Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingeezer
…………………..
There is another subject that I am wrestling with at present. I seem to hear of many issues and complexities with the Alde and Truma heating equipt. It is hard to know how to put the comments in perspective, but I'm almost thinking that if I had a choice at this point, I'd almost prefer to stick with the old standby products of old!
Brian.
|
Truma and Alde are very different.
Truma is similar to Webasto Dual Top except in NA it is only LPG powered. In EU it is either diesel or LPG and diesel technology is from Eberspacher as far I remember. LPG furnace heats air and hot water tank directly. It is very similar to Eberspacher/Espar Airtronics D2/D4 heater plus it has a hot water tank.
Alde is hydronic heating, LPG (I think they have diesel as well) furnace heats coolant which heats air and water via heat exchangers. Rixen is similar using Espar D5 hydronic heater, it is used by Advance RV. It is much more complex due to coolant circulation through the van. But, for winter camping it could be unbeatable.
I have Espar Airtronics D2 to heat our well insulated van (Thinsulate), it is by far the best RV heater we ever had. It operates on 4 heat output levels. All 4 levels have different fan RPM so at low level it is practically silent. Truma space heating should be very similar, it has similar technology of furnace heating air directly.
For water heating I have Espar Hydronic D5 circulating coolant through marine water heater, similar to Alde. I could extend this hydronic heating for additional heating in very low temperatures or for winterizing under the floor heating (in works). Alde is the same, it could be use for under the floor tanks via coolant.
If I would be converting another van I would choose a Truma, a much simpler system. I was evaluating a Webasto Dual Top but in my van, it would require eliminating of the spare tire.
I think that the Alde System is an absolute overkill for a van, for a large RV when heat needs to be distributed throughout larger distances hydronic heating makes more sense.
Truma electric energy consumption is most likely lower, (needs verification), coolant doesn’t need to be circulated so there is no coolant pump. One issue with Webasto Dual Top and likely with Truma as competing needs for air and water heating, so starting from cold you need to wait for water to heat-up.
Threaded Mode
