Cummins and Winterization
Peggy, I own an Albin 32+2 and have winterized it many times. However it
is in NC this winter on her bottom.
It also has the Cummins 370B engine, just one thank you!
I can't imagine winterizing the engine out of the water.
You must run antifreeze through the engine, from the raw water source, and
in my case it is the strainer.
What I did was make a plate out of aluminum to fit the top of the
strainer, with a garden hose attachment in the middle and a subsequent
hose to a bucket of pink antifreeze. The seacock to the outside is turned
off, thus the draw will come from the bucket. I stress bucket, because it
will use lots of antifreeze when the engine is started.
You must run it until you see the pink stuff coming out the exhaust. I
would them loosen the cover of the raw water pump. And that is all there
is to it! (you need to remind yourself to tighten the cover in the
spring!)
One other thing, it does not have glow plugs, it uses a preheater, and you
can tell by looking at the voltage displayed at the Cummins instrument
panel. When you first turn the key, the voltage goes up, but when the
preheater goes off, the voltage then jumps, that is when you start the
engine.
Of course don't forget all the other winterization things: fresh water
supply, head, air conditioning, refrigerator, bilge, etc.
It was in the 20's up here just off the Chesapeake this morning!
John
Yankee Belle
Albin 32+2
w3ma@ccil.org writes:
I can't imagine winterizing the engine out of the water.
You must run antifreeze through the engine, from the raw water source
Well, I feel that I'm sort of monopolizing the list these days, but since
this is not about V%* onboard I'm probably safe.
Anyhow, I live in Toronto and hence had to haul my previous boat every fall.
It had a 140 HP Yanmar, and the first fall I happened to be chatting with the
mechanic at the local Yanmar shop (Eastern Marine Services, good guys) and he
taught me a fabulous technique for winterizing an engine when the boat is out
of the water. I used to enough times to say that it works perfectly and it's
dead easy.
Here's what you do:
-
First, locate the raw water discharge hose connected to your exhaust
elbow. Figure out what the inside diameter is. -
Now go to the local boat shop and get a male-to-male hose coupler (plastic
is fine) and about 4 feet of rubber hose in the same diameter as the hose you
located in step 1. -
Buy a gallon or so of RV plumbing winterization fluid.
-
You'll also need a plastic pail.
-
Now the real work: when you are ready to winterize the engine, go to the
boat with your goodies. Start by removing the raw water discharge hose from
the exhaust elbow. Now use the coupler to join this to the 4 foot hose. -
Disconnect the raw water intake hose from the through-hull.
-
Place the intake and discharge hoses into the pail, and add the
winterization fluid (it should be about 2/3 full). -
Now start the engine and let it idle. The winterization fluid will be
drawn up the intake hose, circulated throughout the raw water side of the
cooling, and discharged back into the pail. Let the engine run for about a
minute or so then shut it down. -
The last step is important! The engine is now winterized, but the mufflers
could still have water in them. Disconnect the discharge hose from the
extension and place it back on the exhaust elbow. Leave the intake hose in
the bucket. Now start the engine one more time and let it idle until all of
the fluid in the bucket has been sucked up and sent down the exhaust. Now the
exhaust is winterized as well. -
Leave the extension hose and coupler in the lazarette for next year.
That's it. After the first time, you'll find that the entire process takes
about 20 minutes from start to end.
Scott Welch
"Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn
out." - John Wooden
Scott:
In many of our systems, raw water is discharged through both the exhaust
elbow and the cutless bearing - and your system requires a second step to
send anti-freeze through the muffler. RV antifreeze is cheap enough so it
has made more sense to me to just drop the raw water intake into a bucket
with antifreeze and send three gallons or more through the whole system -
heat exchangers, exhaust and cutless bearing - at the same time. The
concept of re-circulating the anti freeze does have merit but flushing the
system probably results in less water mixing with the anti-freeze.
Regards,
Wesley, LNVT - in Vermont
wpeldred@comcast.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott H.E. Welch" swelch@opentext.com
To: w3ma@ccil.org
Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com; chesapklady@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: T&T: Winterization
Here's what you do:
-
First, locate the raw water discharge hose connected to your exhaust
elbow. Figure out what the inside diameter is. -
Now go to the local boat shop and get a male-to-male hose coupler
(plastic
is fine) and about 4 feet of rubber hose in the same diameter as the hose
you
located in step 1.