Extreme cold -50 antifreeze

skennelly

Lots of people who used -50 antifreeze are freaking out.  Sure glad I go -100.

I know it won't get cold enough even for -50 but you never know.  I'd probably be worried.

Cableguy Greg

I went all out and got the -200. I would rather go to an extreme verses taking a chance.

Stodge

So if you have -50 antifreeze and it gets down to -51 will your engine block crack?

zaverin1

Oh boy
-50
-100
-1 a billion
one thing that is common is they don’t expand but rather gel.
i also never understood why engine needs to be kept with antifreeze during the lay up months.
if you want use it 
if you want use it
flush it and drain it
bing bango

Dream_Inn

Yep, right now Al would be telling you "You should've drained it.  Air doesn't freeze."   I am one of those that leave it in, but my boat sits in a lift above the water.  & MD weather doesn't typically stay cold for long periods.  I do loosen the multi-point drain just to see pink stuff in there.  I also drain all the water before I run the pink thru.  So, I'll sleep fine at night.  But, if I lived in Chicago, -100 would be on my list.

Ian

I'd say it would take a while for -51 air temp to get through the hull, closed engine room air space and then into the block to get it to -51.

Liberty44140

Burst protection on -50 is -50, but freeze protection on -50 is +12 to + 16.

http://newcontent.westmarine.com/documents/pdfs/OwnersManuals/BOATS_OUTBOARDS/Antifreeze136V5.pdf

randy56

Alberta vortex is cooling off the Midwest.  Chi town is not getting that cold is it? 

TonyG13

It's a balmy 2 F right now in Chi-beria. Should be minus 20s by morning with windchill in the minus 50-60 range. Sure glad I have inside, heated storage. Went and peeked at the boat yesterday and it was nice and toasty. Sat there for awhile day-dreaming it was summer. :-)

andyd

Forecast low tonight for my wife's old home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is -25 degrees. Wow!

Andy.

zaverin1

Years ago I would do the following.
drain the block and manifolds

run the boat on the hose till thermostat cracked open plus some

drain again
I would call this a flush

i would follow by putting 5 gal pink via drive and call it a day.

now I don’t even bother 

I just drain and back flush with pink via hoses 

Handymans342

You can't even buy that pink stuff in Florida LOL

zaverin1

**** flush with 50/50 car freeze just don’t drop it into the water 

skennelly

It's -4 right now going to a low of -23 air temp.  -50+ with wind chill tomorrow

boatman37

it's 14* here in Pittsburgh right now but getting colder as we go. supposed to hit -9 tomorrow. My Sea Ray I just drained everything each winter but I store in an underground mine that doesn't get below 55* so I really don't even need to winterize. Our new boat I drained then filled with AF just for the anti-corrosion protection. My son bought a brand new camper a few months ago and we winterized it with the -50 anti gel stuff. I blew all the lines out with air first so hoping its ok but with the lines blown out first i would think it would be good

Michael T

Respectfully remind that good antifreeze contains rust inhibitors.

Cableguy Greg

zaverin1 said:

**** flush with 50/50 car freeze just don’t drop it into the water 

That's what I used to do. This year I used -200. A little overkill, but it is worth the extra $20 to me.

Liberty44140

Michael T said:

Respectfully remind that good antifreeze contains rust inhibitors.

Agree, I see guys in our marina just using the marine/rv -50 water system stuff from Walmart on engines that is not for engines. Good luck to them. I use that in my water system only. I use the engine rated stuff with inhibitors in my engines, Genny and AC. Was using -50 but switched to -60 this year. West marine always has a decent deal in September to get sales moving so I Pre buy it all early for the discount. I’m inside cold but if I were outside I’d use -100. 

skennelly

I'm inside cold as well...wonder what the temp difference is just being sheltered inside???

Ian

When we had sub zero a week or so ago my garage at home  was mid 20's, the week before in the 30's outside had me around 40 in garage. Yes, some latent heat may escape through walls and as doors are opened from the house being upper 60's but I would think there'd be a reasonable difference inside a shed etc to outside temperature, the difference based on the shed construction. Where I am is like a bunker, concrete floor and new roller doors and recently gap filled so while it'll get cold I am sure nothing too low. If your "inside" like is a pole barn with thin walls it may cool down more.

Glassguy54

@andyd, I live in Cedar Rapids. Actual air temp right now, -23. Where did your wife go to high school? I'm Wash, class of '72.

skennelly

Handymans342

Outhouse??

reneechris14

Man that some cold s**t 

randy56

Mean weather, but it's going to change fast. Sunday look's good

Dream_Inn

We will be at 63 degrees by Tuesday!  5 weeks and I could be unwrapping the boat! (maybe 4, but this would be one of those years I'd be on the boat in the snow)

skennelly

I've never been a fan of sucking af through the drive...never have done it.  I'm a fan of draining the block and manually filling with -100 af through the big thermostat hose.  -100 isn't going to freeze in the block.

Ian

skennelly said:

Either turn your thermostat up or add salt to your diet

andyd

Glassguy54 said:

@andyd, I live in Cedar Rapids. Actual air temp right now, -23. Where did your wife go to high school? I'm Wash, class of '72.

My wife also went to Washington High, class of '75. Then Iowa State. I just heard a young man from Cedar Rapids, Kennedy High grad, froze to death at the University of Iowa. Very sad.

Andy

Dream_Inn

Skennelly, I agree with you if the engine is raw water cooled especially.  Being that my engine is fresh water, I really only have to get the hoses that put water thru the power steering cooler and the risers.  For that, it's easiest to use the air pump to blow out all the water (which that is all some people do) and then run some pink thru it, mainly for rust inhibitors.

Liberty44140

yep I do the same as Dream (as he talked me through how to do it) - use the air pump to get the engines drained, then pull plugs to be sure, bump the starter to be sure raw water pump is empty, then put caps back in and I run 4 gal of purple -60 through each engine through the drive and leave it in.