antifreeze

[Keith]

I purchased by CD25-D in Michigan at end of summer, where we did in- the-water engin test, at which time all antifreeze was pumped out of the engin. I have brought her home to Ark. where I have painted bottom and made other prelaunch preparations. In order to get antifreeze into the engin while she is still on the hard would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?



kwoodlaw@arkansas.net

[Duncan Maio]

would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?

No; running the water pump dry will damage the impeller (although it won't fail completely until you are out in no wind and on an outgoing tide) and probably the engine as well.

What I do is fill a pail of water with a hose, then put the raw water intake hose in the bucket and start the engine. Add water from the hose as needed (or use a big bucket). When the engine heats up, let the bucket go almost empty, then pour in antifreeze. When the exhaust blows pink, stop the engine, and replace the intake hose on the (closed) seacock.

-Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37



dmaio@meganet.net

[John Martin]

Keith,
On our CD28 we cut the in-take hose between the seacock and the engine, then inserted a brass T-fitting. From the T-fitting we attached a cut-off valve, and from the valve we connected a 3' length of hose. Now, to put antifreeze in the engine, I can put the hose into a bucket of water/antifreeze, CLOSE the seacock, OPEN the T/valve, and crank the engine. After a winter day sail (we sail year around here), I have a simple way to put anitfreeze back into the engine. In an emergency, if you are taking on water/sinking, you can open the valve, put the hose into the BILGE, crank the engine; to assist other bilge pumps.

Good luck, fair wind.

John & Nancy Martin
CD28 #346 Intrepid

I purchased by CD25-D in Michigan at end of summer, where we did in- the-water engin test, at which time all antifreeze was pumped out of the engin. I have brought her home to Ark. where I have painted bottom and made other prelaunch preparations. In order to get antifreeze into the engin while she is still on the hard would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?

johnmartin55@hotmail.com

[chuck yahrling]

I purchased by CD25-D in Michigan at end of summer, where we did in- the-water engin test, at which time all antifreeze was pumped out of the engin. I have brought her home to Ark. where I have painted bottom and made other prelaunch preparations. In order to get antifreeze into the engin while she is still on the hard would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?

As other have posted, this is not a good idea, But, I think you're on to something I recently discovered: running from a bucket probably won't get the engine hot enough to open the thermostat, which would leave those galleries full of water with no antifreeze. At the suggestion of a boat diesel mechanic, I now remove the thermostat before flushing with fresh water, and bleed both the block on my Yanmar 2GM and the water lift muffler before running again from a bucket with antifreeze. Environmental aspects aside, use a good low tox if you or neighbors have dogs, as standard ethylene glycol will kill them. Also, a good low tox will have anticorrosion additives that the pink RV stuff doesn't have. These aren't essential but sure can't hurt.

It's probably a good idea to inspect the thermostat once a year anyway, and to work and lube those drain cocks. Mine was very encrusted with build up that dissolved when I cooked it gently in white vinegar on the stove. I also used a cooking thermometer when warming it up to test at what temp it opened up. FYI, the Yanmar service manual suggests replacing the thermostat once a year or every 1000 hours, but I think with the low hours our engines get the procedure above is a good substitute.

Also, as Duncan suggests, disconnecting the water pump intake hose from the strainer seems to work best for me. I was never able to get the water pump to prime when I tried dumping water/antifreeze into the strainer. Don't be afraid to goose the throttle at first to get the prime started.



yahrling@cybertours.com

[keith]

I purchased by CD25-D in Michigan at end of summer, where we did in- the-water engin test, at which time all antifreeze was pumped out of the engin. I have brought her home to Ark. where I have painted bottom and made other prelaunch preparations. In order to get antifreeze into the engin while she is still on the hard would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?

Keith

As other have posted, this is not a good idea, But, I think you're on to something I recently discovered: running from a bucket probably won't get the engine hot enough to open the thermostat, which would leave those galleries full of water with no antifreeze. At the suggestion of a boat diesel mechanic, I now remove the thermostat before flushing with fresh water, and bleed both the block on my Yanmar 2GM and the water lift muffler before running again from a bucket with antifreeze. Environmental aspects aside, use a good low tox if you or neighbors have dogs, as standard ethylene glycol will kill them. Also, a good low tox will have anticorrosion additives that the pink RV stuff doesn't have. These aren't essential but sure can't hurt.

It's probably a good idea to inspect the thermostat once a year anyway, and to work and lube those drain cocks. Mine was very encrusted with build up that dissolved when I cooked it gently in white vinegar on the stove. I also used a cooking thermometer when warming it up to test at what temp it opened up. FYI, the Yanmar service manual suggests replacing the thermostat once a year or every 1000 hours, but I think with the low hours our engines get the procedure above is a good substitute.

Also, as Duncan suggests, disconnecting the water pump intake hose from the strainer seems to work best for me. I was never able to get the water pump to prime when I tried dumping water/antifreeze into the strainer. Don't be afraid to goose the throttle at first to get the prime started.

I did the proceedure this afternoon before reading your post. I drew water from bucket, but ran it for a long while until the flow appeared to increase, leading me to believe the thermostate opened, then I dumped in the antifreeze. I expect the engin must have heated up enough as the water from the hydrant was no colder than much of the water we operate our boats in.

Thanks for all the input.



kwoodlaw@arkansas.net

[Frank]

I purchased by CD25-D in Michigan at end of summer, where we did in- the-water engin test, at which time all antifreeze was pumped out of the engin. I have brought her home to Ark. where I have painted bottom and made other prelaunch preparations. In order to get antifreeze into the engin while she is still on the hard would it be safe to start the engin without water available to the engin at the 'in the water' pick up point, then when it heats up and the

thermostat opens let it pull antifreeze out of an antifreeze container until it begins pumping such out of the exhaust?

As an alternative to antifreeze in Texass, I have drained the cylinder head thru the valve/hose to prevent damage to the engine during freezing weather. Water may remain which would freeze during extended periods below freezing, however, the water temp rarely gets below 45-50degrees here. Any thoughts?



Fcrumb1@aol.com

[M. R. Bober]

The "drained" cooling system that you describe would be subject to internal rust, that the antifreeze would inhibit.
Mitchell Bober
RESPITE
CD330



the bobers@erols.com