Question about winterizing reverse heat cycle pump

[PrincessoftheLake]

I have the marine air reverse heat cycle unit on Emmanuel. When doing the winterizing chores I was unable to get the pump to run to get the antifreeze into it.

What I have done in years past is to disconnect the hose from the intake side of the pump and stick it in a bucket of antifreeze, turn the unit on, the pump runs, sucks up the pink stuff and I let it run until pink stuff runs out both discharge hoses. This year I did the same thing but the problem was that when I turned on the unit it ran but when the relay clicked in the pump would not start. This has never happened before and I finally gave up. This is the first year I did the winterizing on the hard but I was plugged into shore power and everything else worked I just don't know why the pump wouldn't run.

Any ideas or suggestion? I am going back up this weekend and am willing to take one more shot at it.

Thanks!

 

[Schatzi]

I am not sure we have the same set-up but my unit will loose prime sometimes when sailing with the rail in the water. So just after I turn it on the 2nd time, I need to loosen the wing-nuts on top of the pump until a little water flows out of the top. This corrects the prime issue and everything runs fine after that. Our marina shop put me on to this after struggling for some time trying to get it primed in 95 degree temperatures. Good luck!!

 

[duality]

i just run compressed air through my air conditioners, just make sure you empty the strainer and reblow the compressed air. it empties the water from the system very well, never had a problem.

mike

 

[quadrille38]

There was a string on this about 6 weeks ago.
I do it the same way our yard does it.
Get a 5 gallon pail with lid. Purchase a 12 volt transfer pump (Harbor Freight sells them for 38 bucks). http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-marine-utility-water-pump-94639.html
Mount the pump on the lid with suction in to pail.
Get flexible tubing in diameter that will fit in the air conditioning discharge through hull. Mine are different sizes so I have a short piece of the smaller size that fits in to the larger tubing as an adaptor.
Then what you do is pump the antifreeze backwards through each of the through hulls until it comes out the intake through hull. No priming, no dragging messy antifreeze in to the boat. Takes about a gallon of antifreeze to do the system.
And in the spring, the antifreeze in the system serves to prime the pump on start up.

 

[Ed Schenck]

I've always done the same as you Princess. But I hold the hose up, pour from a measuring cup to fill the hose, then blow into the hose. I can actually hear the gurgling through the unit. In other words I am priming the pump. Put my thumb over the hose and down into the bucket. Now turn it on and the pump will run.

 

[Andy1237]

Put a wet vac on the hull exit and poor in the pink stuff at the thru hull.

 

[Capt Mike]

I have the same reverse cycle system on my H386. I do my own winterizing after the boat is pulled and in the cradle. This year same thing happened to me! Pulled the line off the tru-hull and stuck it in a bucket of pink stuff, turned the unit on and the pump would not start! It was a cold day below 65 degrees which is as low as the AC setting will go. I have a small ceramic space heater I keep on the boat, plugged it in and set it a couple feet away from the control head, turned the AC on and as soon as the temp. went above 65 the unit started and pumped the pink stuff through the unit and out the outlet on the outside. As soon as it's dark pink pumping out-shut the unit off and your system should be winterized!!! Hope this helps. Good luck, Mike

 

[Ed Schenck]

If it's truly a reverse-cycle just turn it to heat instead of AC.

 

[Dan Johnson]

POL...

This past year I shortened the hose from the raw water pump to my AC thru-hull so it wasn't long enough to stick into a bottle of antifreeze. I ended up clamping a funnel in the end of the hose and pouring in the antifreeze as the raw water pump sucked it through. Before I did that I pulled the strainer to clean it out and found a dead baby catfish in it--what a stink!!!

 

[Doug13104]

On my 1988 40' Hunter I hook the AC unit up to my bilge pump, but a gallon or so of the pink stuff in the bilge, turn on the bilge pump and I winterize both systems at the same time.

 

[PrincessoftheLake]

You guys are great. Thanks for all the good advice! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[seadaddler]

Try

Try using a hair dryer at the thermostat and just go easy with hot air on it and should start it.
Nick

 

[DougMc]

Quick Trick
Remove bowel from strainer.
Remove exit through hull hose.
Stick funnel into end of hose.
Pour pink stuff into funnel and wait.
Pink stuff will run out of strainer and you are done.
Worked last 7 years in Canada.

 

[Steve W]

What I'm about to do might work for you.

There was a great article in Good Old Boat earlier this year about adding what the writer calls 'service valves' which are nothing more than "T" fittings with a 'diverter' valve. I'm going to start with the thru-hull for the a/c-heat system. The reason for doing the a/c-heat system first is I plan on installing similar valves to make life easier for winterizing the rest of the stuff (water system, engine, genset, etc.) which gets winterized each year and I'd just as soon be nice and warm while working below....

And at the end of the day, just re-winterize the a/c-heat pump.

I attached a PDF of that article so you see what I'm talking about.

Steve

 

[Spcharby]

Quick Trick
Remove bowel from strainer.
Remove exit through hull hose.
Stick funnel into end of hose.
Pour pink stuff into funnel and wait.
Pink stuff will run out of strainer and you are done.
Worked last 7 years in Canada.

Very nice! The best solution I have read yet, you don't even need to run the unit! Thanks for the tip.

Steve