Winterising AD41's

[mbird]

Hi all

I thought I knew how to winterise an engine okay, until I tried today with the engines in the new boat!

On most broads cruisers, the weed filter is placed between the water intake and the raw water pump. It is therefore a simple matter to unscrew the lid of the water pump and pour in antifreeze whilst the engine is running to get it circulated around the engine.

Today I tried this on the AD41's ..... and got a face full of river water and antifreeze . Upon investigation, it seems I had assumed the setup was the same, and I was wrong. The water intake from the transom shield first goes through the water pump, then the filter - or in this case vertically up into my face as the lid was off the filter . This seems a bit odd to me as any crap sucked in through the water intakes then goes straight into the pump to help wear the impeller before being filtered out. I did find a live shrimp in one of the weed filters, so I can only assume the journey through the water pump is a comfortable one!

In the end, I sucked as much water as I could from the pipe on the outlet side of the filter, then filled it and the filter body up with antifreeze, replaced the cap, and kicked the engine over a few times to circulate the antifreeze into the heat exchanger.

This seems far from ideal to me. I want to be able to use the boat over the winter and then just quickly re-winterise on return to the mooring. Is there an easy way to do this? I thought about trying to make some adaptor for a little pump I have that would fit into the outlet opening of the weed filter, to force antifreeze into the engine from a bucket. Has anyone else managed this?

For now, I've left the engine bay tube heaters turned on to be safe!

[Antares_9]

That's stern drives for you Mark, nothing to do with the motor, most shaft drive "biggies" are just as simple to do as a BMC 1500. You could try to fit a "T" piece before the pump but it will be difficult to introduce anything against the pressure of the pump if you fit anything after the pump. Muffs are the usual way of flushing and introducing antifreeze especially on land and you may be able to tilt the drive enough to fix some on. Main thing is don't try to force anything into the raw water side without the engine running or you risk getting it into the manifold on some designs.

[Jim]

Hi Mark,

I'm no expert on Volvo engines but I know in the case of our Beemer outdrive that you just can't protect the raw water side other than using the frost heaters which is what we have done for the past 6 years through winter. If we were to even try to draw in anti freeze, we would need to disconnect the raw water inlet pipe and in our case, the influx of river water would cause the boat to sink I believe it is possible to suck in anti freeze on some types of outdrive but I'll let someone way more savvy that me tell you how.

We're the same as you guys in that we want to keep the boat running through winter and all we ever do is empty the water tanks, keep the holding tank regularly pumped out, de-humidify the main cabin and keep an oil filled rad on via a thermostat until say the end of Feb/early March depending on the weather.

I'm sure better advice will be on its way

[Jim]

Terriffic....got Laked by Antares

[mbird]

Main thing is don't try to force anything into the raw water side without the engine running or you risk getting it into the manifold on some designs.

Hadn't thought of that! Maybe not such a good idea then. A "T" piece in the pipe before the water pump with a ball valve might be the answer for winter use then, I could fit some hose to the other end of the ball valve and stick it in a bucket of neat antifreeze, opening the valve with the engine running to suck it in. That should mix the neat antifreeze with the raw water being drawn in I would guess.

[Antares_9]

Hadn't thought of that! Maybe not such a good idea then. A "T" piece in the pipe before the water pump with a ball valve might be the answer for winter use then, I could fit some hose to the other end of the ball valve and stick it in a bucket of neat antifreeze, opening the valve with the engine running to suck it in. That should mix the neat antifreeze with the raw water being drawn in I would guess.

That sounds like a plan Mark, it's what the septics do to introduce A/F and use it more frequently after use to flush the raw water side on regular occasions, often at the same time using "salt away" to keep the heat exchanger and oul cooler clean. Some have it permenantly plumbed to a deck fitting with a push on connector but that's mainly on raw water cooled boats.

[mbird]

it's what the septics do

Er, wassa "septic"?

[Antares_9]

Er, wassa "septic"?

Septic tanks Mark.

[Antares_9]

Here’s a link to the thing the septics use Mark, I don’t know where these people get their prices from though as they are only about $60 in the states.

http://www.shock-wave.info/flush-pro-fresh-water-flush-kit-1215-p.asp

[mbird]

A fine looking bit of kit David, but at that price they can keep it

[Antares_9]

It’s daft isn’t it Mark, you could order one from the states and include shipping cost and still be about half the price they want here. Go figure.