Please Post Information On 2017 Classics

[Naper]

Originally Posted by paiceman

Ron:

Thanks for the info, again, under bathroom sink would probably be the best for us as we use the under kitchen sink for a surprising amount of "stuff".

Looking forward to see pictures of the progress.

Thanks

Bud

Our install was under the bathroom sink. Looks like a factory job. This whole hot water thing was a minor setback CanAm stepped up and made it right. As others have said the new Classic and the heating system are excellent. BUT Airstream screwed up this should have been tested.

[Hankgirl]

We picked up our Aistream last Thursday and love everything about it except the hot water issue. We owned a simple Motorhome last, and no Alde, so this is all new to me but we didn't have hot water issues either.

We're in Missouri so no quick access to the dealer you're referring to for the under sink Atwood add on. I'm calling my dealer now to see if they have heard of this, but any referral information to provide them on how we can get this add on would be appreciated.

[OSIN]

We're in Northern California with a 2017 right now and have not had any issues with the Alde. I know the dealer made some temperature adjustments before we got it, and whatever they did seems to work fine, shower get's hot enough for us. We did change the head for a oxygenics for a better spray. we not getting much colder than 45 at night so maybe we just have good weather?

I was at the local dealer last weekend, and they did mention AS is sending some folks out from JC, or Alde for local training.

One thing to remember is these Alde Systems are not new, only new to AS. I'm sure all these issues you guys are having will get worked out soon enough.

Good luck and most of all... Enjoy!

[Rawn77]

Last night it went down to 28 degrees. The heating system was amazing. Slept like a baby.
This morning I took my first hot shower in my Classic. Big thanks to the gang at CanAm for making my '17 perfect.
Here are some pics of the install.

[Rawn77]

A final pic of the hot water control buttons installed above the stove. Note that CanAm didn't use the supplied Atwood white control buttons which would have been an eyesore. They used a control unit that Airstream typically uses.

[RonaldC303]

I have the fortune / misfortune of owning a 2017 Classic. I say misfortune because we had a 2016 Classic. We were traveling and stopped in an rv park for the night. A severe storm rolled through producing winds up to 55 mph with golf ball sized hail. Our truck and trailer were pounded.

The good news is that the sky lights and windows remained unbroken. Some of our neighboring campers were not so lucky. The couple next to us had rain and hail pouring into their motorhome though a broken roof vent.

Long story short is that we dropped off the trailer with the dealer we purchased it from, Airstream Adventures NW. Over the course of the next month they prepared a repair estimate and worked with our insurance company and claims adjuster.

It was estimated that it would take 1 month to get the repair parts shipped to ASNW then 1-2 months more to actually make the repairs. Given the time frame and the extent of the necessary repairs, we decided use the insurance settlement plus the trade value the 2016 "as is" for a 2017 Classic.

We like the Alde heating system. It's only been cool enough to use it a couple of nights so far but it is really nice. In talking with the tech giving the walk through, I learned a few things about the Alde system.

1. It is very difficult to get all the air out of the glycol system in a manufacturing setting. As the trailers are delivered, the bouncing allows more and more of the trapped air to work its way through. Our tech had to top off the glycol tank (located in the bathroom above the toilet behind a panel) to bring the liquid up to the proper operating level. He also had to bleed air out at multiple locations such as behind the beds and the heated towel bar.

2. The mixing valve under the dinette seat is a thermostatic mixing valve. It is adjustable to a point by simply rotating the dial on the valve. However, the range of this adjustment may not be enough to get the water in exactly the right range. It can still be too cold with the valve all the way in the "hotter" position. In our case he had to reset the range. I am not sure how this was accomplished other than it involved removing the adjustment wheel and repositioning it.

3. There is another mixing valve behind the shower handle. Once the Alde mixing valve is adjusted properly, the shower mixing valve had to be adjusted also. Again I didn't see how this was done as it was all completed before I arrived.

4. The dealer also installed a shower shut off valve on the shower head to conserve water.

Using the Alde "shower" mode we have been able to take hot showers without running out of hot water. Granted, we have not tried this under cool or cold conditions yet.

The heating system is wonderful. The radiators are just warm, not hot. It is a very even heat that works well for us.

Yes, you do have to plan ahead for a shower and you do have to plan ahead to heat the coach but it is worth it to us.

Ron

[Rawn77]

Hey Ron (Great name!!)

Thank you, thank you!!
I just checked the bleeder valve on the towel bar and sure enough a bunch of air came out until the glycol seeped out. What a difference in performance of the heating system. I always wondered why the towel bar was warm in one place but always cold in other places. NOT ANY MORE!! The towel bar is hot; the whole towel bar is hot! And my radiators are no longer warm to the touch, but hot. Not hot to scold yourself, but hot enough that you can't keep your hand on it for more than a few seconds. I drove 300 miles today from London, ON to the KOA in 1000 Islands, ON (Mallorytown, ON). It's 31 degrees outside and my trailer was cold from a long day travelling with the heat off.
It was already starting to warm (very slowly) until I bled the bleeder valve. The heat shot up immensely right after. Woohoo!!! My trailer is a giant toaster oven!!

