Winterising engines - basically cooling systems

[Refueler]

Quite often this topic is raised and I have usually mentioned my method of passing Anti-Freeze through my Perkins 4-107 ... and collecting from the exhaust.

I now have another boat with a Yanmar 2GM20 ... initially I assumed it was indirect cooled - but on closer inspection - the water pipes to what I assumed was Heat Exchanger - were actually to hot water system - (disconnected). She is raw water cooled ....

The manual talks of draining the block and then decompress engine - turn over on starter motor to clear any remaining ...

To me that seems to be a minimum ..... I will follow manual and then do my usual of close seacock ... open up and pour in Anti-freeze while engine running to draw all way through system ... collecting via a large plastic drain pipe propped up over exhaust into a large bucket.

Interested what others do ... do they just follow the minimal manual info - or more than that ?

 

[black mercury]

Because it's raw water cooled you will need to remove the thermostat otherwise when the engine starts and draws the coolant it won't circulate around the block as the thermostat will be closed, it will pass through out the bypass hose. Remove the thermostat and bolt the housing back on without it. Ideally clamp the bypass hose so all the coolant circulates through the block. Looks a tidy clean engine compartment you have, with good access.

 

[vyv_cox]

When I had a direct-cooled engine I flushed it with fresh water by putting a hose-filled bucket in the cockpit and drawing from that. Run it long enough to attain full temperature, thermostat open, then drain down. Remove impeller. Engine is hot so any remaining water evaporates off. You could put antifreeze in the bucket but I never did.

 

[Halo]

I had a raw water cooled engine for 25 years. All I did was drain it. If you are based in sea water then it won’t freeze unless temperature gets ridiculous.
It looks like a good engine so it may be worth flushing with redlyme and then antifreeze if you want.

 

[VicS]

I had a raw water cooled engine for 25 years. All I did was drain it. If you are based in sea water then it won’t freeze unless temperature gets ridiculous.
It looks like a good engine so it may be worth flushing with redlyme and then antifreeze if you want.

It does where Refueler lives .... Latvia

 

[johnalison]

I had a raw-water cooled Volvo for a while. When winterising I would run it to warm and then have a large bin filled with fresh water and an oily gunge to coat the passages. It’s a long time ago but I think the last bit was to put antifreeze into the last few pints and run it until briefly dry.

 

[seumask]

See if it has a draining plug, remove thermostat, drain current raw water from the engine, work out how to keep the raw water passages empty or filled with anti freeze.
I am rather sceptical of schemes that require running with buckets and waiting for the thermostat to open, as you don't usually know if it has actually opened!
Especially important in parts of the world where you get a serious winter freeze!

 

[Refueler]

We drop to -20C .... occasionall;y -30C during winter .... plus the Baltic is brackish water ... so its freezing point is only a few degrees below 0C.

One year - the ice wasn't clearing well on the river ... so authorities decided to use idea that Amercia / Canada does ... dynamite the main blockage ... problem was - they failed to follow up with more minor dynamite as ice proceeded downriver ... it of course bunched up all the ice it met ... created a 5m high wall of water in front of it ... eventually by time it reached the bend of river where I am - the weater still 5m high swept over all ... the ice be then went up and over the land spit and created a 14m high ice wall at end of my channel.
My boats (2) in the channel were lifted with the channel ice and deposited half way up the 3m high bank ....

The ice in my channel was ~1m thick - but split asunder and moved as though leaves from a tree.

That's me standing on channel ice with ice wall behind me ...

When it was coming down river - it sounded like a thousand bulldozers working - the sound was deep and awesome.

Not exactly Port Solent !!

 

[Refueler]

The Perkins is easy - as there is no thermostat .... its out to make sure engine does not run higher temp where salts are deposited in system. Perkins actually make a strong statement about this in the Workshop Manual.

With the Yanmar being raw cooled - I may do the same .... that's if one is in there ...

 

[fredrussell]

Incredible pics!! Crikey!

 

[Tranona]

Suggest you dismantle the complete cooling system. The impeller, hose from the raw water pump to the block, the T piece where the water enters the block and the thermostat. Drain the block and remove the anode. I expect you will find a lot of salt build up along the way. Also worth removing the exhaust elbow while you are at it. Leave everything off for the winter and reassemble in the spring.

