pouring antifreeze down 4 hoses on the thermostat???

[Ian MacAulay]

Evening.

Today when winterising my mercruiser I drained the engine via the 5 blue plugs then replaced them and filled the four hoses with antifreeze and cranked the engine over a few times to move around the engine..


On doing this I had a thought about the two hoses going to the risers.. By filling these two hoses via the thermostat is there a chance of it entering the engine via the exhaust risers as the engine was off. Or is it designed that it can't?

Thanks

Ian

 

[jrudge]

The forum seems to have gone antifreeze mad.

Does someone have hundreds of litres of it for sale?

 

[Ian MacAulay]

Its the current climate mate


Ian

 

[jrudge]

but salt water very very rarely freezes in the UK. Fresh water does, but that is why the cooling circuit has anti freeze in it.

My boat was in La Rochelle. About 3 years ago they had a 3 week freeze over xmas - really severe etc. Even the fresh water tanks on the boat did not freeze, so I can't see that given the moderate climate we have there is much to gain taking the thing to bits to add antifreeze other than a leak caused by taking it to bits in the first place!

The sea in the UK last froze in 1963!

 

[mlines]

Sounds like you did what I did. Except that I did not fill into the riser pipes. I left the thermostat housing plug out and filled until the water came out of the plug. As the risers are above this plug level I assumed that I had not got to the point where the risers filled back into the engine itself.

Martin

 

[Ian MacAulay]

Thanks all.


Is their a possibility with one litre poured down the hose towards the manifold and riser that it entered the engine? Or firstly was that not enough or secondly would it of just run out down the exhaust pipes?

Ian

 

[neale]

The sea in the UK last froze in 1963!

Yeah, but I bet almost every winter a marine engine block, or some other component, somewhere in the UK is cracked by the frost.

I did research this a couple of years back so I may not remember exactly, but salt, at the concentrations typically found around the UK coast, only provides an extra couple of degrees C protection. ie it will freeze at about -2°C. The reason the sea doesn't freeze is as much to do with its movement as anything else. Moving water will stay fluid at much lower temps.

You also have to consider that many people who think they are moored in salt water are actually moored in brackish. A locked marina will often have a lower salinity than the sea water outside due to rain water and other inlets. Estuaries are fed by fresh water and can sometimes be surprisingly low in salt.

In the UK, particularly the lower half, the weather rarely gets cold enough to cause damage but, and it's a big but, every winter has the potential for it to happen.

Not worth taking the risk is it?