My skis got winterized, now what??

[MiguelAD]

I just bought these two GTX's on E-Bay; a '98 & '01 GTX RFI , 717cc. The seller had them both winterized at the end of the season and then shipped them out to me.
Do I need to or can I start them up while they are winterized just to check that they are still operational and the batteries havent drained ??
Or, are they in complete hibernation untill its time for the water again ??

I know I can hook up trickle chargers to the batteries but I just want to hear them run and make sure my purchase was a good deal.

Will starting them up for just a minute damage anything ??
Or, do I need to hook up the garden hose and run them that way, and then drain everything back out again and re-winterize them ??

Please Advice. Eager to hear them run.

 

[rookie101]

With you living in Texas I'm not sure you would need to really winterize them, but if they will be sitting until spring you should re-fog the engines before putting them away. I know if I had just bought them I wouldn't hesitate to start them up and run them for a minuet or two to be sure they were OK. Just make sure you have them on the garden hose and don't run them for more than five minuets.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[MiguelAD]

Hey rookie101. Thanks for the tip. i started them up for just a couple of seconds then shut them off. both start right up and everything seems to be in working order. i did not hook up the garden hose since i did not want to put water in the engine and have to drain and refill with antifreeze. believe it or not it does get freezing cold out here in the desert. its a real dry cold just like dry ice and will make your ears fall off. LOL. but seriously. thanks. i think these skis are just fine and it was a great purchase on e-bay. warm weather is just around the corner in this part of the country and it wont be long before these puppies get wet. i'll remove the batteries and trickle them for now.
p.s. i guess the staff and techs on this forum dont answer unless you pay to become a premium member. what a shame. i never thought a price could be put on someones thoughts, ideas or advice..

 

[kustomkarl]

Not true... rookie 101 is a mod also...would you like me to say ditto... I read your post this morning and figured he covered it quite well. I have answered a few post along the way maybe...but I might be wrong. "Premium Members" do get a bit more special help because they are the ones keeping the lights on here. All the mods here are here for free. We all volunteer our time to help ALL members on the forum.

Karl

 

[ssmedt]

what does the weather get like in the winter where you are; as posted above you probably don't even need to winterize. I know that in Atlanta I don't winterize; never gets below freezing in the garage. I run my challenger year round and pull the GTX out and start it about twice a month. i would say go and put the ski's in the water and go have some fun:cheers:

 

[MiguelAD]

Thanks. you are probably right. It gets cold and there are a few nights when it does drop below freezing then warms up again during the day. The skis are inside a metal storage shed and not directly exposed to the elements which really helps. I went ahead and started them up with no problem then removed the spark plugs and refogged the cylinders cranked them for a few seconds and put everything back. I hooked up the battery trickle charger and put the skis in the shed for the winter. I am happy with my purchase. I'll hook up the garden hose and start them up again in the spring before I take them out to the lake. They should do fine.