Antifreeze Tester

Antifreeze Tester
Antifreeze Tester Antifreeze Tester

Boat Winterizing

Soon it will be time for Boat Winterizing. Depending on what type and size, it could be quick or it could take some time. A little runabout with no sink, head, or freshwater system onboard will not take that long…..but take a 40’ yacht, a book on winterizing a boat is in good order. When you look at it as a whole it could seem like a daunting task. Let’s see how we can break it down to manageable parts…even on a large Yacht. This will be a basic plan, and we will be talking in generalities. So let’s get started!

First you winterize a boat to prevent any liquid, Fresh or Salt, water freeze. Let’s put it in a basic list:

Fresh water Systems…includes your water tank(s) that go to your Galley, Head(s),

holding tanks, A/C system, Deck wash down. (you may others)

Engines/Generators….includes their freshwater cooling system…PLUS their Saltwater

System.

We can now winterize each section…Get your Head hold tanks emptied and also empty your freshwater tanks. Some freshwater tanks have drains or you can disconnect the outlet hose on the bottom of the tank. If you can’t get at the drain/hose or it does not have one, run your freshwater pump until the tank(s) are empty. In this way the tank empties and you can add nontoxic antifreeze that you can find in your marine store. The excess antifreeze will run to your bilge, where you already removed the water there….You want some antifreeze in the bilge incase rain water accumulates there during winter storage. At your freshwater pump that delivers water to the galley sink, head and shower, and deck wash down, etc, use the hose inlet hose there if you can or disconnect that one and use a temporary hose in the mean time. Have one end attached to the pump (inlet side), the other end put in the container of the nontoxic antifreeze. Marine stores sell a RV Antifreeze made for all freshwater systems, and is good to minus 50 below. With all your freshwater outlets, sinks, etc, shut off turn on your pump. It will cycle like it usually does till it sucks up the antifreeze. Now turn on the furthest outlet first till the water coming out turns the color of your nontoxic antifreeze…normally red, and shut it off. Do this with the hot and the cold in the sink and shower. Do the next closer one and so on. Where ever your fresh water outlets are…remember your cockpit shower. Your water inlets to the heads have to be put in the antifreeze solution and pumped thru, ending up in the holding tank…that’s why we emptied it. So now your Heads, Galley, Deck, areas are done…including your bilge. Anything that water comes out of should be the color of the antifreeze. Do you’re A/C systems the same way by find the pump and putting the inlet hose to the pump in the antifreeze solution. Run the A/C till the red comes out on all units.

When winterizing boats, your engines may have freshwater cooled engine(s). Here you will have to check the protection the freshwater is good to. This is usually a combination of freshwater and regular antifreeze. A tester can be found in any marine store or an auto parts store and are inexpensive. Check to make sure your antifreeze protection is where it needs to be in your particular area. Your engine(s) have a saltwater system also, which has to winterized. Take the inlet hose to the saltwater pump on your engine and put it in a container with the nontoxic antifreeze. Start your engine and see that the antifreeze gets pumped thru and out the exhaust. Do your other engine and/or generator the same way. Some like to change the oil and filter before they winterize the boat. Close all your seacocks and use any precaution that you need to in your area.

Taking the mystery out of winterizing a boat is basically what this is for. Always take any precautions you should. This is a generalization and should only be used as a reference along with other instruction that came with your boat.

About the Author

Captain Douglas Malat is a sailor, licensed captain, freelance writer and co-creator of Yacht Authority, a virtual boat show website, where you will find authorized dealers for winterizing boats

Radiator flushing procedure for a 2003 GMC Envoy; and where can I locate the drain plug?

The check engine light has beein on for a couple of weeks on my 2004 GMC Envoy. I went to Autozone to let them hook up their tester and found out the it was slightly low on antifreeze. I added about 1 cup of regular Prestone green antifreeze, and now everything is good again. I've since been told that GM vehicles require Dexcool instead of regular green Prestone, so now I'm thinking I should flush out the radiator and do it right. What is the procedure for flushing the radiator? And where can I locate the drain plug on the vehicle?

There may not be a drain plug on either plastic end tank of the radiator. Remove the radiator cap and siphon out the coolant in the radiator with a 5 foot piece of inexpensive 3/8 vinyl plastic hose from any hardware store. Splice in a Peak or Prestone flushing T in the return line from the heater core. Remove the coolant recovery tank, drain it and scrub it out with Wisk and a round household brush. Snap the plastic drain elbow inside the radiator opening attach a larger vinyl plastic drain hose to the elbow down to a five gallon paint bucket that has an attachable cover. Have a second busket handy. Attach a garden hose to the flushing T and turn the supply water on. Start the motor so the water-pump clears itself. When the drain hose is clear turn off the supply water.

If the coolant looks brown / black.as it is flushed into the paint pail you must take the next step in cleaning the system. Pick up two 33 oz. plastic cans of Prestone Super Radiator Cleaner at Auto Zone, NAPA, Advance auto or Carquest. Dump the bottles in the radiator and fill the remainder up with water. Drive the vehicle 200 miles to clean the system, syphon the radiator, and flush the system again. Remove any block drain plugs on the sides of the block. Dump 100% pure Dexcool in the radiator and coolant recovery bottle till you fill 1/2 the cooling system capacity. The capacity is in the specifications pages in the glove compartment handbook. It should be somewhere around 6 quarts. Tilt the truck so the radiator opening is at its highest point. Alternately squeeze the upper radiator hose as you fill to remove air from the system. The radiator must be as full as you can possibly get it right to the top of the radiator cap sealing ring on the plastic expansion tank.

Fill the coolant recovery tank 3/4 full regardless of the lines on the side. Install a new AC-Delco pressure cap on the radiator. As you drive the vehicle for a week or two the level of the coolant in the recovery bottle will drop. The engine block and cylinder heads cooling passages are getting rid of trapped air. Keep refilling the bottle.