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VetteLT193
12-31-2007, 03:02 PM
This is my first boat in this area (Tallahassee, FL)... Coming from a mainly east coast of Fl boating background, winterize is a foreign word to me.

It's going to be in the low 20's here at night for the next 3 nights with day highs of low 40's.

So, is that cold enough to do damage to my raw water cooled 350? Can do something simple like plug in a work light inside the engine compartment?

Thanks to all you northern guys for help!!

Kirk
12-31-2007, 03:20 PM
A work light should work well. Just cover the hatch with a blanket and you should be all set.

FWIW You could drain the block down

Hope that helps and happy new year

KJ

mjw930
12-31-2007, 03:23 PM
This is my first boat in this area (Tallahassee, FL)... Coming from a mainly east coast of Fl boating background, winterize is a foreign word to me.

It's going to be in the low 20's here at night for the next 3 nights with day highs of low 40's.

So, is that cold enough to do damage to my raw water cooled 350? Can do something simple like plug in a work light inside the engine compartment?

Thanks to all you northern guys for help!!

The key isn't the absolute low temp but how long it will be at that temp. 4 hours is considered to be a hard freeze and that's about where I start to get concerned.

First thing is to drain as much of the water out of the system as possible. You can take it to an extreme but as long as you disconnect the hose from the raw water pump to the motor and take out the plugs on the bottom of the manifolds you're OK.

For additional security I like to put a shop light or two in the bilge. It throws off enough heat to keep things above freezing so long as the temps don't stay below freezing from more than 8 - 10 hours.

hardcrab
12-31-2007, 03:23 PM
A work light should work well. Just cover the hatch with a blanket and you should be all set.
FWIW You could drain the block down
Hope that helps and happy new year
KJ
Agreed ,,,,,,,,,, :umbrella:

TXDONZI
12-31-2007, 03:26 PM
If it dips below freezing for more than a few hours I would begin to worry. If it has been just above freezing for more than a day or two and is dropping below freezing that night I would worry. I live in the Houston area and have never had a block freeze with just a dip into the high 20's for a VERY short tme period. I always just throw a drop light into the engine compartment hanging close to or touching one of the manifolds. I also have a 300 - 500 watt (I cant remember) magnetic block heater I put on the opsosite side. The light is so I can see it is on and not tripped or someone unplugged it. At night you can see the glow coming out of cracks in the hatch or one or more of the vents.

mjw930
12-31-2007, 03:27 PM
There may be a drain or plug low on the engine block but I don't know for sure on a small block motor.

chappy
12-31-2007, 03:38 PM
There may be a drain or plug low on the engine block but I don't know for sure on a small block motor.

:yes:

gold-n-rod
12-31-2007, 04:57 PM
One year, on my big boat, I ended up last on my winterizer's "to do" list. It was getting below freezing at night. I bought one of those electric/ceramic box heaters (about $35). I ran that in the bilge on the cold nights. Had so much peace of mind, I slept like a baby and never looked at the thermometer once!

Pismo
12-31-2007, 05:43 PM
4 plugs, a few hoses, 5 minutes of work to drain it and you wont have to worry.

Mr X
12-31-2007, 06:54 PM
4 plugs, a few hoses, 5 minutes of work to drain it and you wont have to worry.
Exactly, I would do it if you are in Tallahassee, and soon!

Forrest
01-02-2008, 09:19 AM
It never hurts to drain it, but I've never drained one since I've lived in Tallahassee for the last 17 years and haven't had one freeze up yet. :crossfing:

Usually in this part of the world, when it drops below freezing it only for an hour or two, then it warms up to 50-degrees F or more during the day; however, tonight they are calling for a low of in 17 F in Tally town. :eek!:

Hmmm, like I said, it never hurts to drain it.

VetteLT193
01-02-2008, 09:26 AM
It never hurts to drain it, but I've never drained one since I've lived in Tallahassee for the last 17 years and haven't had one freeze up yet. :crossfing:
Usually in this part of the world, when it drops below freezing it only for an hour or two, then it warms up to 50-degrees F or more during the day; however, tonight they are calling for a low of in 17 F in Tally town. :eek!:
Hmmm, like I said, it never hurts to drain it.

I did the work light method last night, I checked it late and it was surprisingly warm inside the hatch area.

My big fear of draining is it's a southern boat and I highly doubt those drains have been touched ever. With my luck it would turn into a giant project:eek!:

mjw930
01-02-2008, 10:39 AM
I did the work light method last night, I checked it late and it was surprisingly warm inside the hatch area.

