Winterizing the A/C

Lazy Daze said:
Jim, did you remove the plug in the bottom bend of the block hose?

Do you have the newer style fuel cooler (drop-in filter)? If so, you either have two blue plugs there, or you have to use a 16mm (15mm?) socket (stubby wrench helps) and back off the nut enough to back out the assembly to get rid of that little bit of water that will be there.
Click to expand...

I removed four plugs (each motor): 2 on the raw water pump, 1 on the water distribution housing (most of the water came out here), and 1 on the T-stat housing (I assume this one is for air intake to allow draining).

Not sure about the newer fuel cooler option, my manual makes no mention of it. :huh:
 
JimG said:
I removed four plugs (each motor): 2 on the raw water pump, 1 on the water distribution housing (most of the water came out here), and 1 on the T-stat housing (I assume this one is for air intake to allow draining).

Not sure about the newer fuel cooler option, my manual makes no mention of it. :huh:
Click to expand...

OK - you got it done for the engine side. You have what is referred to as the "3-point drain". 3 "points", but four plugs - just to make it confusing, of course! Thanks, Merc!

If you have the newer style, "drop-in" fuel filter (which I think you do), then there might be two more blue plugs on the back side. However, I don't think you have the plugs on your model year. Instead, you should back out the retaining nut (on the aft side) that holds the two rubber lines in place. Back it out enough to pull the retaining clip out (pulls out going aft) to reveal the 0-ring. That will drain any water left in the fuel cooler (filter) housing.

I'd be surprised if you don't have this style fuel filter. The older style filter looks like a normal oil filter. The newer style doesn't have the outer, metal casing - it's just the filter material.

This area can definitely freeze (especially since it's a small amount of water in a small space). We replace a few of these every year for customers that did their own winterizing without knowing about this.
 
Last edited:
OK... I will check. Thanks Dennis!
 
Sure! You might want to, for good measure, pour some pink into the water intake hose, as well. It's the odd-size rubber hose on the t-stat housing. When you poured the pink into the t-stat housing, were you able to verify that any pink came out through your exhaust? The reason I ask is that I'll typically use a little more pink than you did. I'm just worried that you didn't get enough pink everywhere.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Sure! You might want to, for good measure, pour some pink into the water intake hose, as well. It's the odd-size rubber hose on the t-stat housing. When you poured the pink into the t-stat housing, were you able to verify that any pink came out through your exhaust? The reason I ask is that I'll typically use a little more pink than you did. I'm just worried that you didn't get enough pink everywhere.
Click to expand...
No, I had already re-installed the plugs back into the the exhaust canisters (the manual didn't say anything about them either). I got that hint from a fellow boater to look for them. There was a substantial amount of water that came out of the canisters.

I suppose I could loosen them and see if the pink is in the canisters.
 
Woody - yes, that is the correct module that you linked to. The schematic doesn't show what I'm referring to, though. Look at #39 - there is a hole near it. There is also the same size hole above it. The smaller, middle hole (between those two that look to be the same size as #39) is where the retaining nut will be. That is what you'll loosen and slide the two hoses out (there's a retaining bracket, as well) to release the water that is captured inside the housing (it's used for cooling the fuel... hence "fuel cooler" nomenclature).
 
I guess this is what I'm looking for:
 

Attachments

  • Cool fuel system.jpg
    Cool fuel system.jpg
    90 KB · Views: 242
Jim - that's the older style fuel cooler. You should have the newer style (like what Woody linked to). You can go to the link that Woody noted and search based on your engine serial number.

But... the one you pictured is usually located on the port side of the engine, typically just inboard/behind the port engine mount.

The newer style is starboard side, front lower corner - by your raw water pump.
 
Dennis, I had never heard of draining the cool fuel before. I'm going to see what I get out of it after I do my regular thing(blue plugs). You'd think it would drain being that the the two plugs on the seawater pump and the one on the water distribution housing are all lower than the cool fuel unit. It must not be much water because my boat has seen -30F a few times and I have no leaks or water/fuel problems.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like it would just be easier to run pink from the intake through the engine and out the exhaust. Is there any reason in particular that this is not possible?
 
Woody - yes, there isn't much water - maybe 4oz? Sometimes, none comes out. I've never looked into it far enough to figure out why. The first year for this unit, we had a couple units freeze on us, too. It wasn't until looking into it a little more and conversations with Merc that it was figured out. I really can't explain why there is no water left in there sometimes and other times there isn't. I just know it's something we've made standard practice. When I do "service for hire" on my own, I make sure to do it, as well.

Ron - with a closed cooled system, sure. With an open system, we run into the t-stat problem and upper part of block that doesn't drain.
 
Dennis
AH, that's right. You need an open thermostat to get pink everywhere. What about the bypass on the thermostat housing (?)
 
rondds said:
Dennis
AH, that's right. You need an open thermostat to get pink everywhere. What about the bypass on the thermostat housing (?)
Click to expand...

My setup may have that... I have a brass plug in the top of the housing and one down lower on the side. I will try pouring more in on the side.

