Cleaning the Alde water tank with Puriclean (when the water has an odor and/or algae)

mikei

I have a recently purchased 2017 320S.  I've had it out 4 times before reading on the forum some guys question about what that yellow lever on the floor beside the Alde boiler was for.  After reading answers and looking at the owners manual I found it and drained the water out and left it open.  I closed it before filling the fresh water tank before the next camp out and listened to the water pump run extra long till Alde refilled with water.  On getting to the campground we noticed that the first water out of the sink looked and smelled terrible. I talked to the guy I bought it from and he had never drained it and did not think it needed to ever be drained. Fortunately we had hookups in camp and always buy drinking/cooking water. Any thoughts?

ScottG

Interesting. Assuming you have used the water previously and not encountered this, I wonder if stuff was growing in there and the act of draining it served to stir things up a bit.

I think I would start with repeating the drain/refill process several times to flush out everything you can. Sanitizing the Alde with bleach (as one does with the rest of the system) is not typically recommended as bleach can apparently degrade the stainless liner of the tank, but in your case I might throw caution to the wind and give the tank a flush with a very mild bleach solution.

Sharon_is_SAM

I agree with sanitizing the system with a 1/4 cup of bleach in a full tank of fresh water.  Run it through your system and let it sit.  Make sure you fill the Alde tank, too.  I think the consensus is it takes repeated exposure to higher concentrations of bleach to do real harm.  Not sure if Alde recommends anything else, either.

4ncar

Sharon_is_SAM said:

I agree with sanitizing the system with a 1/4 cup of bleach in a full tank of fresh water.  Run it through your system and let it sit.  Make sure you fill the Alde tank, too.  I think the consensus is it takes repeated exposure to higher concentrations of bleach to do real harm.  Not sure if Alde recommends anything else, either.

I agree that flushing stainless coils would not cause immediate harm, however I would strongly advise against letting it sit. That would allow the the stainless to react to the bleach. Perform the normal process in bypass mode and allow to sit. Repeat the fill process a second time, but with the Alde in normal mode, and run the bleach solution through, but do not let it sit for any extended amount of time, then flush & rinse.  See it that removes the scurge.

Sharon_is_SAM

Here is someone else’s experience.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6205/freshwater-system-upkeep-keeping-a-clean-tank-avoiding-algae

Sharon_is_SAM

I sent an email to Alde USA.  We’ll see what they advise.  

Here is what I found in the 3020 manual:  “Sterilisation fluids for water can cause harmful corrosion to the stainless structure of the heating. Always read the data label regarding additives that are used and make sure that the system is flushed of all additives before using the heating system.”

Sharon_is_SAM

I have some answers regarding how to clean the Alde water tank.  I contacted Spencer from Alde USA who in turn contacted the ALDE EU service team.  

They use and recommend “Puriclean which is designed as a non-toxic, non-caustic solution that is safe to remove stains from stainless steel (and other materials), available here in the US”:  http://www.hopkins-carter.com/pumf14oztub.html or UK

https://www.camperlands.co.uk/puriclean-water-purifiers.html. Available on Amazon in bulk.

Puriclean

Cleans and purifies all stored water systems in Boats, Caravans , Motor Homes, Coaches

-Unique dual purpose formula which both cleans and sterilises in one easy action 
-Cleans the complete water system: tank, pipes, pumps, taps
-Eradicates bacteria, viruses, biofilm, algae and fungi 
-For maximum results, simply soak and flush 
-Powerful action without harming the components in the water system 
-Proven in use world-wide for 3 decades 

Puriclean is easy to use, it is simply added to the water system and left to soak for 1 to 12 hours then rinsed. Periodic use will ensure a clean healthy system for water storage.  The 14 oz. container will clean tanks up to 70 gallons.

When filling the tank, treat the water with Aqua Clean Tabs or Aqua Mega Tabs

The Alde rep relayed that it is essential to never turn on the Alde when any cleaning solution is in the Alde water tank and to fully flush out the cleaning solution before turning on the Alde.  