One thing you mentioned didn't seem right. You mentioned you had to plan ahead to take a shower. I'm guessing that you're referring to pressing the shower button on the Alde. That button only turns off the recirculating pump for the heating system for 30 minutes; it doesn't boost the temperature; so no planning required other than to toggle that button just prior to taking your shower.

Mixing valve working properly or not, there is only 2 gallons of hot water. Your experience will truly be dependant on the temperature of the cold water that's being mixed & entering the Alde system.

But I digress.

I really want to say a huge THANKS for the bleeding valve info.
THANKS!

Ron

[RonaldC303]

Hi Rawn,

So glad you are warm and toasty!

I think the "Shower" mode does raise the temp of the water from 122 degrees to 149 degrees for 30 minutes. During this time the circulating pump is shut off as you stated. This is per the Alde manual which I found online. In the tools section you can drill down to the sanitary water temp and watch it rise on the display.

Based on your comments I am going to have to check for additional air in my system. Thank you!

Happy camping,

Ron

[Naper]

How do you check the level of the glycol ? If you bleed off the air in the system do you need to add glycol

[RonaldC303]

Above the towel rack is the cabinet. Inside the cabinet, on the left wall, is a panel held in place by screws. Behind this panel is the tank for the glycol. You can see if the level is low or not.

Alde makes a glycol for this system. Airstream Adventures NW had some in their Covington, WA parts department.

Ron

[Naper]

What antifreeze did you use in your Alde ?

[Rawn77]

I purchased the glycol directly from Alde. $10 per quart (pre-mixed)

[Rawn77]

Originally Posted by RonaldC303

Above the towel rack is the cabinet. Inside the cabinet, on the left wall, is a panel held in place by screws. Behind this panel is the tank for the glycol. You can see if the level is low or not.



Alde makes a glycol for this system. Airstream Adventures NW had some in their Covington, WA parts department.



Ron

Ron
The opening to see the reservoir doesn't allow me to properly view its level. I'm wondering if the opening on my RV is higher than others.
Can you take a picture of your opening and post it?
Here's mine

[Naper]

Looks the same as mine.

[paiceman]

Same as mine, I use a small mirror on a long handle to see if the fluid is up to proper level. I may make the opening larger on the bottom to make it easier to check. The tank is held in by several screws so it is not going to move regardless of opening size.

Bud

[ghaynes755]

Ron would you share the cost that CanAm charged for your new water heater?

[Andrew T]

Hi Gary

We did not charge Ron for the water heater, we figured an Airstream that price should come with plenty of hot water.

I think the cost to do is about $2,500 US including tax. It takes a little more than a day to do.

It can go under the bath vanity where it was in the 2016 or under the galley below the microwave.

Below the microwave it does not work in conjuction with the Alde but there is less delay getting hot water to the galley and shower. Under the bath vanity it can work in conjunction with the Alde but the water temperatur e is pretty warm. We plumbed the first one that way but in the future we would plumb in a bypass and will do that one the first one when it returns from Florida.

I hope this helps.

Andy

[RonaldC303]

Originally Posted by Rawn77

Ron
The opening to see the reservoir doesn't allow me to properly view its level. I'm wondering if the opening on my RV is higher than others.
Can you take a picture of your opening and post it?
Here's mine
Attachment 274857

Hi Ron,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We were camping with at a site with poor wi-fi. Here is my tank. I stand up so that I can look down into the opening. Also shown is the Alde glycol bottle showing how much was added from the factory. The dealer added about 10% of the amount and I added the other 90% after it had bounced around for a while and all the air was out.

Happy camping.

Ron

[OSIN]

Originally Posted by Lets travel

Could new owners of 2017 Classics please post their experiences with the new trailer and all the new upgrades that have been done. Would really help us who are on the fence about upgrading.

Thanks!!

We had a little issue with the Alde heating system in our 2017 Classic. After lots of phone conversations and emails with other Airstream owners we decided to do a YouTube video 2 part series about the entire situation and the solution to the problem. Please go to YouTube.com and go to our channel oursomedayisnow (no spaces) and see if these videos help anyone out about how to deal with this problem. I hope it helps!

OSIN

[AIRHEDS]

Originally Posted by OSIN

We had a little issue with the Alde heating system in our 2017 Classic. After lots of phone conversations and emails with other Airstream owners we decided to do a YouTube video 2 part series about the entire situation and the solution to the problem. Please go to YouTube.com and go to our channel oursomedayisnow (no spaces) and see if these videos help anyone out about how to deal with this problem. I hope it helps!
OSIN

Thanks for the vids, Paul. I subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to more videos. I appreciate your accelerating my (our) learning curve. I was in the trailer last night and made the adjustments to the hot water mixing valve, in accordance with rivetville's post at

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f520...on-159190.html

... loosened the screw and rotated the knob, and repeated the process, before locking it back down again, so I should have a bit more hot water when we take the trailer out again. I'll have to try manually bleeding the radiant heating system and check my level. It worked great, but I'm hoping to learn how to check it and ensure it's operating at peak efficiency.

I would have been nervous about something you didn't think much about: using a non-Alde branded fluid in the system. For warranty purposes, I'm not sure that's a good idea, unless Alde cleared you hot to proceed...? Who did you check with before using your own polypropylene fluid? I don't mean to be critical ... just curious. Again, thanks for sharing the videos... Looking forward to more!

Thanks,
Rich