"The Pink Stuff" vs Draining

[off2board]

Ive been reading through the threads on different techniques on winterization, and realize that different boats require different methods.
But as far as preventing water from freezing in the engine....cant you just ixna the trouble of pulling any plugs at all and just run about 5 gallons of the pink stuff using a 'fake a lake'?
Once you have done that...it doesnt seem like you would need to worry about draining anything.
That seems the easiest to me.

[chpthril]

1st question, where do you live?

2nd, We ride year round and I can pull the plugs on the ramp in 5 mins and let the water drain while we stow and make ready to leave. I've done the "pink stuff" and can say for a fact that draining is quicker, and not really hard once you get the routine down.

If you live in a climate that gets really cold, sub-freezing for multiple days, and the boat is stored for months, the antifreeze will prevent freezing and corrosion and rust. The problem with adding through the pick-up is that the thermostat needs to be open or the antifreeze will bypass the block and exit out the exhaust. The best method, as described by others, is to drain block, manifolds, etc, and then poor the straight antifreeze into the upper hose till full. Poor some down the raw water intake for the trans and v-drive cooler, or just drain the water from them.

[Jason B]

I drain as much water as I can and then use the anti-freeze. I'm not sure the water mixed with the anti-freeze will change its effectiveness or not vs. running "pure" anti-freeze.

[dogbert]

I drain as much water as I can and then use the anti-freeze. I'm not sure the water mixed with the anti-freeze will change its effectiveness or not vs. running "pure" anti-freeze.

I moved to a warmer climate where I store my boat in an insulated garage...we ride yearround

[off2board]

Yes...I live in Michigan, so my boat will be seeing an extended period of subzero weather.
It seems easier for me to run the antifreeze through the 'fake a lake' (after the thermostat opened) cause Im not sure where else to pour it.
I heard "upper hose"...but dont know what hose that is. Are you refering to the hose that goes from the thermostat housing to the circulating pump?

[chpthril]

Yes...I live in Michigan, so my boat will be seeing an extended period of subzero weather.
It seems easier for me to run the antifreeze through the 'fake a lake' (after the thermostat opened) cause Im not sure where else to pour it.
I heard "upper hose"...but dont know what hose that is. Are you referring to the hose that goes from the thermostat housing to the circulating pump?

The method you want to use is not "wrong" by any means, I used to do this with my I/O cause the plugs were to hard to get to to drain the block. We didn't ride yr round either.

The hose you want would be the one from the raw-water pump to the Thermostat housing on top of the block. Some guys even pull the thermo out and pour it in, may require a gasket but they are cheap and can even be made for near nothing if you are handy with an exacto-knife, you can buy sheets of gasket material from most any auto parts store.

There are a lot of correct ways to winterize a boat, but only one wrong way......not draining water or getting enough antifreeze in the needed places. It may take you a couple of seasons to figure out what works best for you. Use the "search" button @ the top, there are a ton of threads on this subject.

What boat and engine do you have, someone may be able to give some specific tips.

[Jason B]

I moved to a warmer climate where I store my boat in an insulated garage...we ride yearround

Got a spare room and a spot to park my boat?

[dogbert]

Got a spare room and a spot to park my boat?

Absolutely! For enough beer, anything's possible!

[shiskowd]

After winterizing my boat the for the past two winter seasons (real winter - I'm in Alberta, Canada) I've concluded this process works best for my v-drive.

While I have a 'fake-a-lake' fitting for the raw water pickup, the raw water pump doesn't produce sufficent suction to draw sufficeint antifreeze through the very small openning on the hose bib fitting (even with the bucket of antifreeze elevated on the swim plateform). I considered purchasing a small pump to assist but one that would really make a difference would be expensive and relatively messy.

Instead, I take the 1 1/4" hose running to the v-drive (from the through-hull fitting) off the v-drive fitting and fit on a length of 1 1/4" hose long enough to draw from a 5 gallon bucket sitting in the near storage locker.

Fill the bucket with the RV antifreeze and the raw water pump has no trouble drawing sufficient volumes of fluid.

I typically run the engine to get sufficiently warm for an oil change (thermostat is likely open to some degree). Change oil and then drain the block, trans oil cooler, and manifolds. Remove the lower hose on the raw water pump to ensure the block will be sufficiently drained. I then remove the heater hoses from the engine, use compressed air to blow out the water then use a vacuum extractor to suck RV antifreeze into the heater hoses until completely full. Reconnect all the hoses and install the drain plugs.

