Zyroman Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Hi guys, I have a van with the Alde heating and hot water system 3100 I think, the issue I have is the when you come to run the hot tap if it has not been used in the last couple of hours all you get is a lot of spluttering before you get some tepid water through. If I then leave it for fifteen minutes I can try again and get hot water pretty much straight away. Am I correct in thinking that this is because the water drains back from the boiler cartridge into the water tank over a period of time and then when I put the tap on it pulls water back into the boiler and then straight through to the tap without heating it ? Can I put some kind of non return valve in or will that just make it hard to drain down ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have the older Alde 3000, the only time I get something like you problem is when the hot water system has air in it, we run the shower and this seems to clear it. Give Graham Cutmore a call he will tell you if your system drains back into the tank http://www.grahamcutmoreengineering.co.uk/# he is ex Alde heating engineer. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The first thing you should do is check for a water leak. It might be very little and difficult to trace but that would be my advice. The quickest way is to try turning the hose near to the Jubilee clip. If it turns, it needs tightening. I have just had to remove my Kitchen mixer tap and I did not tighten up the cold water hose enough. I was only alerted to this because of the spluttering tap. There is more pressure on the cold side, so start there. If it is a minor leak, run your hand down the hose to feel for damp or check the floor beneath the hoses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Zyroman A motorhome's water system will normally need to include a non-return function to prevent water draining back into the freshwater tank. If the system uses a submerged water pump (ie the pump is submerged in the freshwater tank) there will normally be a non-return valve close to, or attached to, the water pump. If the system uses a pressure-sensitive diaphragm water pump, then the pump itself will act as a non-return valve. Without knowing details of your motorhome's water system, it's difficult to guess whether 'draining back' is a factor, but (as Dave says) spluttering at the tap is usually an indication that air is entering the system somewhere. As 747 advises, check for water leaks all the way from where water is picked-up from within the freshwater tank to the taps. If your motorhome's system uses jubilee clips for connecting water hoses, then be very careful when tightening those clips as tap-connectors can easily be broken if too much force is employed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Cive Motts account of us giving the fresh water tank on my Medallion an airing in France last year appeared on page 211 of this months MMM. ( apologies to anyone suffering from baldie dazzle). There is a sequel. The ex bread board blanking plate sealed the top of the tank but as there appeared to be four vent buttons ( approx 1mm holes) in the top of the tank I assumed venting would be adquate. However from then on after a minute or so of drawing water we had the dreaded splutters at the taps. Only two things had changed. The hole in the tank had been sealed ( my guess is the bayonet type fitting had been loose for a long time before eventually shaking out) and there was a new and less than perfect spigot at the outlet connection. I supected that now the pump drew water from the tank faster than air could get in via the button vents and a partial vacuum was building in the tank. The spluttering indicated air was getting in somewhere and although there was no water leaking from the outlet connection it seemed the most likely entry point. Without the pump running air pressure in and outside of the system would balance with the outlet only subject to the head of water in the tank. Once the pump created vacuum there would be a pressure differential and air is thinner than water and can pass through a much smaller hole. There was an easy way to test the theory and that was to run the taps with the sealed filler cap off and sure enough there was a smooth delivery of water. Back home the tank came out again and was fitted with a new outlet spigot, but how to vent the tank but keep livestoock out. My local plumbers merchant came up with a kit normally used to kep bugs out of the domestic cold water tank found in the roof space of many homes. For a fiver there was a couple of different plastic snap on or screwed coupling fittings incorporating a fine gauze filter. All I had to do was cut a 40mm diameter hole in the ex-cutting board plate and snap in the new unit. With a couple of new wider straps to replace the rusty old ones the job was done and normal service resumed. Splutter is a frequent cause of complaint and I wonder just how often poor tank venting is part if not the whole cause. Fortunatly its easy to diagnose. Try running with the filler cap off. Well its a bit of a change from me spouting hot air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zyroman Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Thanks for all the advice guys, I now have somewhere to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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