Lucky Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I've been given conflicting advice regarding engines over the winter period. If you leave your boat in the water over winter, should you periodicly start the engines and leave them running for half hour or so ? Some people say that you should just leave them as diesel engines like to be put under load, and others say its good to run the engine to make sure everything is moving etc ? So, what's the official line, if there is one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbird Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Good question Luke. Personally I reckon to just leave them. Most boat engines get winterised over the cold period anyway, which means they can't be run without opening seacocks etc and then re-winterising afterwards. I winterised mine, by managing to rig an adaptor to pump some antifreeze via the weed trap into the heat exchanger so I'll be leaving mine until a week or two before easter, when we intend to have a bit of a blast over Breydon just to shake everything down before the salty bottom jolly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senator Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Differing lines of thought Luke, given that apparently something like 80% of engine wear happens in the first 10 minutes of running from cold, then maybe it is not such a good idea. It may not be a bad idea to turn the engine half a turn though just so that impellers are not left to set in the same position for to long, I suppose you could always just leave your engine stop pulled out and turn it over a few times if you wanted to give the oil a stir. For me I prefer to start the engine if I go up, my mind says the longer it is since it last started the less likely it is to start, plus if it doesn't start I want to know about it before the next time I want to use it Edit to agree with Mark if the engines have been winterised but then you should have taken your impellers out anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbird Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Edit to agree with Mark if the engines have been winterised but then you should have taken your impellers out anyway. Oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Oops I don't remove mine either Mark, I just leave the front cover loose. If the impellor has reached the state that it is retaining a shape for a long period after being moved, then it is time it was changed anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Hi all... Bling is in the water unwinterised as we use her most weekends, though not necessarily out and about. I cant remember where I read it, or what the specific reason was, but I was advised to fire the engines up every couple of weeks or so if not in regular use. The Kad32's dont seem to like cold starts after being left too long (whereas the ad31's on jupes never seemed to mind). Hopefully going up Breydon for a post bashing on saturday if anyone would like to join in let me know. adam...aka LB : : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antares_9 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Volvo official line is run them every two weeks unless properly winterised, oil drain down can be a problem when left for lengthy periods according to them. I run ours fairly frequently and make sure working temperature is reached for a while. I nail it to the pontoon well and run at about 1200 in gear which also circulates oil around the gearbox and makes sure the cutlass bearing and Volvo type shaft seal doesn’t get sticky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 I nail it to the pontoon well and run at about 1200 in gear LOL !! I did that the other day and didn't notice that I had pulled the ring off the bank till the next day !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I give mine a quick flick of the key. It helps the impeller and the valve springs. Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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