I have a fresh water cooled diesel and i was wondering how to winterize the seawater side Any help appreciated
winterizing
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Is this raw water cooled or from a fresh water tank? I see sea water and fresh water I'm confused as to your question. Raw water is pumped from whatever you are sailing on and fresh is typically a closed system inside the boat. Knowing which one will help answer your question correctly. SC
I never did with my three cylinder Yanmar. I'd just pull the raw water intake off the pump, put a hose on the pump to a bucket of enviro-antifreeze, and start the engine. When it was belching bright pink antifreeze out the exhaust, I'd shut it off and reconnect the plumbing (after draining the screen and hoses), leaving the impeller in place. I'd change it every couple of years, though, whether it looked like it needed it or not.
Edited to add: I would use about 4 gallons of antifreeze, as I was paranoid about diluting it with what's already in the system. By the end of 2 gallons or so, it would be bright pink, but I'd run the whole 4 gallons through just to be safe.
Just did my Yanmar yesterday. As others have said, close thru-hull seacock, remove the hose from the seacock. Here is where I differ some, I use a hose barb and connect a length of hose long enough to run the end to the cockpit. With the jug of antifreeze in the cockpit, the added vertical head pressure helps the pump on the engine pick up prime easier. All else is the same except at the recommendation of my marina, I use the green -100 environmentally friendly antifreeze rather than the pink stuff. The green stuff is safer if some water remains in the system.
When I lived in Annapolis, we winterized by closing the raw water sea cock and removing the hose to insert in a bucket with antifreeze in it. Once the stuff came out the back, we shutdown the engine and fitted a hose to the exhaust and connected to the intake hose creating a closed loop. It allowed us to start the engine and get to the starting line under power and still keep the engine winterized. Never overheated because it was a very short trip.
One thing I have done for years is to drain my wet exhaust and sea strainer before pickling the engine. This removes any sediment at the bottom of the exhaust/strainer that might not be removed during normal operation. Good luck and Good sailing, Ron P.S. see the Thread "How much is enough" in a previous post.
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