Engine - just drain or + antifreeze

[sabresailor]

My first winter layup!!! Yanmar yse12 - planning winter layup - do i simply drain the 'sea water' from the block or flush with some anti freeze & fresh water - then drain off??

What do you folks do??

+ do I take heads apart to get all water out too?

+ remove felxy fresh water 'bag' which feeds the sink??

thx Mike

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[hlb]

Well, I never lay my boat up completly. But anyway. The trouble with draining it is, can you be sure it's completly drained?? So I would replace with antifreeze. Easiest done while boat in water, so can start engine.

<hr width=100% size=1> <font color=blue>No one can force me to come here.<font color=red> I'm a volunteer!!.<font color=blue>

Haydn

 

[sailorman]

suggest u look at the results of your PREVIOUS POST 25/10/03

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[sabresailor]

Thx for your replies & had done so - but wanted to check views re antifreeze.

Re oil in air intake - how much & how do i stop the engine if the oil makes it rev more?

Cheers

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[tillergirl]

Re the engine, I assume you have a heat exchanger and header tank. That should be fresh water and should have anti-freeze in. I think engine manufactureres normally quote a three year replacement for the anti-freeze unless you diluted it duiring the season by topping up with fresh water alone - exactly like a car. For the raw water passages, I make up a mixture of emulsifying oil and anuti-freeze, leave the seacock closed but remove the top (I have one of those old fashioned ones designed for use on a boat) and pour in the mixture while running the engine. One all in, I stop the engine. This has pushed out the salt water and replaced it with the mixture to help preserve the raw water passages from salt corrosion and also puts a mixture in the waterlock which won't freeze. If you just put emulsifying oil mixed with fresh water, this can freeze. Come spring, just turn on the seacock and the mixture comes out the exhaust, although to be environmentally sound you should dispose of the waste thoughtfully! Haven't worked out how to do this.

As for the water tank, I drain it completely even though it's stainless and could probably survive a bit of freezing provided it's not full. I not going to want to drink the old water next year!

As for the loo, I pump most of the water out and what gets left in is salt so has some resistance to freezing.

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[vyv_cox]

Doing as you suggest will flush the pump and the bypass, but not the block because the thermostat will remain closed. The only way to really flush with antifreeze mixture is to circulate the coolant for some time, by catching the stuff coming out of the exhaust and feeding it back to the pump. The reality is that draining the seawater from the block and making some sort of attempt to replace it with fresh water a couple of times is the best that can be acheived and is perfectly adequate.

Taking cylinder heads off is definitely not advised - maintenance for no purpose is never a good thing and the gaskets will cost you a bomb.

If you live somewhere that suffers persistent, long term temperatures well below freezing, then drain everything. In UK it is questionable whether this is necessary close to the sea.

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