Impeller

"had a question , i winterized

"had a question , i winterized my engine and prior to this i installed a new impeller, plugs wires filters etc . my question is in the marine antifreeze going to harm the new impeller or should i have waited till spring? engine is a 1989 aq211a with a dp290"

"Rich, The impeller blades wi

"Rich, The impeller blades will take a "set" if you leave it in the pump for the off season. Three/four blades are at rest against the cam. I'd not install a new impeller until re-commissioning the boat in spring time. It is super simple with the type of pump that you have.
I never leave mine in over the off season, and I can easily get another season from them.

As for E/G or P/G on the impeller, I don't believe it will cause any harm, but then again I'd remove it until spring!

Also, (unsolicited advice here) be very careful if you are attempting to winterize by sucking IN, and running E/G or P/G through your engine for freeze protection.
There are quite a few misnomers pertaining to just how safe this is against freeze damage.

Drain your engine again afterwards if you do. It's a proven fact that "Air" will not freeze nor expand and crack an engine block!
(Just my unsolicited on that!)"

"Ricardo,

How would you dra

"Ricardo,

How would you drain residual winterinzing antifreeze from a 5.7 Osxi with closed cooling?

Also, my impellers were left in last two seasons, and when I replaced them in the spring, they had only a small amount of memory, or asymmetry. I kept them as spares, just in case..."

"Frank, I'd still recommen

"Frank, I'd still recommend that you form a habbit of removing the impeller when you lay the boat up for the winter! Honestly, we should not leave these in for the winter, IMO..... especially when we (Volvo Penta owners) have this easy-to-access crankshaft mounted sea water pump!!!!!

If you shelf the impeller, I assure you that it will easily go another season (baring no silt/sand damage, etc)


Since you have a closed cooling system, your concerns are:
**sea water side of the H/E (remove the pencil anode and allow to drain)
**Exhaust manifolds/risers (should be drains on them)
**Suction hose (remove from R W Pump and tip down)
**Any P/S oil cooler and/or engine oil cooler (they may have drain fittings on them as well)

There is really no need to pull/push the E/G or P/G through the exhaust system unless it gives you that "feel good" feeling when done.
It should always be drained again anyway in the event that an "uneven" mixture occurred when running it into the system.

Believe me..... there are many owners each year, come spring time, who learn that this method did not provide the protection that they hoped would have given them!
Some corrosion protection??? .... YES!
Freeze protection???? ...... Use caution!


The rest of your winterizing would be for any O/B water system, marine head, etc.

."

"Thaks, Ricardo..

Precisely

"Thaks, Ricardo..

Precisely why I asked... The marina and mechanics I used previously did not drain after flushing through with antifreeze...(I have to do this myself if I want it done well....)
I will feel better knowing the stuff is all gone and the space filled with air...

Some boaters at the club tell me they also pump compressed air to chase out the antifreeze from their water systems as well."

"[b]"Some boaters at the c

""Some boaters at the club tell me they also pump compressed air to chase out the antifreeze from their water systems as well."

Frank, are we talking about O/B water systems?
And do you mean "blow the water" from the system?

These guys have been very lucky so far if that is what they are doing!
To me, this is another common misnomer, and again, these are just my opinions from having been doing this for many years!

(hydraulic and pneumatic principles)
Air pressure, in a line/hose, will not sufficiently displace or move liquids out of a low point, for example unless you can provide extreme volume.... and volume will usually be accompanied with pressure...... and that is an issue due to size, distance and potential burst pressure considerations for water system lines!
The air may move it temporarily, but the liquid may fall back into the low point!
Now we have a cracked low point fitting, line or ???? when it freezes!

Liquids will move liquids very sufficiently!

Best to drain the tank and add a few gallons of RV stuff to your water tank, and run it through the system until we see it come out at each fixture.
Some owners will create a by-pass valve(s) at the WH so that it can simply be drained.
(saves on the amount of antifreeze as well)
When in by-pass mode, your system provides flow through all remaining parts of the system.... pump, hot and cold fixtures... but not the WH.

I suppose the best of both worlds would be to blow first, then add the antifreeze and let it run through the system.

."

"Ricardo, I observed a heated

"Ricardo, I observed a heated discussion between two experienced boat owners, and one did what you explained as "the best of both worlds", meaning 1. flush out the water with compressed air, and 2. follow with anti-freeze, which will reduce mixing or dilution(as there is less water left in the pipes)
the other idea was to flush with antifreeze first, watever the mix, and then expel the antifreeze as much as possible, using the compressed air...
It probably does not matter how is done, as long as the antifreeze solution remaining in the pipes has enough potency to prevent freezing and bursting of the pipes....

But getting back to the engines, once the drain plugs are removed, there should be little, if any, antifreeze left in the passages...
(What about the NeutraSalt engine flush system?)"

"Frank.... absolutely correct!

"Frank.... absolutely correct! The "dilution" of the antifreeze can become the issue. We tend to over-look this!


On point #2... yes! Don't forget to probe the openings!

On point # 3.... OH boy.... don't get me started regarding the Neutra-Salt systems (or other flush systems) for winterizing!

."

Thanks for the advice...

I

Thanks for the advice...

I meant it as bait to see if you had bias for or against the flushing system... I happen to forget to winterize the thing it until I turn my back and see the blue reservoirs....then I have to improvise a way of dealing with them...

"Frank, the flush systems and/

"Frank, the flush systems and/or neutralizing systems are OK for what they are intended for..... flushing or neutralizing the effects of salt water......
But when we start to hear that people are winterizing a Raw Water cooled engine with them, that's when the problems can begin!

."