ok one of my dumb questions.

[dfg4240]

Thinking of a one spot winterizing set up on my boat with chrysler 440 raw water cooled engines. There must be several ways to do this if you think about it. Some guys say to take the thermostat out but I was just thinking???????
You don't want the engine to heat up when running on the water and you are not using it to heat the boat -why even have a thermostat in it to begin with?.
your engine would run cool all the time
I know there is a reason for it but can't think of it right now..
I want to set up a one spot service all-engines,hot water tank drainage water tanks and lines set up for winterizing all from one spot.
Anybody do this.
thanks
dfg4240
Mine are all ready winterized for this year but thinking of a fast way to do the whole boat>

[The Dog House]

Engines run most efficiently at high temperatures. That's why fresh water cooled engines run at hotter temperatures (180F) than raw water cooled engines (140F). The raw water cooled engines run at 140F because of the salt in the cooling water, not because of the engine.

Having said that, my engine runs at 105F (raw water cooled). The PO has told me that it has a thermostat in it, but maybe its stuck open or something. I haven't bothered to investigate. The engine runs great and I burn 11 gph at 3,000 rpm. It's not high on my list of things to "fix".

[Big D]

Engines run most efficiently at high temperatures.

+1 and you want temps high enough to help evaporate any moisture in the oil for example.

Most single point drain systems aren't meant to be used for winterizing purposes. What I don't like about single point drain systems is that few systems give you the option to probe each drain which is very important as you wouldn't be able to tell if sediment, rust, etc. was preventing one of the areas from draining completely. Some do provide a means for this but once the single point drain is in place, people get lazy and don't bother going the extra step, and if the option is there to probe, usually through a fitting, then you're there anyway so what's the point of having a single point drain. On the positive side, a single point drain system is a good way to recover the antifreeze used for winterizing and use it again the following season if you're into that.

[dfg4240]

saving antifreeze-I don't think I want to get into that.anti freeze is cheap enough. I'm Paying over 5k to store my boat here in the winter (inside a huge metal shed) and a great slip in the spring.Lots of things are going to happen in this area in the next couple of years. Rochester is really opening up this port with some big developments. I can see what you mean about getting lazy but I think most of us will be on the observant side when it comes to winterizing. One of the boaters here says he never uses anti freeze but drains the blocks every year.Blows out the water lines with compressed air????.
drains the hot water tank etc,etc. says he has been doing it for years. Hard to believe on taking an expensive chance.
Hey good luck to him. I also want to replace the lines with clear plastic lines so I can see how everything is working.
I have them on the air conditioner=intake and exhaust hose.-looks neat when it is running. Can't wait for them to media blast the hull so they can bring the boat inside because I have a lot of things to do on it. It has been stored outside for about four weeks right now and it is getting dirty again-it was nice and clean.
dfg4240

[Big D]

...I also want to replace the lines with clear plastic lines.....I have them on the air conditioner=intake....
dfg4240

Are you talking about the line from the seacock to the strainer? If so and it is completely clear line with no reinforcement, you may want to check if it's rated for that kind of application - raw water intake. There are some semi-clear lines that are spiral reinforced with either wire or plastic designed for this though. I'm not talking about the mesh reinforcement lines with a red or blue tracer that you'd see fresh water systems or shower drains for example, they are not rated for raw water intake applications.

[dfg4240]

yes the line from the seacock to the strainer- never really thought about it but running at 3000 or more is sucking a lot of water and I would need a good stiff hose.
I would check first before I installed anything.
thanks

[bjanakos]

I use a 30 gallon tub, an old bilge pump, 20' of garden hose, an intake fitting that I fabricated, and a bottle jack.

I put the tub right under the exhaust and fill it with 4 gallons of anti freeze. I run the garden hose from the pump to the intake fitting. The fitting is jacked up to the bottom of the boat with the bottle jack to insure a tight fit. Turn on the pump and fire up the motor... I wait until it warms up enough to open the therm and watch the back. Antifreeze will start mixing with the water that was already in the motor. I let this circulate and watch the temp gauge and also make sure all the top hoses are hot. I shut it down when it hits 190-200. Then I take a sample with the test tool and the mix is usually better than -30F.

I drain off that mixed anti freeze back into the containers. I usually get 1.5-2 gallons back.

Then I do the same thing on the other motor.

The left over anti freeze is enough to do the genset, washdown, and bilge. I use the red stuff for the fresh water system.

if I am lucky enough to get the boat set on her cradle quick enough, the motors are still warm and this goes rather quickly.