alde heating system

[adam the wanderer]

hi i have a alde heating system on my narrowboat for hot water and three radiators been told they are expensive to run gas bottle a week is this right thank you

[nicknorman]

Yes they can be expensive, but an important factor is the size of the gas bottles you have. Smaller bottles are more than twice as expensive per kilo of gas, than larger ones. Anything less than 13 kg bottles and it's going to be very expensive. Solid fuel stoves are of course the best way to heat your boat at a reasonable price.

[Hoose]

Have you not tried it out?

[adam the wanderer]

thank you just finished to boat back in the water today

[Keeping Up]

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get through two 13kg bottles in a week of really cold weather, if it's the only heating on the boat!

[Cheshire cat]

We got through two bottles in a week one February when the ice was a couple of inches thick. Coal is cheaper

[adam the wanderer]

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP I WILL GET THE CHAINSAW OUT

[MtB]

This thread might help....

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=61482&page=3#entry1174893

 

 

MtB

[matty40s]

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP I WILL GET THE CHAINSAW OUT

sawing the Alde in half will not reduce the gas consumption..

[adam the wanderer]

no i will do a bit of lumberjacking. coals not bloody cheap and its not British

[Alanji]

I have an Alde. Last winter, before I fitted the stove, I was using a bottle every 3 days and it was not really cold.

[FadeToScarlet]

no i will do a bit of lumberjacking.

 

What, put on women's clothing and hang around in bars?

[NMEA]

sawing the Alde in half will not reduce the gas consumption..

Yes it will..... all the way down to zero.

[pelicanafloat]

Yes it will..... all the way down to zero.

 

LOL' like it

 

We have a nice Alde boiler, and yes it will consume loads of gas but only if you turn it on, leave it, and forget to turn it off. We prefer the Villager Puffin for the majority of time but when it's cold and wifey is in bed and the vapours abound then I turns on the gas for an hour in the morning and the cost of the gas is nothing compared to the joy of a nice cup of tea in bed with a warm radiator keeping out the nasty cold ... to say nothing about the wife

 

And if the temperature plummets, we up the anti on the stove, move into the lounge via the dinette and stay warm and cosy (and the Alde, bless it, remains ready for another emergency )

 

Do not get rid of the gas boiler, it there for when you need it ....

Edited November 9, 2013 by pelicanafloat

[Lady Muck]

This is how we use ours mostly for hot water, but if we're away and we come home and need to heat the boat up quick, or if it's a bit nippy in the morning, the Alde is great. Ours is combined with the burner and. I can choose whether the rads are heated by the burner or the Alde.

[frangar]

Alde's are also very low on electricity consumption compared to diesel heating systems which means you don't need to run your engine to keep batteries topped up. They also don't need expensive parts like air motors replaced regularly. You need to look at the overall cost of ownership before condemning them! I wouldn't use mine as a sole form of heating but to supplement the solid fuel stove and for providing hot water I reckon they take some beating.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[Alanji]

Does the Alde use gas other than the pilot when not being used for heating? Mine seems to so I turn the gas off when I am not using.

[Tony Brooks]

Does the Alde use gas other than the pilot when not being used for heating? Mine seems to so I turn the gas off when I am not using.

 

Yes, they have boiler stat that maintains the boiler at the temperature you set on the knob on the boiler so if you turn the switch on the thermostat (if you have one) off the boiler stats will still try to maintain the boiler temperature. Gas use will be far less if you turn the knob on the boiler as low as it will go..

 

The room-stat (if you have one) only controls the pump. Older models definitely differ but I am sure the basic operation remains the same.

[dor]

You don't say which model of Alde you have. The newer 3010 is far more efficient than the older upright 2928.

Although we have the SF stove for the bulk of the heating, the Alde is invaluable for heating up the water in the morning. I've fitted two 22mm full flow valves so I can select HW or heating or both, but the small rad in the bathroom is always on so bathroom is warm even if HW only is selected. It can also be used to give a quick boost to the boat before the stove is up to temperature. Using it this way a 13Kg bottle lasts months.

 

My 3010 has been in regular use for six years now and has run faultlessly.

[frangar]

Does the Alde use gas other than the pilot when not being used for heating? Mine seems to so I turn the gas off when I am not using.

As Tony has said the pilot is on all the time, this does seem to keep the boiler up to temperature tho without the main burner cutting in when the circulation pump is off. So I'm not sure if turning the boiler completely off if you use it a couple of times a day would save much gas....I set the boiler dial to about 4 1/2 which seems to be plenty.

 

If you use the 3010 then you need to make sure you have a stainless steel calorifier as using a copper one can lead to internal corrosion within the Alde 3010...the 2928 can use either.

 

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

Edited November 10, 2013 by frangar

[Alanji]

 

Yes, they have boiler stat that maintains the boiler at the temperature you set on the knob on the boiler so if you turn the switch on the thermostat (if you have one) off the boiler stats will still try to maintain the boiler temperature. Gas use will be far less if you turn the knob on the boiler as low as it will go..

 

The room-stat (if you have one) only controls the pump. Older models definitely differ but I am sure the basic operation remains the same.

 

 

As Tony has said the pilot is on all the time, this does seem to keep the boiler up to temperature tho without the main burner cutting in when the circulation pump is off. So I'm not sure if turning the boiler completely off if you use it a couple of times a day would save much gas....I set the boiler dial to about 4 1/2 which seems to be plenty.

 

If you use the 3010 then you need to make sure you have a stainless steel calorifier as using a copper one can lead to internal corrosion within the Alde 3010...the 2928 can use either.

 

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

Thanks. I suspected as much as I could hear it (quietly) firing when in bed (the boiler is next to the bed). I will check into the make and boiler settings in the Spring - just about to leave boat for winter.

[Captain Fizz]

No doubt about it, solid fuel is the way to go but the Alde is great for some instant heat or a top up of the hot water.

I don't even leave the pilot alight, it's so easy to light from scratch.

[comfortably numb]

We had an Alde 2928 on a shared boat and in that very cold November in 2010 when the night temps were minus 10c we went through 3 x 13kg bottles in 5 days.

 

The boat we now own also has a 2928 but we never use it due to the expense as even with the pilot light on it uses a lot. However it would be nice occasionally as a quick boost so I'm going to try Mr Brook's suggestions which may well reduce the gas consumption.

 

Generally though we manage quite well with a stove and ecofan, together with a small oil filled radiator at the other end of our boat. Being hooked into shoreline and with fairly cheap electricity we find this is far more cost effective.