Auto coolant - ethylene glycol - should never be used for winterizing anything except what it's intended for. It's very toxic to people animals and other living things. If you put it in the head and holding tank, or spill some (no doubt you will), guaranteed it finds it's way into the lakes, rivers and oceans we should be taking better care of. Use only propylene glycol (pink) and the small portion of alcohol found in some brands will harm nothing in your engine or in your potable water system.
Marinas around here have used it for years. Pouring it down a toilet that gets pumped out at a marina pump out seems pretty harmless. Any spillage, which frankly doesn’t happen, would end up on the floor of the bathroom and not in the lake. It’s a real stretch to even suggest that.
Well, you just do what you do, ... "cause we been doing it for years."
That pump out ends up in the local sewage system, so the antifreeze ends up in the local waterways. No different then pouring it down the drain at your house. Environmentally horrible.
You would think a long-time boater would know better and have a little respect for our environment. Never to late to make a change. Even us old dogs can still learn a thing or two. Thanks for the posts, guys!
So...allowed in Michigan with precautions.
Just to be clear here, I stored my boat at our local marina and had them winterize it. That was and may still be the prevailing practice for cold storage. It still appears to be legal in Michigan so I would not leap to conclusions about who has respect for the environment when you do not have a command of your facts.
I have heard of another guy not winterizing his boat either. I have been pulling mine out and storing it at home the past couple of years, but I'm leaving it in the water this year. I still want to winterize it after the Christmas parade, we are both going to be retired before 2022 and we're planning on going to Az to visit family for a few weeks in February. I'd like to be able to not worry about it while we're gone. Do you still have your bubbler? If so, want to sell it?
Oh, you're off the hook then? And, if you read more carefully what you are doing in concert with your marina is clearly not legal with ethylene glycol. Fact. Take some responsibility for the hazardous waste that you create, unnecessarily. There is another option available to you.
Apparently some guys just don't give a darn.
