winterizing the water system

[sailaway_H36]

I just found this.....thanks you

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDV1KFgwEKs

 

[sailaway_H36]

Last question Quadrille. Do you winterize the AC while still in the water? I assume that the overboard discharge for the AC is high enough to allow fot the antifreeze to flow all the way down through the seacock.

 

[quadrille38]

No I wait until its on the hard.
In the water you have the intake through hull open which would allow the water back in. Closing the valve to cut off the water would prevent the flow of antifreeze.

Practically speaking its a lot easier to stand on a short step ladder than it would be to be leaning off the dock or in a dinghy.

 

[sailaway_H36]

Thanks again

 

[BrianH]

I talked with our yard guys here and they emphatically do not recommend only blowing the lines. Too much risk if there is a spot where water gets trapped. I blow the system out then suck antifreeze in through the pump intake. Couple of gallons of antifreeze is cheap compared to the headache of finding a ruptured line and replacing it.

On air conditioning winterization, do a search on here as there are many threads already.

I use a method our yard uses. Five gallon pail with lid from home improvement store. Fitted with a 12 volt fluid transfer pump that costs maybe $30. Tubing on the pump discharge. You pump antifreeze backward in the AC discharges until it comes out the intake. Very easy and takes about 10 minutes to do. Uses maybe 1 to 1.5 gallons of antifreeze.

On my 44ac I disconnected the input house right at the seacock, tilt the hose up and stick a large plastic funnel into the hose. I will then fill the funnel with antifreeze ( the blue stuff that protects to 70 below). I have the balance of that gallon plus another gallon open and standing by as a helper turns on the AC. I keep the funnel full as it draws the antifreeze into the system. Once I go through the 2 gallons, (it does not take more then a few seconds) the AC gets shut off, I remove the funnel and put my dinghy hand pump on the hose where the funnel was and pump the antifreeze out of the system while my helper confirms that antifreeze is coming out of the forward and aft through hulls. Now even if there is a little liquid in the system, it's got antifreeze in it.

 

[quadrille38]

So today was winterizing the water system. Really happy with the water heater bypass I installed last fall. It was a bugger to do in mostly too tight spaces, short lines and working upside down. Don't know about all of you out there but in our circle of friends we measure stuff in boat units on $$$ and the number of knuckles sacrificed. For this one it was less than .1 boat units and at least 5 or 6 knuckle job. Threw in a scraped forearm for good measure. Anyway now that the bypass is in the job was much improved. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM is haul out. Winterize the engine and the air conditioners and then we are done for the winter.