Any experience with a Alde LPG Combi Boiler?

[Gavin Brunton]

Hi i am looking to get a LPG Combi Boiler fitted to my 50x10' canal boat. I currently have a stove with a back boiler a colorifer and three small radiators but i work very irregular hours and would like a slightly more convenient option with a thermostat. I was looking at the Alde as i like the idea that its cleaner burning than a Diesel heater, quieter and more reliable. Has anyone got any first hand experience with the Alde? How does it hold up is it efficent?

[MtB]

Which Alde one do you mean?

 

ISTR it is for caravans not boats, but happy to be corrected.

 

MtB

[Gavin Brunton]

the 3020 Combi boiler

 

http://www.alde.co.uk/itemdetails.php?itemId=1

[Alan de Enfield]

Alde heaters are fairly 'gas hungary' using just under half-a-kilogram an hour of gas.

A 13kg gas bottle will lst around 26-30 hours in continuous use. (or around £1 per hour)

 

If you are only using it as a 'top-up' until your fire gets up to heat then it should be reasonable, if it is to be your 'main' source of heating (3 or 4 hours at night and an hour or two in the morning) I think you would soon get fed up of carting gas bottles about

[Gavin Brunton]

Ive read nothing but bad things about diesel heaters on forums apart from the Huricane which is expensive. Has anyone got a positive sorry about them?

What would the cost pre hour of a diesal heater be?

[MtB]

Ive read nothing but bad things about diesel heaters on forums apart from the Huricane which is expensive. Has anyone got a positive sorry about them?

What would the cost pre hour of a diesal heater be?

 

I've heard that diesel heaters use about half a litre an hour. So based on how much diesel costs on the day, about 40p an hour to run.

 

So now you are finding out why most boats use coal!

 

 

MtB

[Alan de Enfield]

Our friends (liveaboards) took the Alde out of their boat and just use the SF stove and back boiler

 

We have an Eberspacher diesel heater which when running on 'full' uses about 0.9 litres per hour (so £0.70p / hour) but the advantage is that you have a huge tank of diesel and are not carting 25kg (13 kg gas + bottle) gas bottles about every 2 or 3 days.

 

A bit noisy externally but very happy with the Eber.

 

Just a thought - will your SF stove not stay in during the day ?

The cost of an Alde / Eber + fitting + running costs will pay for a lot of coal.

[MtB]

the 3020 Combi boiler

 

http://www.alde.co.uk/itemdetails.php?itemId=1

 

 

Looks a tidy piece of kit and yes I see the docs say it is approved for boats. As Alan points out, the gas consumption is phenomenal so for a liveaboard the carting about of gas bottles will get tedious, never mind the £50 a week cost.

 

MtB

[dor]

I've had a Alde 3010 for six years now. The 3020 is much the same, just a newer model. We have used it a lot and it has been 100% reliable with no servicing. It is much more economical than the old upright Comfort models. We have a SF stove so do not generally use it as the main source of heating, but we do use it regularly to heat the hot water and warm up the bathroom. In the depth of winter, if the boat is near freezing we will run it on the heating circuit for an hour or so until the stove gets going.

It probably isn't as cheap to run as a diesel boiler, but with no servicing required and the reliability being so good it does save a lot of hassle.

Wouldn't recommend it as the main source of heat, but it is a superb addition to a SF stove.

Edited October 18, 2014 by dor

[Gavin Brunton]

The stove would stay in and I would try and use it as much as possible but I regularly work 18 hour days and and get home in the small hours of the morning so I was hoping for a solution that could come on in the morning when i get out of bed and i could connect to something like a hive so I could turn it on just before i get home. Having a hot shower is important to me when i get home. Ive just done the Maths and two hours a day would cost 50 quid a month with the Alde and a 19kg bottle would last 23 days. If i got a hurricane its 45 a month.

[Gavin Brunton]

I've had a Alde 3010 for six years now. The 3020 is much the same, just a newer model. We have used it a lot and it has been 100% reliable with no servicing. It is much more economical than the old upright Comfort models. We have a SF stove so do not generally use it as the main source of heating, but we do use it regularly to heat the hot water and warm up the bathroom. In the depth of winter, if the boat is near freezing we will run it on the heating circuit for an hour or so until the stove gets going.

It probably isn't as cheap to run as a diesel boiler, but with no servicing required and the reliability being so good it does save a lot of hassle.

Wouldn't recommend it as the main source of heat, but it is a superb addition to a SF stove.

This is exactly the scenario i envisage Thanks for the input.

[LEO]

Ive read nothing but bad things about diesel heaters on forums apart from the Huricane which is expensive. Has anyone got a positive sorry about them?

What would the cost pre hour of a diesal heater be?

 

I would not be without my Kabola 'Old Dutch' - just lit it (mainly for test purposes) - that can be the tricky part, now it burns on a very low setting and with an Eco Fan keeps the whole of the boat, (Cabin, engine room Bathroom and BC) warm, at the moment I just want it to warm the boat through as the recent wet weather could cause damp problems.

 

You just light it and leave it burning on the lowest setting, hot water provided, and it does it's thing 24/7.

 

Just give it a GOOD clean once a month and and every couple of days turn the oil inlet cleaner. Bear in mind it takes 20 mins to react to any adjustment of oil flow.

 

Oil useage - about 2.25 litres per day.

 

It likes to be left alone doing it's thing for days on end - highly recommended, these stoves were designed to be used in all weathers on fishing boats.

 

Forget carrying bags of coal, the delivery boat (Jules Fuels) fills up the inboard tank as necessary, I phone through a Visa number and that's it.

 

L.

 

PS I do have a range in the BC. in case I want to go back to Victorian times with coal, ash and riddling.

Edited October 18, 2014 by LEO

[flatplane8]

I've had a Alde 3010 for six years now. The 3020 is much the same, just a newer model. We have used it a lot and it has been 100% reliable with no servicing. It is much more economical than the old upright Comfort models. We have a SF stove so do not generally use it as the main source of heating, but we do use it regularly to heat the hot water and warm up the bathroom. In the depth of winter, if the boat is near freezing we will run it on the heating circuit for an hour or so until the stove gets going.

It probably isn't as cheap to run as a diesel boiler, but with no servicing required and the reliability being so good it does save a lot of hassle.

Wouldn't recommend it as the main source of heat, but it is a superb addition to a SF stove.

 

Ditto, in fact reading Dor's experiences helped us to decide to get one 5 years ago. Its been completely reliable and heats our vintage barge well. As others have said, better to have solid fuel as your main means of heating. When we looked at heaters, I looked at the whole cost, not just fuel. The Alde uses very little electricity compared to a diesel heater which is better for an off-grid boat too. Certainly friends have spent £100s on diesel heater servicing in a similar time period which somewhat negates the cheaper fuel cost of diesel.

[frangar]

Ditto, in fact reading Dor's experiences helped us to decide to get one 5 years ago. Its been completely reliable and heats our vintage barge well. As others have said, better to have solid fuel as your main means of heating. When we looked at heaters, I looked at the whole cost, not just fuel. The Alde uses very little electricity compared to a diesel heater which is better for an off-grid boat too. Certainly friends have spent £100s on diesel heater servicing in a similar time period which somewhat negates the cheaper fuel cost of diesel.

I have the older style comfort boiler which is heavier on gas than the new one, I have been saying for years that it's not just the cost of the fuel...the fact that it needs minimal electricity and just an annual service means the overall cost is less than most diesel heaters. I too have a solid fuel stove for main space heating but use the Alde for hot water when we are out cruising and did use it during the very cold winters a few years ago to warm the boat in the morning. One thing to bear in mind with the new model is that you will need a stainless calorifier and no copper pipes.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth