Winterizng in Texas

blazeracer

New member
Winterzing overnight for a moderate freeze. The weatherman might call it a hard freeze for little old lady's plants, but a real hard freeze is single digits where water under pressure will also freeze, like the water in the faucets on the outside of your house. We RARELY get that here in Texas. Anyhoo, without further adue..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD6_ddYJDpU&feature=youtu.be
 

Devilman

Well-known member
Nice helpful vid with documentation to back it up. Nice work...  :smile17: Bonus for the soundtrack as well. Makes me wanna dig out my old Z-Rock tapes... :grin:
 

Patchman

Administrator
Staff member
Did he just post a vid of putting a drop lite in his engine compartment? You Northies are so easily entertained! crazy.gif :smile16: :smile16: :smile16: :smile16:
 

Crusader

Moderator
Patchman said:
Did he just post a vid of putting a drop lite in his engine compartment? You Northies are so easily entertained! crazy.gif :smile16: :smile16: :smile16: :smile16:

It was a "Public Service Announcement"..........
 

Patchman

Administrator
Staff member
If they don't understand that procedure, they need not to be boating! Especially around Kona, he would blow a gasket! :smile16: :smile16: clap.gif clap.gif clap.gif
 

Drumzilla

Active member
Wow.. That's 5 minutes I'll never get back .. : )  I've been winterizing my jet boats for 30yrs.. Two drop lights or wrapping your motor with a cheap electric blanket and cover the whole thing with a good boat cover works real good...  hey maybe I'll video tape that... not .. At least James video's our boating events.. thanks for doing that..

                    :smile30:                                                                        :smile30:
 

jimsplace

Active member
Good information.  Thanks.

I hope no one gets the idea the drop light will protect your engine for the winter.
It can help keep the humidity low in the engine compartment and prevent corrosion or rust, but don't rely
on it totally to protect the engine from freezing the entire winter.  In the event power is lost to the light,
it will probably be due to the the weather turning bad, as in cold.
No power, no light, no protection from freezing.

It is a good short term solution though.
  :smile17:
 

Crusader

Moderator
James mentions in the video that's this is a short term solution for the type of freeze we had and says it will not be sufficient for a hard freeze.
 

oldbuck40

Active member
jimsplace said:
Good information.  Thanks.

I hope no one gets the idea the drop light will protect your engine for the winter.
It can help keep the humidity low in the engine compartment and prevent corrosion or rust, but don't rely
on it totally to protect the engine from freezing the entire winter.  In the event power is lost to the light,
it will probably be due to the the weather turning bad, as in cold.
No power, no light, no protection from freezing.

It is a good short term solution though.
  :smile17:
Yea he does mention it is a short term solution,,but i think of it like this,,,,How much time and money do i have in my engine! VS how much does a light bulb cost? and too how many times have any of you replaced a bulb in anything and poof it goes out shortly thereafter!

30 to 32 degrees here in N. Tx. im not too concerned like most! But i have been one of the few that went to bed one night thinking all was fine and dandy with the weather and it was said that it was only going to be in the low 40'S,,well didnt turn out that way,,,some of you have heard of a blue northern and know what it means,,we had one that night and it dropped to to the upper teens!!! and stayed that way till bout 2 the next afternoon.  Well lets say my 2 month old brand new engine was a total loss after that! Ran like a champ but but didnt cool anymore due to no outer shell on the block where the freeze plugs WERE!!! Yea all that area on both sides was gone. crazy.gif

Antifreeze up here in N. Texas is and should be a priority to boaters not only does it protect from freezing but you would be surprised at how well it protects all your aluminum goodies that lake water runs through.  If you havent used antifreeze in the past and doubt me just pull your aluminum intake and be ready to sit and cry about how bad the ports are eaten up!!! Not to mention your aluminum heads!  :rolleyes:  Antifreeze is cheap!  Oh and for you guys that have the little petcocks on the block,,,,,dont trust them,,you may see water come out for a bit,,but was that all the water? probably not! Most boats over the season will get some sand and or debris settled in the block and it will tend to stop up these petcocks and should have a wire or something run in them to make sure they are not stopped up and that all the water is out. Dont get me wrong,petcocks are fine and work great,,just spend the little extra time to poke and prod on those petcocks,,it could save your engine.
 

oldbuck40

Active member
Devilman said:
how long you been holding that back OB, lol... I know you been biting your keyboard.... :grin:
Well just trying to help! i paid the price once with a freeze and share it often in hopes of helping somebody save their engine!




Dont be Hating! :grin:
 

jimsplace

Active member
Crusader said:
James mentions in the video that's this is a short term solution for the type of freeze we had and says it will not be sufficient for a hard freeze.

Correct James did. 
I think the post was very timely and the video made it entertaining.
My post was to reinforce that it was short term, but even after the boat has been winterized for long term,
the drop light could still be a useful item if the boat is stored where the temperature varies.

The extra heat helps protect from corrosion and rust because when the block gets cold, and the temperature around it then increases,
the cold iron block will sweat and rust begins.

I'm fortunate because I have an air conditioned shop where mine stays, but I've used the drop light before many times.
Even if the boat is kept in a garage where the door is opened for any length of time, it will help.
Large temperature changes are not good for boats.
  :smile17:

 

jimsplace

Active member
Oldbuck is right about the aluminum used in engines.
I flush my motor with tap water almost every time I take mine out.  Even then
I choke every time I pull the manifold or the heads and see how much is eaten away.
    :smile17:
 

jimsplace

Active member
HellinnFrnt said:
Ya'll are phukin doin it wrong ........

Right.
Leave it outside and let it freeze, then tell the ol' lady you need a whole new motor.
Let me know how it works for ya.
    :smile17:
 

Devilman

Well-known member
oldbuck40 said:
Well just trying to help! i paid the price once with a freeze and share it often in hopes of helping somebody save their engine!


Dont be Hating! :grin:

Not hating, just sayin... I know you already.  :grin: But that said, the intent/purpose of the droplight deal was clearly stated & could be useful info that may get a rookie boater out of a bind in a pinch. Between the senior citizens that have been boating since the pilgrims landed & the keyboard commando/professional internet boaters around here, everyone was noobs at some point.  :wink: :grin: But it does make for interesting discussion at any rate. :cheesy:
 
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