This will be my first time to winterize my boat myself. Correction, I do change the oil, fuel filter, out drive fluid myself, but I have never "winterized" myself. My question is:

Using ear muffs, is there enough sucking power to pull antifreeze out of the bucket immediately? I will be purging the block beforehand so I am concerned about running the engine dry. I heard this is not a good thing. What is the correct process to effective get antifreeze circulated in the block.

 

Thanks

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Keith Germano
2008 210LS

"Nassen Sie Traum"

Keith, you will barely be able to pour the antifreeze into the bucket fast enough it sucks it in that quick.  But no worries.  Even if just as you run out in the bucket, it takes a sec to kill the motor, running the motor w/o coolant for a sec won't hurt it.  The only thing to worry about on a dry run is the impeller and since there will be antifreeze there, it's not dry.  I would put 4-5 gallons of the antifreeze in the bucket, hook the muffs up and start it up.  When it's all ingested, shut it down.  You might pull the thermostat before starting it to make 100% sure that it circulates thru the block. 

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
2003 266BR,496 MAG w/Bravo III

I set my bucket (home made, 5gal w/on-off spigot at bottom) up on the swim platform. The combination of gravity, weight (full bucket) and outdrive suction draws the pink stuff pretty well. I have a clear hose from the bucket to the muffs so shut off is a no-brainer. I do get the engine up to temps from the water hose & muffs… turn off engine… switch muffs over to bucket hose…  pull drain plugs just long enough to empty water from block, then back in… turn bucket spigot on (already full on pink stuff)… fire engine up… watch clear hose till empty… shut her down. My BIL stays in the boat so our shut down, drain plugs and switching time is minimal. Engine stays warm and impeller is still wet so it won’t (shouldn’t) damage.

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(Link'd)

Alright - I'll toss out a question.  How do you put a boat in storage for the winter that has antifreeze in the motor through the method listed above as well as a fogging mixture in the fuel system?  Do it at the same time?  For fogging I am talking about the fuel / oil / stabilizer mixture that you pop the fuel inlet hose off of the boat and stick in the mixture to fog the boat and coat the cylinder walls with oil.

 Thoughts?

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2008 Crownline 210 LS
5.0 Merc. MPI
Picked it up 7/24/08!

Yup, you do them at the same time Nathan. You've got to run the motor on the "mixture" long enough to ensure it got to the injectors.

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"Toy Story"

Y2K 266BR
454 Mag B-3

So I will use the 6 gallon fuel mixture and the 5 gallon bucket of antifreeze.  Before hooking them up I will warm the motor up using tap water and the muffs.  Then I will hook up both mixtures and let it roll.  I guess the boat won't die when fogging it?  I know our old boat we would fog it till it died but that was using a spray into the carbs...

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2008 Crownline 210 LS
5.0 Merc. MPI
Picked it up 7/24/08!

Nathan, no the boat won't die using the fogging mixture...our's just idles rougher while on it. The main "protectant " in the mixture is just the heavy dose of 2-stroke oil.

FYI, Merc recommends running the mixture through a Cool Fuel equipped motor, which is what you have, for 5 minutes at 1300rpms. What this does is ensure that the mixture has pushed all the non-treated fuel through the system, and is for sure making it to the cylinders.

I took the Merc mixture and reduced it by 1/5 since it takes less than a gallon to do our motor....1 gallon of gas, 1 16oz bottle of cheapy 2-stroke oil, and a shot of Sta-bil.

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"Toy Story"

Y2K 266BR
454 Mag B-3