Alde 3010 getting gas failure error

GaryB

Hi I own a 2017 Tab Outback bought last year and have had a year and 10K miles with no major problems.  However last week while camping in Shenandoah Va, we were boondocking with temps in the 20s and the furnace would not cycle.   It would initially cycle up and run for a while but when it would shut down upon reaching temp and then try to cycle back up it would throw the gas failure error.   We would  then go into the system reset function and reset it. Again it would run fine initially then throw the error when cycling.  I had a new tank of propane and my fridge  and stove worked fine I also read about the circulating pump might need adjusting so I turned it down to 1.    We camped a few days later at a state park with power and no issues at all running the furnace set on electric and gas.  I am now home and trying to replicate the problem I am running on battery and propane the temp is around 45 the furnace has been operating for a couple of hours along with the fridge on gas with no issues. 

Finally can someone please describe to me where the glycol tank is located I have stood with my head crammed in that furnace compartment for hours looking for that thing and I cant find it.   It could be low on glycol although I had another Tab owner tell me that the newer models have a sealed system and the you don't have to worry about glycol levels is this true?  Any ideas on next steps should I haul it into a dealer which is a two hour drive will likely result in them not able to recreate the problem. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Your Alde glycol reservoir is located behind a wood panel at the end of the rear wood shelf above the driver side bench.  

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/3332/alde-expansion-tank

pthomas745

Another thread on the glycol tank location:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6085/how-to-get-to-glycol-expansion-tank

MuttonChops

Sharon_is_SAM said:

Your Alde glycol reservoir is located behind a wood panel at the end of the rear wood shelf above the driver side bench.  

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/3332/alde-expansion-tank

Additional pictures added to above thread.

caa677276

I have a similar problem with a T@B 400.  The Alde system works fine when the electrical is plugged in and receives a gas failure error when boondocking.  I was told by an Alde engineer that the gas failure error can occur when the battery is low.  I'm not sure what level the battery needs to have for the Alde system to function properly.

Vikings

I think Alde manual has some trouble shooting advice for problems.
If you still cannot get it to work the Alde folks in Portland Oregon will talk to you and they were very helpful when I had a problem.  Number should be in manual. 
Good luck. 

MuttonChops

caa677276 said:

. . . gas failure error when boondocking.  I was told by an Alde engineer that the gas failure error can occur when the battery is low.  I'm not sure what level the battery needs to have for the Alde system to function properly.

Excellent point.

Model 3010 UK Manual states:

    Check that the boiler is connected to the electricity supply (> 11 V DC).

Model 3020 HE US Manual states:

Low-voltage shutdown
    If voltage drops below 10.5 V DC, the gas supply to the burner will be switched off.

jgram2

It does-look under User Manuals/PDF, category in the left hand column, there is an Alde 3010 manual. Under 4.0 you’ll see the possible causes for the error message.

dsfdogs

@GaryB, I believe we do need to worry about the glycol level. Once you open up the compartment per above, the level should be 1/2" above the "min" line on the reservoir. Apparently if you've been running the Alde and it's warm, then level will be higher. I think I've read it can dissipate (?) There is also an overflow tube that runs from the reservoir down next to the Alde and through a hole in the floor (you can see the clear tube and it will probably have some glycol in it).

ORtravler

Has anyone found a resolution to this gas failure error?  We are having the same issue, Alde cycles 3-4 times, when it cycles the red light blinks. We see the voltage drop 12.2 to 11.1 when it cycles. Then it shuts down and we get the steady red light - gas failure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

MuttonChops

ORtravler said:

. . .  see the voltage drop 12.2 to 11.1 when it cycles. Then it shuts down and we get the steady red light - gas failure.

Sounds like your battery voltage is too low, battery not charged.

 Charge battery or use shore power with Adle set to gas only and see if it works then.

JEB

ORtravler said:

Has anyone found a resolution to this gas failure error?  We are having the same issue, Alde cycles 3-4 times, when it cycles the red light blinks. We see the voltage drop 12.2 to 11.1 when it cycles. Then it shuts down and we get the steady red light - gas failure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

Resting voltage is what you really care about.  If you're reading 12.2 with no load on the batteries, you're probably ok as far as battery charge goes because you're still over 50%.  But consider getting a charge soon.

First place I'd check is the connection to your propane tank.  I was getting a gas fault a few weeks ago.  I completely unscrewed the acme nut (the big green nut that attaches to the tank), then screwed it back in and made sure it was hand tightened very snugly--more snugly than I was accustomed to.  Problem went away and has not returned.

Cbusguy

it would be real easy to put your battery on a charger and try to run it while hooked to the charger and see if it runs.     I imagine a safety doesnt care anything about resting or load voltage,    all it knows is the voltage is below what it considers a minimum and turns off.   

utahusker

My propane regulator needed adjusted to get my gas failure error resolved.  The fridge and stove top worked, but the Alde wouldn't.

JEB

Cbusguy said:

it would be real easy to put your battery on a charger and try to run it while hooked to the charger and see if it runs.     I imagine a safety doesnt care anything about resting or load voltage,    all it knows is the voltage is below what it considers a minimum and turns off.   

True, but misleading.  I doubt that a manufacturer of appliances for RVs that run on 12v would set the safety at a point likely to be triggered when a battery was still more than 50% charged.  The customer complaints would be endless.

Cindydzi

We had the same problem this past weekend in the Adirondacks, mid 20s temps, full tank of propane, and during the night we got the gas failure alarm. The fridge worked fine. I did not check the battery voltage but checked the propane and it was pegged to the left in the red. The next morning when it started to warm up the gas pressure gauge crept up into the yellow area. When I reset the Alde it started, and I noticed the gas pressure at the gauge peg out to the left in the red zone. Does this sound like a regulator issue?

JEB

Cindydzi said:

We had the same problem this past weekend in the Adirondacks, mid 20s temps, full tank of propane, and during the night we got the gas failure alarm. The fridge worked fine. I did not check the battery voltage but checked the propane and it was pegged to the left in the red. The next morning when it started to warm up the gas pressure gauge crept up into the yellow area. When I reset the Alde it started, and I noticed the gas pressure at the gauge peg out to the left in the red zone. Does this sound like a regulator issue?

Probably not.  Propane tanks do freeze up, particularly when the draw is heavy. I suspect the combination of cold temperatures and heavy draw made it behave like it was empty.  About the only thing you can do is wrap the tank in an insulated blanket. There are blankets made precisely for this purpose.

caa677276

I had the same problem with the gas error. The Alde engineer also told me that low voltage would cause the problem. At the time we were boondocking and the battery was probably low.