wintering ac/heater help!

swede

Wintering ac / heater  help!

Dream_Inn

Not sure I see what you are asking. But for the AC/Heat, I just remove the hose from seacock for the AC.  Put a funnel in that hose, fill it with pink stuff and turn on the AC and pump and pour an entire gallon in (or until pink stuff comes out the thru hull.  I also let a little pink go thru the seacock when I reinstall the hose.

Dream_Inn

Yes, I blow it out as well, but I like to have something lubricate it all instead of remnants of brackish water in there.  Only takes one gallon, so $3 is no big deal.

I also blow out the fresh water lines before putting pink in.   

Dream_Inn

Good point RY.  I think if I was in truly salt water, that might be the way to go.  I do run fresh water thru my engines (well, risors/manifolds) before putting the pink in.

Weber

I drain it, then pump antifreeze from the outlet back to the inlet, and make sure the strainer is full of pink.

arrowest

I installed a garden hose valve at the point of entry of boat, just past ball valve, so I just hook hose from bucket of anti freeze and turn on ac and it sucks the AF into the system. I put these valves on all water inputs and do the same thing! (Generator and toilet)

Dream_Inn

I'd love to see a picture of those valves.  I'm assuming they are brass of some sort since if they break your boat would sink.  Clever idea, just not sure if I want to add another thing in the line for something I'd use once a year.  I assume you have a 3 ft or so hose? 

I just remove the hose clamp and stick the hose in the gallon antifreeze container, pretty simple as well.  I have one hose that feeds all the water, including head.  Another that feeds both AC units.  Third hose I remove is for the genny, I wouldn't put one there because I wouldn't want to restrict flow at all.

Dream_Inn

oh, you are talking intake to the engine.  I thought you were talking the AC hose.  I don't have any seacocks for my engines, it only pulls water thru the drives.  So I just use ear muffs on the drives for that.  Pretty simple to do on a lift, especially with a second person to help start it up/shut it down.  I guess you have some kind of cap that screws on when you are not using so it does not drawl air. 

I have a quick disconnect on that hose into my seawater pump that I guess could just be put into a bucket of antifreeze as well, but I like to have the pink stuff go thru the intake of outdrive as well.

Michael T

Remember guys, if you store your boat outside in a cool area trim the drives fully down. water can accumulate in the prop housing, freeze, expand and damage. As well, putting the drives fully down is easier on the trim system. BTW the manner I put the drives fully down is to trim them right down then "touch" the up trim for a nano second to take the pressure off the trim hoses. MT

aero3113

Michael T said:

Remember guys, if you store your boat outside in a cool area trim the drives fully down. water can accumulate in the prop housing, freeze, expand and damage. As well, putting the drives fully down is easier on the trim system. BTW the manner I put the drives fully down is to trim them right down then "touch" the up trim for a nano second to take the pressure off the trim hoses. MT

Doing this is also good for the bellows.

Thell

I just did this with the help of swedish antifreeze (miljöglykol). I used a pump driven by a drill machine and pump antifreeze from the outlet until the green stuff came out under the boat. 

BoatAway

Sounds like you might have used ethylene glycol, which is highly toxic and will kill your Swedish fish. You should be using propylene glycol wich is safer.

Thell

The stuff i use is environmentally safe but there is a similar product that is highly toxic.

Cableguy Greg

What about using a "fake a lake", a bucket of pink stuff and a bilge pump? Wouldn't that do the same thing?

raybo3

Yes as long as you get the anti freeze through the whole system

qwikwhip

These all sound like great ideas, but way more involved than necessary. I did mine last weekend and all I did was take a piece of 3/8" vinyl tube, stick it in a gallon of antifreeze and start a siphon (the old suck on the hose trick) then stick the hose in the thru hull outlet and hold the gallon jug high. Gravity then did it's part and pink stuff started dumping out the pickup under the boat. I was surprised it was that easy.