Winterizing: who adds AF, who stores dry ?

To bad for me I have to winterize my boat, no more year round riding. So this year I did a bunch of research on winterizing. After reading tons of posts and hitting a bunch of web sites with 'how-to' info I learned that there a many diff. opinions on this......almost as many as MC vs. Malibu opinions.

Was just wondering, of those who need to winterize their boat, who adds anti-freeeze and leaves it in the motor all winter and who just drains all the water and leaves it dry?

After talking to the smartest guy I know and then e mailing Indmar, I went with the all dry method.

I personally drain everything and then add some anti freeze to the engine for it's anti-corrosive properties. I think it will help prevent rust in the engine block and exhaust manifolds.

I drained mine a few weeks ago. I have a couple gallons of the pink RV anti-freeze setting in my garage that I keep planning to take down to the slip and pour through the engine just in case there is still a pocket of water in it somewhere. Maybe I will get around to it today. Not sure if it needs it, but the $10 verses $10 grand math makes me want to do it anyway.

Mine will be getting anti-freeze dumped down its neck. Leaving it all dry is just asking for rust to invite itself in.

some types of antifreeze in raw form will freeze... to answer your question, it all depends on how long the boat will sit unused.. if only for a month or so, go dry. if for several months, wouldn't hurt to add a little just for the reasons listed above...also remember to remove your impeller and coat in vaseline ....

Agreed with the guys above, fill it with antifreeze till it's comming out. This will ensure that the water has been displaced. As far as the impeller I usually have my boat sitting for several months 5-6 so I just replace the impeller every spring. It's cheap insurance.

So after reading this I think I may add antifreeze to mine but I already drained and fogged. Would you be able to remove maybe the hoses at the t-stat housing and pour it in?? Also what about spraying a little WD-40 or fogging oil into the hole were the petcock came out of the exhaust manifold??

I hope you guys are pumping the anti-freeze out before you hit the lake.

There's an RV-type antifreeze that's "environmentally friendly" and biodegradable, so in that case you don't need to drain before hitting the lake.

"some types of antifreeze in raw form will freeze..." Of course it will, but if you're saying it'll freeze at a higher temp than antifreeze and water, then your statement doesn't make any sense to me. If water freezes at 32 degrees, won't adding water to the antifreeze actually make it freeze at a higher temp? (In other words, won't the "pure" stuff freeze at a lower temp than an antifreeze/water mix?)

Good call Walt. I wonder just how many folks don't do that before they hit the water on the first outing?

The antifreeze to use is RV antifreeze. Harmless to marine life.

I store the boat for almost half the year in Minnesota. So antifreeze prevents the rust. As far as the impeller goes, I replace it about every other year and never take it out otherwise. The antifreeze keeps it wet and contrary to popular belief, they don't lose their shape. After about the first few seconds of running the engine, the impeller will spring back to it's proper shape. This is good news to V-drive owners

Add this idea to the pot - I run antifreeze through the engine and then drain. This is so that any "pockets" that don't drain properly are filled with antifreeze and not water. I store my boat in Northern WI and I drain the antifreeze because it is burst proof to -50F and quite frankly it's not impossible to get to -30F up there and I don't want to take the chance that the label is correct!

I took and drained all the water. Then i took and filled it with antifreeze, after that i drained all the antifreeze out. Any pockets should have no water in them. I would rather leave the block unplugged than take a chance of it busting.

Joshua- wouldn't the vaseline break down the rubber in the impeller cause it is oil based? I would think something like a silicone spray would be better if you were worried about keeping it moist. I subscribe to the change it every year anyway theory.

Make sure you have a full tank of gas and you add a fuel stabilizer first. Then warm up you engine to operating temperature, (so the THermostat opens up) Shut down, turn off water. Drain the block, exhaust manifolds, water pump, heater, shower, etc. Plug it all back up. Switch the hose to Propylene Glycol -30 or -50 depending on where you are. Restart engine and turn on your shower if you have one. Turn off the engine after the pink/purple stuff starts flowing out of the exhaust and you are sure that the thermostat opened up for a bit. If you decide to fog you engine as well. spray in air intake or if you have an MPI motor, pour a little 2-stroke motor oil and fogging oil into your fuel water separator before you start the engine the second time. you are now winterized. +/- 30 min.

I store mine dry with the anti-knock switch and block drain plugs left out. I coat the threaded holes in the block with never-seaze, remove the impeller, loosen the alt. belt, and blow out the block and heater with compressed air. I also leave the engine cover propped open so air will circulate. Also I remove the soft ballast bag and all the cushions to store them in my basement for the winter.

(Message edited by ccraftskierfan on November 14, 2006)

Pink RV antifreeze is not safe for Aluminum. (heads/manifolds) I haven't found a reason why yet, that's just what I've read.

I personally have never filled any of my engines with antifreeze and have never had any problems. We get down to 0 degrees F here.

Though, I just help a buddy do his boat and we filled it. Suddonly, I thought it wasn't a bad idea when my buddy was relying on my word. I don't want to be rebuilding his engine in the spring. (grin)

I do what Erik does and it has worked fine for 10 years.

It is great to live in Sacramento, California!!

Why winterize, just ride year round. Store boat in a heated shop.

Uh even if the boat is stored in a heated shop the lake has a foot of ice on it 3 months out of the year

For anyone who removes their knock sensor it is critical that the sensor be torqued to spec.

I also agree that living in a mild climate sure is nice

Peter, why the importance of the knock sensor? I don't have a torque wrench and have always just tightened it with a wrench and it has worked fine - lucky?

Oh, and I leave the antifreeze in for the anti-corrosive stuff.

Dumb question - Does the lake water circulate around my heater even when the heater is not running? I think that it does and the switch only controls a fan that blows the heat off of the heater.

The hoses to my heater are about 15-20 feet long. If I circulate antifreeze through a fake-a-lake, is there a possibility that it would be coming out the exhaust, but not yet have fully circulated around the heater?

Ok, here's a question. We store our boat in our basement garage, which is heated. Not to the warmth of the house, but never gets below 45-50.
What, if anything, should we do? Drain it, or not, antifreeze, or not?
Thanks!

talltigeguy, I circulated 5 gallons of antifreeze and did get it all the way through the heater lines. So I can vouch that it can happen. I would never take this for granted though without looking first for red color on both ends of the hose.

Lauri

You should be all set, but if there's a lengthy power failure......you could have problems. Remote possibility but worth mentioning.

tigeguy, it should be mentioned that if you run the AF thru motor it might get diluted by the water already in the motor, and the diluted AF might not protect you, esp. if you use a cheap AF, like from Wallymart.

---

quote:

For anyone who removes their knock sensor it is critical that the sensor be torqued to spec.

---

Why is that? Can you elaborate?

A Knock sensor is a Piezo-electric crystal (SP?)
It works by "listening" for engine detonation. If over tightened the crystal can be damaged.