Winterizing a cold engine

[John T1594]

This is the first year that I will not be able to warm the engine before winterizing it. The boat (H30)will be on the hard and in a cradle. In the past, I ran and warmed my Yanmar raw water cooled 2QM15 so that the thermostat would open and the antifreeze solution could get to al parts of the engine. This year I have the options of winterizing a cold engine or taking out the thermostat and then winterizing using the hose in the bucket method. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Mike D]

winterizing raw water cooled

John,I do not have a raw water cooled engine nor do I know anyting about them. I was, however, curious to how it was done so I looked it up on www.google.com and get a "boat load" (haha) of information.You may wanna check it out yourself. Also, on Torrenson's site there is "how to" so I pasted the link for you.good luck,Mike D

 

[Warren M.]

Winterizing on the hard

It's almost as easy to winterize on the hard as in the water. If you do it on the hard, you have the added benefit of giving your engine a fresh water flush. All you really need is access to a fresh water source. Fill a large bucket with water, shut the water intake seacock, put the input hose (or an extension to it) into the bucket and start the engine. You may need to be able to refill the bucket a few more times to get the engine warmed up. Finally, just fill the bucket with enough antifreeze to fill your raw water cooling system, then shut it down. If you run enough buckets of water thru the engine to warm it up (and open the thermostat) before putting in the antifreeze I don't really think you need to bother taking the thermostat out.

 

[Bert]

winterize on the hard

Here is what I do for my 1GM10. May not be totally right, but it has worked for a number of years. After the boat is on its trailer I bring a container of water, pull the intake hose, stick the hose in the water, and run the engine until the thermostat opens (easy to determine for a 1GM10). That ends up taking a few minutes and not as much water as you might expect. Then I put the intake into a non-toxic antifreeze mixture until the mixture exits from the exhaust and I feel certain the block has been filled. I shut the engine down and then open the engine block drain to make certain antifreeze has made its way to the block. A few years ago I installed a brass "T" fitting with a garden hose adapter (like the plastic auto engine flush adapters)in the intake hose between the through hull and water intake screen to make this process easier. I now just remove the fitting cap and screw on a length of garden hose to suck in the water/antifreese after closing the through hull to do this little job. The "T" is mounted above the water line just in case it fails. I open the through hull valve after capping the "T" to release any water and then close it for the winter. That also gives me an emergency bilge pump if needed. The antifreeze mixture should not be any colder than the water used to warm the engine since you would not want it to close. Beyond that, I have had absolutely no problem with this system over many years.