Winterizing the Ranger.

[captd]

Anyone need to do this besides me? Just done the slide-in camper, it was a piece of cake. Now I am looking at the Ranger. Can't even get to the fresh water tank. The pump is out of the question. Than we have the cooling water ( raw water) for the engine. shower box with pump and lines, sinks and water lines, Generator, and air conditioner. Engine exhaust has a low spot or a box trap. Macerator pump and line. HELP! I will take all the advice I can get.

Good excuse to head south 1st of November. Maybe just put a electric heater in the cabin and one in the engine room. Probably cheaper than antifreeze.
captd

[SEA3PO]

When I winterise for the winter, I use RV antifreeze ....it's alot cheeper and flushes out easier.... all the driains and traps.... I have raw water cooling so I pour it into the block and then start the motor to flush it back into the exhaust system... I pull the cover off the water pump and let all the water drain from the system from there..... never had a freezing problem...make sure your bilge is super dry....and then I have a 100 watt bulb on all winter inside the cabin... that seems to help ...... I store the boat inside a shop and they charge me a minimum for electricity anyway...so it works out well...

Joel
SEA3PO (22 C-Dory)
KEA (24 Tug in winter storage)

[K7MXE]

Heres how I do my 21 foot tug. I shut off the sea valve and put a short
piece of hose on the flushing input and that goes to a jug of antifreeze.
Me being frugal I use antifreeze I get at the local junk yard, don't forget
to test it. I run it into the system by starting the engine briefly. I try to
catch the antifreeze that comes out the exhaust so I can use it over for
other uses. The water system is pumped out in the water tank and I use
the rv anti freeze in that. I usually change my mind about winter several
times so this last year anyway got done more than once. I open the
drain in the keel as the boat is on the trailer and get any bilge water out.
Add more boat and add more things to do. Walmart has the RV antifreeze
on the good deal. Don't forget to flip the intake water valve back when
you use the boat. Thats it in a nutshell.
Bob Heselberg near Eatonville Wa

[drjohn71a]

Capt D,

Here's how I have done the motorhome and boats:

Put 2-3 gallons RV antifreeze in water supply tank AFTER FIRST HAVING RUN THE PUMP DRY (BRIEFLY RUN DRY). By - pass the hot water tank and drain it thru it's drain if you have by-pass setup. Run hot faucet on furthest from the supply tank until red comes out, then cold on furthest until red comes out, and so forth working your way back to the pump. If in doubt, add a bit to drains, esp. used in winter.

While using in freezing weather, use water from gallon jug near sink for drinking, washing, etc. and when putting boat up, add a shot of RV antifreeze in the drain. Keep gallon of RV antifreeze by toilet and use that to flush. If you have enough RV anitfreeze in water tank, you can flush that way, but I usually keep pump off after winterizing and just pour a bit of anifreeze in the head.

Springtime, run the pump, turn on furthest hot water faucet and run until red stops, then run furthest cold until stops, and so forth. Open the water heater bypass. Then fill supply tank, add a bit of bleach and run until red gone, or clear or light pink. We don't drink the supply tank water, so just use the pinkish water for washing, flushing, showering, etc.. It runs out pretty fast.

You can get hot water tank bypass kits at most RV centers.

John

[drjohn71a]

Relating to winterizing engines, most have a hose going to a thru-hull intake port. You can remove the hose, or put a "Y" valve in it so you can just stick that hose into a jug of RV or Marine (green ecologicaly) antifreeze and run until the red/green comes out of the exhaust.

When I was considering buying a Ranger 25, I had planned to have the dealer install just such an antifreeze input hose/valve setup. Such a Y valve and hose makes an excellent, high volume, emergency bilge pump also. You just put a strainer on the intake side of the antifreeze intake hose and let it lie in the bottom of the bilge so that, in case of emergency, you just open the Y valve so it sucks from the bilge instead of the thru hull intake, or sometimes open part way (too much opening could let seawater in thru antifreeze intake) to suck a bit of each. Of course, you have to watch it and turn the valve back to seawater intake as the bilge pumps dry. I've had to use a system like this once when I forgot to put the drain plug in one of my inboards, and boy was I glad to have it then!

Winter is my favorite boating time and I have done both of these many times each winter as needed.

If wintering at a dock with reliable electricity, they have the engine room heaters, etc.. I have always just purchased one of those inexpensive, magnetic engine block heaters at an auto parts store. You stick it on the lowest reachable part of the engine and plug it in. No way for the block to freeze that way - plus you have easy warm engine starts and quick heating.

I don't know how far away from the engine the exhaust cooling stack is on a Ranger, but the heat will usually conduct and convect "up" as long as it's not too remote and the temp is not too close to single digits.

I also kept about a gallon of RV antifreeze poured into the bilge to cover the risk of any leaking water freezing down there. Water freezing in a bilge can be very destructive. It can also break your bilge pump housings or impellers.

John

[Trinity]

Didn't start this thread, but have been reading it with great interest.
Thanks for the tips-

[Dreamer]

Sorry, I am just envisioning Jim and Joan enjoying a Pina Colada at the tropical tip of Texas and Jim's laughing his bleached***off.

[captd]

Lots of good suggestions. The "Y" valve with a strainer sounds really like a really good idea. You know , sometime it isn't what you know, it is what you remember when you need it. My fishing pal in Panama City has a 240 horse Yanmar that he had put in the Y valve. He would start his engine from time to time with a garden hose. Factory ought to add that as standard equipment. Cost couldn't be more than twenty bucks. I have run most of the water out of the tank, now based on the suggestion will add antifreeze. That will cure the drinking water problem. Hot water tank is going to be a problem. I think I can get to the drain, but I'm am not sure of a shut off valve on the input. It would take a lot of antifreeze to fill the hot water tank than on to the hot water lines. My camper was easy, all valve are accessible and in place. The tug is next to impossible.
We will head south about the 1st of Nov. But we could have lots of hard freezes between now and than.
Thanks to all for the help. Any other idea would be appreciated.
captd

[captd]

I think I got it. Thanks John. The hot water tank in and out was right out in the open. I just took the lines off and hooked them together. Put in two gals of the red stuff in the water tank and pumped it through. Run some extra in the shower box. Drained out the exhaust traps on the gen set and main engine.So far I have just taken the intake off the through hull and shoved a smaller line inside to put in the jug and run the engine. Got a couple gals in. Got to do the same for the Get set and I'm good to go. Next trip to town I am going to pick up some fitting so it could work for a bilge pump and is ready for next winter. I think I will fix hot water tank with values and cross over as well. Wasn't as bad as I thought. course it always helps to have about 600 to 1000 C-Brats willing to help.

Captd

[JamesTXSD]