Thanks for all the informative advise. I think since the engine is an outboard, the point is moot, however. I will remove the engine and take it to another shop to have it looked at. For once I'm glad I have an outboard. If it's shot, I go to the insurance company and (hopefully) replace it without missing a beat.
ew
Larry DeMers wrote: Hi Warren & Eric,
Your idea is a good one, and would certainly be a good way to winterize out of the water. The only concern I would have is that the exhaust hose itself is cooled by the water from the engine, and running the engine that long without any cooling of the hose has been reported to cause problems with melting of the hose, etc. This was apparently not the case for you however, so now I am curious about how hot that hose actually gets when run without water for cooling.
When I was surveying my boat before purchase, I had the yard start and run the engine, in -20 deg. weather. I figured that if they could start the engine in that temp. then the compression, batteries and fuel system were good enough. What they did was to recover the antifreeze that was pumped out the back end, and hand it back up to the mechanic in the cabin, who poured it back into the bucket that was supplying the engine it's coolant.
But your idea is a better one, if there indeed is no danger to overheating the exhaust hose.
Did you notice any smell of hot hose or see any problems after this procedure was done?
Thanks..& Holiday Cheers!
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 ~~~It's so cold out, we have to melt our words before
they can be heard!!~~~
Warren Kaplan wrote: Larry,
I think Eric may be able to winterize his engine by running it for a while the way I did. Instructions courtesy of Jerry J. Commisso who graciously sold me his CD 27 so he could buy a CD30 like you have. You can do it without removing the thermostat. I got a 5 gallon bucket and put a few gallons of antifreeze in the bucket. I pulled the hose off the raw water intake of my YSM8 engine and stuck it in the bucket of antifreeze for the intake. There is a hose that goes from the thermostat to the mixing elbow. I pulled the hose off at the thermostat and replaced it with a section of hose that I also placed into the bucket of antifreeze as the outlet. I plugged up the hose still attached to the mixing elbow with something, in this case the handle from my manual bilge pump fit perfectly, to prevent the cabin filling with exhaust fumes. You now have a full circle. Antifreeze is sucked into the system from the hose that was attached to the raw water intake and is returned to the bucket via the hose from the thermostat. Round and round she goes. When the antifreeze coming out of the return hose from the thermostat gets hot (about 15-20 minutes), you know the thermostat has opened. Let it circulate for a while so it get throught the entire engine. Then stop the engine. Re- attach the original hose from the thermostat to the mixing elbow and start it again. Now the antifreeze will come out the exhaust port in the transom. When you see that, shut off the engine and your engine is winterized. Certainly this is usually done with the boat still in the water but because it is a "closed loop" it can be done on the hard.
Warren