Alde 3010 boiler

[jeb]

Hi

Does anyone know of a suitable 240v pump that will not impede the flow of hot water whilst using the original 12v pump as supplied ?

 

The reason I ask this is because the 12v pump as supplied with the heater is in no way man enough to purge the system whilst filling it and when full will not pump any water round due to the obviously small pockets of air that are still in the pipes. There is nothing tricky about the system layout and nowhere for large pockets of air to hide (except perhaps in the boiler itself ). I have contacted Alde several times over the pump issue and to cut a long story short they sent out on loan a service pump which they have designed to purge systems but emphasised that it is usually only necessary on complicated motorhome systems and at the same time suggested that I remove the one way valve out of the boiler flow pipe as it was not needed on a narrowboat system.

I drained the system low enough to remove the valve as suggested and the boiler made a lot of encouraging sounds. Ha I thought that sounds good , probably a faulty valve all along ,so I filled the system back up and fired up the boiler trying the original 12v pump. 30mins later only the nearest radiator felt warm (not hot ) and the return pipe at the boiler was cold. Hmm failed. I then put their service pump ( Heath Robinson affair, 2 pumps strapped together)) into the header tank switched just one pump on and the water circulated instantly.

I put the original 12 v pump back in and 20mins later all the rads were hot and only small amounts of bleeding at the rads to make it perfect.

 

The point being in 2 years time and the antifreeze needs changing, I cant do it. If I need to drain the system for any reason really, I cant do it without the service pump. Contacted Alde and all they really wanted to do was sell me a more powerfull 12v pump, obviously more power hungry than the one supplied which was part of the attraction. I have 240v on board so I would like to install a cheap (in comparison) domestic pump which will only be used for service applications ie : 2mins every 2 years hopefully. Any suggestions please ?

[dor]

Are you sure the antifreeze/water mixture was well mixed before you filled the system? I've got five rads and a calorifier on my 3010, and the distance from the boiler to the furthest rad is about 50ft (down the side, across the back and up the other side) with 4 rads on that run, another rad Teed off going the other way and the calorifier Teed off at the back.

 

Initially, although trying to fill the system with similar strength mixture (1/3 AF, 2/3 water) I had problems with the system just not circulating. It took quite a lot of purging to get the air out of the system, but eventually it stopped gurgling at the pump and it seemed to be circulating ok. Turning the pump on & off seemed to help get rid of the air, but it did take quite a while. However it still wouldn't get the rads hot and I eventually bled them into a jug, pouring the mix back into the header tank (used ali foil to make a sort of funnel to collect the water).

 

The system is now fine and works really well. The rads heat up quickly and so does the calorifier if I need to top up the hot water in the morning. A bit of a hassle, but it is not something you have to do frequently. Getting the AF/water mix consistent does seem to be critical though with the low power Alde pump. The advbantage of that pump though is that it uses very little power.

[jeb]

Are you sure the antifreeze/water mixture was well mixed before you filled the system? I've got five rads and a calorifier on my 3010, and the distance from the boiler to the furthest rad is about 50ft (down the side, across the back and up the other side) with 4 rads on that run, another rad Teed off going the other way and the calorifier Teed off at the back.

 

Initially, although trying to fill the system with similar strength mixture (1/3 AF, 2/3 water) I had problems with the system just not circulating. It took quite a lot of purging to get the air out of the system, but eventually it stopped gurgling at the pump and it seemed to be circulating ok. Turning the pump on & off seemed to help get rid of the air, but it did take quite a while. However it still wouldn't get the rads hot and I eventually bled them into a jug, pouring the mix back into the header tank (used ali foil to make a sort of funnel to collect the water).

 

The system is now fine and works really well. The rads heat up quickly and so does the calorifier if I need to top up the hot water in the morning. A bit of a hassle, but it is not something you have to do frequently. Getting the AF/water mix consistent does seem to be critical though with the low power Alde pump. The advbantage of that pump though is that it uses very little power.

 

Hi Dor

The antifreeze mixture has been well mixed having drained the system several times and the mixture placed into a 25 litre bucket for reuse. I only have 4 rads on one side and a calorifier with ball valves fitted so that I can isolate it. The system is working fine but like I said when it comes to draining the system again I will not be able to get it going again without the service pump hence the requirement of a 240v pump. That said it has just occured to me that my boat has not been launched yet and would the movement of the boat once on water make any difference ? ie : the rocking action. Just a thought.