I had a 2014 T@B 320 CSS that I sold in 2020. I never changed the original Alde fluid, just added, but I wasn't an every week camper/user, either. I never looked at this connection, so not sure if I had corrosion or not. It makes complete sense and now I feel a lot smarter about molecules. I will definitely inspect the connection on my 2020 T@B 320 CSS BDL when it comes out of winter storage. Thanks!
Excellent part 1. I recognized a couple of the photos (I consider that a compliment 8^ ) so I'm eager to see part 2 to see if some of my ideas were reflected in your groups list of solutions. It's always nice to see if I was able to come up with similar ideas that much smarter people arrived at! 8^D Keep up the good work!
My own trailer does not have that obvious severe corrosion, and I needed some photos to demonstrate the issue in the extreme. those photos fit the bill. Thanks. I'll credit you in the description if you would like.
Will watch later but have a 2021 320 and it had the yellow glycol in it. They been having people change it to this new greenish glycol. I did that even though I never ran into the issue that I read about with the same year trailer. Some people had the issue soon after getting the trailer. I had it over a year or more without an issue. I definitely found that it takes a longer time for the new stuff to heat up the trailer then the old. Was wondering if there is a adjustment for that? Also they say it can last longer then the old stuff before having to change it out. You think that’s true? Finally I hope these videos is not pointing out that I can still have the issue. Then I will always wonder if I needed to change out in the first place. I would say I went through two winters with the old glycol.
A few notes: Many people have had the original style fluid in their Alde heaters for YEARS without problem. My trailer for example. It's a 2015 (8 years old), still using the original style fluid. I will continue to do so, as it has produced no corrosion. I've just been very careful to replace it as recommended every two years. If you watch the second video, you will learn that it is the water that is doing the majority of work carrying heat around the loop. Both the old fluid and the new fluid have the same percentage of water in the solution. They will heat at the same rate. If your heater is not working as well as it used to before the swap, it is very likely that they didnt bleed all the air out of the system when they put the new in. You very likely have an air pocket in your system which is restricting coolant flow. The new fluid does NOT last longer than the original fluid. The idea that the new fluid lasted longer than the new fluid was marketing jargon, to sell the new expensive fluid. Both the new fluid and the old fluid MUST be replaced every two years. Here is a sales link to the new Truma/Alde fluid. It clearly states that it should be swapped out every two years. shop.truma.net/products/alde-antifreeze-1-gallon
I'm looking forward to part two. Wondering which is better, distilled water or D.I. water. Also, corrosion of metal always involves and electrical current and I hope you will talk about that.
There are several modes of aluminum corrosion, not just galvanic. Acidic Corrosion Chloride corrosion, Uniform corrosion. Galvanic corrosion. Pitting corrosion. Crevice corrosion. Erosion corrosion. Intergranular corrosion. Exfoliation corrosion. Stress corrosion. The corrosion in this area falls under acidic crevice corrosion. Galvanic corrosion only occours when to dissimilar metals are in direct contact in the presence of a conductive fluid. there is only one type of metal at that crevice.
As always an excellent video Mark! Going to the dealer tomorrow for a transfer fluid change. Going to have them check the connection points on the radiators. Hopefully all is well! Wondering if another hose clamp on each connection point would mitigate the gap problem?
@Tab Trailer Upgrades and Maintenance Had the fluid change done with the 5 year Rhomar. Dealer says it should still be changed every two years. $700! All hoses and connection points were good!
Great explanation of why the Alde system has corrosion issues. According to your analysis it might be anticipated that there is a direct (linear?) relationship between bend degree and corrosion. Given the complexity of collecting such data, it is not likely to be testable, but such data would go a long way to giving empirical credence to your root cause analysis. Does this make sense to you?
We didn't get a protractor out and measure angles and make a chart of "angle versus corrosion quantity". it may have a linear relationship, it may not. But it was clear that having a sharp bend at the nipple created a larger opening for fluid wicking to get a foothold, and the bent connections showed a higher incidence of corrosion than straight connections. Be aware that there are other variables like, tube insertion length, clamp positions etc, as explained in video two.
