How to winterize an A/C

[gtfireftr]

Just picked up a 1997 Sundancer 290. It has A/C, and I have no clue how to go about winterizing it.
I am pretty much all set with engines, and drives, but a little hazy on water tanks etc...
Any help is appreciated...

 

[moparlvr4406]

I just close the seacock and take the top off the strainer...vacuum out the water... and pour antifreeze in with the unit running
takes about 1 gallon till it blows pure pink
then vacuum out the sump and pour about a quart in there with the pump.

 

[dwna1a]

I do the same as Jim. It kinda takes two people, one at the seacock and the other at the water outlet.

 

[Lazy Daze]

There's a BUNCH of threads on winterizing, including doing the AC - nothing is really new so a search would give you lots and lots of info. For me, though, I keep it simple - get a cheap handpump, stick one end in jug of pink and the other end in the thru-hull fitting on the side of the boat. Pump till pink comes out the bottom. No need to have AC running. 5 minutes and you're done - including clean-up.

 

[Craigalan]

There's a BUNCH of threads on winterizing, including doing the AC - nothing is really new so a search would give you lots and lots of info. For me, though, I keep it simple - get a cheap handpump, stick one end in jug of pink and the other end in the thru-hull fitting on the side of the boat. Pump till pink comes out the bottom. No need to have AC running. 5 minutes and you're done - including clean-up.

I second this method. Head to Long Island Boaters Club on youtube. For me it was nice to see it talked through in a video. Plus, Eddie is a hoot.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Another quick tip - if the hose you're using doesn't quite fit tight enough, don't go spending any type of extra time trying to find one. Just wrap the end with some tape till it's snug enough. As long as you're not pumping the AF in super hard, it'll be fine. Worst case, hold it in place with your hand.

 

[magstang1]

I have one tank for antifreeze and two different hoses. One regular garden hose about 8 feet long for running antifreeze through the drives on muffs and one hose about 4 feet long with a barb type splice fitting.

I pull the water intake hose off the valve right at the hull and use the hose with the barb fitting to hook the antifreeze into the line. That way coolant is drawn through the strainer and generator. Start it up for 20-30 seconds, disconnect the line and open the strainer. Repeat for A/C. I just happened to take a picture yesterday.

 

[magstang1]

 

[yako]

Multiple methods. I use a submersible pump nad drop it into two gallons of antifreeze. plase in the water output of the AC (thru hull) and let the antifreeze run backwards.

Learned from Eddie (lon Island Boat Club) on youtube. 5 minutes.

 

[gtfireftr]

You and I have twins.... Exact same boat... no generator though...
Do you do your winterization?
Curious as to where the drains are on the manifolds and engine? I just bought this, it is actually being hauled to my house on Thursday, so I don't even have it yet..... Very Excited though.....I assume you enjoy yours!!!!!!

I have one tank for antifreeze and two different hoses. One regular garden hose about 8 feet long for running antifreeze through the drives on muffs and one hose about 4 feet long with a barb type splice fitting.

I pull the water intake hose off the valve right at the hull and use the hose with the barb fitting to hook the antifreeze into the line. That way coolant is drawn through the strainer and generator. Start it up for 20-30 seconds, disconnect the line and open the strainer. Repeat for A/C. I just happened to take a picture yesterday.

 

[DaleM]

I'm going to do the through-hull version of AC winterization this year. Does it take a lot of force to push the pink back through the system? I have a small electric fish pond pump that I was going to use but I'm not sure how much pressure is required. The pump generates a solid flow of water out of a 3/8" section of hose but you can block it with your finger. I'm assuming that if it's being done with a small hand pump it shouldn't take a lot of pressure.

 

[magstang1]

Yes, I do my own winterization. Look for the blue plastic wing nuts. 4 on each engine. The block plugs are only a couple inches away from the manifold plugs.

When you pull them make sure the o ring comes off too. You don't want to end up with 2 in one spot and none in another. Pull the plug, make sure it's not cracked (broke 2 of mine last year) stick something in the hole to break the sediment loose (nail or pin...) and liquid should flow out.

I pulled all mine and left them out this year after running the antifreeze through. I also decided I'm going to run the engines for a minute or two before I put the plugs back in in the spring to flush some gunk out of them.

 

[yako]

That will work fine. I use the submersible pump in winterizing the engine, so I simply use that. Your pump will be fine.

I'm going to do the through-hull version of AC winterization this year. Does it take a lot of force to push the pink back through the system? I have a small electric fish pond pump that I was going to use but I'm not sure how much pressure is required. The pump generates a solid flow of water out of a 3/8" section of hose but you can block it with your finger. I'm assuming that if it's being done with a small hand pump it shouldn't take a lot of pressure.

 

[saopm]

I winterize my fresh water system first by pulling the supply line at the water tank then sticking in into a gal of pink. From there I flush out the hot(bypas the HW heater) and cold lines. I'll set up my next gal of pink with the same supply line. Finally I use my fresh water wash down spigot wih a hose and reverse feed the they A/C system as others had done below. You can see the hose I use in my sig pick.

 

[Pyrojodge]

I have used this technique for several years. It's so quick and easy. 4 gallons of pure pink (no ethanol) into the water tank. Flush all water lines after bypassing the hot water tank. After pink is run through the entire system I throw my deck wash down over the side of the boat.

I have a piece of plastic that has some tape for tight fit and a shut off valve. I run the hose till I have pink then stop. Insert the hose into the through hull for the ac and turn it on. This will push the water back through the system. Run it till the water coming from the pickup is good and pink and it's done deal.



I have done this for many years with never an issue. Just thought I'd share.

 

[DaleM]

I did the reverse AC method today with the small fish-pond method on a friend's boat. worked perfect. Just had to lift up the bucket of pink with the pump because it didn't have enough "umph" to push up 5'. Once I raised it up it worked perfectly. I could've probably used the hand pump kinda things that you use for kerosene cans without issue. It used about a gallon and a half of pink max.