Winterizing
Looks like you've gotten some good tips on commissioning and
water systems... so let me anticipate your next need... winterizing
Here are my "winterizing" notes that I have accumulated over time. You
may want to tailor them to your specific area and needs.
Winterizing Tanks
Drain out your tanks, via the faucets, as much as
practicable. Dump one gallon of non-toxic antifreeze into each tank.
Using the COLD water faucets
only, run each faucet until the bright pink color indicates that the antifreeze
has been sucked through the feed lines and the pump, and up to the faucets. Then, shut off the water pump, open the hot
water faucets, and open the hot water tank drain, allowing it to empty into the
bilge. Dump a half gallon of non-toxic antifreeze into each shower drain sump,
allowing the pumps to empty them out; leave any remainder. Open up all the
faucets. Donšt forget the cockpit shower. Make sure that you open all of
the water system through-hulls after you haul the boat (i.e., all of the shower
drains and sink drains) and leave them open over the winter.
( I bought a brass garden hose connector and about 4
ft of 5/8" plastic hose. I connected the hose to the heater drain
and threaded it down through the rib opening to the bilge. Actually, just
follow the other hoses. Now in fall I can slip my hand behind the cabinet
unit to the heater drain valve and drain it.)
Winterizing Engine
For the engine: change the oil and all filters. Just before you're ready
to haul, mix up a gallon of environmentally safe engine antifreeze, along with a
gallon of fresh water, in a 2-gallon bucket. detach
the raw water intake hose from it's seacock (make sure the seacock is closed!)
and drop the hose into the bucket of antifreeze mixture. Start the engine. Keep
an eye out on bucket; when it's empty, shut down the engine (there's NO need to
rush; a few seconds of running the engine 'dry' won't hurt a thing). Remove the
key and/or put a sign up so no one inadvertently tries to start the engine
until the intake hose is re-attached to the seacock.
Stan "Christy Leigh" c320 #656 Greenwich/Narragansett Bay RI
Some more interesting - to me anyway >) info on the
hot water winterizing. Although I still plan on rigging a by pass setup I may
still run into my hot
water tank because I could only drain 5 gallons out of it. Yesterday
after doing the cold water side of things I drained the water out of the hot
water
tank into the bilge by releasing the pressure bypass to let air into the tank.
I had to tape the hose to the drain spigot because it is only 1 inch from
drawer cabinet wall making it impossible to screw on the shortened garden hose
I had for that purpose (shame on you designers). Over the winter I will
cut a hole in that wall which is easily accessible by simply pulling out the
lowest/large drawer. Then I can easily connect a hose and run it through the
drawer cavity and out the little door on the forward side of the galley cabinet
to the bilge. I noticed in the picture of the forward side of the galley
cabinet online at the Catalina site there is no little
door there. I think that picture is of a 98. Mine is a 99. I closed things up
and poured in 6+ gal of antifreeze into the rear tank, which I had already used
to one of the cold faucet lines. I then did all the hot water faucets,
galley sink first, after waiting a few minutes (blowing air) for the pump to
fill the tank. After getting pink from all faucets, then I stuck the empty
antifreeze jugs one at a time down into the bilge and filled them with the
attached hose. Only 5 were filled with antifreeze from the hot water tank.
Maybe because the tank will function with only 5 gals or maybe because the
drain spigot is a couple inches from the bottom a gallon is left
in the tank. I don't know, but that Maybe on the last
gallon makes me want to run antifreeze into it to be sure.
Stan "Christy Leigh" c320
#656 Greenwich/Narragansett Bay RI
Regarding draining the green water for winter we found
the following procedure to work quite well on the Yanmar engine. This technique
also provides for easy summer or midwinter use without the cost or side effects
of using antifreeze. We have used this technique successfully for three years
in the Tahoe area.
1. Shut of the seawater inlet.
2. Remove the inlet water bowl and clean the filter screen if necessary.
3. Most of the upper hose water will drain out the open filter assembly.
4. Insert a small hose into in the hose between the inlet
and filter and blow out the remaining water.
5. Open the heat exchanger drain at the rear of the assembly (water will run out
the attached drain tube).
6. Disconnect the heat exchanger exit hose at top read of the exchanger allowing
more liquid to drain.
7. Open the muffler drain and use tender pump on the hose disconnected in step
6 to flush the exhaust line.
8. Disconnect the bottom water pump hose at the front of the engine to drain the
impeller housing.
9. Replace the water pump hose.
10. Replace the heat exchanger exit hose.
11. Close the heat exchanger drain valve.
12. Replace the inlet water filter.
13. Close the muffler drain valve.
14. The engine is now protected since there isn't any water in the heat exchanger.
15. The engine is ready to go just by opening the water inlet.
Richard & Tish,
Relentless #554
Whale Fittings
Winterized last week and noticed something I didn't see last year and it made
the job easier. One of the plastic water supply tubes connected to the
hot water tank had a Whale type butt connector inserted about 10 inches away from
the water heater (a butt connector connects two sections of tubing
rather than tubing into some device). This allowed me to disconnect the cold water
line where it enters the heater and the hot water line where it enters
the butt connector and simply plug the two together so anti-freeze can be pumped
through the hot water supply lines. No need to clamp an extra hose
on.
The previous owner apparently did no mechanical work
himself, so I'm guessing that it came from the factory that way. Could this be
just an
accidental fit of foresight?
Gary Benzon "Even Keel" #207
Just call whale-USA at (978) 531-0021 and they
will send a great booklet on the whale plumbing system with comp.
instructions on how to take them apart
and put them together.
al ahlman amanda rose #476
How do you disconnect the Whale butt connector?
It's a bit counter-intuitive, but once you figure it out, it's very quick and
easy. It's the same for all the fittings in the system. The butt connector is
like two fittings back-to-back so you connect two pieces of tubing.
(1) Pry the cap from one end of the fitting and slide it out of the way along
the tubing.
(2) This will reveal a gray plastic horseshoe-shaped retainer ring that will slide
out easily. The retainer holds a plastic collet in
the OUT position.
(3) Press the collet INTO the fitting and hold it
with your fingers while you pull the tubing out of the fitting.
Just be sure that the end of the tubing is clean before you re-assemble it.