Water system(s) winterization?

G

Grand Larsony

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18485
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Am hoping to save some minor $$ by winterizing my water systems myself this year (1989 Sea Ray 30' Sundancer). Have never done it in the past and have some basic questions.

Planning to do this in my slip before the boat guy hauls it out...

1. Air Conditioner: Can I simply remove the intake hose from the thru-hull (close the sea cock first) and stick it into a bucket of AF, letting the AC run until pink comes out the discharge? Reconnect hose afterwards but leave sea cock closed.

2. Hot and cold water: Run faucets until all tank water is gone, then add AF to fresh water tank. Run all faucets until pink comes out. Leave them in open position, turn off water pump at dash switch.

3. Head (Vacuflush): Get it pumped out, adding clean water and re-pumping-out a few times. Fill bowl 4-5x with AF, flushing each time. Pour some in the pump-out fitting for good measure.

Is this right?

How many gallons of AF will I need for each system and in total?

Thanks for any help !!!
 
Oh, and this would leave some unprotected area between the waste holding tank and the maceratorthru-hull (that I don't ever use, of course). How to protect that segment? Can I do the above, partially filling the holding tank, and then run the macerator to push AF into that segment?
 
Geez, and the head pulls sea water... I guess I'd need to pull that hose, closing the sea cock, and use the bucket again (like with the AC above). Right?

This is why the boat guy does it... I'm afriad I'll forget something !!!
 
Grand,

Some corrections based on your posts. I'm sure others will chime in.

1. A/C, the a/c pump probably won't suck from a bucket of antifreez. You will probably have to pump it thru. I take the hose off the seacock and attach it to pump and pump it thru with a small drill powered pump until it comes out thru-hull. YOu can also go from the other direction if boat is out of water.

2. Water system. You need to drain water from tanks including the manual drain on your hot water tank. Then bypass hotwater tank by connecting cold in and hot out together. You don't want to circulate Antifreez thru the hot water tank as it will take way to much AF. Once the tank is bypassed, you can pour AF into your coldwater tank and run faucets until AF comes out.

3. Head is easiest. Don't pour it in the bowl though. Pump out tank. Then detach raw water hose at seacock and stick in bottle of AF. Run head for a bit to pump AF into bowl and thru into holding tank. Bang, your done.

Hope that helps. There are different variation on the above depending on equipment and access, I'm sure others will share. But all three of the above take me about 40 minutes total. Have fun.
 
From the sound of it you really should get some one that knows how to do it and watch them. What you describe for the A/C will not work, the pumps on all of the A/C's that I know of are flooded pumps they will not suck up anything you have to pour it into them even then my won't pump the antifreeze most of the time. I use a hand pump through the thru-hull hose after unhooking it from the thru-hull.
You have to shut off the water heater (electric) drain it and by-pass it first. You should not put pink stuff in the fresh water tank, you will never get all of it out, rather unhook the hose and drain the tank, put the hose in a jug of pink stuff and use the fresh water pump to get it into the system.
Don't know about the vacuflush.
 
Use an air compressor and blow out the water lines and a/c lines. No need to bypass water heater if you use air. Buy the hose adapters from Marine East as Boatfix doesn't sell them.

Use pink for the head, holding tank and motors.
 
Air would not work for most of the water heaters I've seen or do. Also air is not a sure thing for the A/C might work might not, air does not clear the tubing 100% could puddle back.
 
Correction:

Air does work just fine for water heaters.

Blow it out with air thru the drain at the bottom.

Once heater is empty, close drain, the air then clears the hot water circuit.

Works great on A/C lines as well, air blows it all out in my system. You need a decent air compressor.
 
All the water heats I've seen the cold water goes in the bottom the hot water out the top, even it a house although the cold goes in the top it goes into a tube that takes it to the bottom. Like I said I've done hundreds through the years and air would not work, if I was going to tey it I'd blow the air into the hot water pipe and hope it drives the water out thru the cold once again a problem, most heaters have a one way valve on the cold input.
 
Correction:

I hook up a garden hose to the drain spigot at the bottom and force the water out with air. Once empty I close it up, and blow out the lines.
 
