[C320-list] Fresh Water Engine Flush

[John Meyers]

Gus,

I go to West Marine when they have the best/coldest MARINE antifreeze on
sale.  This might be the -60, or even the -100 which may be overkill here
less than 5 miles east of the Lake Michigan "warm" water furnace a.k.a.
lake effect we experience as the temps on land never get below minus 20 F
and rarely get below zero further inland . This is the non-toxic stuff that
can be flushed back into the lake as soon as we start the engine after
splash. You might have the same lake affect on Georgian Bay. Never a
problem.

I use the Yanmar coolant for the engine and that gets disposed of properly
at the marina.  I use the -50 grade for water systems minus the hot water
heater that I suck dry every fall.

John

On Tue, Sep 3, 2019 at 2:20 PM Gus Macdonald <rathlyn1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Good discussion on this subject.  As an aside and a question for John—when
> winterizing, do you use an automotive type ethylene glycol anti-freeze in
> the “fresh water” cooling circuit or a non-toxic type anti-freeze (usually
> pink)?  I have asked many people this in the Great Lakes  area and the
> responses are about 50/50.  Naturally if the ethylene glycol type is used
> it must be removed before the boat goes back in the water in the spring to
> avoid pollution.
>
> Gus
> Hull #999
> Georgian Bay
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Sep 3, 2019, at 12:23 PM, John Meyers <jcmeyers7 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Like Christian, I also have a Tee for antifreeze here on the (Unsalted
> and
> > Shark Free) Great Lakes. I put my Tee just after the thru hull and before
> > the strainer so that the antifreeze is also in the strainer. Not that it
> > makes much of a difference but my thru hull outputs forward which makes
> it
> > slightly easier to attach the short hose to the bucket of antifreeze in
> the
> > cockpit.
> >
> > John Meyers
> > Wind Chime #406
> > Muskegon, MI
> >
> > On Tue, Sep 3, 2019 at 11:25 AM Christian <ccaper at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Bob,
> >> I have done this for winterizing my boat to flush out water and get
> >> anti-freeze in the system.  I installed the t-fitting last fall.
> >>
> >> Here is the t-fitting I ordered, available at Walmart for $1.67.
> >>
> >>
> https://www.walmart.com/ip/LASCO-Fem-Tee-Insert-x-FNPT-3-4-In-PVC-1402007/406982633
> >>
> >> Take this t-fitting to Home Depot, and in the pvc section get the male
> end
> >> cap, matched to the threads in t-fitting.  You will want this end cap in
> >> the t-fitting during normal boat use, and use some teflon tape on this
> >> threads as well.  Then, go to the plumbing section and get a male PVC to
> >> male garden hose adapter that will convert the threads to a garden hose
> >> thread.  This allows you to connect a garden hose to your raw water
> line.
> >> Mine was a metal adapter.  Also get hose clamps for 3/4" hose, you'll
> need
> >> at least 2. I recommend 4, 2 on each side of the t-fitting, each one
> >> flipped 180 for redundancy.
> >>
> >> All parts will be less than $15 total.  You'll also need auto hose
> cutters,
> >> and a likely a wire cutter at that hose has re-enforced wire you'll
> need to
> >> cut where hose cutter couldn't cut through.
> >>
> >> When you want to use the t-fitting, connect the garden hose to the
> >> t-fitting, pass the hose through a port light opening, have a bucket in
> the
> >> cockpit, put other end of hose in bucket, and CLOSE through hull for raw
> >> water intake.  Start engine, and just mind you don't run out of water in
> >> the bucket and that hose is at bottom of bucket and hasn't floated to
> the
> >> top, only sucking in air.  Nice thing about this is you can also easily
> >> start engine on land when needed.
> >>
> >> I've included a link to two pictures I took when I did this.  Don't make
> >> the same location mistake I made, and put the t-fitting right under the
> >> Racor filter, as now I have a difficult time draining my racor (I plan
> to
> >> adjust that this fall during haul out).
> >>
> >> https://www.instagram.com/p/BorFrCCDV3B/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
> >>
> >> Hope this helps.
> >>
> >> Christian Caperton
> >> 1994 C320 "Canuck" #138
> >> Monroe Harbor, Chicago, IL
> >>
> >> On Tue, Sep 3, 2019 at 10:00 AM Bob Hoyt <rehoyt at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> A diesel mechanic recommended that I flush the raw water side of the
> >> engine
> >>> with fresh water when not using the boat for more than 2 weeks. This
> >> would
> >>> require installing a barbed tee piece between the strainer and the
> water
> >>> pump. Has anyone done this as I didn't find it in the forum archives?
> >> Also,
> >>> I live in Florida so I don't need to do this as part of winterizing.
> >> Thanks
> >>>
> >>> Bob Hoyt
> >>> "Ikigai"
> >>> !994 Hull #58
> >>> Pensacola, FL
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>>
> >>> *Robert (Bob) Hoyt MD, FACP, ABPM-CI*
> >>>
> >>> *Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Internal Medicine*
> >>>
> >>> *Virginia Commonwealth University*
> >>>
> >>> *Richmond, VA*
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> *CAPT (Ret) USN*
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> *---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
> >>>
> >>> *Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Allied Health Professions*
> >>>
> >>> *University of Nebraska Medical Center*
> >>>
> >>> *Omaha, NE*
> >>>
> >>> *Diplomate, Clinical Informatics*
> >>>
> >>> InformaticsEducation.org  <http://InformaticsEducation.org>
> >>> rehoyt at gmail.com
> >>>
> >>> robert.hoyt at unmc.edu <robert.hoyt at unmd.edu>
> >>>
> >>> robert.hoyt at vcuhealth.org
> >>>
> >>> Cell: 850-384-5235
> >>>
> >>
>
>