Antifreeze in bilge?

[dscribner]

Will it hurt anything? I'm thinking not but I've been wrong before. Any thoughts?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

it won't hurt anything but your wallet as it's not necessary. any accumulated water has room to expand which precludes ice doing any damage. If water does accumulate, it will dilute the antifreeze and probably form ice regardless.

 

[AnsleyS]

We are based in Rockland and when we winterize I take the shop vac down to the boat and just suck all the water out of the bilge. The I leave the floor boards out so that everything will dry out and leave her for the winter. I think that this is better than putting alcohol into the bilge.

 

[higgs]

Any moisture in your boat over the winter is bad. Sometimes this is unavoidalbe. If i know there will be water in my bilge I pour a gallon of anti freeze into it. Dan is correct that frozen water in the bilge almost never is a problem as the bilge acts like an ice cube tray.

 

[Gunni]

Water permeating the hull laminate is a cause of hull blistering. The exterior has a barrier coat to prevent this. Unless your bilge has been treated with a barrier coat you would be prudent to keep it dry. Antifreeze and alcohol are active solvents and can't be doing the hull laminate any favors.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

One good thing about antifreeze in the bilge is you can run it through your bilge pump which essentially winterizes it too. Lots of people don't bother doing this because they never think of it. Pumps can go bad with frozen water in their components too. After you do this, I suppose a dry bilge is the best, but not the end of the world if you leave some water (and antifreeze) in it. I certainly wouldn't have a full bilge full of water, but get most of it out for sure.

 

[dscribner]

I get water in the boat over the season. I'm not sure where it's coming from but there it is. I'm guessing some of my deck hardware needs re-bedding. This would included 50' of aluminum toe rail, a project waiting for spring. So, until then, I'll need to put up with it.

 

[mark_swart]

Just use the pink RV and Marine stuff, not the green. And like someone else said, it would be good for your pump too if you sucked some in there.

 

[Pat T]

Antifreeze in bilge

I have a keel stepped mast. Water always finds it's way down into the bilge from all the holes in the mast. I think the spinnaker halyard exit plate acts as a small funnel and catches rain/wet snow which then travels down the inside of the mast. I check on the boat at least monthly and try to remove the fresh water as best I can. I then leave some anti freeze in the bilge so that it doesn't freeze. I have learned to use the stronger antifreeze (good to -100F) since it will be mixed eventually with fresh water from rain/snow. The stronger anti freeze is blue green in color but still non toxic and of course costs more but you can get by with a gallon per season. I have had some ice in past boats but no harm done. If you can pull the bilge pump out I would do that too.

 

[dscribner]

Thanks, guys and gals. I feel better about it now. Sucking some into the pump makes sense too. Also, the non-toxic is a great idea, especially since I'll pump it out within 20 feet of my well!

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Thanks, guys and gals. I feel better about it now. Sucking some into the pump makes sense too. Also, the non-toxic is a great idea, especially since I'll pump it out within 20 feet of my well!

If you don't get water accumulating in the winter, this is essentially a feel-good option. If you do (get water in the bilge) and use propylene glycol non-toxic antifreeze, note the warning label. As i said easier, if it is diluted because of water accumulation, it makes the antifreeze properties useless as this stuff cannot be diluted.

I realize lots of people do just that with no ill effect and therefore conclude it serves some purpose. It only lightens your wallet.