Is there a safe way to start the motor from the engine room.

suss1173

suss1173

Active Member
Jul 11, 2013
411
Sea Cliff, NY
Boat Info
05 390 QSB 5.9,s
Past- 01- 340 -7.4 Horizon's. Pachanga 27- twin 350's, 94-300 twin 350's
Engines
Twin QSB 5.9’s
I have winterized all my prior boats. But this will be my first time winterizing inboards. Am I missing anything in the steps below.

Open the top of the sea strainer and insert a garden hose, turn the hose on, then run the motors on fresh water for 3 to 5 minutes, (towards the end I plan to mix in some salt away).

Turn the motors off, then garden turn the hose off, and remove the water hose feeding water at the bottom of the manifold and drain the fresh water out of the exhaust.

Place a 5 gallon bucket filled with pink on the cockpit floor and run a hose from that bucket down to the sea strainer and start the boat again.

Hopefully the sea strainer will gravity feed with pink and then the water pump will keep pulling it from the 5 gallon container. After seeing pink come out of the side exhaust of the boat for 20 or 30 seconds shut her down and let the motors hibernate.

I have already pickled the fresh water system, generator, and the AC system, so the above question is just for the engines. Please let me know if I am missing anything, like maybe the water pump will not suck the pink through the sea strainer do to lac of pressure, or air pockets, or anything that I might be missing. Also, is thre a safe way to start the motor from the engine compartment, avoiding have to have someone at the helm hitting the switch?
 
Last edited:
suss1173 said:
I have winterized all my prior boats. But this will be my first time winterizing inboards. Am I missing anything in the steps below.

Open the top of the sea strainer and insert a garden hose, turn the hose on, then run the motors on fresh water for 3 to 5 minutes, (towards the end I plan to mix in some salt away).

Turn the motors off, then garden turn the hose off, and remove the water hose feeding water at the bottom of the manifold and drain the fresh water out of the exhaust.

Place a 5 gallon bucket filled with pink on the cockpit floor and run a hose from that bucket down to the sea strainer and start the boat again.

Hopefully the sea strainer will gravity feed with pink and then the water pump will keep pulling it from the 5 gallon container. After seeing pink come out of the side exhaust of the boat for 20 or 30 seconds shut her down and let the motors hibernate.

I have already pickled the fresh water system, generator, and the AC system, so the above question is just for the engines. Please let me know if I am missing anything, like maybe the water pump will not suck the pink through the sea strainer do to lac of pressure, or air pockets, or anything that I might be missing. Also, is thre a safe way to start the motor from the engine compartment, avoiding have to have someone at the helm hitting the switch?
Click to expand...
You're using the pink stuff for your engines? Must not get too cold where you are. In the midwest we use the pink for water systems and the next level down for engines.
 
Pink stuff is good to -50*... that should cover it!

The bucket won't feed the strainer unless you have a hole/spigot at the bottom. Otherwise, you'll need to start a siphon... don't worry... it's non-tox AF, right? :)

How are you planning on fogging the engines? I didn't see that mentioned.

You can "turn" the engine over, but starting it/running it/stopping it might be a bit more challenging.
 
To put pink in the generator I take the hose off the strainer and put it in a bucket full of pink. Start engine and turn off when bucket is empty. To put pink in main engines I disconnect the wire from the coil to the distributor and rotor then have some one turn over the engine with the starter and pour 3 gallons of pink into the strainer. The engine sucks the pink through the system. First I drain the mufflers of sea water and then leave the plug out until all the pink runs out. I could do the same as the generator but hoses are a pain to take off the strainer.
 
I take a 5 gallon bucket and drilled a hole towards the bottom and attached a thru fitting. I then attach a hose from this fitting to the hose that exists the sea strainer and goes to the engine. I connects the hoses with a plastic barbed nipple. I also mount the bucket on a board that I lay on top of my engine. That way it's higher than the engine hose I'm attaching to. I don't like the idea of just filling the sea strainer. And I would not disconnect the coil wire and crank the engine until I drain the AF (can't be good for the starter). And the -50 being good? Remember, this will most likely mix with water still left in the engine. So -50 might not be -50. Most people use the -75 or 100.

But as you see, everybody's got a different way.
 
You can buy a remote start switch that just connects to either side of the starter solenoid (on the top of the engine). Turn on the ignition, but don't go further to the start position. Then use your remote start switch to bridge the solenoid contacts which will engage the starter. Once the engine starts release the start switch.

Turning the engine off once running will be another matter. The ways I can think of would probably result in getting a significant SHOCK...
 
Here's the rig I made up for my engines...

