Winterization Check List

[moguls2go]

Hi Guys,

Now that our kids are a touch older and we're no longer drinking from a firehose at home I decided to winterize our 31 myself rather than have a yard do it. Maybe it's always like this, even after doing it year after year, but I keep thinking about what I missed. We have Yanmar 6LP power and put ~120 hrs on the engines this year. Here's the list I went through... poke some holes if you see them:

1. Changed Oil with Rotella T5 15W-40 (**I noticed that last year the yard used T4... I think T5 is partial synthetic so this should be ok... right?)
2. Stabilized Fuel & ran boat to storage yard; boat was hauled & blocked.
3. Pumped out holding tank & ran water tank dry
4. Poured 3g non-tox into water tank and ran both faucets till pink came out.
5. Flushed 1g non-tox into holding tank through toilet
6. Removed intake hoses from seacocks; ran ~7g fresh water through each engine with ~6 oz. Salt Away mixed in.
7. Stopped engines, replaced engine zincs. (FWIW, I ordered 6LP pencil zinc sets from boatzincs.com and only 3 of the 5 were the correct size. The other 2 are on my list yet to do)
8. Restarted engines, ran 7g nontox through
9. Disconnected and removed batteries
10. Removed bottom plug, poured non-tox into bilge & outboard of each engine where I know water is likely to collect

We waxed the hull and called it done. What did I miss?

I did NOT:
1. Replace water pump impellers (this was done by the yard last year... is this an annual or 125 hr item?)
2. Replace any belts
3. Change Transmission oil (this was done last year by the yard... I figured I'd do this every other year)
4. Replace fuel filters (I have them... figured I'd do Racors in the spring once I can run the engines for more than a minute at a time out of a bucket). Should I replace engine fuel filters each year?
5. Replace running gear zincs- I'll do it in the spring when I paint the bottom
6. Replace air filters

[ranjr13]

Sounds good - 2 thoughts.

Do raw water impellers in the spring - even though only a season old, sitting not used in the position can deteriorate them - cheap insurance. Not sure if you have a mice issue, but we put little bags of pet/kid safe mouse repellent in all the drawers, lockers, head area etc., to keep the little devils out. If there's any running gear inside that shows any signs of rust or oxidation, a light spray of multi-purpose oil, or fluid film makes them look great and protects them during following season. You pumped the antifreeze in through the head so it's in the pump (elec or manual), not just dumping in bowl and pumping out? Have a great off-season.

[Amberjack]

Max-I have Yanmar 6LP's also although Amberjack stays in the water year round.

Here are some thoughts:

1. I also change my engine zincs yearly but my count is 6 per engine--2 r/w heat exchanger, 2 lube oil heat exchanger, 1 turbo, 1 fuel oil heat exchanger
2. The r/w impellers will last three years on my boat. I change them every two years to be safe after I had one fail right at the end of the third season. They wear faster if you are in an area with lots of sediment in the water such as a shallow bay or river or fish the surf line. Changing the impellers is a tough job.
3. My engine mounted fuel filters will last forever if I let them although I change them every 2-3 years. The primaries carry most of the load and I change those every year and am careful about where I buy fuel.
4. You didn't mention engine coolant. Yanmars need fresh, mfr spec coolant in them or they can experience internal corrosion. I change mine every other year.

[Tony Meola]

Max

The only thing you might want to consider is spraying down the engines. I used to use we 40 but I have changed over to the silicone marine protectant they make. I get it at home depot. I make sure to get the engine mounts and transmissions also.

[Charlie J]

max
i always layed the boat up with fresh oil
and always changed the fuel filters at every oil change 100 hrs

[mike ohlstein]

Max

The only thing you might want to consider is spraying down the engines. I used to use we 40 but I have changed over to the silicone marine protectant they make. I get it at home depot. I make sure to get the engine mounts and transmissions also.

CX rules. My 20 year old engines look nearly new.

[bob lico]

mike all these years and never installed crash valves? taking off raw water hoses would be a nightmare,most likely ruin the hose also .stainless wire round salt water hose very expensive. think about a tee as in crash valves then you will shut main valve and feed fresh water 10 minutes than ryedyne or salt away let sit 1/2hour then antifreeze untill pink flows out exhaust . just use a five foot piece of good quality 5/8" silicon hose ,cheap hose will collapes under suction from a diesel raw water pump. use 5 gallon bucket with 5 ' hose and fresh water hose in bucket this way you can check to see how each pumps draws water. i changed raw water pump impellar seven years ago but i do this simple test with fresh water so i can see if impellar is on the up and up without taking pump apart same process with genny i have tee just after raw water pick up and use that same 5' hose in bucket to run frest water than salt away then anti freeze so i can also check condition of raw water impellar in generator.you cannot keep ripping those raw water hoses off fittings a definite no-no. that is another reason why no marine mechanic is ever allowed to set foot on the Phoenix in 15 years other than the cummins northeast factory techs who just wanted to see this installation and check unheard of exhaust back pressure.

[pschauss]

What do you guys think something like this for flushing the raw water side of the cooling system?

https://www.iboats.com/shop/trac-ecolog ... AqEALw_wcB

[moguls2go]

With the corrosion-X, do you just spray everything down straight from the can, or do you put it on a rag and rub it over the engine?