I had a 2014 T@B 320 CSS that I sold in 2020. I never changed the original Alde fluid, just added, but I wasn't an every week camper/user, either. I never looked at this connection, so not sure if I had corrosion or not. It makes complete sense and now I feel a lot smarter about molecules. I will definitely inspect the connection on my 2020 T@B 320 CSS BDL when it comes out of winter storage. Thanks!
Glad the video helped.
Great explanation, looking forward to part 2. My 2016 T@B has issues at some of the convector ends and I need to resolve this issue.
Glad it helped.
Excellent part 1. I recognized a couple of the photos (I consider that a compliment 8^ ) so I'm eager to see part 2 to see if some of my ideas were reflected in your groups list of solutions. It's always nice to see if I was able to come up with similar ideas that much smarter people arrived at! 8^D Keep up the good work!
My own trailer does not have that obvious severe corrosion, and I needed some photos to demonstrate the issue in the extreme. those photos fit the bill.
Thanks. I'll credit you in the description if you would like.
Will watch later but have a 2021 320 and it had the yellow glycol in it. They been having people change it to this new greenish glycol. I did that even though I never ran into the issue that I read about with the same year trailer. Some people had the issue soon after getting the trailer. I had it over a year or more without an issue. I definitely found that it takes a longer time for the new stuff to heat up the trailer then the old. Was wondering if there is a adjustment for that? Also they say it can last longer then the old stuff before having to change it out. You think that’s true? Finally I hope these videos is not pointing out that I can still have the issue. Then I will always wonder if I needed to change out in the first place. I would say I went through two winters with the old glycol.
A few notes:
Many people have had the original style fluid in their Alde heaters for YEARS without problem. My trailer for example. It's a 2015 (8 years old), still using the original style fluid. I will continue to do so, as it has produced no corrosion. I've just been very careful to replace it as recommended every two years.
If you watch the second video, you will learn that it is the water that is doing the majority of work carrying heat around the loop. Both the old fluid and the new fluid have the same percentage of water in the solution. They will heat at the same rate. If your heater is not working as well as it used to before the swap, it is very likely that they didnt bleed all the air out of the system when they put the new in. You very likely have an air pocket in your system which is restricting coolant flow.
The new fluid does NOT last longer than the original fluid. The idea that the new fluid lasted longer than the new fluid was marketing jargon, to sell the new expensive fluid. Both the new fluid and the old fluid MUST be replaced every two years. Here is a sales link to the new Truma/Alde fluid. It clearly states that it should be swapped out every two years.
shop.truma.net/products/alde-antifreeze-1-gallon
I'm looking forward to part two. Wondering which is better, distilled water or D.I. water. Also, corrosion of metal always involves and electrical current and I hope you will talk about that.
There are several modes of aluminum corrosion, not just galvanic.
Acidic Corrosion
Chloride corrosion,
Uniform corrosion.
Galvanic corrosion.
Pitting corrosion.
Crevice corrosion.
Erosion corrosion.
Intergranular corrosion.
Exfoliation corrosion.
Stress corrosion.
The corrosion in this area falls under acidic crevice corrosion.
Galvanic corrosion only occours when to dissimilar metals are in direct contact in the presence of a conductive fluid. there is only one type of metal at that crevice.
As always an excellent video Mark! Going to the dealer tomorrow for a transfer fluid change. Going to have them check the connection points on the radiators. Hopefully all is well! Wondering if another hose clamp on each connection point would mitigate the gap problem?
In part two the idea of a second clamp is covered.
@Tab Trailer Upgrades and Maintenance Had the fluid change done with the 5 year Rhomar. Dealer says it should still be changed every two years. $700! All hoses and connection points were good!
Great explanation of why the Alde system has corrosion issues. According to your analysis it might be anticipated that there is a direct (linear?) relationship between bend degree and corrosion. Given the complexity of collecting such data, it is not likely to be testable, but such data would go a long way to giving empirical credence to your root cause analysis. Does this make sense to you?
We didn't get a protractor out and measure angles and make a chart of "angle versus corrosion quantity". it may have a linear relationship, it may not. But it was clear that having a sharp bend at the nipple created a larger opening for fluid wicking to get a foothold, and the bent connections showed a higher incidence of corrosion than straight connections. Be aware that there are other variables like, tube insertion length, clamp positions etc, as explained in video two.