At this point I'm not sure how open the thermostat is but with the absense of any water in the block, it fills very quickly with the RV antifreeze that is being drawn from the bucket when the engine is running. It takes about a minute for about 4 gallons of antifreeze to be drawn at which time the pink stuff starts spilling from the transom exhausts.

I've openned the block drains to check if there is indeed antifreeze in the block after this process and the pink stuff is readily flowing. No need to worry about draining the v-drive as the RV antifreeze flows through there first, displacing any water that my remain in the v-drive with then hoses are drained.

As others have posted, draining the block first before filling with antfireeze ensures you'll have nearly full strength antifreeze everywhere. Last winter it was -34C (-30F) for a week - no issues to report!

[chpthril]

While I have a 'fake-a-lake' fitting for the raw water pickup, the raw water pump doesn't produce sufficent suction to draw sufficeint antifreeze through the very small openning on the hose bib fitting (even with the bucket of antifreeze elevated on the swim plateform). I considered purchasing a small pump to assist but one that would really make a difference would be expensive and relatively messy.

I dont see why a cheap 500gph bilge pump dropped in the bucket of antifreeze would not feed the raw water pump with enough flow/pressure same as a garden hose hooked to the fake-a-lake.

[shiskowd]

I dont see why a cheap 500gph bilge pump dropped in the bucket of antifreeze would not feed the raw water pump with enough flow/pressure same as a garden hose hooked to the fake-a-lake.

I don't know if a bilge pump can produce the pressure (head) required. The fake-a-lake instructions suggested 40 psi minimum was required from a water source to provide sufficient water flow to keep the average inboard engine cool. I purchased a 120V rubber impeller pump (similar concept to the raw water pump) for this purpose - produces lots of flow but as you place any restriction on the discharge hose the pump can't produce any pressure and the volume drops quickly. I returned the pump - perhaps I'll try a bilge pump next fall.

BTW chpthril - the battery islolator setup you helped me with worked flawlessly all summer - thanks again!

[chpthril]

Glad to hear it, any time.

[illiniboarder88]

Ok guys, going to hijack this one for a sec. I started to winterize my boat yesterday, and I realized that I needed more antifreeze. Apparently we lost some last year when winterizing our IO.

Here's my general winterizing process. 1. Remove all plugs and drain. 2. Reinsert the plugs and hook up the boat to antifreeze and run approximately 8-10 gallons of antifreeze through the boat, catching it as it leaves through the exhaust. 3. Remove the plugs and drain again. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

Now, here are my questions: 1. One of my plugs is a knock sensor, what is the best way to remove this? It seemed a little sensitive and felt like it could bend. It appears that a 7/8ths socket would fit on it.

2. Do I need to do anything with the trans?

Thanks guys.

[chpthril]

Ok guys, going to hijack this one for a sec. I started to winterize my boat yesterday, and I realized that I needed more antifreeze. Apparently we lost some last year when winterizing our IO.

Here's my general winterizing process. 1. Remove all plugs and drain. 2. Reinsert the plugs and hook up the boat to antifreeze and run approximately 8-10 gallons of antifreeze through the boat, catching it as it leaves through the exhaust. 3. Remove the plugs and drain again. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

Now, here are my questions: 1. One of my plugs is a knock sensor, what is the best way to remove this? It seemed a little sensitive and felt like it could bend. It appears that a 7/8ths socket would fit on it.

2. Do I need to do anything with the trans?

Thanks guys.

I think filling with antifreeze, draining and filling again is unnecessary work. One good filling should work.

Maybe just a typo, but step [4] says repeat 2 and 3, but 3 says drain again? Are you draining the 2nd round of antifreeze and leaving the block empty?

Change the transmission fluid.

[illiniboarder88]

I drain, fill, drain, fill, drain. I typically leave the block empty. My theory is that if anything is in there at that point, it should be antifreeze. As for the trans, is this a maintenance issue or a freezing issue? I planned on doing the trans in the spring, but if I have to worry about water in there, I could try to do it now. I assume that the cooling system circulates water through the trans cooler whenever the boat is running and not only when it is in gear, right?