Dennis, you mentioned at 3.5 gallons that maybe I should be able to get more in there. How much pink should I be able to get in there?
 
Last edited:
JimG said:
Dennis, you mentioned at 3.5 gallons that maybe I should be able to get more in there. How much pink should I be able to get in there?
Click to expand...

You may not be too far off. When I do small blocks, I take 5 gallons with me. The block takes a solid 3 gallons (note that even with the block drained, I usually see a good 12+ ounces come out the hose before it starts to turn pink - this is the upper part of the block that when people use the "bucket" method, they can't get to because of the t-stat). The water intake hose takes about a 1/2 gallon. Each exhaust hose takes about 1/2 gallon. So, typically about 4-1/2 gallons all together. I'll sacrifice the rest to the winterization gods and put it wherever I can.

The reason I'd prefer going right into each hose (off the t-stat housing) is because I am positive that the pink is getting everywhere it's supposed to be, rather than relying (hoping) that the housing distributes it evenly. You may very well be fine (and hopefully you are), but if it was me I just wouldn't want to chance it, that's all.

The hoses can be removed in about 2-3 minutes. Sometimes they get stuck on the nipples, but there's ways around that to make it easier.
 
I realize that this discussion has strayed from the original thread title but I feel like it is still a good conversation on winterizing.

I do have the cool fuel system as Dennis pointer out. Yesterday I got 2 more gallons of pink in the starboard engine. This time with the exhaust canister plug removed, the pink came out. I then removed the hose assembly from the cool fuel system and it was full of pink.

I tried the same with 2 gallons on the port engine but never got pink out of the canister… it started coming out of the intake and dumped on the ground. So I closed the seacock (it was open on both sides) but was unable to add any more pink. It was full and never came out of the canister.

I didn't remove the cool fuel hoses on the port as they are much harder to get to. Can I assume the pink got in there as it did on the starboard? And why didn't it come out of the canister? :huh:

One thing I have yet to mention: I have a flush port on each engine and I finally found the hose adapter fitting for this trip to the boat and tried putting pink in there with a funnel… it didn’t make much difference. Next year can I simply pump pink in there and accomplish the same vs. pouring into the T-stat housing?:huh:
 
Last edited:
Alright so it seems as though this thread has meandered its way around all things winterizing, so I'll post my two (so far) silly noob questions here! I'm putting my plan together for winterizing my head, AC, and fresh water system this year, and reading all the excellent info here has helped immensely so thanks for that.

1) I'm going to go the pink-in-the-water tank route, since I don't have an air compressor and it seems like it is a bit easier, from a technical perspective. Once I run the pink through the system, do I leave any remaining in the system, or should I flush it all out in the same way I drain the tank before I start? In other words, once I go through each outlet (galley sink, head sink, shower head, etc.) and see the pink running should I run the last outlet until the tank is dry, or does this not even matter? I would think that the less pink in the system the easier it will be to flush out, both visibly and taste/smell, come spring.

2) For the head system, I've seen many folks say to "clean" the tank prior to running pink through the system. How is this done? Do I just open the head and run a bunch of clean water down the drain?

Thanks in advance, and once I'm done with my step-by-step list I'll likely post it here for critique by the pros, and to help anyone else that finds themselves in my shoes... first time boat owner attempting first time winterization.
 
Sous said:
Once I run the pink through the system, do I leave any remaining in the system, or should I flush it all out in the same way I drain the tank before I start? In other words, once I go through each outlet (galley sink, head sink, shower head, etc.) and see the pink running should I run the last outlet until the tank is dry, or does this not even matter? I would think that the less pink in the system the easier it will be to flush out, both visibly and taste/smell, come spring.

2) For the head system, I've seen many folks say to "clean" the tank prior to running pink through the system. How is this done? Do I just open the head and run a bunch of clean water down the drain?

Thanks in advance, and once I'm done with my step-by-step list I'll likely post it here for critique by the pros, and to help anyone else that finds themselves in my shoes... first time boat owner attempting first time winterization.
Click to expand...

The way I do it is use remove the inlet hose from the system pressure pump and connect a 5 gallon reservoir filled with pink and then run it through everything. That way there is no pink in the tank and it is easier to flush in the spring.
And as for 2, I think that just means pump out the tank and the pink that goes in there from the head will not be diluted.
 
Sous said:
2) For the head system, I've seen many folks say to "clean" the tank prior to running pink through the system. How is this done? Do I just open the head and run a bunch of clean water down the drain?
Click to expand...

For Vacuflush, the manufacturer recommends a periodic "cleaning" that consists of filling up the head with water, adding 4 oz. of laundry detergent, then flushing for about 2 minutes. Then, turn off the water pump and flush several times without water to clear the lines. Then, do the final pump-out. I like to let this slosh around on my final trip. I've been doing this for a while and find that I can get a pretty clean pump-out after a few rounds of pumping then adding some fresh water and pumping some more. After this your system should be ready for the pink.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,163
Messages
1,427,599
Members
61,072
Latest member
BoatUtah12
Back
Top