# Alde Compact 3010 Heating System



## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

During this cold weather I have been using the motorhome's heating system to supplement the oil filled heater to keep the inside at a damp defying temperature. When you select gas heating (as opposed to mains) you hear the boiler fire up (heat comes out of the exhaust), the circulation pump work but the radiators don't get warm. Eventually the control panel displays "Gas Out". On mains electricity the heating system works as normal. The gas cooker works normally. Gas bottles are full. When the "Gas Out" is displayed I reset the system as per the operating instructions.
Does anyone have an idea what may be wrong ?
many thanks
Philip


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

what gas are you using ?

propane or Butane ?

If its Butane then thats your problem! no use in low temps.

also check that the gas isolating tap that feeds the ALDE boiler is in the ON position but guess thats not the problem as you say the boiler is firing initially


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## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

what gas are you using ? 

propane or Butane ? 

Thank you for that. I use a Gaslow system usually filled up from the Autogas pump at my local BP station. I cannot establish from the BP web-site whether Autogas is Propane, Butane or a mixture. Certainly the symptoms point to this sort of problem. I will try a low wattage heater in the gas compartment and see if this helps
Philip


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

Bethune said:


> what gas are you using ?
> 
> propane or Butane ?
> 
> ...


Autogas is Propane so you are ok and that isn't your problem.


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

Of course you could try and heat the system up using electric then try switching over to gas and see if it continues to work. On our system we also have a temperature dial and that needs to be turned up full to work properly


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

the fact that the cooker works ok throws a spanner in the theory of it being due to gas starvation though have you run all the cooker rings on at same time? does it look as if there is the correct pressure?

Autogas in the UK is apparently 95 to 100% Propane

but

LPG bought on the continent can be in mixture of propane & butane & GASLOW has come across LPG supplies in France with a 50:50 mix

so did you fill up last on the continent?

following on with the gas flow restricted to the ALDE do you have rubber or stainless steel hoses from the GASLOW bottles ?

are you suffering from the oily residue getting into the regulator from the rubber hoses?


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## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

Thank you for all your responses. The bulk of the gas in the bottles is of a continental variety, however I have lit the three rings of the cooker for a 5 minute burn without them extinguishing. Starting the heater on mains electricity and then switching over to gas produces the same results, ie "Gas Out" flashes on the control panel and burner stops. The Gaslow system was installed in 2008 with stainless steel hoses. The motorhome was bought new in 2008 so I would hope Hymer had recognised the problem regarding rubber hoses.


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

Bethune said:


> Thank you for all your responses. The bulk of the gas in the bottles is of a continental variety, however I have lit the three rings of the cooker for a 5 minute burn without them extinguishing. Starting the heater on mains electricity and then switching over to gas produces the same results, ie "Gas Out" flashes on the control panel and burner stops. The Gaslow system was installed in 2008 with stainless steel hoses. The motorhome was bought new in 2008 so I would hope Hymer had recognised the problem regarding rubber hoses.


If you can't sort it out then give Graham Cutmore a call. He knows everything there is to know about the Alde system. He is happy to give advice and is very helpful. He will even come out to look at the system depending on where you live.

http://www.grahamcutmoreengineering.co.uk/


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## Burneyinn (Oct 27, 2006)

We've had a similar problem over the last year. After about 1/2 an hour on gas, red light came on even though there as plenty of gas.
No problem on electric. We had to reset to 12v supply on the boiler to overcome this.

Had Graham out in the spring and and he couldn't find anything wrong with it. Kept doing the same thing on gas, eventually whole system packed up and had to have new circuit board.  No problems since.

Would definately get Graham out to have a look at yours in case it fails when you are away. He knows what he is doing and is very fair with his charges.


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## Roger7webster (Oct 10, 2006)

I would try running the system using a seperate stand alone regulator and propane bottle if you have one. This would then prove the built in sysytem regulator gas supply etc is ok or not.
I had to replace my regulator recently. I had tried lighting gas rings etc but the heating system takes a lot of gas and proved the regulator to be defective


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

I think I would wait until the temperature rises again and we get out of this sharp cold spell and then try it again on gas (especially if you have a continental fill of gas )

I am assuming the heating has been working on gas with out any problems previously and this is the first problem you have had with it running on gas

have you called ALDE UK and asked for their opinion ?

www.alde.co.uk

Alde International (UK) Ltd
Regent Park
Park Farm South
Wellingborough
Northants
NN8 6GR

Tel: 01933 677765
Fax: 01933 674975
Email: [email protected]


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## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

Many thanks indeed for your responses. I have e-mailed Alde technical support and their reply is 
"UK Autogas does seem to cause problems when used in the Alde system, particularly when its cold. This problem is common to many sensitive gas burners" Interesting !
Have not had any problems with this heater until now.
So I have a cylinder of propane and am just waiting now for the easyfit adaptor to try it out. Will report back
Philip


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

I use Gaslow cylinders & UK bought lpg/autogas & take trips to the Alps when its often in the -20's & not had a problem with the UK gas & my Alde 3010 boiler

if you find that it works ok on a pure propane Calor bottle I would suggest that its due to the continental gas you last filled up with!

as previously stated

UK autogas is 95 -100% propane

but continental autogas can be supplied in different ratios of butane/propane eg 50/50

maybe as the temp has been dropping you have been burning off the propane from the cylinders now its just the butane thats left and the boiler burner is struggling ?

*
Why not call into a UK fuel station and fill your Gaslows up with UK autogas & try again!

*

there was a thread a long time ago where someone was in the Alps for the winter season and they found that their Gaslows were running out of gas more frequently & when they topped up they were getting less & less new gas in.

It turned out that the gaslows where full of Butane which wouldn't burn . I think they had to find some open space away from any sources of ignition - turn the bottle upside down & open the tap to let the butane empty out.!!! then they could top back up with this mixture of butane & propane so the cycle started again


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## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

The Gaslow easyfit adaptor has arrived and I have tried the system using a cylinder of propane, unfortunately without success. I think my next stop will be Graham Cutmore. Thanks again for your interest and suggestions.
Philip


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## Roger7webster (Oct 10, 2006)

Did you try with a stand alone regulator ( £6 from most camping shops) and a rubber gas hose with hose clips? This would then eliminate the possibility of a faulty built in regulator. 
You could connect via a BBQ gas point if you have one 
Just a thought!!


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## Bethune (Apr 21, 2008)

As a couple of you intimated my problem was the Truma regulator. Having replaced it the system is working as before. This regulator is less than three years old and really has not seen a lot of action, is this a typical life ?Perhaps need to add one to the list of onboard spares.
Once again many thanks for your contributions
Philip
PS Once I have used up the propane (the bottle the Gaslow fitter took out when he installed the system, and hence redundant) I will try the system again on the Autogas


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

its good to hear that your problem has been resolved & what the fix was 


Thanks for the update


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