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Winterizing question

1stboat

1stboat

Regular Contributor
i live in florida and it reall

i live in florida and it really doesn't get too cold down here. at times though it does. my question is how long would it have to be below or at freezing for me to worry about my block cracking from a freeze?
 
"The smart-assed answer is &#3

"The smart-assed answer is 'just long enough for the water to freeze'
biggrin.gif
. However, need a little more info; fresh or salt water cooled, raw water cooled, heat exchanger cooled, how is the engine covered? A 100w light bulb in the engine compartment can make a lot of difference if the temperature does not get too low.

Tom"
 
"fresh water cooled, no heat e

"fresh water cooled, no heat exchanger that i know of. its a 5.7 vp gi. if that helps"
 
"I live in Cape Cod, MA and I

"I live in Cape Cod, MA and I just winterized my boat this past Sunday. We have had numerous nights well below freezing (as low as 18) and I did not have an issue. In my opinion it takes a deep, prolonged freeze to compromise your engine block. If your climate only has occasional nights / days below freezing I would use some common sense and judgement in regards to winterizing your boat. Oil coolers and fresh water sinks / tanks will freeze first so in anticipation of cold temps. drain these components. It is also very easy to drain the spitcocks on either side of your block, along with each manifold and the face of the raw water pump. Draining these items drastically decreases the odds of damage caused by freezing and takes very little time.

I run my boat in salt water and hold off from flushing the block with fresh water during cold months since salt water freezes at a lower temp. than fresh.

Keep in mind though, a few $5 gallons of antifreeze goes along way in comparison to replacing a cracked block. Good luck."
 
"Water freezes at 32F/0C and e

"Water freezes at 32F/0C and expansion takes place. If it has room to expand, no problem, however, no room = big problem as in cracking. Why take a chance? Drain or add antifreeze. No brainer. Tom"
 
"Mike is spot on: It takes tim

"Mike is spot on: It takes time and temps well below 32 ' F to damage anything.

Florida? What's to worry about? Oh yeah, hurricanes.

Jeff"
 
"Fastjeff is right! Water does

"Fastjeff is right! Water does not freeze at 32/0; ice melts at those temps so, given the right conditions, no problems. However, ask someone from Wawa or North Bay how long it take to crack a block when the temp 'dips' a bit below freezing with the 'wrong' conditions. Russian Roulette is a game played by those who...have money?

Tom}"
 
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