[Tony Meola]

What do you guys think something like this for flushing the raw water side of the cooling system?

https://www.iboats.com/shop/trac-ecolog ... AqEALw_wcB

Peter

That is another option.

If you do not have crash valves, you should think about it. If you ever put a hole in the boat and the pumps can not keep up with the water, you can then use the engine to pump water out of the boat. Close the seacock and open the crash valve and push up the engine RPMs a little and you can empty a bilge pretty quickly.

I have the Groco Intakes that have the plug to hook up a hose. I can pop off that plug and pump a lot of water with the engines and the water still has to pass through my strainers.

[Charlie J]

With the corrosion-X, do you just spray everything down straight from the can, or do you put it on a rag and rub it over the engine?

max
i sprayed the rag pretty good and wiped the engines down
after i would put the rag in a zip lock bag for future use

[mike ohlstein]

mike all these years and never installed crash valves?

I have crash valves. I even have one on the Gen.

[mike ohlstein]

With the corrosion-X, do you just spray everything down straight from the can, or do you put it on a rag and rub it over the engine?

Get one of each of these:







Mix 50/50 in the sprayer and add air. The thinner will evaporate in a jiffy, leaving a thin film of CX. Never buy another spray can, except if you want to leave a small one in the pickup truck.....

Spray a light mist on everything.

This advice is brought to you via the 'Prince of Potions' as Uncle Vic used to call him.... Trey (The Judge) Dibrell.

[bob lico]

you have crash valves ,then why don`t you feed the engines,generator ryedyne,antifreeze thru crash valve with main valve shut off?????

[Tony Meola]

Mike

The only issue I have with the Corrosion X is that it leaves an oil film on the engine and in the spring when you go to work on them you especially if you have to lean over them, it gets all over you.

[mike ohlstein]

you have crash valves ,then why don`t you feed the engines,generator ryedyne,antifreeze thru crash valve with main valve shut off?????

I do. Every year. Why did you think that I didn't?

[mike ohlstein]

Mike

The only issue I have with the Corrosion X is that it leaves an oil film on the engine and in the spring when you go to work on them you especially if you have to lean over them, it gets all over you.

That's when you wipe it off, or throw an old sheet over where you're leaning.

[Hers31]

In lieu of putting a hole in the strainer top for engines, just make a winterization bucket. 5 Gallon bucket with a thruhull fitting and hose, pull the strainer cap off and just run the hose into it. Obviously for the AC/Saltwater washdown I have a 3/4"NPT fitting so I can hook right into it. Also I normally run 10-12 gallons of antifreeze through each engine, remember you're also flushing any water out of the mufflers/exhaust system. A few extra dollars for the lack of worry isn't a big deal to me. Also, don't forget about any sumpboxs you have, AC condensate or deck drains for example.

[Tony Meola]

In lieu of putting a hole in the strainer top for engines, just make a winterization bucket. 5 Gallon bucket with a thruhull fitting and hose, pull the strainer cap off and just run the hose into it. Obviously for the AC/Saltwater washdown I have a 3/4"NPT fitting so I can hook right into it. Also I normally run 10-12 gallons of antifreeze through each engine, remember you're also flushing any water out of the mufflers/exhaust system. A few extra dollars for the lack of worry isn't a big deal to me. Also, don't forget about any sumpboxs you have, AC condensate or deck drains for example.

Not sure what engines you are running, but I have the 270 Cummins and 7 gallons of -60 pushes all the water out. I run deep purple out of the exhaust. 10 to 12 gallons is probably more than you really need. When I had the big blocks, 5 gallons used to do the trick.

[Hers31]

I have the 380hp and decent sized mufflers and agreed at 7 gallons you're seeing purple and is gonna be fine (I run the minus 60 myself). I always worry about it and for the extra few bucks it takes to run a few extra gallons isn't a big deal. And to each their own 10-12 gallons isn't a guideline I always just air on the side of caution.

[Captain Decent]

When you’re adding the antifreeze are you running the engines or just gravity feeding with the engine off?

[Captain Decent]

What do you guys think something like this for flushing the raw water side of the cooling system?

https://www.iboats.com/shop/trac-ecolog ... AqEALw_wcB

I just bought one for my engines and used it for the first time this week. It’s handy but I was annoyed that it comes with a male hose end. So you can’t hook it up to a hose out of the box. Luckily I had the adapters lying around. Other than that it’s pretty useful. It only fits the new style groco strainers with 1 exception: the old bvs 1500. Luckily they share the same cap and I ordered one for my bvs 1500s.

[Tony Meola]

I find that with the diesels I have to use 3/4 inch heater hose to winterize the engines. The engines suck so hard they collapse a regular garden hose.

When we repowered we installed the Groco Valves that have the flush port in them. I close the valve and pop open the port and attach the hose. Also allows you to use the engines as a crash pump.

If you do not have a crash pump system, you should install one. Allows you to not only flush and winterize the engines but use the engines to keep the boat afloat should you put a hole in her and the bilge pumps can not keep up.