some way by maybe covering the parts needed if I could take care of the labor. For all who are in the northern Ca. area, SCATT RV in Roseville is a NU-CAMP affiliate for sales and service, and comes with a high recommendation. Marv did say, unlike the dealer where you bought your TAB, you'll really like the SCATT dealership. The generosity extended to me and the wife for upcoming repairs was completely unexpected. Marvin stated that it's the customer base that brings the NU-CAMP family together and is the happiest reason to come to work. Well folks, it doesn't get any better than this in my opinion. Many thanks to NU-CAMP and all the other businesses who operate under the same philosophy. It's uplifting to find this in this day and age.
Bill and Robin
2015 CSS MAX

ChanW

Thanks for the update Bill. It's good to know NuCamp is on top of things (still!)

Glad you feel better about it!

Sharon_is_SAM

That is what makes nuCamp special.

ericnliz

@hobbithouse, Hang in there, NuCamp will make things right for 'ya. The more I see them extending themselves to help folks out of tough situations, the more impressed I become with them. Glad to see you got your helping hand!

DurangoTaB

@hobbithouse... did you ever get this resolved?  I have similar symptoms but no explosions!

ChanW

Hmmm, this is starting to concern me...

@DurangoTaB, I'd think nüCamp would want to know about your (similar) situation.

Please let us know what you learn. 

From Bill's description, potential scalding etc., there might be need for a recall.

DurangoTaB

@ChanW...NuCamp is very aware!

atlasb

The Alde system is new to us as our 320 did not have it.  Our 400 does so we are trying to learn the system.  I noticed in the owner manual for the Alde that it cautions the user to drain the system after use for several times approx once a month.  Seems that the air cushion can be depleted after repeated use.  The air cushion is there to prevent a problem some what like described above. Question,  how many owners do drain the system to re establish the air cushion?

ScottG

I've never worried about draining the Alde mid-season. I fill it up when I pull out the trailer in May, and drain it again when I winterize in October after 30+ days of cumulative use.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do this, just that I haven't bothered and have not encountered any problems with the hot water supply.

Sharon_is_SAM

Atlasb, the Alde manual instructs to drain the Alde hot water tank with risk of freezing or "when the RV is not in use."  So, that applies for the average user.  To me it it sounds like someone using the RV/Alde continuously should drain the Alde monthly to re-establish the air cushion.

Om3

We experienced similar problem with our new TAB 400 Alde heating system. We were unable to get the cabin heated...followed directions ... and tried repeatedly to get heat. Finally, we called Marvin at Nucamp...he suggested there could be a crimp in the line...and with a camera this would be detected.  There are not any trained T@B400 techs here in MA...so, we decided to travel to 
Sugarcreek for the second time in 6 weeks!!!! Once there, Marvin took control and worked on the
T@B all day and discovered that the line had an air blockage! We left feeling relieved and were 
pleased with Marvin and his dedication. Once on the road we took the long long ride back home 
in heavy rain and wind!

dsfdogs

@Om3, did Marvin suggest how to avoid this air blockage in the future?

DurangoTaB

Hmmm...and how is an air “blockage” different than needing to be bled, or is it the same thing?   Shouldn’t the auto bleed valve take care of that?

Om3

Not sure about that difference. We went to Sugarcreek because Marvin told us that there was a problem with "kinked lines" that were not visible unless a special camera was used to find them.
Fortunately, that was not the issue for us...