Re: Antifreeze barrel
Brad,
Where are you (state/region)?
PM me your e-mail address and I can mail you the Volvo Penta official winterizing guide (too large for upload here on iBoats, over a 1MB), but even as this has been debated over and over, I'll add what I do:
I "run" the engine on muffs until it at least gets gets lukewarm, then (after stopping) disconnect the hose from the transom shield, and connect a hose to a bucket filled with AF (in my case diluted pre-mix since we never see very cold temps). Then start up engine again and run it until AF is liberally coming out the exhaust/low pressure port on the lower end of the transom shield.
I prefer to have AF with rust inhibitors in the raw water circuit then pure air and moisture. The internal (fresh water side) coolant system is filled with AF (and should be changed on regular basis) so that should not be an issue.
The challenge is of course what do you do with fogging the engine, since you really can't run it more without "draining" the AF. I fog each cylinder without the plug and then manually turn it over a few times.
Or, one year I ran it until warm, fogged it, and then removed the impeller and pumped AF in via the same hose (the one from the transom shield). In my view, both methods work, the latter one maybe a bit better (but you have to mess with the impeller - not a bad thing since leaving it out over the winter is likely not going to hurt it as long as you don't leave it in the sun). When spring arrives, you have an impeller to inspect and put in, or replace + gaskets.
I once, due to death in the family and following urgent travel to Michigan, failed to winterize in time. Temps here dropped to about 14F the 5 nights we were gone gone and I was madder than hell...
When spring came, time to start, it leaked like.... But luckily it was only a connection (a push-in connection) to the oil cooler than had been "pushed out" by the freeze. Amazed and grateful that was the only "result, no cracked block, no cracked oil cooler, no cracked heat exchanger, etc.
I learned my lesson and it is always time to winterize long BEFORE its get too ugly (=no longer fun) to fiddle with water out in the drive way.
