Fresh Water sytem winterization

"Hello all, What is the right

"Hello all, What is the right way to winterize my fresh water system on my 2000 Sea Ray Sundeck? It has a 10 gallon capacity.
Drain it and blow it out?
How do I prevent mold growth. Bleach solution?
Thanks Ike"

"If it's like an RV, I wou

"If it's like an RV, I would blow it out first, then pump pink RV antifreeze solution thru to each tap and outlet.

This works well for our RV.

Rod"

Draining and blowing out all t

Draining and blowing out all the lines and tank is a good start. Are there any labels on the tank describing what to do and use?

"Sorry Guy, I will not be able

"Sorry Guy, I will not be able to see the boat until weekend, but I do not remember any maintainance stickers on the boat. Boat manuals are also not available until the weekend, but again I do not remember anything major about winterizing in them. I will post when I verify it.
Rod advise seems valid and makes sense. I am concerned about leaving the lines and pump dry and the possibilty of mold growth, dried out gaskets etc.
Ike"

"Ike;
The pink RV antifreeze

"Ike;
The pink RV antifreeze is non-toxic and anti-bacterial, and good for -50C. There is no way mold or other nasties will grow in your system if filled with it.

Rod"

I used to pump RV non-toxic an

I used to pump RV non-toxic antifreeze thru my trailer lines and for the last number of years I have just blown the lines out and just poured the antifreeze in the traps. The advantage is that you don't have anything in the lines to taint the water in the spring when you do go to use it. Never had a mold issue but it gets damn cold over winter in Alberta so thats not an issue. If you do just blow the lines remember to turn the pump on with line detached to clear it as well.

Cheers Norm

"Thanks all great info.
I th

"Thanks all great info.
I think I will blow out the system and add some antifreeze to at least flush /fill and protect the pump. Simple system no traps and the potti is independant.

Guy, got to the boat and owners manuals. Very limited info other than to find the lowest point and open the connection to drain and the same for each side of the pump.

I am very new to boating, first boat first season, and one of the problems I have is that all these manuals, 4 from Sea Ray and the two from Mercrusier (thanks for the excellent link!!! great info and the price was right) are not Boat or engine specific, causing some confusion as to what I have and have not and at least to me there is a void where all these systems inter wine with each other.
Like everything else there is now substitute for experience. I hope it does not cost me too much to learn, but learning is half the fun! Ike"

Ike:

Recent posts have show

Ike:

Recent posts have shown that some owner's manuals have incorrect information on the number of block/manifold drain points.

"Great, so you miss a few, no

"Great, so you miss a few, no big deal . Careful what you read! Thanks Ike"