My big fear of draining is it's a southern boat and I highly doubt those drains have been touched ever. With my luck it would turn into a giant project:eek!:

Good point....

Perhaps 2 shop lights, one on each side, just for insurance.

It's amazing how much heat a normal incandescent light bulb puts out (that is unless you try to change one that hasn't cooled down....).

Go with 100 watt bulbs

hardcrab
01-02-2008, 11:23 AM
When I was a kid (1960's) here in Maryland, our well pump was not a submersable, it was located in a small "pump house" enclosure.
Dad used a single light bulb dangleing next to the well pump.
Never had a freeze issue.
:chillpill:

RedDog
01-02-2008, 04:08 PM
use one of these with 250 - 300 watt heat bulb. It directs the heat and protects the bulb from damage - http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=203219-1373-FL-302PDQ&lpage=none

I would drain the 2 block plugs and manifold drains too.

mjw930
01-02-2008, 04:50 PM
I like the idea of the reflecting lamp with a 250 watt bulb.

If you really want to spend some cash you can get one of these. http://www.xtremeheaters.com/

Overkill but if you've spent thousands of $$$$ on your motor what's another $400?

roadtrip se
01-02-2008, 05:14 PM
What happens when that light bulb goes cold, due to no juice?

I always pulled the freeze plugs, even while in Texas, because of this possibility.

knots2u
01-02-2008, 05:16 PM
....be sure to stuff rags in the air scoops!

mjw930
01-02-2008, 06:43 PM
What happens when that light bulb goes cold, due to no juice?

I always pulled the freeze plugs, even while in Texas, because of this possibility.

If the plug goes cold then the motor freezes. If you drain it at the block and manifolds there is no issue regardless of temp. Up north we also ran antifreeze through the intake until it was coming out the exhaust then drained it anyway just so there wasn't any clean water in the lower part of the block.

People with new motors that are fresh water cooled only have to remember to open the valves on the manifolds. The block has antifreeze in it already.

BTW, what people commonly call freeze plugs are nothing of the sort. They are holes left from the casting process. I have seen one motor where the owner pulled out the "freeze" plugs and it still cracked. I saw another where the block cracked 3 inches away from a freeze plug and the plug was still perfectly seated in the motor.

roadtrip se
01-02-2008, 09:22 PM
cost a few people engines, while I lived in Texas due to power outages. At least with an enclosed heater of some sort in the bilge, you might get lucky and keep enough residual heat under the hatch to keep from freezing up.

With the 22 sitting in the barn in Michigan, I stuffed an oil coil heater in the bilge and still winterized with anti-freeze and the works. This was with a gen-set in place, because our local power company doesn't understand the concept of consistent service. Just wasn't going to take any chances.

Now that both boats are sitting in Kentucky, they are fully winterized and stuffed away. I just can't understand the concept of taking a chance on risking a big dollar motor, due to a three dollar light bulb failure or the power going out.

The other one I have heard a little about from the mid-Atlantic boys is the infamous electric blanket engine wrap. Still, you are exposed to the off-grid electrical experience.

Just get the water out and be done with the worry.

mjw930
01-02-2008, 09:46 PM
Just get the water out and be done with the worry.

I couldn't agree more but down here we only get a hard freeze that's long enough to crack a block about every 5 years and 3 days later you're probably back on the water.

We're just looking for something to work for a few hours every couple years. Now, those boys north of Central Florida like Jacksonville and especially Tallahassee and Pensacola probably have to deal with this once or twice every year.....

To us winterize means it's time to change the oil and lube the hubs on the trailer. :hyper:

osur866
01-03-2008, 12:52 AM
Safest way IMO is to just pull the plugs, the light buld thing scares me as well, here in the midwest we get ice storms that can take out the power, not to mention if I were to put some kind of light in my bilge with my luck i'd go out and look at it one day and the boat would be a big pile of burned fiberglass due to the light melting or catching fire :shocking: it really only takes a few min. to pull the plugs and drain then you don't have to worry about the power going off or the temp. dropping too cold or catching something a fire. Just my .02 Steve

Formula Jr
01-03-2008, 08:58 PM
Light bulbs are more heaters than they are lights. A 150 or 200 watt will keep an entire engine nice and toasty and work in most engine compartments. Remember that you have to hang the light. I live in a climate that does this also... sometimes hard freeze, the rare event. The light bulb is cheap, easy and fast.

Cheap, easy and fast gets more interesting as I get older.

:propeller: