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Alde radiant heating system...


mtkadan

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While I currently don’t own an Ollie, I’ve visited the plant and sales office in September of this year. Hope to place an order 1/2020.

 

I’ve, like many, have done an exhaustive review and comparison of travel trailers, Motorhomes, etc., including their respective mechanical systems. Leave it to the Europeans to out-engineer the U.S. manufacturers (predominantly in Indiana where design and decor are STUCK in the ‘80’s) with sustainability and efficiency being their guiding design impetus. All that being said, to address your specific citing of the Alde heating system which uses glycol as the “medium” transferring heat via finned radiators pumped via plastic supply lines is a great system. However, since the Oliver is equipped with a propane gas ducted forced air heating system the logical conversion would be a Truma Combi System which is a propane gas tankless hot water heater and a gas ducked forced air heating system. Using the existing duct system would be the most efficient conversion rather than attempting to re-plumb supply lines and place finned radiators in the trailer hull.

 

I hope Oliver considers the Truma Combi System as an upgrade since the Truma Tankless Water Heater is already an option...

 

Just my thoughts and observations.

 

Forrest

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We have had a T@B for five seasons (made now by NuCamp) and recently ordered an Ollie because we want a little more room for seasonal travel. The T@B has the Alde systen for hot water and radiant heat. There was a bit of a learning curve (the controls have since been modified) but the quality is wonderful and the unit is quick to heat and completely silent. The radiant heat is very comfortable. It is possibly the only system we wish we could take with us to the Ollie.

Doug & Dan

Des Moines, Iowa

(waiting on a ) 2020 LEII

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We have had a T@B for five seasons (made now by NuCamp) and recently ordered an Ollie because we want a little more room for seasonal travel. The T@B has the Alde systen for hot water and radiant heat. There was a bit of a learning curve (the controls have since been modified) but the quality is wonderful and the unit is quick to heat and completely silent. The radiant heat is very comfortable. It is possibly the only system we wish we could take with us to the Ollie.

 

That is interesting.... you could engineer a retrofit Alde system for your new Ollie and tell the rest of us how to do it. I suspect that you would need to make ventilated channels to add along the floor at the "kick panels" to run the glycol lines and house the radiant heating elements. Plus of course a number of them under the floor to warm the tanks, cabinets and inner walls, which would possibly be challenging.

 

I am not a fan of propane appliances but these seem to be supremely designed and they are up to 97% energy efficient. I have never seen RV appliance energy ratings published anywhere. If my furnace and water heater are more than 50% efficient I would be astonished. An enormous amount of waste heat pours out the exhaust vents. The water heater heat exchanger is a joke - it is just a huge closed-end tube with a tack-welded sheet metal divider down the middle. It looks as if it were designed by a dim kid in a high school shop class.

 

Do you have any idea how many "emitters" are in your T@b? How many would be needed for an Elite II? How many can be aded in series in a single run of hose?

 

Darn it - they won't sell to anybody except a manufacturer and they don't seem to publish info about design - how many and where..... https://www.alde.us/how-can-i-get-help/knowledge-base/

 

Here is a general brochure: ... https://www.alde.us/documents/2/the-king-of-comfort_us.pdf

 

They have Operating and Install manuals to download but none go into the design part of it. A moot point if an individual cannot buy the parts needed for a complete system.!!!

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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retrofitting an ollie would offer unique challanges, but installing a radiant system in a NEW built unit would make sense.

id like to see oliver research it for future trailers....hopefully its a positive replacement to the forced air unit of today.!

small changes to improve the final product is the goal.

 

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I don't know how many emitters are installed but T@B has a robust community forum on the NuCamp site and there are many, many threads and links about Alde. Tons of information.

 

Doug & Dan

Des Moines, Iowa

(waiting on a ) 2020 LEII

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