Do you winterize the bilge pump?

[ZGhost]

Yes or No?
If yes, is it just adding RV fluid to bottom then turning on the pump or is there another way?

 

[Dave burke]

Nope. I just make sure the drain plug is out and left out over the winter. I have two bilge pumps, never had an issue

 

[zipper]

No, the factory bilge pump is not installed at the bottom of the bilge. You would have to pour many gallons in there to reach the level of that pump. Just make sure your drain plug is pulled and the boat is jacked up in the bow to get all the water out.

 

[ZGhost]

The pump is in the engine bay underneath the engines, you can see it, no? (See online borrowed pic)
I read somewhere that people pour RV fluid in the bottom where the bilge pump is (in space beneath the engines) while it’s plugged and operate the bilge pump to run the RV fluid through it so there is no residual water from before but I don’t know if that’s necessary or not, don’t know if plastic parts crack from freezing residual water if any hence my Q.

 

[zipper]

If that is a picture of a factory bilge pump in the engine bay, then there should be a hole under it that allows water from the true bilge below to rise thru the hole to the level of the pump. The true bilge can be accessed by removing the clean out plug tray. Many folks who add a second pump put it down there, below the factory pump. At least it is that way on my 07 and every other late model Yamaha I have known about.

 

[ZGhost]

@zipper I believe you are correct, the boat is storage so I can’t confirm but now that you mention the hole, I think mine had one but I didn’t know why. My older 2008 Yamaha boat had a setup like the picture. Mmmmh

I didn’t know why there was a hole on the newer a Yamahas but what you describe makes sense. Now I understand why you stated it takes so many gallons in the previous post. Thx for the insights, learned something new today.

 

[zipper]

@ZGhost Here is another short thread from another member who discovered that hole under their bilge pump.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/can-anyone-tell-me-if-this-is-normal-bilge-pump-issue.20497/#post-349723

 

[Dixie Highway]

Here is the setup on a 2018. The engine compartment has a fiberglass “liner” so to speak. Just an FYI, the reason for the water in this pic was that I was actually testing my factory bilge pump, since it never seemed to run. I ran a garden hose into my plugged hull (leveled) and it took about 10 minutes to bring the water up enough to run the pump via the float. That’s roughly 30-50 gallons based on a normal hose flow rate!

 

[Julian]

No need to winterize the pump.....it pulls water in from the bottom, so also drains effectively. As others have said, just make sure your plug is out and bow is raised to drain the boat.

 

[ZGhost]

Thanks @zipper and everyone else, obviously things changed since 2008 and I never paid close attention but wondered why there was a hole under the pump and thought it was just a small recess in the floor. Obviously I am wrong, I learned so much from asking this Q and reading the references you pointed me to. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread and in helping find the right info. Glad I don’t have to pour 40 gallons of RV fluid to winterize the pump . Time to move on to the next project!

 

[zipper]

@ZGhost A little late to bring it up now, but living up north, winter temps now. Does your 242 have a pressurized shower/nozzle/holding tank? That does need to be winterized.

 

[ZGhost]

@zipper Thanks for the thought. The 242XE does not come with the shower and holding tank for fresh water rinsing, etc. Something I don’t need anyway. But it does come with the ballast system and although I didn’t use it yet (bought my boat in mid September and only been out couple of times before she headed to storage), I'm thinking next winter the ballast system will likely need to be winterized but I am not sure?

 

[haknslash]

It would take A LOT of antifreeze to fill up the bilge under the clean out tray enough that it begins to flow into the hole in the engine compartment, not to mention make a huge mess in your bilge.

I wouldn't worry about it. A bilge pump is cheap enough to replace if it does crack. You can always test it out in the spring when you give the boat the first wash of the season.

 

[ZGhost]

It would take A LOT of antifreeze to fill up the bilge under the clean out tray enough that it begins to flow into the hole in the engine compartment, not to mention make a huge mess in your bilge.

I wouldn't worry about it. A bilge pump is cheap enough to replace if it does crack. You can always test it out in the spring when you give the boat the first wash of the season.

Good point, thx