Much Ado About ALDE

[paiceman]

ksteve06, I'm going to have it done while at the factory for awning repair and some other things and I've told them I want to watch. Was told no problem. If still curious I'll post what I pick up.

[ksteve06]

Originally Posted by paiceman

ksteve06, I'm going to have it done while at the factory for awning repair and some other things and I've told them I want to watch. Was told no problem. If still curious I'll post what I pick up.

That would be awesome, thanks.

[james.mileur]

Just wondering why? Switching out to ethylene glycol?

[james.mileur]

Just another question for the crowd; when I winterized, I didn't bypass the Alde boiler sanitary side.

Think I can open the bypass, shut inlet, drain the boiler, then fire up Alde? Do I need to flush the RV antifreeze before heating?

Leaving for Kalispell Montana next week from SLC, low 40s and no snow in the forecast. Storage to storage.

[paiceman]

James, my suggestion based on my two winter successful experience. I blew lines, extensively, then using winterize kit pumped RV anti freeze throughout including boiler. Then drained it out and put what I drained in the four traps and into the grey and black tanks. Opened the two discharge balves a bit to allow anti freeze to get into the valves. Then when we headed south I opened all low points including Alde and flushed the anti freeze out. Alde says to not run heat with Anti Freeze in the boiler. So, I'd make sure the boiler has nothing in it.

[james.mileur]

Gr8, thx.

[ksteve06]

Originally Posted by james.mileur

Just wondering why? Switching out to ethylene glycol?

No the Alde manual states that the glycol should be changed out every two years. I don’t need to do it yet but was wondering if anyone knew how to drain the glycol out of the system.

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by paiceman

ksteve06, I'm going to have it done while at the factory for awning repair and some other things and I've told them I want to watch. Was told no problem. If still curious I'll post what I pick up.

I'm interested to hear how much venting and refilling you'll have to do after they finish. [emoji12]

[james.mileur]

Originally Posted by ksteve06

No the Alde manual states that the glycol should be changed out every two years. I don’t need to do it yet but was wondering if anyone knew how to drain the glycol out of the system.

Anybody without dogs or kids considered switching to ethylene glycol like the UK?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by james.mileur

Anybody without dogs or kids considered switching to ethylene glycol like the UK?

Hi

One of the interesting gotcha's is that these bottles contain glycol *plus* other odd items. The other stuff they put in keeps nasty things from happening to the internal workings of the system. One never quite knows if this bottle in the USA has the same odd additives as that bottle in the UK. It's a small risk, but it also is a small savings.

Bob

[james.mileur]

Is think as long as it had the aluminum corrosion inhibitor, which automotive radiators use, should be fine?

[james.mileur]

The MSDS I got from Alde matches the CAMCO list exactly, so cost was not the driver. Any ideas which glycol is best heat transfer?

[paiceman]

Originally Posted by james.mileur

The MSDS I got from Alde matches the CAMCO list exactly, so cost was not the driver. Any ideas which glycol is best heat transfer?

I think I'm going to stick with the Alde fluid as it works fine and hest is great.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by james.mileur

The MSDS I got from Alde matches the CAMCO list exactly, so cost was not the driver. Any ideas which glycol is best heat transfer?

Hi

The MSDS only tells you just so much. There are always items that don't show up on there (they aren't alarming ...).

The water that gets mixed with the glycol does the heavy lifting in terms of heat transfer. Both glycol's are "not so great" compared to it. That's not a knock on glycol. Water is a great material for moving heat. Simple answer if you want the best heat transfer: cut back on the glycol and put more water in the mix.....

To get the exact numbers, you need the specific heat's of the materials (in solution) and the density of the solution. A lot of people only look at the first number. I haven't had enough coffee ( yet ) to dig into all of that. The chemist in the family is working on breakfast. I'd rather not interrupt that process ... Her reply to the question involved the need to unload the dishwasher .... maybe I should look into that

Bob

[sbowman]

Originally Posted by paiceman

Buy aluminum specific anti freeze at auto store. Lots of folks do, most dealers do including Colonial.

Such as PENTOSIN/PENTOFROST NF?

Best regards and safe travels

[kendrick.l.j]

Hey Scott. I was told by an extremely reliable source that as long as it says SAFE FOR ALUMINUM ENGINES, brand will not matter but before you do anything give John in Jackson Center a call and see if they happen to have any Alde brand sitting around. Sometimes they do sometimes they don’t and they can fedex it to you fairly quickly. A few of the dealers may have some as well. I do try to use only Alderete fluid but in a real pinch it won’t matter. Getting the air bled out was the worst part. Some of those relief valves are hard as heck to get to, ya gotta hold your tongue just right.
Just out of curiosity, how low are you?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by sbowman

Such as PENTOSIN/PENTOFROST NF?

Best regards and safe travels

Hi

Just to confuse things a bit further -- when Colonial did the Alde fill on my trailer they most certainly did *not* use generic stuff. What they poured in came out of several bottles with "Alde" on them.

Bob

[kendrick.l.j]

They didn’t put any fluid at all in mine. I had to learn the hard way. I do recommend using Alde brand, however, in a pinch, when desperate, another brand would be safe. I have since topped off with only Adle. I always have 3 bottles on board. I bet by the time I got all the air out the original fluid that I used was a very small amount of generic stuff.

[BAB]

Every time I think about moving from my ’15 Classic to a new one I think about the Much ado about Alde posts. While I don’t have soft radiant heat that gentle caresses the crew in the trailer, my “old” furnace heats up the trailer within a few minutes. I don’t have to winterize my furnace or worry about having some exotic fluid which requires replacement, and then “burping” the air out of the system when I replenish it. But, more than any single factor -- I don’t have to rush when I take a shower or set a timer for 12 minutes. Wally’s motto (which we all know), was “make no changes, just improvements.” I’ve had enough issues with my non-Firefly, non-Alde trailer. Yes, I know. Those of us who post here are the whiners and complainers, everyone else has a perfect Airstream! What I really get, though, is there is an ongoing and very clear lack of careful engineering coming from JC. When you spend $150K (and up) for an Airstream, everything should work. Perfectly. No missing rivets/screws, topped up Alde system with the valves set in the correct direction. I feel badly for folks who have had to go through this learning curve using AirForums as their primary source to figure out how their trailer works.

[paiceman]

After my initial trials setting up our Alde eighteen months ago we could not be more pleased with the system. Terrific heat, no cold spots, no drafts and no noise, none. Again after adjustments I learned how to do hot water for two showers one right after the other, no issue. The winterization and fluid used a small price to pay for the benefits. Firefly not so happy with, Relax Awning issues will be resolved on up coming factory trip. Also, the Alde owners manual specifically states that fluids other than Alde can be used. Colonial must have changed as when I called them in November of 2016 they told me "we don't use Alde fluid and cannot sell you any as we don't stock it".