North Florida Freeze

[jigngrub]

Noticed the temp. was 22*F in Jacksonville Fla. this morning.

I wonder how many I/O blocks cracked last night because it never gets cold enough to winterize in Jax Fla.?

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: North Florida Freeze

good time to be marine mechanic........

 

[agallant80]

Re: North Florida Freeze

In Raleigh, NC it was 8 this morning. We do get some freeze but never that bad. I think allot of people who have been getting away with improper winterization jobs for years may be in for a surprise this spring. I just hope I'm not one of them......

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: North Florida Freeze

-8 here,, was -14 last Sat... I pulled the plugs and drained my block and manifold in Oct, drained all the water out and used air compressor to blow it out... only thing in there is air.........come spring, will fire it up and see if the "air dont freeze" theory is true :joyous:

 

[kfa4303]

Re: North Florida Freeze

Did you make it through the night jig? It was pretty cold here in Tally too. All my outdoor tropical plants bit the dust :/

How 'bout them NOLES!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[eavega]

Re: North Florida Freeze

We woke up to 6 degrees in Atlanta. I had drained the block, but did not put antifreeze in it. In any case had a "Test" container in the garage (where the boat hibernates) with about 2 gallons of water. That did not freeze this morning, and the wall thermometer in the garage was reading slightly above 40, so I am going to assume I am still good to go.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: North Florida Freeze

drain block.. good move...... "White knuckle time" for those that did not drain, or forgot...........

 

[mr 88]

Re: North Florida Freeze

It takes a lot longer for two gallons to freeze vs whatever amount is spread throughout the block, so I would not be assuming anything except the worst.I could take two gallons of water and put it in smaller containers and it would freeze in no time vs a mass of two gallons.Just look at small ponds vs a large lake to see the difference in freezing time.At least you drained the block which is a good thing.

We woke up to 6 degrees in Atlanta. I had drained the block, but did not put antifreeze in it. In any case had a "Test" container in the garage (where the boat hibernates) with about 2 gallons of water. That did not freeze this morning, and the wall thermometer in the garage was reading slightly above 40, so I am going to assume I am still good to go.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: North Florida Freeze

I think with his garage being 40 deg he'd be safe no matter what BUT I'm certain that there will be LOTS and LOTS of naysayers all over the bottom half of the country with busted blocks this spring... gonna be a good year to be selling engines..... Probably a good year to find a deal on a boat with a busted block.... not such a good year to find and buy a used engine

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: North Florida Freeze

It will need to stay down in the 20's for better than 36 hours before it will damage a block. If the temp gets above freezing during the day or the sun shines on the boat then its good. Last time blocks froze here in north Florida was back in the 80's when the temp dropped down below freezing for three days. It cracked them like egg shells. I swapped out a bunch of engines that year. One boat dealership lost 19 engines in new boats that they had on the sales lot. Insurance wouldn't cover it since they were a marina and should have know better. But most insurance covers frozen blocks.

 

[eavega]

Re: North Florida Freeze

It takes a lot longer for two gallons to freeze vs whatever amount is spread throughout the block, so I would not be assuming anything except the worst.I could take two gallons of water and put it in smaller containers and it would freeze in no time vs a mass of two gallons.Just look at small ponds vs a large lake to see the difference in freezing time.At least you drained the block which is a good thing.

Two gallons was almost exactly what came out of my block/manifold when I drained it. The container in question was a 3' long aluminum trough, which while does not approximate the full surface area of the water space in question for my 3.0L engine, it is close enough for a garage test. Given the non-insulating qualities of the container, and that the water really only existed at a depth of less than 6", I thought it was a fair approximation. Even if the whole thing did not freeze solid, it would've at least started to crystallize along the outside edge if it was cold enough in the garage.

Just sayin, I though this through a bit more than my post implied. In any case, as you said I did drain the block so I wasn't worried about freezing the air in there. This was just a bit more of an experiment as to how cold it could get in an insulated unheated house garage when the outside temps drop significantly below freezing for an extended period of time.

Rgds

-E

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: North Florida Freeze

an overnight drop to freezing air temps outside on the thermometer on the porch post for a couple hours is not the same temperature inside an engine block inside an engine box under a cover. Add sunshine, no problem. Set a test bottle of water (OK not two gallons but 2 oz) and see what happens.

And this is also why a simple drop light may be all it takes to protect it, especially if you get it in there and on ahead of the freeze.

And for specifics, obviouisly a 40* garage is a non-issue--but it proves the point that 6 outside is not 6 inside.

Not that it isn't worrisome but it's unlikely to be an issue. This time.

 

[jkust]

Re: North Florida Freeze

In the north, part of boating is the white knuckle period where it drops to the mid 20's but lots of people haven't drained their I/O yet because they aren't do it your selfers. You get used to living near the edge after a few episodes.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: North Florida Freeze

Yet another reason I'll stick with my outboards.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: North Florida Freeze

<--- last message,,,, cant argue with that one............

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: North Florida Freeze

I was up 2 or 3 times to check temps. block is safe with the HX and AF. however I did not drain the manifolds. It got down to 36 this morning. Back up in the mid 40's. will be 80 by the weekend.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: North Florida Freeze

Someone beat me to it just another reason to buy a good reliable outboard and call it a day

 

[tpenfield]

Re: North Florida Freeze

Noticed the temp. was 22*F in Jacksonville Fla. this morning.

I wonder how many I/O blocks cracked last night because it never gets cold enough to winterize in Jax Fla.?

All of them . . . :noidea:

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: North Florida Freeze

Down to 20 in SE NC last night, high 40s now but dipping a bit tonight too. Doubt if it was enough to hurt any blocks. It takes freezing temps to be sustained longer than that.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: North Florida Freeze

It takes a lot longer for two gallons to freeze vs whatever amount is spread throughout the block, so I would not be assuming anything except the worst.

The temperature of the water in the block is going to be the exact same as the temperature of the block itself.. So yes, I agree, the time it takes for 2 gallons of water to freeze isn't going to be the same as the water in the block, the 2 gallons will freeze MUCH quicker.

Thermal mass of the engine>>>>>thermal mass of 2 gallons of water.