Antifreeze or Blow Down - Which is Better

[Long Story]

:stirthepot: It's that time of year. I have always pumped the pink stuff through, as noted in other threads I have even put a bypass in the line from the tank to utilize the boats pressure pump to flood the lines with the stuff. My boatyard just informed me that they blow down the total system, and just leave it that way.

Comments on this one can be fun...

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

either works

 

[Tom J]

Yep, either works. If you have access to a compresed air source, blowing the system down is good. Since I'm running the anti-freeze through the engine anyway, I go ahead and do the rest of the boat, too.

 

[Maine Sail]

Either CAN work but the only way to know is to try blowing it out. Some boats do not like being blown out and the plumbing is so complex that water still gets trapped as the air takes a path of least resistance. Our boat does not like to be blown out and she's pretty simple. There are a couple of elbows that tend to collect any remaining moisture on the walls of the pipes then freeze and split. Tried it the first year and had a split elbow in an impossible to reach spot, so I went back to AF...

Some blow out easily, and some don't. If blowing out you need to close all stems and open one at a time. When water stops spitting close it and open another stem. Repeat a few times at each fixture and often you'll be okay.

Our boat yard stopped blowing out boats back in the late 90's when the plumbing systems became so complex that blowing out was not always 100% fool proof. They just got sick of eating plumbing repairs each spring. Now they AF only the lines, drain tanks and by-pass water heaters and drain them.

For AF just by-pass the water heater and suck directly into the pump. Let the tanks gravity drain and don't AF them..

 

[gpd955]

For AF just by-pass the water heater and suck directly into the pump. Let the tanks gravity drain and don't AF them..

Oh if only this had been posted last fall!!

 

[Long Story]

Did you have a bad experance Jack? I am going to let the marina blow it down, then come back and pump pink -50 antifreeze through the system. I don't trust that all the trapped water is out, and letting them blow it out first will cut down the amount of stuff I need since I don't have to force all the water out with antifreeze. Kind of double safe. We have way to many -20 or lower days in WI over the winter.

 

[gpd955]

Last year was the first year with the water heater and I didn't bypass it when I winterized the water system. Took weeks to clear it all out in the spring!