Caravan Motorhome Antifreeze Alde Heating

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Caravan Motorhome Antifreeze Alde Heating

Caravan anitfreeze probably isn’t something you give much thought to. However, our caravan has Alde heating. This is basically central we heating heating for your caravan as opposed to blown air, which is dry. As it contains fluid, it will be prone to freezing in cold weather, hence the need for antifreeze. ( This is all also true for Motorhomes )

After we had our first service, the engineer said, “Just to warn you next year’s service will need the antifreeze changing in the heating”. “Ok” I replied. He continued, “just letting you know as it is just about double the cost of your current service. “

I just nodded and carried on with my life, not really giving antifreeze a second thought. Now I’ve just booked this year’s service I remember the antifreeze conversation. So I headed to twitter, it’s a place of refuge and somewhere I can get things off my chest, so to speak. Twitter is like Facebook without the lunatics..

What followed was an interesting conversation with a few fellow caravanners. Several questions cropped up that I 1, didn’t know the answer too and 2. I’d never even though to ask.

Antifreeze Questions

Why is is so expensive?
Is it the same as car antifreeze?
What types of antifreeze are there?
How much do you need?
Why do new caravan have antifreeze that only lasts 2 years?
How do you check how strong the antifreeze is in the system?
What are the different colours?
Why are there different coloured antifreezes?
How often do you actually need to change it?

…and so on. I thought I’d do some research. So I hopped onto YouTube when I really should have been getting some sleep.

I’ve read more than is healthy about antifreeze and you get A LOT of conflicting information, even from manufacturers of the stuff. It also seems to me that certain things are said to confuse, so eventually you think, oh I’ll just get it done. A bit like the MTPLM upgrade kit that I spoke about some time ago. You can’t quite figure out why you need it, so you get it, just incase.

Different Coloured Antifreeze

All antifreeze is clear and manufacturers add dye. There isn’t a standard, according to Alde, great!. Although I’d read that caravans and motorhomes are initially filled with blue antifreeze that lasts two years.

When topping up coolant, you should use the same colour that’s currently in there. But, this doesn’t mean that it’s the same “type”. I can see this turning into my rant about gas connectors tightening and loosening the wrong way and some smart arse explains why, whilst calling me a dangerous idiot. Still it’s the price you pay for trying to help.

So, the advice is to top up with the same colour but NEVER mix types and just because they are the same colour doesn’t mean they are the same type. Come on, help us out here! Naturally you’ll read mixing types will bring the wrath of, whoever the God of coolant is, meaning your pump and every other moving part for a 6 miles radius “may” be damaged! But I also assume may not?!

Alde recommend that you refill with 5 year lasting pink antifreeze. Wait a minute, you just said the colour had no effect? So already I’m thinking, “This is confusing, I’ll just pay some guy (local dealer) to do it…”

Alde themselves help with the colour myth by suggesting blue is 2 year and pink is 5, which in a way is the case, but not because blue is always 2 year stuff.

Antifreeze Standards, What Standards?

G13, G12++ what the heck does that mean?

G13 contains silicate additives which make it more suited for long term use as it’s kinder to metals, well, aluminium, cast iron and magnesium alloys.

G12 is better for older systems such as copper brass etc, so not suitable for caravan heating systems, unless you’ve used copper pipes? 🙂

G13 has the same “exceptional performance” as G12++ (so I’ve read) but….

G13 is better for the environment, or so I’ve read as it made using glycerin instead of glycol, but could probably still strip the skin from a racoon in less time than it takes to peel an orange.(Proved by science 🙂 ) This is not environmentally friendly stuff, you’d imagine, still as long as we’re warm and toastie on those long winter nights. It would be worse we could be taking a trans Atlantic flight to talk about climate change!

What If I Don’t Get Antifreeze Changed?

Naturally those with newer motorhomes and caravans are “forced” to get it changed as their warranty is at risk if you don’t. I guess in the same way that servicing your caravan yourself isn’t good enough for warranty purposes, I assume changing the antifreeze would be the same. However, if your caravan / motorhome is our of warranty, you can do it yourself and save a bit in the process. There are a few YouTube videos available, I’ll add these to the bottom of this article for you convenience.

What IS Antifreeze AKA Coolant?

Obviously it stops things freezing, I believe it was big in the wine industry in the 1970s, although I might have made that up.

It’s pretty awful stuff, please don’t drink it. It needs to be added to your heating systems with at least a 50/50 mix. That’s 50% antifeeze 50% water. But wait, not just any water, oh no, that would be far to simple, and of course cheaper! Read on…

Diluted Antifreeze?

It’s suggested a 50/50 mixture. Now if you read about car antifreeze, just pour in the old tap water, it’s fine, you could even go to your local stream, yep glug away my son. With a Caravan or Motorhome? Nope it needs to water from the pee of a Unicorn. If you can’t get that, deionised water will work, or as they would put it “clean water”, or guess what? Yep everything will corrode and your family will be cursed with 7 years bad luck.

