Winterizng in Texas

[ChryslerJet]

Replaced a motor this summer for a guy on his family boat where the sides of both the block and the exhaust manifolds blew out because of freezing.  I made sure to show him what to do to keep that from happening again.  I called him the other night and advised him to put in a drop light in the engine compartment because maintenance is cheaper than replacement.

 

[oldbuck40]

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:

Guess you missed the first sentence of my post!    LOL I just added to it cuz i could! :grin:

 

[KONA77]

Ya'll are phukin doin it wrong ........

hey why aint there a boat cover on that boat !!!

 

[WFO]

I still like the climate controled method. It is fool proof.  :smile17:

 

[oldbuck40]

Being i dont see Kenny on here at the moment i'll just post this real quick lol

Winterizing for a HARD FREEZE!!!!

i have used this method for both I/O and jet! and its real simple.

First get ya a small pump like a live well or a bilge type pump and attach two wires with alligator clips so you can hook it to a 12 v source.
next attach about 8 ft of old garden hose or heater hose to the pump and have a male hose end available for the I/O.
Slip the muffs on,hose attached to the out drive,place pump in a 5gal bucket and fill with antifreeze. Crank the engine turn on pump and wait for it to exit the system after it warms up!  I usually wait until the water is mostly out before i start recovering the pure antifreeze in some extra buckets. once its warm your done unless your going to fog the engine like some peeps do.

Now for a jet it pretty much works the same way cept i attached the hose in this case to the water supply line coming out of the jet pump.
If you dont run a thermostat there is no need to crank it. If you run headers unhook each header line and let drain. the bilge type pump should not open a T valve if it does just plug both header lines until finished.  Start the pump and let it run till most water is out and you start seeing pure antifreeze and recover the extra coming out of the dump line.

On Logs you will need to run it till it comes out the exhaust tips/dump or both depending on how yours is plumbed.

It doesnt take much $ if any to make this little useful winterizing tool and it will last a lifetime.

I know some are just bent on the drop light and yea it works,,,till the power goes out or bulb burns out,,then your screwed.

OK im done!

 

[HellinnFrnt]

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:

Gonna work good cuz I don't have one to eat up all the money I don't have

 

[HellinnFrnt]

and for Kona that was just before I put the cover on it


neways it had RV antifreeze in it plus the lectric blanket , 2 sheets and a big old honkin plastic dropcloth then the weather cover and a big Walmart garage around it ...

 

[veestyle]

Is there anything wrong with just draining the block and calling in good?

 

[FormulaZR]

Is there anything wrong with just draining the block and calling in good?

There's a possibility that you won't get enough of it out...it'll freeze...and break something. That's how I wound up with my first LS powered boat.

 

[jimsplace]

Is there anything wrong with just draining the block and calling in good?

Generally I would say thats OK, with the following precautions.
When the engine block is drained, take a small screwdriver and insert it through the drain hole to make sure sand or rust doesn't
stop up the hole while its draining.  Even though I do it every year, it is not unusual to find sand blocking the hole  before its drained.
That works for the engine block only.  Most already know, but there is a drain plug on each side of the engine block and they are not connected.
Both sides must be drained.
If it's a V-Drive, pull the water pump cover to drain it also.

If there are water manifolds (not headers) the water needs to be removed from both sides.  Again, they are separate from
the drain holes in the block.
Anything that water runs through can hold water, so trace where the water goes to be sure.
If you have a jet, others can give advice there.

I'm not a proponent of using automotive antifreeze.  It will kill wildlife and fish if it gets in the lake or river.
I once saw a guy start his motor while still on the trailer early in the season and the first thing several of us commented on, was the
green stream of anti-freeze coming out the back of the boat going into the lake.
If a game warden had seen it, sh*t would have hit the fan.
  :smile17:

 

[FormulaZR]

I use RV antifreeze in my fresh water parts. It's not toxic. All the green antifreeze stays in my engine.

 

[blazeracer]

The vid was more for entertainment than anything, although it would be useful to someone new to boating and really only works down in the southern states. I wouldn't trust the drop light method in Michigan at all. We only had about 12 days below freezing last winter. I did drop light every time. I use my boat too much. We're planning on the 1st weekend of December to be on Texoma. Whatever weekend they do Winternationals in January, my boat will be there.

Just gotta find a weekend to make it on the water in Feb and I'll be a year 'round boater!!  jump.gif


I really just wanted to get the motor running on video, that's all.. hahah

 

[Becket]

The Term "Freeze Plug" is an Urban legend, They are "Casting Plugs" and in no way shape or form are they meant to protect against Freezing.

 

[Crusader]

The Term "Freeze Plug" is an Urban legend, They are "Casting Plugs" and in no way shape or form are they meant to protect against Freezing.

Yup, I just recently found out the true reason for those plugs too....

I use the pink bio friendly RV/Marine antifreeze.... I don't have to worry about it going into the lake or down the storm drain and it's like $4 a gallon....takes about two gallons to protect my motor and logs.

 

[73 Sanger Flat]

I have that Pick R.V antifreeze in mine already ..

 

[Devilman]

Guess you missed the first sentence of my post!    LOL I just added to it cuz i could! :grin:

You guessed wrong then cuz I didn't miss anything. :kiss: :cheesy: Ya'll sure made a bigazz enough deal out of it though, lol... :grin:

 

[Michael Swindoll]

Today's humor!  :smile30: :smile30:

Now that it's gonna be a$$ cold here for a weeks or so can some one come winterize my boat for me?  think.gif it's to cold for me to go do it! this is what I need you to do!

1) I would like for you to top of the tank on your budget, this is for condensation purposes! It about half now so that's only $250-$300out your pocket! Lmao  :grin:  :grin: :smile13:

2) ad the additive for the fuel! You will Ned to get that also!!

3) I've already got the antifreeze for the motor it needs done!

3) charge the batt!

4) turn on the lamp in the shed to keep her warm!

That's about all I do! All work will result in a nice ride in the summer!! I don't feel like doing it in this cold environment, and would like to pawn off the responsibility to some one here! Haha! Oh and of course the money!! :smile29: :smile14: crazy.gif crazy.gif
for those that don't know this is a joke! Lmao

 

[KONA77]

really,  I thought I was reading a post by a Obama supporter....  :smile16:

 

[Michael Swindoll]

really,  I thought I was reading a post by a Obama supporter....  :smile16:

Oh Hell no! Lmao

 

[KONA77]

:grin: