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Calling any Alde Boiler Gurus...


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I need help... I cannot get hot water on my boat that I recently purchased, unless I run the engine..

 

I have a Alde Comfort 2829 installed and cannot get any hot water through the taps. The heating is working in all radiators though.

 

After doing some research online I believe it works by first heating up the boat to the thermostat temperature, then it heats up the water in the calorifier? I cant really understand the logic behind this because once the boat as reached the desired internal temperature the pump turns off? So how can it heat the water in the calorifier if it has stopped pumping? I  am presuming there is a coil running through the calorifier to heat the water from the central heating system? How would I get hot water only without the heating on?

 

I have already checked that the valve to the calorifier is open. I have also turned off all the radiators, still no hot water.

 

Can anybody shed any light on this for me?

 

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turning off all the radiators may actually prevent you getting hot water...

on my previous boat the alde fed 2 systems
1. radiators in the main cabin area (isolatable by a big valve in the back of a kitchen cupboard)
2. radiator in the bathroom (probably originally a towel rail) and the calorifier

 

for either to work the pump had to be running (so for hot water in summer we could isolate the radiator loop and run the boiler on max for hot water)

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17 minutes ago, Nick-Now said:

After doing some research online I believe it works by first heating up the boat to the thermostat temperature, then it heats up the water in the calorifier?

 

No, not necessarily, assuming you mean you have a Comfort 2928.

 

The way it works is entirely dependent on how the installer designed the water system attached to it. The boiler just heats up water. What happens to tht hot water after it leaves the boiler is nothing to do with the boiler itself.

 

So basically, you need to inspect the pipework and figure out for yourself how it is supposed to work. Or ask the seller you bought it from, or look in the boat manual (if it has one). We can't really help.

 

Or trace all the pipes, draw a diagram and post it up here, then we will be able to tell you how to get it to heat your calorifier.

 

 

 

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Make sure the thermostat is up to max and the switch on top is on.

My radiators are turned on with a tap near the boiler. 

You should have something similar, if so turn the radiators off and run the boiler,  I have a manual switch to turn on the boiler pump.

20200308_115429.jpg

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15 minutes ago, Rickent said:

Make sure the thermostat is up to max and the switch on top is on.

My radiators are turned on with a tap near the boiler. 

You should have something similar, if so turn the radiators off and run the boiler,  I have a manual switch to turn on the boiler pump.

20200308_115429.jpg

I have just done as you said. Turned up the thermostat to full and switched the pump on. The only valve tap i can see is on the floor near the door at the stern boxed in. I have turned i off to see it that is for the radiators

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4 minutes ago, Nick-Now said:

Up to yet the water pump is still running  the radiators are cold except the bathroom towel rail, so possible this may work....fingers crossed

 

Feel the heating pipes going in and out of the calorifier. Are they both hot? Or both cold? Or one hot and the other cold? 

 

Also, do as philjw suggests, see if there is an air vent on either of them. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Feel the heating pipes going in and out of the calorifier. Are they both hot? Or both cold? Or one hot and the other cold? 

 

Also, do as philjw suggests, see if there is an air vent on either of them. 

 

 

 

20200308_123016.jpg

no both pipes are cold :(

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

That stop-tap is in the 'off'(no flow) position.

 

Try turning it thru' 90 degrees.

 

Seconded. It is a 90 degree turn 'lever valve', in the OFF position in your photo. Push it around until it is parallel to the pipe and the pipes will probably get hot. One very hot, the other warm, ideally.

 

 

 

1 minute ago, Nick-Now said:

if i do that the radiators will come on

Oh. 

 

Then you are not looking at the pipes that heat the calorifier!

 

 

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1 hour ago, Nick-Now said:

 

I have a Alde Comfort 2829 installed and cannot get any hot water through the taps. The heating is working in all radiators though.

I had the opposite problem on Belfast - the calorifier would heat up pretty quickly, but the radiators would only ever get luke warm.  There was a valve to turn off the radiator circuit entirely, when heating is not needed, but nothing on the calorifier circuit. As the calorifier is right next to the boiler, the pipe circuit is much shorter than the radiator circuit, so not surprising most of the hot water went that way. I fitted a gate valve in the calorifier circuit so that I could balance the system more in favour of the radiator circuit.

Edited by David Mack
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1 hour ago, Nick-Now said:

I  am presuming there is a coil running through the calorifier to heat the water from the central heating system?

 

Ok, going back to square one, this is a really big assumption and the evidence is beginning to suggest this is wrong. I suggest you inspect the calorifier carefully and prove to yourself there really IS a pair of pipes connecting it to the Alde.

 

1 hour ago, Nick-Now said:

I have already checked that the valve to the calorifier is open.

 

What valve is this? Can we have a photo please?

 

Photos are GOOD!

 

 

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9 minutes ago, philjw said:

If it is plumbed so that the hot water and rads come on together, it might be possible to shut the valve on each rad just leaving the hot water feed active. This assumed a 2 pipe system.

i'm just testing this theory

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I think i am making a little progress, i turned on the valve in the picture I posted and turned off all the radiators except the bathroom towel rail. Still nothing doing. So now i have turned on the bedroom radiator and the pipe heading towards the calorifier is getting hot

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11 minutes ago, Nick-Now said:

I think i am making a little progress, i turned on the valve in the picture I posted and turned off all the radiators except the bathroom towel rail. Still nothing doing. So now i have turned on the bedroom radiator and the pipe heading towards the calorifier is getting hot

Do your radiators have a two pipe system, or, does the radiator 'in-pipe' connect to the same pipe as the 'out-pipe' ?

 

Single pipe system and two-pipe system

 

Image result for radiator 2 pipe system vs 1 pipe system

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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1 minute ago, Nick-Now said:

i don't know has the [pipes are boxed in

If it is a single pipe system (not uncommon on NBs) then turning off the valve at the 1st radiator cuts off ALL radiators.

If you turn of the valve at the 2nd radiator then the 1st should get warm but the other won't.

 

The system relies an a 'flow' of hot water getting steadily colder as it passes thru the various radiators until the last radiator could be almost cold.

 

A better system is the twin-pipe system where the hot water stays in the hot pipe, and the colder water goes into the 'cold' pipe.

 

With the one pipe the water gets colder and colder as it flows  Red, to orange to  Orangy/Blue, to Blue

 

Image result for radiator one pipe of two pipe systems

 

 

 

The two-pipe system ,meanwhile

 

 

Image result for radiator one pipe of two pipe systems

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