Re: Winterizing without Sea Strainers
Posted: October 11th, 2019, 9:42 pm
Below the water line.
Did my Volvo Penta D6 diesel engines for the for the first time this year. Spoke to a number of VERY knowledgeable folks in relation to the task and then decided what I would do to maintain my comfort level.
Engines:
I removed as much water from the sea water side of the system as I could by running the engines dry for a moment and then drained the Intercooler, Oil Cooler/Heat Exchanger, Reverse Gear Oil Cooler and the mufflers through drainage nipples. I must admit, that after running the engines dry, there was not a lot of water left in the sea water system. I went through the drainage process and even removed a couple hoses to see what water was left in the engines before the flush as part of the learning process.
I had built a boot to go over my strainers to draw non-tox through the engines using gravity and the impeller. What I ended up doing was different and worked just as well. I removed the 2" hose from the impeller housing and used a 2" to 1 1/2" rubber reduction collar to accommodate the 1 1/2" hose from my bucket. I went this way to avoid filling the strainer and the feeder hose to the impeller with non tox and pushing the water in the hose through the engine. When I was done I used a shop vac to remove the water from the strainer and there feeder hose.
Being the first time I winterized the engines I put more propylene glycol through that I probably had to, (10 gallons through each side). On the starboard side there was no water before the pink and on the port side there was about a 1/2 litre preceding the pink. Lots of pink coming out, so I should be good.
Genny:
I ran the genny dry for a short period of time to remove any water. I pushed 4 gallons of non tox through the strainer. Just pink came out, lots.
Reverse heat/air:
I have done this for years on all my boats. I learned this trick by watching a mechanic do other boats. I like to do my heat/air system on the hard and I have no way to plug my boat in to do the system as most of you do.
Firstly, I close the sea cox and remove water from the strainer with a shop vac and replace the cap to ensure the system is closed. I then run compressed air through the lines via the thru hull fitting on the port bow of the boat. I push air through until I get air only out the other thru hull fittings under the swim platform. I am always surprised at the brown gunk that comes out.
When this is done, I then pump non tox thru the same fitting using a 1/6 HP submersible pump in a bucket of non tox. I run the pink until I get a steady flow of pink out the rear thru hull fittings. When I am done I open the sea cox and then remove the cap from the strainer to check for pink and remove with a shop vac.
Water:
I drained the holding tanks and then pushed compressed air through the shore water inlet to get water out of the lines. After draining and bypassing the water heater, I was able to pump non tox through the water lines using a fitting on the backside of the circulation pump ensuring pink comes out of all the taps.
So, I really took my time with the engines and genny to ensure a thorough job to mitigate any major surprises in the spring. I am sure most of you have done your winterizing for a first time at some point and understand the stress that is involved. It would clearly be less stressful to hire a professional, however, I like doing this on my own having done it now and have a better understanding of my engines than I did before. Fingers crossed.