1. Heavy duty Brute container (thick side walls)
2. Drilled container for bulkhead fitting and valve
3. Banjo style quick connect, fittings, 1" hose etc
4. Strainer tops for engines and AC/Genny drilled and tapped for 1/2" mpt ball valves

1013181313.jpg


1013181314.jpg
 
If it's drained properly, the only water left will be residual, at best. So maybe it's down to -49 :)

I'm not saying it's a bad idea to use -100, far from it. But when done correctly, the -50 is WAY MORE than adequate. It's a little misleading, though, to say that "most" use -100. It's more about what you know in your immediate surroundings. Case in point... I could easily say "most" use -50 as that's what everyone I know, and the boat shops around here, use. As a side point, where I work part time, we do close to 400 winterizings - all stern drives/inboards get -50... been working there for 20+ years and they did it this way well before I started there, as well.

Just think about it rationally - what's the worst temps you have seen in the past and/or anticipate? And, those "worst" temps... it would have to STAY at those temps for a day or two. Here in Eastern PA, the absolute worst might be -20 for a few hours... and that would be extremely rare. Where the OP is, the temps are no worse - probably a tad bit warmer.
 
Jimmy Buoy said:
Turning the engine off once running will be another matter. The ways I can think of would probably result in getting a significant SHOCK...
Click to expand...

That's where I was getting stuck, too... trying to think of an easy way for someone with little to moderate experience to do it safely. Best bet is to just use the ignition.
 
When I had my 390EC, I mounted 2 ignition switches in a sealed ourdoor junction box mounted on the bulkhead. I parallel wired the ignition switch on the panel to the one now on the bulkhead. Whenever I wanted to start the engines from the bilge, I just turned the key. All ignition switch functions worked, including the hour meters.
 
Darn it, Frank. I was just about to edit my post to say "... other than installing a remote ignition switch in the bilge". Steal my thunder, why don't you! :)
 
douglee25 said:
Here's the rig I made up for my engines...

1. Heavy duty Brute container (thick side walls)
2. Drilled container for bulkhead fitting and valve
3. Banjo style quick connect, fittings, 1" hose etc
4. Strainer tops for engines and AC/Genny drilled and tapped for 1/2" mpt ball valves

View attachment 61700

View attachment 61703
Click to expand...

No that's a set up! WOW.
 
After I drain the engines and strainers, I spin this attachment I put together to the top of the strainer. I use one of those winterizer jugs and connect with a short garden hose. Fire up the engines to run about 5 gallons of -100 AF.

When I’m done I drain the mufflers.
EF5E57CF-964A-465F-8217-A1A879F85B40.jpeg
 
Thanks for all the feed back and ideas.

It sounds like it is gonna be best to have someone hit the ignition switch for me. It also sounds like the pink isn't gonna flow fast enough the way I was planning on doing it.

I will use a barb to fit/ connect the hose from my 5 gallon bucket to the hose running between the strainer and seacock for this winterization. However, I like the setups posted above, so maybe over the winter I will look into getting another strainer top that I can modify and have something like DougLee or Greatlakes Pirate setup.

LazyDayz, I was going to spay some fogging oil into the intake, I don't think I will be able to choke it out, like I was able to do with the carbureted motors, but than again the boat is only sitting from Nov 1 to May 15th.

Having the ignition switch's in the bilge sounds like a great idea/ project for the future. Unfortunately, that might be above my DIY capabilities though.

Regarding the pink stuff, as others posted, there various ways to do it and products to use. In my experience with prior boats, the manifolds get drained, so the pink "shouldn't" get that diluted and in Long Island it rarely get much below -5 and if it dose, its not for a sustained period. It is the only stuff I have used in prior boats, so I am comfortable using it on this boat.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and feedback,

Michael
 
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Michael, do you have an EFI fuel injection system or an MPI?
 
I like the idea of the ignition switch in the bilge. As an alternative maybe I'll make an adaptor using an on/off toggle with push on connectors I can install in the positive coil wire. Start the engine from the helm with the strainer hose in a bucket of pink, jump into the engine room and spray fogging oil into the carb until the pink runs out then switch the toggle switch off.
 
I’m
Lazy Daze said:
That's where I was getting stuck, too... trying to think of an easy way for someone with little to moderate experience to do it safely. Best bet is to just use the ignition.
Click to expand...
I’m not that mechanically inclined, but pulling out the fuel pump relay seems like a good idea to stop the engine (at least an EFI/MPI). I know my relay or harness died about 5 times when I first bought my boat and it would kill the engine in a heartbeat!
 
Starters get warm. Like the idea of fitting in top of strainer to deliver pink to engine constantly that way I could start the engines. It takes about 30 seconds for the generator to suck 2 gallons of pink so mains would not be much more to suck 3 gallons. The pink that drains out of the mufflers is as pink as the stuff I put in at the end.
 
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