 

[BabaYaga]

Best done while still in the water, just before lift out, IMHO. I used to run my Volvo MD7A for 20 minutes or so, while waiting at the crane, with the cooling water taken from a bucket in the cockpit (topped up by a fresh water hose) to make sure the engine was up to temperature. Then at tickover, changed the cooling water hose over to a container with 50/50 fresh water/antifreeze, engine shut down when this mix was sucked up.

 

[Refueler]

Incredible pics!! Crikey!

We had a phone call from friends upriver who had the ice / water damage their properties ... warning us.

The movement is actually slow as the ice retards the bulk. We could see the wall of water / ice about midday ...

Look closely and you see the whiter white line .... that's about 3km upriver ....

It reached us at about midnight ..... and all hell broke loose ... the sound was LOUD .... we had water pushed halfway up the incline to the house .... house is about 5 - 6m higher than the top of channel bank.
We waited till sound reduced and went out to see ....

That ice wall was there for next 4 months ... it had telegraph poles ... trees ... all sorts in it ... and they had to be cleared from my channel after it melted. TV and Radio came to photo and report on it ...

We made application to Authorities for the damage and clearance - but all was refused .... despite unofficial admission that they failed to control with further dynamite the ice flow ..

Pal of mine lost his nice Summer House down by the river ... was just swept away like matchwood.

Our property basically caught the highest / largest because we sit on the outside bend of the river and one of the deepest parts.

 

[doug748]

Like johnalison, I run a concoction of soluble oil and antifreeze through. This sort of stuff:

General Purpose Soluble Cutting Oil

These oils will not generally mix with seawater so wacking it into a bucker of saltwater won't work.

 

[Refueler]

Best done while still in the water, just before lift out, IMHO. I used to run my Volvo MD7A for 20 minutes or so, while waiting at the crane, with the cooling water taken from a bucket in the cockpit (topped up by a fresh water hose) to make sure the engine was up to temperature. Then at tickover, changed the cooling water hose over to a container with 50/50 fresh water/antifreeze, engine shut down when this mix was sucked up.

Too late ... boat is out already - as is my Perkins boat ...

Superanne is the bilge keeler to left ahead ... Anisette is the red to right side in lifter ..

 

[Refueler]

Like johnalison, I run a concoction of soluble oil and antifreeze through. This sort of stuff:

General Purpose Soluble Cutting Oil

These oils will not generally mix with seawater so wacking it into a bucker of saltwater won't work.

Depending the A/F you use - most actually have cleaning agents in .... which not only slowly clean - but dissolve the crud to avoid clogging system.

 

[KREW2]

Nice engine and engine and engine bay. Easy access to your raw water intake so remove it from the seacock. remove thermostat. Fill a bucket with water and pop the hose in, and keep the bucket topped up topped up with a hose while the engine is running. I used to run mine for 10/15 minutes minutes empty bucket and add antifreeze with an inhibitor. Put the hose back in the mix and start engine. as soon as the antifreeze comes out of the exhaust shut down, and reconnect the hose to the closed seacock to stop it syphoning out. Looks like your gonna need a strong concentrate of antifreeze.
When finished if I were you I would consider hibernation.

 

[vyv_cox]

I am rather sceptical of schemes that require running with buckets and waiting for the thermostat to open, as you don't usually know if it has actually opened!
Especially important in parts of the world where you get a serious winter freeze!

It is unmistakeable. Only takes a very short time for the engine to reach thermostat temperature, there is no circulation so the water inside heats fast, like boiling a kettle. When the thermostat opens steam will emerge and the exit hose gets warm very obviously.

 

[B27]

Probably quite important to drain and dry the exhaust as well as the block?

I try to run the engine until it's hot every 2 or 3 weeks in winter.

Next year could be a winter out, I would take the exhaust hose off the engine and get it all dry and sprayed with oil for extended storage. Probably might as well have the elbow off.

 

[andsarkit]

I have a cut off oil can with a spigot at the bottom that I hang under the exhaust to catch the water. A hose runs to the pump inlet and I can run it for about 15minutes to circulate an antifreeze mix until it is warmed up.
When the engine is warm you can also drain the oil.

Don't forget to drain the water tanks, pumps and taps and the toilet which can be damaged if the water freezes. I put a small hose on the tap and a metre out through the sink drain. This will siphon all the water out of the tank and pipes.

(this is for a raw water cooled engine laid up ashore in Devon where it is never cold!)