winterize - thrermostat - antifreeze

[bruceb58]

It's not a hazardous material in itself.

You do realize that people drink the stuff to commit suicide right? Drink more than a mouthful and you are in trouble.

 

[Mule Laker]

You do realize that people drink the stuff to commit suicide right? Drink more than a mouthful and you are in trouble.

You guys are a riot! Thanks!

While I can't drink too much of it I can sure dump it in the drain as long as I'm in the city! They said go ahead, it is not hazardous as long as it is going to the treatment facility and not into a storm drain or septic system.

 

[bruceb58]

While I can't drink too much of it I can sure dump it in the drain as long as I'm in the city!

What city do you live in?

 

[thumpar]

You guys are a riot! Thanks!

While I can't drink too much of it I can sure dump it in the drain as long as I'm in the city! They said go ahead, it is not hazardous as long as it is going to the treatment facility and not into a storm drain or septic system.

But why? I can do a lot of things. It doesn't mean I do.

 

[Lou C]

I assumed he meant "fill the block with water first" come Spring, when you're ready to fire up the boat for the first time.

Right that's what I meant, because the thermostat is designed to sense the temp of water not air. Filling it with water before your start up will avoid any hot spots, and when it heats up normally it is more gradual because the water can absorb the engine heat till the stat starts to open.

 

[QBhoy]

It's pretty simple
If you have a v engine, the following will work perfectly;
Drain manifolds, block, thermostat hose and calorifier hoses (if fitted)
Put drain plugs back in
Fill stbd big thermostat hose with 50/50 antifreeze mix until it comes out housing (means block is filled) and replace hose
Take stbd thin hose off thermostat and fill with 50/50 until it comes out the drive (stbd riser full)
Take port thin hose off thermostat and fill with 50/50 until it comes out drive (port riser full)
Hey presto...good and protected to around -36oC
You could also just drain manifolds and block and leave hoses and plugs out, but cold corrosion may attack the metal internals (oxidisation). It's better to have liquid (antifreeze) in there to limit the levels of oxygen, hence limiting the amount of corrosion.
Good luck !

 

[Oshkosh1]

It's even simpler...follow the Mercruiser manual. Drain it and forget it. 4 plugs off 4 plugs back on, two hoses drained and you're done. You're protected to around absolute 0...give or take a kelvin or half. Marina's love it when people mess with AF...they get to replace stuff that cracks come spring!

 

[QBhoy]

Fair enough Oshkosh....I must admit, I did this for years and no Ill effect, just that recently I find myself with a newer mpi engine with single point drain. Locally, a few of these engines have been winterised by just draining (no antifreeze) and found that when recommissioning the risers had frozen. Apparently in rare cases the drain channels block slightly causing small pockets of water to remain.
The local mercerised dealer now puts antifreeze in all engines he winterises for liability cover. Perhaps there was a service bulletin recently ??

 

[QBhoy]

Mercruiser even

 

[Bondo]

I find myself with a newer mpi engine with single point drain.

Ayuh,.... Another Mercruiser designed guarantied busted block system,......

I guess the systems keep the dealer's service dept. busy,...

Merc has built several such systems, that are pretty much All, failures,...

Ya Gotta be able to poke, 'n prod the block's drain holes to knock the crud outa the way,.....
Or yer system is gonna Fail,..... Period,...... End of story,....

I've ripped that junk off several motors now, 'n got another to do this winter,....
Replace the whole mess with 4, 1/4" brass pipe plugs,....

Right that's what I meant, because the thermostat is designed to sense the temp of water not air. Filling it with water before your start up will avoid any hot spots, and when it heats up normally it is more gradual because the water can absorb the engine heat till the stat starts to open.

No need to prefill anything, 'cept the raw water impeller,.... with an Alpha, the muffs do that just fine,....
As the raw water pump pumps water, our motors, 'n manifolds fill from the bottom up,...
Even with a closed t-stat, the block fills with water,...

That's why 1st start in the Spring, it seems an excruciatingly long time from startin', to seein' water flowin' out the exhaust,....
The block, 'n manifolds fill before any water is expelled,....

 

[thumpar]

My block fills and starts spitting after about 45 seconds but I know the pump is getting water.

 

[Oshkosh1]

My guess would be that 99% of boat owner do NOT pre-fill their engines or drives....and probably less than 1%. Drop it in the water, fire it up. If your the "particular" type then you can start it on muffs just to verify the impeller didn't seize or something during the winter I suppose. There's no need, as stated the block will fill within a minute or so. WAAAAY before any heat related damage would occur.

A friend of mine who worked for various marinas over about 15 years(now owns his own mobile repair service) said they loved it when owners would fill their engines with AF. Remember...although it won't freeze solid it WILL turn to slush which means there IS ice present. He lost count of how many cracked up here where -30 is a very real possibility. He's the one who told me to simply drain and verify the passages were not clogged, then blow a little compressed air to ensure things are clear. A bit of grease on the threads, re-install them and wait for spring!

 

[bruceb58]

Agree...no reason at all to fill the block with water on the first start in spring.

 

[QBhoy]

Bruceb

I wouldn't say there is no reason at all...1 very good reason is to stop corrosion of the block, hence extending the life of your engine. Just saying ! Across the pond and here in Scotland, we never really get as cold as -30oC (except at altitude and in extremes) so it might make me think twice about having antifreeze in. But in my situation, it works well and prolongs life.

 

[bruceb58]

Bruceb

I wouldn't say there is no reason at all...1 very good reason is to stop corrosion of the block, hence extending the life of your engine. Just saying ! Across the pond and here in Scotland, we never really get as cold as -30oC (except at altitude and in extremes) so it might make me think twice about having antifreeze in. But in my situation, it works well and prolongs life.

I was talking about pre-filling the block with water before you start it in the spring.

 

[QBhoy]

Ah...fair play...my mistake. Yeah no reason for that none sense at all.

 

[thumpar]

Bruceb

I wouldn't say there is no reason at all...1 very good reason is to stop corrosion of the block, hence extending the life of your engine. Just saying ! Across the pond and here in Scotland, we never really get as cold as -30oC (except at altitude and in extremes) so it might make me think twice about having antifreeze in. But in my situation, it works well and prolongs life.

How much corrosion are you stopping? Have you even seen a block rust through?

 

[Oshkosh1]

How much corrosion are you stopping? Have you even seen a block rust through?

My guess is that it would take a very, very prolonged period of sitting void in a moist climate. Simply leaving it empty season to season(maybe 7 mos at most)? Nah...Chances are you'll suffer some other catastrophic failure or hit a mine before you start poking holes in an SBC due to internal corrosion.

 

[bruceb58]

And if the boat is used in fresh water, the amount of corrosion you are trying to prevent is nothing compared to what a salt water boat goes through in one season with the blocks always left full and even if flushed every use.

 

[QBhoy]

Believe it or not, most of the corrosion will be done during the winter with an empty block and risers. When the boat is in use, the block is full and the risers usually are mainly full of water too. When they are full there is less chance of corrosion because the oxygen is not getting to attack the metal as much. With empty block and risers, the oxygen is free to attack. I'm sure we all know that the rusting process is called oxidisation. The clue is in the name.
That said, im certain it would take a long time to rust through an engine block. I am also pretty sure that some of you guys will have engines from the 70's, 80's and perhaps 90's. the former would probably be on their last legs if this process was followed year after year and in the right conditions.
Anyway, each to their own. I just figure in my case, ?25 of antifreeze in the block is worthwhile.