Nice to have this bit of info.  I will notify nuCamp.

webers3

So I would not use the water from the fresh water tank or from city water connection for drinking. If you suspect the Alde tank has algae or who knows what else I agree with others that occasional bleach solution flush is not going to hurt it. In addition most bacteria will die at temp between 140-160F, Alde on boost heats up the water to between 140-160F, to me that's another sure way to sanitize.

Sharon_is_SAM

Yes, occasionally running the Alde at high temps is a good preventative method to keep bugs from growing in the Alde tank.  But, going forward, I would use the Puriclean as recommended.  If you do use the dilute bleach, flush thoroughly.

webers3

My point @Sharon_is_SAM is that running Alde, period, is enough to keep it germ/algae free, I don’t think there is a need to introduce another chemical into the system that then needs to be flushed out. 

atlasb

Something we all might be missing is found on page 6 of the alde manual.  look at the right side top about Air Cushion.  Directly below is a box with a blue box NOTICE.  This tells us that to maintain the proper air cushion for the system, the hot water tank (alde) should be emptied approximately once a month!  (This would also aid in keeping fresh water in the system). 

Sharon_is_SAM

@webers3 Yes, you should run the Alde to help keep the bugs at bay and the tank should be emptied regularly, but this thread started with the scenario of a neglected Alde and ? fresh water tank with smelly water with algae.  If you have stuff growing in your fresh water tank, it can infect the Alde tank.  So, Puriclean is the recommended treatment for cleaning infected tanks - fresh water and the Alde - not as a routine if your tank is maintained as recommended.  

Tampakayaker

Has anyone located the Puriclean here in the US other than that Hopkins Carter site that is charging more for shipping than the cost of the material?

Has anyone used the Therford 2 step cleaner?

alanerickson

Sharon_is_SAM said:

I have some answers regarding how to clean the Alde water tank.  I contacted Spencer from Alde USA who in turn contacted the ALDE EU service team.  

They use and recommend “Puriclean” which is designed as a non-toxic, non-caustic solution that is safe ..............

You probably mean non-chlorine / chloride solution and not caustic.   It's pretty common for caustic (sodium hydroxide) to be used to clean stainless, especially in some industrial applications.   Chlorine (bleach) and the other hand is tough on stainless, especially at concentrations greater than 300 ppm and if heated.

Sharon_is_SAM

Thank you @alanerickson.  I was quoting their words (I will edit with quote marks😐).  Glad to confirm the effect of bleach on stainless.  Can you tell us what kind of solution (in ppm) we have when you add 1/4 cup of bleach to 11 gallons of water?  

VictoriaP

Sharon_is_SAM said:

Thank you @alanerickson.  I was quoting their words (I will edit with quote marks😐).  Glad to confirm the effect of bleach on stainless.  Can you tell us what kind of solution (in ppm) we have when you add 1/4 cup of bleach to 11 gallons of water?  

Found a calculator here that should help:

https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/health-topics/environmental-occupational-health/water-quality/chlorine-dilution-calculator

Clorox currently lists their regular bleach as a 6% concentration. Playing with the numbers, assuming I didn’t mess anything up, it looks like 2 ounces (1/4 cup) of that concentration in 11 gallons of water yields an 80 ppm solution. I’m not sure what length of contact time would be required for sanitation at that strength, nor how much damage it would do to the Alde.

All that said, a product that is virtually unavailable in the US is a useless recommendation on Alde’s part for those of us with US-built RVs. And since there’s only one real stateside supplier who’s charging more for shipping than for the product itself, that’s pretty much unavailable in my book.

The one time I failed to empty my Alde promptly and it developed a funk, I used Camco water freshener throughout the system, let it sit for a few hours, then flushed it out. Funk disappeared. That product is essentially bleach, so I’ll assume any damage is already done. 

alanerickson

1/4 cup in 11 gallons is around 100 ppm.

Sharon_is_SAM

Thanks @alanerickson.  So, we have all been using sub-damaged levels of bleach.  Good to know.