How much antifreeze in a Westerbeke 27 for winterizing

[ColleenIII]

I Just Pumped About A Gallon And A Half Of Minus 60 Antifreeze Into My Engine But When I Open The Heat Exchanger I See Clear Liquid, When I Tested In My Freezer It Seems To Slush At About 12 F So I Guess The Concentration Is Just A Little Lower Due To Residual Water In The Heat Exchanger But Shouldnt It Be Purple In Color? How Much Do You Put In?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

I can't answer your question directly but offer the following to consider. First, the propylene glycol you used is not intended to be diluted as it appears you saw. Unless it is undiluted, it's freezing properties are essentially the same as water. It is therefore important to ensure the glycol displaces all the water.
Second, the answer you are looking for is dependent on the size of your muffler, assuming you have one and it is a water lift type which also contains water that can freeze and burst. For this reason, it is also important you make sure you have displaced water in both the heat exchanger and muffler and as we can't know the type and size muffler you have, the precise volume of antifreeze cannot be reliably known until you see it coming out the exhaust.

 

[ColleenIII]

It came out the exhaust alright, Purple stream was fairly easy to see, That is why i was surprised to see clear or slightly yellowish liquid in the heat exchanger, Does tje antifreeze change color upon heating? Engine was hot when i was putting antifreeze in to get the thermosat open, Antifreeze was added full strength, Any reason to be concerned?

 

[Stu Jackson]

?'d you open the hx to see the liquid. If it was already coming out the exhaust, what and how were looking? Or just putting the exhaust water in a bucket?

The thermostat is on the freshwater coolant side, two different things.

 

[sinbad51]

Two different antifreeze locations

it sounds like you may be confused with the cooling system. You have a closed cooling system similar to a car.When you run water through your water intake, muffler and out the exhaust, this does not get into the engine. It just displaces the raw water from the system. When you look in the reservoir, that is the coolant that actually runs through the engine and it sounds like you are short on antifreeze in the closed system. I think you are going to have to drain that and add more antifreeze there.

 

[Gunni]

Immediately contact Conlyn Marine or Zimmermann Marine at HHN. You need professional help and are on the verge of doing real extensive damage.

 

[joker460]

The diagram attached might help you out.

You might want to look at the video that Maine Sail Put together.

http://forums.beneteau.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=136339

The two water sources should never mix. If they do then the heat exchanger has a hole in it.

Good luck

 

[Gunni]

Joker, your diagram does not include the water muffler. Most of the AF needed to winterized a marine engine is consumed by in the flushing of water from the muffler with AF. I could easily winterize my HX/raw water circuit with 1.5 gals of AF, it takes 5 because of the muffler volume.

 

[joker460]

The mixing elbow is part of the exhaust.

Here is the page from the 331 manual showing the muffler.

Mine only takes 2 gallons before the the pink stuff comes out the tail pipe

 

[ColleenIII]

I might have been confised on the thermostat issue. I thought it was on the raw water side but after thinking about it that is kind of stupid. I understand the fresh water side is filled with etheylene glycol like Prestone and the raw water side is sea water which I displaced with propylene glycol, the purple stuff. The resevior I refer to is a Vertus strainer on the raw water side, not the coolant resevior. No I did not mix the two.

What scared me is why the fluid in the Vertus would look clear when I left it full of purple fluid. After testing it seems to have antifreeze concentration enough to handle at least 12 F without freezing solid. It looks faintly blue in normal light. Not yellow. I do not see any indication of a leak between water circuits, raw to fresh side.

Anybody know if the purple dye turns color when heated?

 

[Gunni]

It should be better than 12 F. Did you shut off the thru-hull before adding antifreeze? Do you intend to leave the boat in the water?

 

[ColleenIII]

I can only test down to 12 F. My freezer does not seem to go lower. . . at least that is what the thermometer inside of it says. At 12 All I saw was soft slush as predicted by the instructions on the product. Danger Zone below -10 F for the Red -50 and Purple -60.

Boat is out of the water.

Thru hull intake was closed when I added AF.

Anyway, here is more information that may be of some value. I guess I am a bit obsessed since I understand the consequences of not getting it right.

I took my sample from the HX by taking the zinc out and catching the fluid in an empty water bottle. I used a hygrometer to test. Hygromter is not graduated for propolyene glycol but gives a relative specific gravity to water if I remember my high school chemistry well enough. I tested tap water to be about 1.000 as expected. The sample tested at 1.040 . I further tested a sample from the bottle of fresh Purple -60 and found it to be 1.040 as well. The sample from the HX has been at 12 F for about 3 days now and only exhibits soft slush.

I also heated the fresh Purple stuff to see if the color went away. I found no change in color.

Conclusions. . .
1 it takes about two gallons of AF to fill the 331s raw water circuit.
2 my sample is probably AF without the dye. That 2 gallons had to go somewhere so I has to be in the raw water circuit.
3 Heating does not change the dye color so something else must have taken away the dye that is in the Purple stuff but still do not know what
4 The Red West Marine branded AF does indeed begin slushing at 12 above so my sample must be somewhat dilluted by the residual water in the circuit. Purple stuff is supposed to slush around 7 above.
5I do not have a hole in the HX

 

[Gunni]

Remember, your engine muffler contains water also. So the test of AF should be what came out the exhaust discharge. Any fluid in the system should be the same color as what was in the product bottle.