If you open the drain on the water heater and open the TP valve, all (or enough) water will drain out. Be sure to turn off electrical power to the water heater first and tag the switch so it doesn't get turned back on until the water heater is refilled with water.

I used to use pink antifreeze in the water lines but it took a lot of rinsing to get it out in the spring. I switched to using an air compressor to clear the lines. Make sure there's at least one outlet open all the time. The air compressor could blow out a water line if you don't.

Drain the water tank by removing the hose at the bottom.

Nobody mentioned a shower sump. If you have one (or more) use a turkey baster to remove as much water as possible (buy your own, don't use the one from the kitchen and then return it), then pour some pink antifreeze into the sump.

And, don't forget the transom shower.
 
Prospective, gave the detailed advice you need the rest of them don't know $hit. 35 years of boating says so, not to mention being an engineer.
 
Class act Jim, real class.

I've been winterizing my own boats for 24 years, never one problem.

And you you can use air to winterize a/c units and pumps, baitfreezer systems, wash down pumps, live wells, ice makers, clothes washing machines, all in water/underwater thru hulls and also use it to winterize the dockside connection, the cold and hot water circuit without a bypass at the heater. Plus you can use air to winterize the supply side of vacuflush heads too. Only pink needed from the toilet bowl downstream.

Pink is needed but I've kicked the pink habit for much of my winterizing. I use pink for the Galley Maid heads, holding tank, macerator, clothes washer drain pump, shower sumps, motors and genset. That's it. Pump the water tank dry and take the plumbing off the house water pump to drain it and the associated hoses.

I leave my center console in the water thru freezing December and use the air compressor to blow out the washdown and livewell pumps and am able to recommission both pumps quickly and go fishing. Also blow out the head water intake thru hull and toilet bowl. Hook up the compressor quickly and blow them out when I'm done for the day. Easy if you have all the right sized hose adapters and fittings.
 
rb2@gr5t#$%&?!-it Jim! You were doing so well! You posted several well thought-out, rational and coherent posts. Why do you have to go straight to the sewer when someone disagrees with you?

I was going to offer a counterpoint to the idea of never adding pink stuff to the fresh water tank, because I've a always managed to rinse it clear in less than a day. Then I thought, no, Jim's on a roll, I shouldn't spoil it. I should've known you couldn't keep yourself in check.

:(
 
Years ago I switched to using Vodka for my fresh water winterizing. Drained and bypassed the water heater, then added about three bottles of the cheapest Vodka I can find. Rinses out easily in the spring. Some of those areas where an air compressor was recommended . . . . . a shop vac to suck out lines could also be used.
 
I remember asking these same questions 4 years ago... Like I said, others are sure to chime in :-)
 
Screw it. Will have boat man do it this year (and he's usually pretty cool and should let me watch). Would really suck if I did it wrong and something busted.

Thanks everybody...
 
The anal way…
I do both air and pink. Might be overkill but it doesn’t hurt. First I unhook the water line coming out of my holding tanks and let it drain into the bilge. I then bypass the hot water heater and drain it using the drain valve. I use a fitting with an air valve in the city water outlet on the outside of the boat and blow air through getting the water out of the galley, both vanities and the both heads and the shower, both hot and cold lines. I then blow air through the output line from the on board pump to clear the area between the onboard water system and the city water system. I could stop here and probably be ok but I use the input hose to the onboard pump and suck from gallon jugs of pink. I man the jugs and have the admiral go around and open both hot and cold everywhere until they run pink. She also runs the heads until they run pink into the bowl. When that is all done I re-hook the hoses to the water tankspump then go around and open all the faucets and leave them that way all winter. I then dump pink in the heads, shower sump until it pumps, and all vanity bowls and galley sink to fill the traps.

I do something similar for the air units. I blow air through to get rid of all the water first then I use 5-gallon bucket with a bilge pump attached to the bottom to pump pink throughout the system. For whatever reason my air units won’t take the pink from the outside thru hulls so I do it at the compressors.

Sounds like a lot of work but it really doesn’t take that long.

Good luck
Niles
 
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned it (nwaring may have), but don't forget the water inlet for city water. This line bypasses the tank/pump combo while at the dock.
 
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