Using automotive coolant for winterizing

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Any thoughts about using automotive coolant for winterizing things like the following the macerators raw water pump toilet and holding tank. I will use the pink RV stuff in my fresh water system but its protection level is not as good as actual coolant. I can and will pump it out into my shop so very little will ever be killing willie before hes release back into the wild to be ran over by a cruise ship.

 

[matt167]

pink RV is -50.. where do you live?

But no, the ethlyne glycol is toxic.. propolyne glycol sure ( which is what RV antifreeze is for the good stuff )

There is some pet safe auto antifreeze that is propolyne but at 50-100% more cost per gallon

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

i will pump it through each system in my shop and collect almost all of it very little will even hit the ground there will not be much remaining the rest ( what ever I pump out during the winterization that hits the ground) will be mopped up and recycled with the other fluids I recycle. As far as freezing levels the Pink RV coolant does in fact freeze well before regular antifreeze even starts to gel up. if you’ve seen the two at minus 40 the pink stuff will be ice antifreeze will just be beginning to tell up. Another factor between antifreeze and RV fluid antifreeze when it mixes with water it will probably have about the right mix ratio for the best freezing protection while RV anti freeze will be mixing with what evers left in the line becoming weaker. Last year I used 8 gallons to get what I’d call close to pure pink stuff through all of the systems you could see the difference for quite a while and even then I am sure its still not 100% with antifreeze I can just pump it through until its got a good freezing level which I can check as I go not the case with the RV stuff.

Right now my boat will be in a moderate winter zone zero is about as cold as we see however in the near future I will be traveling cross country through the worst possible places where freezing levels will in fact be very cold. In a perfect world I will delay my actual travel times to miss major storm fronts but thats not always possible.

I will cross through Idaho Wyoming and Colorado in January the return trip in April will be less risky most of the time.

I will do my best to not endanger any animals my primary concerns would be if there is anything in antifreeze that would damage any of the systems but its got a lubrication agent to lube the macerators and valves and its never damaged anything ive seen it stored in? But I dont know.

The macerators are my number one concern when traveling it wont be covered any water or melting snow collects in the fish boxes and the extra freezing protection I might get here could be the difference between a macerators or line breaking or not.

I have 8 separate systems to worry.

 

[matt167]

if your not covering your boat for winter, you will have larger problems than what antifreeze you use..

pink antifreeze does freeze. below -50*.. it will turn into a slushie at a warmer temp than that. slushie won't freeze break anything

 

[Grub54891]

I've always used the pink. Drain the system, hook up before the pump, run it through every line. I continue to run the pump till there is nothing left coming out anywhere when I'm out of pink. I leave all faucets wide open when done. Never had an issue. It does get over 30 below around here.
The holding tanks get nothing in them. Once empty there is not enough water to do any damage. Water heater is bypassed drained, and that sits empty also.

 

[jimmbo]

I just drain the Block, Manifolds, Hoses, and pumps. Been doing it for 17 yrs and never had any issues. One winter the high temp for an entire month, was -35C

 

[Blind Date]

Concerning the fresh water system, the first time I winterized my Sundancer 15 years ago I used the pink RV stuff because I didn't know any better. What a mess the next spring getting that crap out of the water system. Do it the easy way. Pull a few fittings apart and blow it out with compressed air. Trace amounts of water will not hurt/damage a thing. Faster, cheaper, better for the environment. and as they say, air doesn't freeze. Foolish IMHO doing it any other way unless you enjoy making things harder than they need to be.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

it will not be covered when traveling I can cover it when we stop but I’m more concerned about hitting rain or melting snow, the fish boxes collecting water and then I run through cold enough temps long enough for water in the macerators freezing. if I run in and out of temps where waters collected in the fish boxes and then I’m going to be below freezing I will be diligent about pumping them out as the temps drop and carry enough RV antifreeze to help prevent issues but its a factor I will have to deal with when making the journey. I was also thinking about trying to seal the fish boxes seams which might reduce the amount of water that get in them. Ive used a clear semi flexible duck tape like tape that sticks really well but comes off easy Maybe I can just tape them up and seal them its easy enough to test. But they collect water with any rain as it runs down the deck.

I’m been winterizing campers for decades Ill flush them with RV fluid then figure out how to purge them as well as possible but theres a lot of separate systems in play on this boat and access is not very good. I will stick with RV antifreeze. I’m probably making more out of this than it will really be but not a lot of people drag a boat from the NW corner to the SE corner of the US every winter.

 

[Grub54891]

Can you just put a plug in the drains of the fish boxes? Then if a bit of water gets in there, it'll just be in the box. Shouldn't hurt the box any if it freezes, then as you travel in the warmer locations it'll melt and you can pump it dry.

 

[tpenfield]

My thought on using automotive AF . . . . DON'T

Use -75 or -100 RV/Marine if you have to, no automotive AF for you. . .

 

[Starcraft5834]

what Jimbo said........ drain out the water.. air dont freeze.. dont waste your money on pink stuff