Jeremy, we do winterising every fall....
- run AF through the engine. There are many options, I use a bucket in the cockpit and a long hose that I attach to the fresh water hose taken off the cooling water seacock (after the seacock is closed). You will probably need about 15 l (3 jugs) as a minimum. I use a full Home Depot bucket (I think it is 5 gal). It is a cheap insurance for the extra $10. This should winterise the engine, the strainer (good to remove water from it before you start) and the exhaust (water lift muffler). Since you are in the water, you won’t be able to catch it; please be aware that all AF is toxic to aquatic life. Fortunately, it gets diluted very quickly. - if you want to be sure, blow your fresh water lines with air. I take a small air compressor to the boat. I have a length of hose with a fitting that can get attached to the water hose going out of the pump and blow all lines (one at a time). Some people use a vacuum cleaner on blow. For that you want to buy an attachment (Canadian Tire or any RV store– around $5) – one side is a standard tire valve, on the other a garden hose threaded connector. In fact, I blow the water, run the AF through the pump and then blow the lines again. - for the head, close the seacock and take the intake hose at put it into a bucket of AF and pump until you see pure AF coming into the bowl. If you pour the AF into the bowl and pump it out, you are not protecting the intake side. - if you have a shower, pour AF into the sump - if you have a cooler (ice box) drain, pour some AF into that drain and pump it out Here, we cover, at least, the cockpit. You want to avoid snow build up. Also you may find problems with any seacocks. You should keep them closed for safety, but if you do, you may end up with a frozen water above it. This is especially true with the cockpit drains. We keep them all open, but we are on the hard. Good luck Marek Ottawa, ON (about 30 cm (1 ft.) of snow on the ground) From: Jeremy Ralph via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 13:18 To: [email protected] Cc: Jeremy Ralph Subject: Stus-List freeze proofing Here in the Pacific NW (Vancouver) we're getting freezing weather now, which rarely happens. Many people keep a small ceramic heater running in their boats, but what if the shore power goes out? Here is what I did last week to prep: 1. Run 2QM20 raw water cooled engine under load for 20min to warm it up. Stop engine. Close seacock. Open sea strainer. Start engine. Pour RV antifreeze into the sea strainer. Stop engine. Close sea strainer. 2. Drain fresh water holding tank system. Run RV antifreeze through the pump and faucet. 3. Put RV antifreeze in the head and pump into empty holding tank. Run macerator enough to get antifreeze in lines. 4. Put RV antifreeze in the bilge What do others do? Any tips? Thanks, Jeremy
_______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you wish to make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to: https://www.paypal.me/stumurray All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
