my friends crazy way to winterize

scutly · Apr 24, 2010

so my knuckle head friend at work just told me he never got a chance to pull his boat out of the water at the end of last season. so he ran an extension cord and a drop light with a 75W bulb and let it hang in the engine compartment all winter. he put a thermometer in there and said it never got colder than 45*. he told me and "old salt" told him that trick. he also fogged and stabilled the fuel tank. what do you think his chances are? i think he's insane. its a BRAND NEW merc 454 I/O with an alpha drive.

RWilson2526 · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

I've used a light bulb in my driveway back when I had an I/O and expected cold but was not ready to winterize yet but to rely on that bulb all winter long is risky no doubt.....being that the boats in the water helped as the water temp probably didnt get as cold as air temp and he never lost power he' should be fine.....taking an expensive gamble though.

Rocky_Road · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

"Knuckle head?" "Insane?"

Sounds like you have already made your mind up...and just looking for some support.

I use two drop lights, since I once had a bulb burn out sometime during the night! I have never used a thermometer...but logic told me that the heat from the incandescent bulb(s) would do the trick.

Happy boating!

ziggy · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

he put a thermometer in there and said it never got colder than 45*. he told me and "old salt" told him that trick. he also fogged and stabilled the fuel tank. what do you think his chances are?

well, 45* ain't freezing so if that's the facts, he should get away with it. is it a good idea. not imho... putting an ignition source inside an i/o engine compartment i think is a bad idea.... i don't do it. i do drain the water out of my cooling system though... air don't freeze or explode..

smokeonthewater · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

it's always nice to wake up at 3 am to a cold house and wonder how long the power has been off as you scramble out to try to drain the icy water from youe freezing engine..... it is definately foolish... does it work? sure it does.... usually.... your friend must be a really busy guy to not have 10 free minutes all year

ENSIGN · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

If he's to damn lazy to drain everything he deserves a cracked block!

JustJason · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Hmmm... I lost my power more than once this winter....

Lion hunter · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Is it a good idea? Probably not the best. Will it work? Yes. Although not a boat, we used a 100W bulb in our small (dog house size) pump house to keep the well head and pump from freezing. So it will work, but I wouldn't want it in that close proximity to fuel.

scutly · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Rocky_Road said:
"Knuckle head?" "Insane?"

Sounds like you have already made your mind up...and just looking for some support.

I use two drop lights, since I once had a bulb burn out sometime during the night! I have never used a thermometer...but logic told me that the heat from the incandescent bulb(s) would do the trick.

Happy boating!

your in florida. no? this dude left his boat in the water in a canal behind his neighbors house all winter long in NEW YORK with a drop light in it to winterize a brand new engine. no disrespect Rock

, but tell me that dont sound INSANE?

a70eliminator · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

So tell me how he knew the mercury never fell below 45, did his thermometer have a digital low temp recall memory or something, I guess he did good, in fact real good for New York winter temps fell into the single digits last winter.

cougar1985 · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

my brother did the same thing 2 years ago.cost one 4.6 efi engine plus lower unit repair.he,s damn lucky i found a used complete motor on c list for a good price and he was lucky he jumped on it or it would of cost a lot more.

windsors03cobra · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Yea I just dont see how that kept it from getting below freezing in there, must have been a helluva mild winter. I guess he'll find out soon enough.

Insane is right.

Rocky_Road · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

scutly said:
your in florida. no? this dude left his boat in the water in a canal behind his neighbors house all winter long in NEW YORK with a drop light in it to winterize a brand new engine. no disrespect Rock , but tell me that dont sound INSANE?

You got me to smile...'thanks'!

Right that I live in the Florida Panhandle, and can get away with things that you probably can't. If I were where you lived I would do the entire winterizing drill....

But...your post was pretty clear in that you disapproved of what he did, and that you were looking for others to 'pile' on him! It's too easy to find people to agree that he is insane, but I wasn't going to go there. If he did this in the eleventh hour to avoid a disaster, then he did exactly what I would have done. Only he (and perhaps you) know if that is what took place. That is where I was coming from....

Maybe you can get him to join the group and post the question as to if his drop light can replace winterizing? If he does...I will advise him to do the full Monty.

Until then...he can do whatever he wants, and if it works for him then I will be the LAST to tell him that he needs professional counselling!

We're not on different pages...just on different approaches.

Happy boating!

Fisherball · Apr 24, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

I had a room mate who did that with his car. He actually had the anti-freeze but that night he wanted to play snowballs with the cute neighbor lady rather than spend the time to winterize his engine. Put a trouble light under his hood. Light worked all night, 383 block cracked anyway. He didn't even score the big snowball with the lady! Ron White sums it up, "You can't fix stupid!"

oops! · Apr 25, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

if he had time to fog and stabil the fuel.....unwind an extension cord....rig up a lamp get a thermometer.....then he had time to drain the manifolds and block...

we just did about 15 cracked blocks this past two months.....cheapest one was 4500 bux

ENSIGN · Apr 25, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Were having a really good year dealing with cracked blocks here in baltimore,like someone said YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID!

Lou C · Apr 25, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Well this was a snowy winter here in LI....but not as cold as some I've seen...judging by the fact that the harbor behind my house did not freeze to the point where people could walk on it like back in 2003...
I would not leave any boat in the water here esp an I/O because ice can damage the driveshaft bellows and that could cause a sinking...plus if we get freezing rain and snow the weight can pull down the boat to the point that water can get in and there you go...finally most insurance policies specifiy the boat is out of the water by a certain date...imagine a total loss...gas + oil cleanup...fines for the spill...and NO INSURANCE...
the light bulb idea...it takes only a little more time to pull 2 block & 2 manifold drains and pull off the big hose and impeller hoses on the front of the engine...I woudn't want to bet on it...

Knot Waiting · May 8, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

oops! said:
if he had time to fog and stabil the fuel.....unwind an extension cord....rig up a lamp get a thermometer.....then he had time to drain the manifolds and block...

I agree with Oops here. All the effort he put into NOT winterizing it he could have spent ummmm...... maybe, winterizing it, lol. Dumb move, but I guess if he is willing to take a gamble with the risk of an explosion, heck why not throw an engine on the table too.

scipper77 · May 8, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

-Light bulbs burn out

-Fire hazard

-Electricity costs money (not as much as a cracked block)

-draining the block (with the boat out of the water) takes the same amount of time as running a cord and figuring out how to mount the light

-the whole power outage thing

-even if the bulb remains on with no interuption all winter it may not be enough to keep everything from freezing.

Did I miss anything??

109jb · May 8, 2010

Re: my friends crazy way to winterize

Its not my boat. Why do I give a hoot.

my friends crazy way to winterize

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