Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

[bigdano]

Do many of you store your engines dry thru the winter months? <br /> I used to store my old 3.0 mercruiser dry for many years. Never messed with the anti-freeze and never had any problems. <br />Now with my new (2000 year) 4.3GL Volvo I've been reading maintenance manuals and on-line help forums about winterization. The anti-freeze sounds good but seems like a lot of hasel. Has to be the correct ratio to water, can't miss any pockets or it'll freeze etc.! <br />Draining all of the water sounds much simpler!!<br />Just looking to poll some other boaters...<br /><br />Store wet or dry????

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

I vote dry.

 

[KM2]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

dry, it's easier.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Dry can never freeze, and what little is left has room to expand anyway

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Dry....JK

 

[Bondo]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Ayuh,........<br /><br />Air Doesn't Freeze........<br /><br />I winterize Dry..............

 

[ziggy]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

hum, for all the anti-freeze posts, i'd have thought everyone used anti-freeze. i'm with bondo and km2. it's easy and air don't freeze. robby makes the last good point. what little is left has room to expand.... <br />i winterize dry too.

 

[Laddies]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

We have stored dry since the 50s, ask the antifreeze guys where their antifreeze goes on start up--Bob

 

[KaGee]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Yep, dry here too.

 

[garycinn]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Originally posted by Laddies:<br /> We have stored dry since the 50s, ask the antifreeze guys where their antifreeze goes on start up--Bob

Into a clean bilge, then drained back into the original containers (using a funnel to catch it coming out of the drain plug hole) for next year. I use Prestone Low-Tox Prop Glygol at a 50:50 mix.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Gary, you would be the exception.<br /><br />Most would likely start up in the yard or drive and let the stuff go into the ground.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

stored dry lets the cast iron dry out and results in a scaling condition.stored wet prevents this.<br />non-tox near water, glycol everywhere else

 

[Bondo]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

I've Seen alot of Green Water at the Boat Launches in the Spring of the year,.............<br /><br />Awhile back,..I tried to start a little Crusade about the Waste of Money,+ the Poisoning of My Fish,........<br /><br />I just got sick of the Low-Tox arguement,........<br />BTW,...... just How Low is Low-Tox antifreeze,........ <br /><br />Seems to Me,....... Any Tox is Too Much Tox......<br /><br />And,... If it Doesn't Freeze,+ It IS a Liquid,..........<br />It's Toxic.............................................................

 

[Lou C]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Well if you read the info on Sierra you are not supposed to dump it in the water or on the ground. I drain in the bildge and re use if possible. <br />The issue of corrosion is a much bigger issue to us salt water guys, don't forget, where we are manifolds last 5-7 years max, so we need all the help we can get. No reason why it has to be blown out in the lake. Takes 10 min to drain just like when you winterize.<br />BTW, engine blocks and heads do rust thru here, given enough time. My mechanics have been around a long time and feel that the antifreeze does help the block and heads last longer in this environment. But I agree, low tox is not no tox, and here in LI we use groundwater, making it an even bigger issue.

 

[tommays]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

as a saltwater boater i still can't see how anything can HEAL all the rust and scale that the saltwater created over the summmer<br /><br />i hammered about this enough last winter and people seem to be very happy to use antifreeze because they can't see any immediate harm from what will get spilled<br /><br />and no matter how carefully you drain the block the rest is getting flushed <br /><br />a small drink of the NO-TOX will do you in pretty fast just not as fast as the TOX<br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[Laddies]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

I hear the stories about rust and scale in the blocks, maybe it's true with salt water engines, but here in Michigan I work on Gray, C/Craft, Kermath and other engine dateing back to the 1920 and have never seen or had a problem with storing dry. I think in most cases it's a case of getting more money from the customer or to cover mechanical ineptness--Bob

 

[Lou C]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Go over to David Pascoe's site and take a look at the effects of salt water on ex risers. It ain't pretty I'll tell you that. Salt water is a whole nother world. Ask rodbolt, he knows!<br />You're right, Tommays nothing will heal it. But the basic fact of corrosion is that rust on iron is iron oxide, that is iron+oxygen. So you have a choice of an engine block full of damp, salt air(here on LI!) with plenty of oxygen to corrode over the winter, or water+antifreeze with corrosion inhibitors, which is at least slowing down the process. Gotta be more oxygen in air than in antifreeze+water. To each his own!

 

[f_inscreenname]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

That guy everyone knows here from Alaska told me to do it dry for the first time last year. I will never use antifreeze again.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

Originally posted by f_inscreenname:<br /> That guy everyone knows here from Alaska told me to do it dry for the first time last year. I will never use antifreeze again.

And we all know "that guy" does everything "by the book"... "The Gospel According To Mercruiser".

 

[am_dew]

Re: Winterization? store dry or with anti-freeze?

The concensus here seems to be that dry is best. Would doing the antifreeze thing and then draining it off thru the normal engine drain petcocks just before layup, theoretically then leaving a coating of antifreeze behind, be even better?