Winterize Question

[Gym]

Gym - she is not a member here - the problem arose I believe from her divorce - Husband WAS responsible for the boat but when they split up I guess he told her she could have the boat and gave her no further info. And no the warranty does not cover frozen blocks so she was out of pocket for the repair.

I've heard of divorce causing cracked heads.

 

[Betik]

Good think she divorced his as*. What kind of person sets you up for failure like that !!!!

 

[Gym]

Sounds like she's had it diagnosed. Guess her only options would be to repair or sell as a project boat.

 

[the MfM]

Here’s what I Use to get anitfreeze in the engines... old transmission fluid funnel. Heated the end with a torch till it was soft and pressed the garden hose adapter on...


Connect it to the clean out port adapter and dump a half gallon down while the engine is running. Cheap insurance.

 

[Skierdad]

Ok. So started my engine, turned on the antifreeze and ran for a few minutes. Antifreeze came through the bottom but nothing through the pee holes on the side. Do I need to be worried about water in those pee hole lines?

-20 for an entire month where I live. It’s getting antifreeze. Lol

 

[Gym]

Ok. So started my engine, turned on the antifreeze and ran for a few minutes. Antifreeze came through the bottom but nothing through the pee holes on the side. Do I need to be worried about water in those pee hole lines?

-20 for an entire month where I live. It’s getting antifreeze. Lol

Need to run the engines at least at no wake speed. Maybe a little higher.

 

[drewkaree]

Helps me sleep better.

This, right here, is the bottom line.

I have no experience with winterizing a jet boat, but I have plenty of experience with replacing busted plumbing in our unheated cottage. Given the time, effort and money involved in replacing the plumbing vs the same factors in completing winterization (including antifreeze wherever I can think of putting it where a hose might crack or water may settle), I'm gonna be investing in 2 cases of antifreeze. I've got a boat, a cottage, several pump sprayers, and some things that I'm sure I can't remember right now, so when Menards has a sale on the stuff, I'll be in line to purchase. Just this past winter, the wife forgot to add antifreeze to the kitchen sink drain after we spent the weekend just before Christmas. Cost me a few bucks and a ridiculous amount of time to replace the drain line after the cleanout plug cracked clean out of the drum trap. For $2/gallon, that's pretty cheap insurance, and as you say, I'll sleep better knowing it's in there.

 

[Skierdad]

Gym: I burped the throttles a little and nothing came out. Maybe I just need to run it at a higher idle for a few minutes???

 

[Scottintexas]

Ok. So started my engine, turned on the antifreeze and ran for a few minutes. Antifreeze came through the bottom but nothing through the pee holes on the side. Do I need to be worried about water in those pee hole lines?

-20 for an entire month where I live. It’s getting antifreeze. Lol

what if you back fed it through the indicator openings on the side of the boat?

 

[Spooling]

You'll need to pump the antifreeze into the flushing port under pressure to get it into the engine, or clamp the inlet hose, otherwise it'll just take the easiest route and drain out of the cooling water inlet on the jet pump. The engine doesn't pump the coolant out of the water, so increase engine rpms will do nothing.

I use an electric pump used for sprayers which works great.

2.2 GPM Sprayer Pump | Princess Auto

 

[mwalker4]

Geography doesn't dictate winterIztion need for boats stored outside. I went in school in North Florida and somebodies pipes froze every winter. It was actually worse than in Ohio because they weren't prepared. So if you store your boat in an outside location north of Orlando, you need the same winterization procedure. But, you may not need to worry about long term storage procedures such as fogging.

I can't find a formal winterization procedure in the Owner's Manual or Service Manual, but they do address post-operation care and long term storage. Basically,
1. Fill tank Treat fuel
2. Flush / Fog the engine (They recommend dealer of course)
3. Drain the exhuast by pushing the throttle to half power and back for 10-15 secs (burping)
4. Grease various steering and throttle points

JBP has a great video for the above procedure on their website.

I would consider this the minimum. I will probably add antifreeze in step 2 just in case because I already have all the tools. Also, most people change oil and plugs at this time. Leon has a very entertaining video on youtube for a more extensive winterization.

 

[Shady28]

clamp the inlet hose, otherwise it'll just take the easiest route and drain out of the cooling water inlet on the jet pump.

Any one with good pictures of where to clamp the inlet hose? Any concerns with damaging it? Does that inlet line connect with the plastic filter found in the jet housing? Would you be able to duck tape the water intake filter and accomplish the same thing?

 

[Skierdad]

Shady- was just going to ask the same thing! Digging through the manual isn't helping on this. sigh....

 

[Scottintexas]

if you watch the video I linked earlier about how the cooling water flows it shows where the "Y" fitting is that connects the flush ports with the cooling water inlet at the nozzle,

 

[Scottintexas]

and these two links from our FAQ tab at the top of the screen about adding tow/flush valves,

https://jetboaters.net/threads/shut-off-valves-fitted-also-allowing-engines-to-be-flushed-while-moored-in-marina-06-ar-230.3976/

https://jetboaters.net/threads/how-to-add-a-shutoff-valve-to-your-boats-cooling-system.411/

.

 

[Scottintexas]

Any concerns with damaging it?

it's just a rubber hose, any radiator hose clamp or I just use a pair of flat vice grips for emergency use,

 

[Shady28]

Thanks for the advice Scott. Looks like the easy play is to just clamp the line as it comes out of the stern before the V for winterizing for w/ antifreeze.

Skierdad - Here's what I'm going to run with for clamps. No rust, plastic on rubber and easy keep on the boat.

Amazon.com: 8MILELAKE 3pcs Line Clamps Flexible Hose Clamps: Industrial & Scientific

 

[Compatico]

Gym: I burped the throttles a little and nothing came out. Maybe I just need to run it at a higher idle for a few minutes???

Do NOT run for more than 15 seconds when burping the throttle to clear the exhaust. From the manual:

DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE FOR MORE THAN 15 SECONDS AFTER THE WATER SUPPLY HAS BEEN TURNED OFF TO AVOID ENGINE OVERHEATING

 

[Betik]

15 seconds might be a bit on the conservative side, but minutes !!!!no way

 

[Skierdad]

Thanks for the advice Scott. Looks like the easy play is to just clamp the line as it comes out of the stern before the V for winterizing for w/ antifreeze.

Skierdad - Here's what I'm going to run with for clamps. No rust, plastic on rubber and easy keep on the boat.

Amazon.com: 8MILELAKE 3pcs Line Clamps Flexible Hose Clamps: Industrial & Scientific

I am still trying to find the d*mn intake hose. I am like a deer in the headlights when it comes to engines. I feel like Napoleon Dynamite...I have no skills.