Winterizing question

[Hammertime]

Yeah the one under the engine cover is easier to put antifreeze in but that's about it or they should have put a plug on the back one that you could use so u don't have to pinch the hose.

 

[John in Valley Forge]

Yeah the one under the engine cover is easier to put antifreeze in but that's about it or they should have put a plug on the back one that you could use so u don't have to pinch the hose.

It has to have a way to flow out. The idea is to displace any water still left in the system. You want the AF to push the water out or at least become very concentrated in it.

 

[Hammertime]

Why do they tell you to clamp it off then

 

[Biffitis]

Because the top hose port and rear hose port are connected to the same line, before the engine. If you didn't clamp off the rear line anything you poured in the top line would run straight out the back and not into the engine.
You could plug the outlet at the transom and it would achieve the same results as pinching the hose.

 

[John in Valley Forge]

You could plug the outlet at the transom and it would achieve the same results as pinching the hose.

Not 100% sure on that. Would have to check the plumbing schematics.
I think the pinching of hoses, especially since you have to do it in a set sequence, insures that AF flows properly to all spaces where water might accumulate. I would worry that skipping those steps by just plugging the rear drain might not displace all the water in all the hoses.

I look at the procedure and see that the factory has been instructing the same method for many years. It was not very time consuming to do, and clamps/lock-pliers are cheap. I'm not sure I would take a chance trying to re-engineer the factory engineering here. It does not take much unprotected water somewhere in the water jacket or tuned exhaust to freeze up and ruin your springtime.

 

[jimd]

/www.offshoremarineparts.com/22850/prod_2576.html Under $9 for hose pinchers. If you go to ebay or amazon you will find other alternatives. they are good to have on the boat because if you ever need to be towed you need to clamp off the intake hose or the engine will flood if you are towed too fast. Regarding winterinzing - just use vise grips. Put pieces of wood between the the metal vise grips so as not to damage the hose clamp down hard. YOU will be surprised at how much pressure you need. The hose needs to be closed off tight for winterizing to be effective. The RV fluid must flow out of the tube per the manual instructions. If not totally closed you will not get the RV fluid to go completely through.

 

[Biffitis]

Would have to check the plumbing schematics.

On my Challenger, one of the hoses that the manual instructs to pinch off goes directly to the fitting on the transom. So plugging the transom discharge port would suffice. However, they likely instruct users to pinch-off the hose because that's much easier then trying to plug the port from the rear. Also, in the water the discharge port would be below the waterline and pretty inaccessible.

 

[El Toro 33809]

I got a pair of these flat jaw clamps from Harbor Freight that I carry on the ski in case of needing towed

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-welding-and-sheet-metal-clamp-set-30024.html

This is what I use when pulling an engine to block off the fuel and oil lines. I now keep one of the clamps on board in case we have to be towed.

Addition/edit:
Enut beat me to it. Posted before I read the entire thread.

 

[John in Valley Forge]

On my Challenger, one of the hoses that the manual instructs to pinch off goes directly to the fitting on the transom. So plugging the transom discharge port would suffice. However, they likely instruct users to pinch-off the hose because that's much easier then trying to plug the port from the rear. Also, in the water the discharge port would be below the waterline and pretty inaccessible.

Its the same way on my Sportster.
I suspect too that if you were to just plug the back port you would not get antifreeze to flow through all the parts. I know when I did it, with pinchers, when I removed one of the clamps, I was able to see the AF (dark blue stuff), flowing through one of the clear hoses. It very obviously displaced the water that had been in there.