Help, winterizing and trying to get antifreeze into drained block

[dbatech99]

So I drained everything and put plugs and hoses back on. Have a Flush pro and 6 gallons of antifreeze, The antifreeze does not start flowing when I start the boat. What do I need to do to get it circulating???

[92SupraComp]

why are you bothering with anti freeze? Many just drain and have been for years. Nothing wrong with it. And the best thing to do is, warm boat up to full temp and give a good end of year run, Pull boat out of water, and then just dunk the RWP intake hose in a bucket of anti freeze till it starts coming out exhaust. The motor has to be hot for the anti freeze to displace all the water in the block.

For your situation tho, forget the flush pro thing. Thats ONLY for a pressurized supply. Disconnect the RWP hose going to the tranny cooler.

[michael hunter]

What boat are you working on?

[docdrs]

And the best thing to do is, warm boat up to full temp and give a good end of year run, Pull boat out of water, and then just dunk the RWP intake hose in a bucket of anti freeze till it starts coming out exhaust. The motor has to be hot for the anti freeze to displace all the water in the block.



Do not do this. It will not protect your motor. The antifreeze will barely dilute the water in your block. You may get about a 10degree protection. You need to drain your block and manifolds first.

[92SupraComp]

oh? Why has my uncle been doing this years and years on end in upstate NY where we get plenty of cold snaps, and not a thing bad has come of it? He does it to his boats and my grandmothers boat and none of the boats have ever had a problem. I Find that hard to believe that it only barely dilutes the water. Thats also why you buy the CONCENTRATE and lightly dilute it before sucking it into the block.

[DAFF]

why are you bothering with anti freeze? Many just drain and have been for years. Nothing wrong with it. And the best thing to do is, warm boat up to full temp and give a good end of year run, Pull boat out of water, and then just dunk the RWP intake hose in a bucket of anti freeze till it starts coming out exhaust. The motor has to be hot for the anti freeze to displace all the water in the block.

For your situation tho, forget the flush pro thing. Thats ONLY for a pressurized supply. Disconnect the RWP hose going to the tranny cooler.

This method is playing with fire. My thought is the engine holds much more water and takes longer to cycle all the water to the point of proper winterization dilution even with the T stat open.

I drain everything then run RV antifreeze though the system just for a safety factor. Then store it in a heated garage !!! The owner of the garage laughs at me but my thought is it only takes one freak blizzard and the power to go out for a few days.... FROZEN FROSTPUGS !!

[Cusefan78]

Pull the plugs get all the water out then put the antifreeze in till it comes out the plugs. When you see pink at the plugs put them back in and fill it up with antifreeze. This method will also flush any crap In the block. I live in central ny and my boat stays in southern canada I have never had a problem this way. It's better to take a few extra steps and take your time then spend 6k on a new motor. Pull the impeller loosen the belts and put fogging oil in the cylinders. Also change your oil, and filter. Your motor will thank you with longevity.

[docdrs]

oh? Why has my uncle been doing this years and years on end in upstate NY where we get plenty of cold snaps, and not a thing bad has come of it? He does it to his boats and my grandmothers boat and none of the boats have ever had a problem. I Find that hard to believe that it only barely dilutes the water. Thats also why you buy the CONCENTRATE and lightly dilute it before sucking it into the block.

Your typical inboard has about 5 gallons in its cooling system( I have personally measured it). When the temperature is 160 degrees the thermostat just starts opening allowing hot water to escape from the engine.( take a tstat and put it in water on a stove with a thermometer and you will see) The rest of the intake fluid will bypass the circulating pump and flow out the exhaust manifolds and mufflers. If you have the CONCENTRATE which is 95% then yes you only need 2 gallons of it fully circulated thru your engine to achieve a 35 % concentration for -50 protection. But that is fully circulated , not just sucked up (and by the way it is pushed into the engine at a low idle flow rpm). If you use the -50 stuff which is 35% then you would need 30 gallons fully circulated to achieve a 32% which would give you -35 protection. A 17.5% solution of propylene glycol will only give you 15 F burst protection......so if you were to use 5 gallons of -50 fully circulated not just sucked up you will have a 15 F protection temperature. Not sure what type of boat your grandma has but these are accurate numbers for a inboard boat.

[chris young]

I guess we all have our methods, I'm new to all this and for my peace of mind I drain, suck up a couple of gallons of 50/50 and let it circulate with the T stat removed for a few minutes (belt disconnected from the RWP). Then drain it again. I figure with most guys standing by the "drain only" method, this will add just a bit of insurance. I did a bunch of extra work when I put the boat up during the last 2 days, and I completely forgot to fog the motor. It hit me just as I laid down last night. I pulled the carb and battery, so I'm going to have to go back at some point and do the spark plug method. ARGH

I had planned on doing it all this weekend but the forcast called for -9C and I'm just paranoid enough that I had to go up and do it right away.

5 gallons is a bit surprising, next year I guess I'll up the quantity:)

[92SupraComp]

ok, so as you can see we have a Supra Comp and a Correct Craft Martinique. We only DRAIN them, and, never had a problem. All of our friends, drain, and are fine. My uncle has a late 90's shamrock with 350 TBI and a closed cooling loop, he only has to drain a few hoses, he also has a 1984 Master Craft, with no t-stat, it has never froze on him and he does the anti freeze through the RWP method. My grandmothers boat get the same anti freeze through RWP when he winterizes it and its a 1989 CC Martinique C/B, when we winterize it, like we did this year, we just drain it. All of these boats, including our friends have Chevy 350's, Ford 351W, or Chevy 454's. Even our friends who have a twin 454 scarab, they only ever drain the blocks, and it sits in the lift year round! My uncle is the only person I know who does the anti freeze...

And, the worst that has come of not draining a boat, my dad accidentally forgot to drain his parents 1987 CC Martinique (still in the family) and the intake manifold broke and the exhaust manifold bases broke. The block, heads, and risers are fine... That was about 13 years ago sitting in the same barn that our Supra, CC, my grandmas CC, and our friend MC sit now as we speak, they only have their blocks drained...

[jaywidhalm]

I too only just drain...no antifreeze, did it for years with my Wellcraft I/O and now my Supra...never had an issue and I live where we get a good solid week of -20 F weather.

[docdrs]

A closed water cooling system is a completely different situation. You cannot lump it in with the standard open loop systems in the majority of freshwater inboards which have a thermostat for optimal performance.

I always drain everything incl muffler and heater. Just stating the facts about trying to winterize your system properly without draining it. I would never recommend anyone to do it this way unless they are 100% familiar with how the cooling system works. Otherwise you are just lucky if something doesn't crack. My boats experiences long spells of -20 and colder so I can't rely on luck.

[michael hunter]

Freezing is not the only reason to add antifreeze . It also helps with rust and scale inside the block. I feel that its better to keep wet parts wet . Letting things cycle wet then dry then wet again puts added stress IMO. Once you have drained the water it only takes 5 min to pour 15 dollars of antifreeze in the raw water hose that goes to the T stat housing. It only takes 1 time to cause thousands in damage why take a chance?

[chris young]

Has any of you who only drain ever had an issue or heard of one that damaged your RWP? I've read elsewhere that you should bump the motor a few times to clear it. I didn't do this as the last thing it had running through it was antifreeze so I think I'm covered.

[92SupraComp]

if you run anti freeze your fine. If you drain, it helps to bump it over. I have to run my CC and give it a good rev to blast the water out of the exhaust. The hoses go down along the stringers inside the bilge and then go up hill into a big IvertaFLow by Vernay Silencer. It uses the water as a baffle, and boy that thing keeps a lot of water in the exhaust hoses...