Why Do New Caravans Have 2 Year Antifreeze In?

So, the problem is, after some research, Caravan / Motorhome manufacturers have been mixing antifreeze with tap water. I assume the water in Bristol isn’t that “clean”! I’m not even sure you can buy 2 year lifespan antifreeze, what is this stuff. I’ll tell you what it is, it’s CHEAP!

Alde recommends premixed G13 which has a 5 year lifespan. As of this year (2020) caravan’s will be filled with G13, hence lasting 5 years, as opposed to 2 years previously.

Sale

Alde Premium G13 Antifreeze Glycol 4070-120*

Alde Premium G13 Antifreeze Glycol 4070-120
Alde Premium G13 Antifreeze Glycol 4070-120
Alde Premium G13 Antifreeze Glycol 4070-120

Can I Mix 2 Year Lifespan with 5 Year or Vice-Versa

Here’s a quote from Alde:

“Bailey use a blue, silicate-containing ethylene glycol antifreeze as standard, with 2 year corrosion protection. You can safely top this up with VAG G12++ or G13 spec antifreeze (magenta in colour), although it will be cheaper and more convenient for most users to pick up a litre of the blue antifreeze above from their local fuel station.”

If you have 2 year old stuff in there, flush it out and replace with G13 magenta fluid.

CaravanVlogger’s Antifreeze Vlog

A Useful Video

Have a look at Bob Earnshaw’s video, this probably explains why it’s an expensive part of a service.

Does Mine Need Replacing?

If you’re out of warranty, would you really bother changing it every 2-5 years if you really don’t need to? Below are some bestselling coolant testers on amazon. Either look to get one of these, or if not sure, just change it.

Bestseller No. 1

Sealey AK4122 Propylene Glycol Antifreeze Tester Disc Type*

Easy-to-read temperature table on the virtually unbreakable plastic body
Height: 389mm
Width: 118mm
Length: 55mm

SaleBestseller No. 2

Sealey Ak4120 Ethylene Glycol Antifreeze Tester Disc Type*

Features:Checks condition of coolant antifreeze, hot or cold
Freeze protection level is indicated by the number of the six large coloured discs which float in the sample
Easy-to-read temperature table on the virtually unbreakable plastic body
Height: 58Width: 117Length: 389

SaleBestseller No. 3

Silverline Anti-Freeze Tester -7°C to -37°C (427656)*

Coloured discs indicate protection level
Tests coolant levels
Easy-to-read temperature table
Sturdy plastic body
Suitable for use with ethylene glycol anti-freeze

Bestseller No. 4

Haosie Coolant Tester, Antifreeze Tester, Coolant Tester Accessory, for Car Coolant Antifreeze System*

【 Convenient Testing 】Anti-freeze tester is calibrated in ° C and ° F units, it measures freezing point (for winter protection) and boiling point (for summer protection). Scale and pointer are clear and easy to read. Prevents engine overheating which can lead to mechanical problems and engine failure. For antifreeze tester.
【Lightweight and Portable】The dial type fast test is easy to carry and use, lightweight and portable, no need to pay attention to the colour to know the freezing point and boiling point of the solution. One side of the tester is marked with the freezing point scale and the other side with the boiling point scale. You can know the cooling performance of your vehicle at any time.
【Quality Material】The anti-freeze densitometer is made of high quality ABS with good performance, it can test the freezing temperature and boiling temperature of coolant to water solution, you can easily measure the temperature by sucking the liquid into the small plastic container with the rubber ball and rubber tube.
【Scope of Application】Whether you are at home or on the road, you can do coolant testing anytime and anywhere. The coolant hydrometer can help you understand the state of the coolant, meet the installation needs of your vehicle, help you prevent car mechanical failure, and travel with peace of mind.
【Quality Assurance】Our products are rigorously tested before leaving the factory to ensure that the quality meets the standard, you can rest assured that you can purchase and use our products.

Bestseller No. 5

$Antifreeze Refractometer 4-in-1 Antifreeze Tester Coolant Refractometer Ethylene Propylene Glycol Refractometer for Checking Automotive Cooling Fluid, Battery Acid, AdBlue, Windshield Washer Fluid$

Antifreeze Refractometer 4-in-1 Antifreeze Tester Coolant Refractometer Ethylene Propylene Glycol Refractometer for Checking Automotive Cooling Fluid, Battery Acid, AdBlue, Windshield Washer Fluid*

4-in-1 Refractometer – designed for checking battery acid condition of your cars, solar pant or heat pumps. Refractometer for measuring freezing point of automobile cooling system, for checking windshield washer fluid, and know Urea Concentration in automobile diesel exhauset fluid (DEF) in normal level
Easy to Use – Just place 2 -3 drops of sample onto the prism of the refractometer, then you can get the readings directly by looking through the eyepiece. Stepless manual focus can adapt to all eyes
Measuring Range – Ethylene glycol: 0 to -50℃; Propylene glycol: 0 to -50℃; Battery acid from 1.10 to 1.40 kg / L, windshield cleaning liquid – ethanol + water: 0℃ to -40℃, sopropyl alcohol + water (SRF1): 0℃ to -40℃. AdBlue: urea concentration 30% – 35%
ATC Function – The antifreeze tester features automatic temperature compensation (ATC) function from 10℃ to 30℃, allow to get the accurate reading fast and easy
Durable & Lightweight – Antifreeze coolant refractometer is made of non-staining aluminum and ABS rubber, anti-rust, resistant to abrasion, anti-dirt and easy to maintenance

SaleBestseller No. 6

Laser 4293 Antifreeze Tester – Ethylene Glycol*

Number of floating discs measures the level of coolant protection
Tests at hot and cold temperatures; reads in celsius and fahrenheit
Floating orange disc shows over protection and loss of efficiency Bulb is Black, 6 discs
For the Propylene Glycol Antifreeze Tesrer, please see Laser Part No 4292

Bestseller No. 7

Antifreeze Tester, Dial Type Coolant Tester test Anti-freeze Densitometer Hydrometer Coolant Testing Kit for Car*

[°C and °F Dual Calibration ] : Calibrated in both °C and °F. Whether you’re used to metric or imperial units, this tool is designed for convenience and international versatility
[ Accurate & Easy to Read ] : Our Antifreeze and Coolant Tester features clear scales and pointers for accurate readings, protecting your engine year-round
[ Function ] : Antifreeze Coolant Tester measures both the freezing point for winter and boiling point for summer. It can avoid the freezing of water in cold weather and the overheating of the engine to cause mechanical failure and engine failure
[ Optimal Engine Performance ] : Ensure optimal engine performance in any season with our tester. Get fast and accurate results with our antifreeze coolant tester, preventing costly mechanical failures and engine issues
[ Easy to carry ] : With its lightweight and compact design, our coolant tester is easy to carry and use. Antifreeze Tester for Automobiles is the tool for on-the-spot testing, wherever you may be

Bestseller No. 8

Anti-freeze Tester, Car Coolant Antifreeze Tester Fast Coolant Tester Measures Boiling Point Freezing Point Dial Type Coolant Tester for Summer Protection Winter Protection*

【Easy To Carry】Lightweight and portable antifreeze tester for cars, easy to carry and use
【Quick Checktest coolant tester, quick to know coolant state
【Easy To Test】The antifreeze tester calibrated in °C and °F, convenient to test
【Measuring Freezing Point&Boiling Point】The dial type coolant tester measures freezing point for winter protection and boiling point for summer protection
【Easy To Read】Anti freeze tester, fast and accurate with easy to read scale & pointer

Bestseller No. 9

Coolant Tester,Accurate Anti-freeze Densitometer Coolant Tester Durable Quality Dial Type Rapid-test For Car Performance Tool*

【BUILT TO LAST】Constructed of premium abs materials, this antifreeze tester is designed to easily test freezing and boiling temperatures of your coolant to water solutions
【BUILT TO LAST】Constructed of premium abs materials, this antifreeze tester is designed to easily test freezing and boiling temperatures of your coolant to water solutions
【EASY TO USE】Calibrated in °c and °f, convenient to test. Easy to read stickers allow you to test the solution and provides instructions
【EASY TO CARRY】The coolant tester is lightweight and portable, easy to carry and use.Rapid-test coolant tester, quick to know coolant state
【EASY TO CARRY】The coolant tester is lightweight and portable, easy to carry and use.Rapid-test coolant tester, quick to know coolant state

Bestseller No. 10

$Antifreeze Refractometer 4-in-1 Coolant Tester Refractometer for Checking Freezing Point of Automobile Antifreeze Systems, Anti Freeze Tester Refractometer for Battery Acid, Ethylene Propylene Glycol$

Antifreeze Refractometer 4-in-1 Coolant Tester Refractometer for Checking Freezing Point of Automobile Antifreeze Systems, Anti Freeze Tester Refractometer for Battery Acid, Ethylene Propylene Glycol*

????【4-in-1】— If you notice that the battery of your your cars, solar plant or heat pumps is not durable anymore, DO NOT hurry to change it. This antifreeze refractometer will help to measure the specific gravity of your battery acid, then provide a quick reference of battery fluid condition. Also the refractometer can be used to measure cleaning fluids freezing point, screenwash antifreeze point, ADBlue point.
????【Easy to Use】—Place 2 – 3 drops of sample onto the prism of the refractometer, then look through the eyepiece to get the reading directly.
????【ATC Design】—The refractometer adopt Automatic Temperature Compensation from 10℃ to 30℃ (50°F~86°F), reading directly, fast, accurate and light weight.
????【Packing List】— 1 x refractometer; 1x calibration screwdriver; 1 x pipette; 1 x instruction manual; 1 x cleaning cloth, and a free hard case included which make the refractometer convenient to store and carry around.
????【Note】— Do not measure abrasive or corrosive chemicals with this instrument.

*Last update on 2025-09-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API